Lowering 4X4......

[cjceg1985]

Jello All,
Well i have a 07 4x4 LT and dont really have any asperations to do major offroading.. maybe just a muddy lot er whatev.
So the question is has any one lowered their 4x4?
how much lower?
what kit, swap, or fabrication did you use/do?
How does the ride quality change?

AND YES I KNOW....
4X4 Should be lifted not lowered but thats what i want to do.....so yeah. thanks ahead of time!

 

[jham]

Jello All,
Well i have a 07 4x4 LT and dont really have any asperations to do major offroading.. maybe just a muddy lot er whatev.
So the question is has any one lowered their 4x4?
how much lower?
what kit, swap, or fabrication did you use/do?
How does the ride quality change?

AND YES I KNOW....
4X4 Should be lifted not lowered but thats what i want to do.....so yeah. thanks ahead of time!

how much lower you want to go. I will have to look for the link you could switch to coil overs is a option there Ground force kits DJM. The real question is what's your budget?

heres a some options for you to look at

02-up Chevrolet Trailblazer Complete Lowering Kits at Andy's Auto Sport

02-up Chevrolet Trailblazer Full Coilover Systems at Andy's Auto Sport

 

[The_Roadie]

Are you willing to remove your CV shafts and decommission the front differential for maximum potential?

 

[cjceg1985]

No... i really don't want to loosethe 4x i'm not looking to slam it just get a little less space between the tires and fenders but still use the 4x in the winter and again maybe a few turns around a muddy lot or rocky backroad.
I would say over all i want 1-2" drop front and level out the rear to match the front so 2-3" out back. Denero wise i'm not broke but i'm not wanting to put hydraulics or bags on, i work at napa so aftermarket o.e. parts or interchangable parts would be good too like ss springs er whatev...
thanks for the fast replies also guys

 

[jham]

No... i really don't want to loosethe 4x i'm not looking to slam it just get a little less space between the tires and fenders but still use the 4x in the winter and again maybe a few turns around a muddy lot or rocky backroad.
I would say over all i want 1-2" drop front and level out the rear to match the front so 2-3" out back. Denero wise i'm not broke but i'm not wanting to put hydraulics or bags on, i work at napa so aftermarket o.e. parts or interchangable parts would be good too like ss springs er whatev...
thanks for the fast replies also guys

Eibach is the least amount of drop at 1.5. I am assuming you have coils in the back and not Air bags.

 

[cjceg1985]

yeah i have coils in the back..sorry. Now would lowering affect ride quality that much i had an s-10 i lowered way back when did a 2-3 drop and that thing rode like brick with wheels after the drop. I'm pretty set on that eiback or belltech kits, coilovers maybe down the line but not now, mustang project first lol.

Now... has anyone used these kits and any negative affect or one cheaper quality er issues with either one after time maybe a pic er two...
thanks

 

[DARKASS04EXT]

contact NORCAL SS, he is a member here and very good with lowering TBs. He has set me up with a lowering package to suite me, now i just need to get the money together.

 

[jimmyjam]

i'm AWD and i'm at about 30.75 ground to fender up front. norcal recommends not going lower than ~31.25 for your cv joints sake...

 

[ScarabEpic22]

Depends on your preference, I used the Eibach springs with Bilstein HDs. Dont make my mistake and use Bilstein HDs in the rear with a drop, run drop shocks!

If you want to go low, DJM a-arms from NORCAL SS, Belltech 2/3" drop with shocks, and maybe a panhard bar it you want.

Ive got my Eibach springs sitting in my garage, they've got a little rust on them and about 50k, but Id love to get rid of them. Not sure how much shipping would be, but Id like to get $75-100+ship for them.

 

[smitty5150]

I've been lowered a couple times. Both times I used the ground force kit. Cost effective and good looking. For the second time, I trimmed 2/3 coil off the front springs. With the 1.3 it is so close to level that sometimes it looked like the rear was lower. Trimming the coils took care of that. Any lower than that and you need other upgrades like panhard bar, shorter rear shocks, upper a arms, etc. Definitely talk to tony if you are serious. He's the go to for lowering and has great prices and service.

 

[NORCAL SS]

Jello All,
Well i have a 07 4x4 LT and dont really have any asperations to do major offroading.. maybe just a muddy lot er whatev.
So the question is has any one lowered their 4x4?
how much lower?
what kit, swap, or fabrication did you use/do?
How does the ride quality change?

AND YES I KNOW....
4X4 Should be lifted not lowered but thats what i want to do.....so yeah. thanks ahead of time!

by far best kit to go with here
TBSSowners.com Store - Belltech Street Perf. Shocks/Springs Combo (Powered by CubeCart)

for starters front stock springs with the belltech drop struts ride the best and you will be able to lower it .5-2 inches with above kit and great ride

in rear is a shock/spring combo that ride better then ground force or mcguahys or eibach. Ive installed it all over the years. The only thing I would look into is getting my modified djm upper a arms here which will fix balljoint/camber issues and make the truck handle better.
TBSSowners.com Store - Modified Trailblazer DJM A -Arms wo/drop (Powered by CubeCart)



anything else just hollar and the above kit will replace all 4 shocks on your truck. Sorry to say the shock shocks are not meant to be lowered on.

 

[ChevyTBLover]

I've done the 2/4 DJM drop with 4x4 with no problems. Ordered the DJM UCA and a panhard bar. Was still able to use 4wd.

 

[NORCAL SS]

I've done the 2/4 DJM drop with 4x4 with no problems. Ordered the DJM UCA and a panhard bar. Was still able to use 4wd.

not sure hwo this is possible?? DJms lower mount does not fit on a 4x4 it hits the front driveshaft. The upper a arms work fine on a 4x4 or 2wd and rear kit works fine on both.

 

[David11946]

I DO want to remove my front CV axles for more clearance. I've never used 4-wheel drive in the 4 years that I've had the truck and I never will. I don't want them to interfere with how low I decide to go with my set up. I just couldn't find a 2WD version of TB when I bought it. I just need pointers on how to seal the CV axle holes in the transfer case. I'd love to do at least 3 inch drop on the front.

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[jrSS]

I DO want to remove my front CV axles for more clearance. I've never used 4-wheel drive in the 4 years that I've had the truck and I never will. I don't want them to interfere with how low I decide to go with my set up. I just couldn't find a 2WD version of TB when I bought it. I just need pointers on how to seal the CV axle holes in the transfer case. I'd love to do at least 3 inch drop on the front.

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Just order the belltech lowering struts and don't add the spacers. Make sure u get tonys upper control arms which will fix ball joint and alignment issues. That'll get u down 3" w/o removing cv's.

 

[NORCAL SS]

I DO want to remove my front CV axles for more clearance. I've never used 4-wheel drive in the 4 years that I've had the truck and I never will. I don't want them to interfere with how low I decide to go with my set up. I just couldn't find a 2WD version of TB when I bought it. I just need pointers on how to seal the CV axle holes in the transfer case. I'd love to do at least 3 inch drop on the front.

- - - Updated - - -

then you need this
TBSSowners.com Store - NORCAL SS'S CUSTOM 2-2.5 TRAILBLAZER KIT (Powered by CubeCart)


and this
TBSSowners.com Store - Belltech Trailblazer Drop Strut Set (Powered by CubeCart)

 

[schmidbauermg]

I have a 2007 TB LS 4x4 that I lowered on the Belltech kit (2"front/3"rear). Obviously my camber is not right. I'm
-1.7 LF and -1.5 RF. that's better than when I started, but not good enough to save my new tires. To get to my question...all I need is the DJM upper control arms right? And those go in fine with the remaining stock parts? Thanks.

2007 Trailblazer LS 4x4
Belltech 2/3 spring kit
Belltech nitro drop 2 shocks in rear
Bilstein struts in front

 

[BoldAdventure]

BLASPHEMY!

 

[NORCAL SS]

you need my modified a arms.

NORCAL SS Custom Upper A arms. - TBSSOWNERS.com Forums - The #1 TrailblazerSS Dedicated Owners Forum

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and install on arms
http://www.tbssowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73126

 

[schmidbauermg]

Just did the order after talking to you, and it cleared my PayPal, but the redirect back to your site said it failed. Did it go through? Thanks...

 

[NORCAL SS]

YUP all good

 

[marble_voy03]

I have the belltech kit and stock arms. Took it for alignment and they got it to spec not sure what the hype is about modified uppers.

 

[blazinlow89]

I have the belltech kit and stock arms. Took it for alignment and they got it to spec not sure what the hype is about modified uppers.

Sure the paddles on the wheels show that everything is good, however like the lifted group, when you lower the vehicle it changes the angle that the upper ball joint has. The modified control arms correct this issue. On the lifted trucks we flip the UCA to change the angle.

While not a huge deal, depending on the drop you can put some extreme angles on the upper ball joint.

 

[NORCAL SS]

Also so many of them have rotted upper a arm bushings so good time to uograde. Also shops will say it aligned fine but truck has -1 degree camber. Yah ill pass on that one I usually set it at most -.25 because on a tb after that it chews up tires thr more negative camber you run..

 

[hayes]

Does anyone have pictures, or a link to a thread with pictures, of lowered 4wd with Eibach and Ground Force? I am not looking for the pictures posted on websites that are trying to sell these springs, but actual - real life - TBs with these kits.

 

[Playsinsnow]

Does anyone have pictures, or a link to a thread with pictures, of lowered 4wd with Eibach and Ground Force? I am not looking for the pictures posted on websites that are trying to sell these springs, but actual - real life - TBs with these kits.

A google search under images of "trailblazer eibach groundforce lowered" had a few pictures from the OS. 22s seem popular when lowered.

 

[jrSS]

Heres a pic of my lowered 4wd envoy. Belltech setup...stock arms.

 

[hayes]

A google search under images of "trailblazer eibach groundforce lowered" had a few pictures from the OS. 22s seem popular when lowered.

I will check it out. I don't use Google too much for specific requests like that because it's hard to determine what's legit and what isn't. I want to run a little bit different route with mine. I don't want 20-22" wheels. I have 265/65r17 tires on it now, and I just want to lower it onto those a little bit better.

 

[marble_voy03]

View attachment 33856 Belltech. Stock arms on 24s

 

[bwelfringer]

I have the belltech 2/3 drop and i was curious about rubbing issue's if i put 22's on it.

 

[dmanns67]

I have the belltech 2/3 drop and i was curious about rubbing issue's if i put 22's on it.

BlazingTrails has a 3" drop in the front and 4" in the rear and running 22" TBSS replicas with 265/40 tires. I believe he had to modify is UCAs, but I cannot remember. He should chime in shortly.

 

[BlazingTrails]

If you run a 40 series tire you should have no problems. There is less than 1/4" clearance to the upper ball joint with the 265. If you want wider tires you will need spacers.

 

[bwelfringer]

i just used the belltech 2/3 drop no struts springs only.

 

[bwelfringer]

Does doing the a arms make a big difference?

 

[Daniel644]

So just to confirm I am reading this right, to lower the 4x4 the best option (for the money) is the Belltech kit that uses the stock spring up front with the spacers (or no spacers for max drop) and drop shocks and lowering springs in the rear?

I assume it would also be suggested to get an adjustable panhard to recenter after this much of a drop (I know my firebird needed it after a drop half this much. And I also need to get the DJM upper arms to correct the camber up front. Question using the spacers how much can you drop the front before the upper A-arms are required to fix alignment?

 

[Tiggerr]

I think you have to go less than 2" to avoid the upper arms. Haven't heard about anyone changing their panhard bar. Maybe I missed that somewhere.

 

[djthumper]

So just to confirm I am reading this right, to lower the 4x4 the best option (for the money) is the Belltech kit that uses the stock spring up front with the spacers (or no spacers for max drop) and drop shocks and lowering springs in the rear?

I assume it would also be suggested to get an adjustable panhard to recenter after this much of a drop (I know my firebird needed it after a drop half this much. And I also need to get the DJM upper arms to correct the camber up front. Question using the spacers how much can you drop the front before the upper A-arms are required to fix alignment?

I believe that if you only do a 2 / 3 drop that you don't have to change the upper arms. Anything more than 2 up front you will need to make the change. Of course it can vary because of the springs on the vehicle.

 

[Tiggerr]

Best bet would be to ask NorCal on TBSS Owners forum. Think his number is listed over there so you can call him. He's the suspension guru

 

[Daniel644]

Best bet would be to ask NorCal on TBSS Owners forum. Think his number is listed over there so you can call him. He's the suspension guru

Just an FYI for anyone else wondering, I emailed Norcal (Tony) and got this reply to the question of at what level of drop is it recommended to go to the modified upper arms:

Stock tb 1.5 or more
Tbss 1 or more

So I went ahead and placed my order today.

 

[IPT]

I wonder if you're shooting for 1.5 lower in the front if it makes sense to just do it the arms or if it's just a waste of time and money not being needed? I'm 4x4 and considering going right in that range. Did you get the modified arms?