suspension questions

[kevin carvajal]

What's up guys??? I have a 2006 TB ext Ls and I am looking to upgrade my suspension and I want to know what's the best out there and decent price. And does our truck come with rear airbags????? And would I have to do any modification if I have airbags????
Thanks in advance

 

[Wooluf1952]

AFAIK, the SS is the only Trailblazer that had air suspension.

 

[Mounce]

It was an option throughout most of the different models

 

[07TrailyLS]

Look under the rear of the truck. If you see springs you have springs, if you see black air bags, well you get the picture. As far as "modifying" goes, are you trying to REMOVE air suspension and put a shock/spring setup? That is easily achieved by a direct swap of parts

 

[Matt]

Upgrade to what? Are you going to lift it or just replace the stock shocks?

If you're going to lift it, you can't go past MarkMC's lift kit, developed and tested for our platform...the gold standard.

If you just want to replace the shocks, Bilstein HD's are the most popular upgrade. Firmer than stock but not harsh.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Upgrade to what? Are you going to lift it or just replace the stock shocks?

Great question

If you're going to lift it, you can't go past MarkMC's lift kit, developed and tested for our platform...the gold standard.

False. If you are willing to pay to play there is suspension available above it....Radflo Coilovers and Skyjacker C25R rear springs. If you can fit it in budget that is.

If you just want to replace the shocks, Bilstein HD's are the most popular upgrade. Firmer than stock but not harsh.

Great step in the right direction.

 

[Sparky]

Well, yeah, but Radflo is outside many of our budgets

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I guess you can call em the platinum standard???

 

[kevin carvajal]

Upgrade to what? Are you going to lift it or just replace the stock shocks?

If you're going to lift it, you can't go past MarkMC's lift kit, developed and tested for our platform...the gold standard.

If you just want to replace the shocks, Bilstein HD's are the most popular upgrade. Firmer than stock but not harsh.

No I just want to replace them.

Look under the rear of the truck. If you see springs you have springs, if you see black air bags, well you get the picture. As far as "modifying" goes, are you trying to REMOVE air suspension and put a shock/spring setup? That is easily achieved by a direct swap of parts

Well, I want to upgrade my suspension and seen Hd's seem to be the best o es for the price and I am curious to know if I do that would I have to swap out the bags and install springs?

 

[Sparky]

99% sure you're going to find springs under there. I don't think any Trailblazer (aside from the SS) had bags.

But, even if you did have bags, there is a Bilstein shock for bags, and a shock for springs.

Here's what you need, two of each

Rears
http://autoplicity.com/2512100-bilstein-46mm-monotube-shock-absorber

Fronts
http://autoplicity.com/2512098-bilstein-46mm-monotube-shock-absorber

And new front mounts (extremely doubtful you'd be able to reuse the originals)
http://autoplicity.com/836111-monroe-shocks-struts-strut-mate-suspension-strut-mounting-kit

You'd need to rent a coil spring compressor to swap your front springs over to the new shocks, or the easier route would be to take the old front assembly and the new shocks and mounts to a shop and just have them do the spring swap for you.

 

[kevin carvajal]

I'll check later on thanks for the info man I appricate it a lot

 

[tcurlee]

Hey guys,, I have a lot of suspension work to do and was wondering about a few things. Shocks and struts first; if I want a similar ride to stock, what would be the best brand to go with ? I'm considering the front shock/spring as a unit for replacing.
As far as front suspension pieces are concerned ( sway bar ends, tie rod ends, ball joints etc ), what brand are most using and where's the best place to get them from ? any advice is appreciated.

 

[Mooseman]

Choices for strut/spring combos are pretty limited to Monroes but results reported have been either OK or meh. Better results have been seen, myself included, with Bilstein struts but you'd have to reuse your springs. It's all personal preference really.

For parts, a lot use and swear by Moog. I'm not too fussy about the boots on their end links as they are not positively retained to the joint. Mevotech are junk. Other off-brands are iffy. ACDelco are good but pricey. RockAuto is a good place to shop but compare to Amazon searching by part numbers from RockAuto.

 

[tcurlee]

Choices for strut/spring combos are pretty limited to Monroes but results reported have been either OK or meh. Better results have been seen, myself included, with Bilstein struts but you'd have to reuse your springs. It's all personal preference really.

For parts, a lot use and swear by Moog. I'm not too fussy about the boots on their end links as they are not positively retained to the joint. Mevotech are junk. Other off-brands are iffy. ACDelco are good but pricey. RockAuto is a good place to shop but compare to Amazon searching by part numbers from RockAuto.

Hey Mooseman, thanks for your input and prompt reply. I wasn't really all that comfortable with the whole spring swap thing but maybe I'll reconsider. I'll start the parts shopping soon. Gotta a lot of work to do on the 05 envoy. I let some things go way too long -- been lucky so far. This site is awsome,, makes me want to get my hands dirty again.

 

[tcurlee]

Ok, hopefully just one last question,, has anyone had any experience with the KYB brand of shocks/struts ? I know Bilsteins are top and Monroe's are iffy. Not real comfy with the spring compression and KYB offers the whole kit which makes it a lot easier obviously - any input or experience with them would help. I realize they are more OEM but that's the ride I'm looking for. - thanks.

 

[Sparky]

I had them on my Camaro. They were OK, I put them above Monroe, but I greatly prefer Bilstein.

You could always take the new shock and upper mount to a shop along with the old assembly and they can swap the spring over for you. Any half decent shop would have a wall mount compressor.

 

[Realism]

On the subject of spring swapping.
I know that the coil springs rarely need replacement unless obvious breakage occurs, but how can you tell if springs are worn to the point that replacing would improve handling?

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I do not think there is a way unless you have been monitoring them over time or really feel shocks or struts did not improve your ride.

 

[Tiggerr]

My 2 cents would be, if you have a lot of miles on the springs and your doing shocks/struts. Swap them. Not very expensive. Good piece of mind that there's no metal fatigue/sag. If your looking to stiffen it up make it handle better (for a 4500 lb tank) go with one of the Belltech lowering kits.