I hear you... but its not about the 5.00 washers for me. The high quality shock extensions to keep your shocks working at the correct level and the ride smooth..also the custom alignment specs from Truxx for my front end shop were all part of what I paid for. BTW I did do the lift myself by installng the lift kit. Not just turning the torsion bolt but also removing bottoms of shocks and installing the extensions to compensate for the lift.

Also, the lift is for 24 1/4. My error when I stated 24 1/2. It is exactly the same as measurement of my rear end too. 24 1/4 all the way around.

Love my Hummer!!!

 

Hello there Tainter and xkr...BTW it's 24 1/4, my error on the 24 1/2.

YOU GOTTA equally love the old timers that have nothing better to do than post online all day and criticize others. I may be a newbee to the forum and maybe even to Hummer ownership, but I have over 30 years in the automotive industry including having owned and operated my own shop. Countless certifications including NIASE (yeah it was National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence back then before becoming ASE.... Also, I-CAR, Chief E-Z Liner Unibody Frame Repair, Ram Fuel Injection Tech, etc. and countless others.

So you'll pardon me if I go with the advise of a knowledgeable product manufacturer like Truxx which makes technical sense to me with my mechanical background, before that of a "Senior Member" on an internet forum.

Also, it seems your issue isn't really that people are wasting their money because they can get the same result without the kit. According to you the Truxx set up is going to cause damage to the vehicles for lifting the front to 24 1/4.

Unless you guys have personal experience with Truxx kits failing you might wanna reconsider your negative posts regarding their equipment. I think they're on this forum quite a bit.

I dont know you or your background, but if your right, then Truxx would have some serious problems. I'm not aware of any like you describe. BTW have you ever actually seen one of their kits and the written specs that come with it? Curious to know how much of your opinion is from actual experience or pure conjecture?

So far I've put several thousand miles on the Truxx kit including mountainous terrain and no problem whatsoever.

Love my Hummer!!!

 

You are being offered advice by members here who have already experienced all of the ups and downs of the mods you are just now doing. Guys here are attempting to save you much heartache and money, but you prefer to ignore that advice and instead lash out.

It doesn't matter whether you are using a 'kit' or not, lifting the front of an H3 over right around 23 1/2" leads to premature failure of the CV joints and is especially hard on the steering rack. The 'lift' is simply an unnecessary spacer that doesn't have any bearing on that measurment.

At 24 1/4" you are now 3/4" over that which has been proven time and again to be way too high. In the early days of the H3, many folks lifted their rig to that height only to have repeated issues going through steering racks and CV joints. All have since lowered theirs back down.


.

 

CJI,
you may have many years of automotive experience and certs up the ***. But you admit to being new to Hummers.
We "seniors" have years of experience driving, wheeling and working on H3's exclusively !!!

We know what works in the real world, and know enough not to blindly trust some companies marketing info.

I'm done with the subject of "leveling". Do what ever you want to do.

 

Forums are here for the exchange of information and ideas. Been a lot of that in this thread. Some people prefer the lift kits, the majority have gone with the Tbar crank. Whatever floats your boat is fine either way. The majority of experience on this and other Hummer forums says that if you crank the t bars within reason, ride quality does not suffer, component wear is not impacted and the desired result is achieved.
Anyone that wants to go another route is welcome to do so.

 

Enjoy your Truxx stuff.

I never said, I don't recall anyone else saying it either (but maybe they did somewhere?) that buying a useless lift kit will damage anybody's truck. When people ask for advice, I try to give them it to them straight. If you don't like, do whatever you want, I ain't you Mother.

Yes I know exactly what the Truxx and other re-indexed T Bar keys are sold for the H3 market. The fact of the matter is, the stock key lifts the same way as the other re-indexed keys, they just start at a different position. The lift is accomplished by turning the T Bar, doesn't matter what kind of T Bar key you use, except that the GM key you already paid for and that is already on your truck does the same thing and can lift to the same maximum height. You do not need Truxx alignment info either, the stock alignment info works just fine. I am glad to hear you like what you spent your money on.

Maybe we should start sending people who ask this leveling kit question to the guy on ebay selling instructions on how to lift the front of your H3 (by turning the T Bar adjusting bolt)?

 

Well, I think this topic has been covered sufficiently.

 

Let's take a bit of a mathematical approach to the spring rate question. A torsion bar is by definition a linear spring (meaning no variation in resistance throughout its working range), but we will go through the equation anyhow.

K= (pi*D^4G) / (32L)

(which sucks to type without an equation function on the forum)

Where K is the spring rate, D is the diameter of the torsion bar, G is the modulus of elasticity of the steel, and L is the length of the bar.

So in order to actually change the spring rate we have to change one of these variables. Short of swapping your bars, you cannot change the spring rate. You can twist the bar all you want, but it will not change the length or diameter. Therefore, whether the bar is "preloaded" or not by turning it, the spring rate itself remains the same.

You can see the equation courtesy of CSU's Mechanical Engineering department @ http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~dga/m...L_EQS_CH12.pdf

 

So what would happen if I case hardened or chromed it so it would resist corrosion? Would that change it's spring rate? I really hate an ugly underbody, need mo' chrome!
(not really! )

 

Either one would have a small effect on the spring rate, but your greatest gain can be had by increasing the diameter.

Chrome plating is an interesting idea- there is a separate formula for calculating the spring rate of a tube, but with how thin chrome plate is the overall rate increase would be minimal.