2 Inch Lift on H2.

[Bimmer9938]

I agree, the Truxxx kit is pissa, I hate listening to the "know it alls" that argue about everything...who don't have it. I have it, and would do it again on my next Hummer H2 aswell.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by tomp

Before you hit a full 3" of lift in front, you will start getting half-shaft or CV joint vibrations at 70+mph.

Tomp,

I know the Cognito UCA's are to be used in conjunction with a levelling kit but does installing the cognito UCA's allow the half-shafts not to be in a bind?


Can anyone tell me what's the difference between this and this



Thanks,

Mark

[timgco]

Originally Posted by DuckTruck

but i do feel he is comparing two different lift strategies based upon his experience with only one.

I have not done the body lift, so I'm not 100% sure on how much room it will actually create, but I just don;t see 40's fitting in. With the added keys, 3" body lift, removed airbags/ replaced with taller rear springs...as to avoid that whole airbag sensor bs (I had issues on a couple H2's with this setup with 37's), I think you could fit a 37 13.50 in there with increased travel over stock, but I just don;t see how the 40's would work. The Last H2 I saw with 40's was at SEMA with 10" lift.


therefore, if running a bigger tire, having more ground clearance, perfecting the stock suspension setup via quality pieces, and becoming more capable off-road is "lame" and/or "worthless"....well then sign me and my truck up!


That's the whole point of this thread. I honeslty feel 40's will fawk that truck up...but 38's might just be doable with the proper setup. I'm new to this type of lift setup/discussion. I understand the complete Fabtech 6" and Rancho 4" kits and am fully aware of what fits and doesn;t with those, but not with the B.L. and who would make a complete kit for that.

DUCK

If 40's will fit, i'll eat those words!!!! But I doubt it can be done without a $hitload of other mods outside of the tbar crank/keys, and a 3" body lift.
I'm not even sure that the front end of our H2's would hold up to 40's...even with the added mods. That may require the SAS conversion to do so...esp if you add a front Elocker like Tomp already has and I plan to do as well.

My plan....in case anyone cares) is to run the same setup as TomP with a set of 37 13.50 18 Toyo MT on the XD Wheels. I;m still researching on what shocks I can do this with as I would like to run proper extended length front and rear/ also a FOX Resi. shock if at all possible.

[DuckTruck]

i agree with two things thus far:

bimmer.....i WISH we had the same suspension as the H1!

and second, this thread is really bringing out some great info...lets keep it coming.

DUCK

[timgco]

Originally Posted by HumminNBoatin'

40s Can be done!!! But its not easy.

See: Picture number 4 on the site posted
http://thehummerclubinc.com/Media/Images.aspx?I=246

This Black SUT is Custom Body Lifted 2". He also cranked T-bars and did something with his coils in the back. There was alot of cutting and welding involved in doing this lift. Yes those tires are on stock rims and I have never heard of Rick bitching about loosing beads.

Guys I would like to thank you for the great response. So far I have learned that I will be purchasing the Cognito kit before I do this. Now I just have to figure our the BACK END!! lol.

Eric

If you have a contact for Rick, maybe invite him to this topic so more of us can figure out...or talk to him and see if maybe he can fill us in on how it was acomplished.

That is one bada$$ lookin SUT!!! Are those 40's? or 38's?

[DuckTruck]

the guy in the link, rick, and i have emailed and spoken on the phone about his setup. he is super helpful and truly has a bad ass rig.

oh....and he has his own, custom made 2" body lift and IS running 39.5 bias ply IROKs.

doable.....i think so; there is your proof.

DUCK

[timgco]

Originally Posted by DuckTruck

the guy in the link, rick, and i have emailed and spoken on the phone about his setup. he is super helpful and truly has a bad ass rig.

oh....and he has his own, custom made 2" body lift and IS running 39.5 bias ply IROKs.

doable.....i think so; there is your proof.

DUCK

Let's get Rick over to learn more about his setup. Or maybe he can send someone an EMail. hell, PM me his info, and I'll contact him.

I tried to save that pic of his truck...it won;t let allow you to.

Does someone have more pics of that rig? esp.... the suspension setup?

[tomp]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

I know the Cognito UCA's are to be used in conjunction with a levelling kit but does installing the cognito UCA's allow the half-shafts not to be in a bind?

Can anyone tell me what's the difference between this and this

Mark, no - the Cognito UCAs don't circumvent the issue with the half shafts. I know the height I provided with 37s works with no CV vibrations at 70+mph. Prior to being at 44.5" from ground to bottom of fender flare, I was at 45.5" and it vibrated at 70mph at that height so you could try something in between to see if you can get more that 44.5" height using 37s.

The difference in those two UCAs is the joint. Once has standard ball joints (but are replaceable where OEM joints are not) and the the other has uniball joints on the more expensive UCAs. These use a large steel ball for the joint and are much stronger and may last for life of H2.

[tomp]

Originally Posted by timgco

My plan....in case anyone cares) is to run the same setup as TomP with a set of 37 13.50 18 Toyo MT on the XD Wheels. I;m still researching on what shocks I can do this with as I would like to run proper extended length front and rear/ also a FOX Resi. shock if at all possible.

Tim, my suggestion is to run 12.5" wide 37s and not 13.5". If you have seen my custom fender wells, you would understand! I am moving away from the 13.5" width and going with the more narrow 12.5" width and then using Hutchison double beadlocks. I will end up with more footprint/traction this way, less wear on steering and less rubbing issues.

If you want to increase the rear droop on a coil spring H2 to match what you'll get from the front Cognito setup, I will provide you the details for the rear shocks to match the front Cognito-Bilstein shocks. You are already aware that the Samco rear coils have 2.5" more free length over stock coils and provide about 1" more lift. You will want to add airlift airbags (about $85) to these coils. The Samco coils have less spring rate than OEM coils, so this is why you want the bags. Also, it allows you to adjust rear height as well, so you dont have to run spacers.

Here is the rear shock info.... Since the front Cognito-Bilsteins are their 5125 series shocks which are rebuildable and customizable, you want to do the same for the rear. Their 5125 shocks that fit the profile of the Samco coils are F4-BE5-6249-H5. You will want to have the valving, bushings and sleeves changed though, as these shocks are made for a Dodge pickup truck and the "Rebound" valving is too lght. The bushings/sleeves are also too small for the H2's shock bolts. Purchase your rear shocks from Offroad Warehouse (ask for Jason). Tell him you want the above shocks to be custom valved from Bilstein with BE5-A937-H0 +20% increase. This is the H2 valving parameters with a 20% increase in valving. The first part number is the shock and the 2nd is for the valving!

The Bilstein bushings are part number 98108G for the H2. They come two in a pack so you will need two packs for two shocks. The sleeve part number is 423730 and these come two in a pack as well.

If you do the front and rear like I have explained, you will love this darn thing so much you will never lift another vehicle! You'll end up with more droop/flex than stock, more ground clearance and have stronger steering and a much tighter steering and on road driving experience.

I am at the point where I want function over looks so I am going with beadlocks. The weight of the H2 really hampers it's abilities on steep inclines. With that said, I think beadlocks look tough and that's the look I am after anyhow. There are two things that prevent my H2 from tackling every obstacle in it's path. One is steep inclines where traction is minimal. The other is getting high centered. Getting high centered is not something you can always overcome - sometimes you can take a different line and all is well. However, beadlocks will definitely improve my success on steep inclines. There is a third thing on the H2 and that is it's width but I don't consider it a negative because sometimes it's also a positive to have the width advantage.

[DuckTruck]

tim,

i still have my emails with rick. when i get back on my computer (i am doing all this now on my phone) i will cut & paste them here.

tom,

thanks for the great info. and the halfshaft vibes.

i think the great news is that "if" this is possible (yall already know my stance on this) than we can run bigger meats, all while obtaining max. ground clearance, and doing so without going so "tall" as to experience vibes or make a dramatic increase in our center of gravity.

DUCK

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by tomp

Mark, no - the Cognito UCAs don't circumvent the issue with the half shafts. I know the height I provided with 37s works with no CV vibrations at 70+mph. Prior to being at 44.5" from ground to bottom of fender flare, I was at 55.5" and it vibrated at 70mph at that height so you could try something in between to see if you can get more that 44.5" height using 37s.

Well I guess that leaves me screwed. I'm only at 42.5" and running 35's and at 70mph, I can feel the halfshafts making a minor vibration.

I guess my only choice is to lower the front end a bit to relieve some of the bind the halfshaft is getting and replace the rear 1 1/2" spacer in the rear with perhaps a 1" spacer.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Mark

[timgco]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Well I guess that leaves me screwed. I'm only at 42.5" and running 35's and at 70mph, I can feel the halfshafts making a minor vibration.

I guess my only choice is to lower the front end a bit to relieve some of the bind the halfshaft is getting and replace the rear 1 1/2" spacer in the rear with perhaps a 1" spacer.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Mark

Could this possibly be an alignment issue casing your vibes? Or maybe the Cognito UCA's will help? Not sure as I haven;t doen these mods yet. I think the most accurate way to measure would be from teh center of the hub to the bottom of the fender well.

[tomp]

Mark, I dont think they will vibrate with front height that low. Something is not right. You can count number of "flats" while turning down TBS and see if it goes away - and if that was not it turn the TBs back up exact same number of flats. Make sure to have load off of front end when cranking them up or down. Also, jack each front wheel off ground and grab tire/wheel and try to lift and ot shake the wheel to check for bad hub bearings.. You could also check air pressure and balancing and did you get an alignment after cranking TBs?

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by tomp

Mark, I dont think they will vibrate with front height that low. Something is not right. You can count number of "flats" while turning down TBS and see if it goes away - and if that was not it turn the TBs back up exact same number of flats. Make sure to have load off of front end when cranking them up or down. Also, jack each front wheel off ground and grab tire/wheel and try to lift and ot shake the wheel to check for bad hub bearings.. You could also check air pressure and balancing and did you get an alignment after cranking TBs?

Tomp,

Thanks man, I'll double check the air pressure. Tire balancing and pressure should be right since they were brand new when I did the lift. (like I said, I'll double check) The steering wheel doesn't vibrate at all at any speed so I'm assuming the balance of the tires is fine.

As far as alignment, I immediately had an alignment done. I even had them use the specs the manufacturer suggested.

I took a look at the front halfshafts and they shouldn't be in a bind. Like I said, the vibration is VERY minor.

I'll check pressure next.

Mark

[tomp]

Mark...do you have mud tires with large lugs on them? This will cause it

Edit: just went back to see your pics and "yes" that is caused by those tires. It's the lugs you are feeling so no worries there. I bet if you put your stock tires back on for testing, the issue would not occur. I had Mickey Thompson Baja Claw Radials which are close to the same pattern as those tires you have and they did the same thing. It shouldn't be that bad though. I would have them re-check balancing to make sure it's right. Tell them is vibrating really bad.

[OrangeCrush]

Thanks, I've got a set of stock tires I can try. Like I said, the vibration is MINOR but I tend to be anal.

I ordered a set of cognito UCA last night but thinking I should cancel the order.

However, it should make the truck ride better. (it's not bad now, I can hardly tell any difference) but I'm more interested in ride quality as far as when the suspension loads and unloads as you go over wavy roads.

Mark

[tomp]

Mark, longer shocks are more of a priority than the UCAs. The shocks are the first limiting factor and then second are the control arms.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by tomp

Mark, longer shocks are more of a priority than the UCAs. The shocks are the first limiting factor and then second are the control arms.

I didn't replace shocks but did use the extended shock bracket.

Mark

[Bimmer9938]

Its common with the Truxxx 2.5-3F/ 1.5 R lift at 70-71mph. I have the same lift, and its hardly noticeable and its a good reminder to slow down.

[tomp]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

I didn't replace shocks but did use the extended shock bracket.

Mark

Warning: the shock extensions I have seen are too tall for OEM length H2 shocks. To test this, ensure vehicle is on level ground at stock ehight in the front and resting on the bump stops, disconnect the bottom of the shock and see if you can push it up higher then where it would mount to the shock extension bracket. If you can't push it up where the shock's bolt hole goes up higher than the hole in the shock extension, you are either riding on a bottomed out shock if or slamming down on a bottomed out shock when the front end comes down on the bump stops. The latter is the case if you have cranked the TBs. This is true with all H2 shock extensions that I have seen to date. Yes, this is another mark against Truxx.

The reason this is a problem is because these companies assume the H2's shocks are the same as the 2500HD pickup trucks. The shocks are not the same and only have half of the travel that the 2500HDs have.

To correct this problem you must determine the proper amount to shorten the shock extension (to get your shocks into the right range of travel) or use the 2500HD shocks.

The reason the H2's have less travel is because they have extension and compression bump stops in them where the 2500HD shocks only have extension stops. This takes some of the travel away.

Here is the way you need to think about it: Consider the fact that you are pushing up the bottom of the shock much higher than you would be when at factory height and resting on the frame mounted stops.

If anyone doubts what I am saying here, call Rancho and ask them why their online Shock Specifications show H2's shocks with 2.5" of travel and the 2500HD has 4.6". You can also see in this same manual there is a symbol next to the H2's shocks in two places. This "cross" symbol is shown for both compressed length and extended length. This shock symbol is there to inform you of the included bump stops. Notice the 2500HD shocks only show the symbol once?

Also, for those of you thinking it is okay to rest on the stops - think again. Your shocks will start degrading very quicky as you are beating the heck out of them. I went through several sets of shocks and my ride quality went horrible fast - compared to a new vehicle. This was the cause of it!

BTW, my ride quality with torsion bars cranked is much better than stock now