Jump to content

Factory tires almost rubbing upper control arms after leveling.

cg02175

By cg02175
in Modifications & Accessories

 Share

Recommended Posts

cg02175 New Member

cg02175

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 4x4, and I just had the Bilstein 5100 self leveling shocks/struts installed at the highest setting (1.85") on the front. After having the 5100s installed and getting it aligned directly after installation, the sidewall of my factory tires (265/65/18--31.6" tall x 10.4: wide) on my factory stock 18" rims are now very close (1/8' or less) to rubbing my upper control arms at full tilt. Also, I have no other blocks or lift on my truck whatsoever.

I see countless people online saying they put 275/70/18 (i.e. 33" tall x 11" wide) on their stock Silverado rims with no rubbing issues with 2" leveling kits and/or the 5100 leveling shock/strut, but with my stock 265/65/18 tires are already on the verge of rubbing my upper control arms, and the 275/70/18 is over a half inch wider than my factory tire. I feel certain the 275/70/18 will rub the upper control arms.

I like the factory rims and don't really want to buy new rims, and I am also would like to avoid using wheel spacers. What and I missing here? Has anyone else run into this issue? I did a lot of research and thought the 275/70/18 would fit without rubbing, so I am really disappointed. Thanks for any help/advise!

FEDA2D73-68BD-47AB-A493-DC7B8B48B990.jpeg

B7722B30-BBD7-4C06-9D21-40948CC4269B.jpeg

Edited by cg02175
Nathan Barr Enthusiast

Nathan Barr

Posted
Posted

That seems odd to me. I am currently running a 3 inch leveling block in the front, with rough country upper control arms. Tires/wheels are 275/55r/20 on 20x9 aftermarket wheels. Wheels have the same offset as factory. I've got a solid inch when at full lockout. 2014 silverado 1500 z71 4x4

20220913_192526.jpg

MudLovingSilverado Enthusiast

MudLovingSilverado

Posted
Posted
On 9/13/2022 at 8:11 PM, Nathan Barr said:

That seems odd to me. I am currently running a 3 inch leveling block in the front, with rough country upper control arms. Tires/wheels are 275/55r/20 on 20x9 aftermarket wheels. Wheels have the same offset as factory. I've got a solid inch when at full lockout. 2014 silverado 1500 z71 4x4

 

How do you like the UCAs from Rough Country? I'm looking at them for their 2" leveling struts but I notice it states only 2.5"-3" and its making me have doubts.

Nathan Barr Enthusiast

Nathan Barr

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, MudLovingSilverado said:

How do you like the UCAs from Rough Country? I'm looking at them for their 2" leveling struts but I notice it states only 2.5"-3" and its making me have doubts.

To be honest I am a little torn. I like the ride quality better than the stocks arms after installing the leveling kit, that's for sure. However, I am rather bitter when it comes to the actual ball joints themselves. The ball joints are proprietary to Rough Country so you can only get replacements through them directly. On that note as well, when I installed the arms I installed them incorrectly as I forgot to include the little sleeve that they include in the kit. That's my fault and I take full blame. However, when replaced the ball joints due to a torn boot from incorrect install, the boot on the drivers side arm tore again. I got a replacement ball joint and installed and again, it tore on install. I cannot figure out why it's happening but it is.

 

So I am a bit salty about the ball joints themselves but when working properly, they do offer a nice ride. If I were to go back and do it again I would quite possibly cough up the extra money and go with some different UCA's.

MudLovingSilverado Enthusiast

MudLovingSilverado

Posted
Posted
On 9/15/2022 at 1:12 PM, Nathan Barr said:

To be honest I am a little torn. I like the ride quality better than the stocks arms after installing the leveling kit, that's for sure. However, I am rather bitter when it comes to the actual ball joints themselves. The ball joints are proprietary to Rough Country so you can only get replacements through them directly. On that note as well, when I installed the arms I installed them incorrectly as I forgot to include the little sleeve that they include in the kit. That's my fault and I take full blame. However, when replaced the ball joints due to a torn boot from incorrect install, the boot on the drivers side arm tore again. I got a replacement ball joint and installed and again, it tore on install. I cannot figure out why it's happening but it is.

 

So I am a bit salty about the ball joints themselves but when working properly, they do offer a nice ride. If I were to go back and do it again I would quite possibly cough up the extra money and go with some different UCA's.

So I ordered them. Couldn't pass up the deal and I want to get this level installed quickly. 1 of my arms had a torn boot on arrival. Got real annoyed, hopped back on here, and saw your comment. 😬

 

But! I went searching and found the attached comment on Rough Country's website. I'm going to order a couple and see if they fit. Hopefully this will solve both our issues.

Moog.PNG

Nathan Barr Enthusiast

Nathan Barr

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, MudLovingSilverado said:

So I ordered them. Couldn't pass up the deal and I want to get this level installed quickly. 1 of my arms had a torn boot on arrival. Got real annoyed, hopped back on here, and saw your comment. 😬

 

But! I went searching and found the attached comment on Rough Country's website. I'm going to order a couple and see if they fit. Hopefully this will solve both our issues.

Moog.PNG

Definitely let me know, please! I ordered a different moog model that people recommended for the older style of RC UCA's and it doesn't fit. If that one really does fit I'll be ordering them ad well!

  • 3 weeks later...
steve76t Enthusiast

steve76t

Posted
Posted

with a 2" level kit on my 17 I was rubbing slightly with 285/55's on stock 20" wheels.  Had to use spacers to get needed clearance.  That's no longer on my truck as I now have a 6" Fabtech lift on it & aftermarket wheels with 35" tires

 

MudLovingSilverado Enthusiast

MudLovingSilverado

Posted
Posted
On 9/17/2022 at 6:16 PM, Nathan Barr said:

Definitely let me know, please! I ordered a different moog model that people recommended for the older style of RC UCA's and it doesn't fit. If that one really does fit I'll be ordering them ad well!

Unfortunately, it does look like RC has gone full proprietary on their ball joints and these Moog ones did not fit. I ended up using a Cognito setup with bolt in greaseable ball joints instead because I didn't want to have to be pressing out ball joints every 20,000 miles.

Nathan Barr Enthusiast

Nathan Barr

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, MudLovingSilverado said:

Unfortunately, it does look like RC has gone full proprietary on their ball joints and these Moog ones did not fit. I ended up using a Cognito setup with bolt in greaseable ball joints instead because I didn't want to have to be pressing out ball joints every 20,000 miles.

That's weird. I actually ended up ordering 1 ball joint right after I had replied to you. I got it pressed in without any issues. I didn't end up using the snap ring though, since the RC arms don't have that built into them. However, everything else went in fine and I didn't need to use the stupid adapter sleeve that RC provides either. A couple of days later I ordered a 2nd ball joint and pressed that into the passenger side.

 

Been running them for a couple of weeks now, so far no issues. We will see how they hold up. If they die quickly, I will be eyeing other arms all together.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Grumpy Bear
      Some Assembly is Required

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      www.enginelabs.com/news/what-i-learned-today-bearing-clearances-vs-oil-viscosities/     www.enginelabs.com/news/oil-viscosity-can-the-numbers-be-misleading/ The Big Lie… Coming full circle to the reason Lake discusses the Porsche engines in particular. Based on the 2000 samples in the SPEEDiagnostix database, increasing the oil viscosity in these engines, even those run on the track, showed no significant difference in results.   The smoking gun was in the oil chemistry. That is where the data shows higher instances of more wear. Molybdenum was the key; the higher the amount, the less the wear. Speed postulates that higher viscosity oils have more thickeners to artificially inflate their viscosity numbers. These thickeners lose viscosity under shear, and the result is that not all oils of the same viscosity have the same shear stability.   Having enough viscosity is the most important characteristic, but according to Speed, once that required viscosity level is reached, additive chemistry matters more than additional viscosity. Speed also states, oil pressure problems on the racetrack aren’t a viscosity problem; it’s an oiling system problem. Running a thicker oil is just a band-aid for an underlying oiling system problem.
    • Grumpy Bear
      Some Assembly is Required

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      Can it still be Assembled II?   Viscosity on the decline by various means. Heat on the rise making that worse. Engine RPM in the tank. Smaller motors with more boost trying to emulate an electric motor. Full torque, zero rpm. Then we will triple the OCI. Argh.    But wait....there is more. LSPI has pushed a shift from Ca to Mg and as that cost more PLUS the run to lower sulfur compounds the TBN is moving in the wrong direction for the increased OCI's demanded.    That not being enough to placate a demand for a parameter they can't measure the other sulfur bearing compounds are also under attack. That would be zinc and phosphorus sulfonate compounds. To some degree those are being replaced with boron esters and others, i.e. titanium ect. All of which have shorter service lives. And there there is the "Secrete Sauce" marketing for AW adds that 'Can't be detected by UOA's" but trust me because I (the blenders) never ever lie.    Spoiler alert; ALL additives are sacrificial! Smaller amounts of the old blended with less robust versions of the new do not equal longer service lives. So what are the blenders recommending? Wait for it.......   MOVING THE GOAL POSTS! OMG      Let's declare the long standing TAN/TBN crossover irrelevant and tell people that soot is a great 'graphite' based lubricant which can aid tribo films. Wait, what? Let's declare that the standards used for oxidation and nitration were to conservative and can be expanded. Let's tell them that because GDI fuel dilution, although being a VISCOSITY KILLER and an acid generator is actually okay because we have better base oils that limit viscosity failure limits. (Said knowing this is measured in fractions of a centipoise and in bases not commonly used in shelf oils)   Lying from the heart is not just the new normal but we have a public, a very young public, that is so ignorant of the facts and so sure of their "RESEARCH" into AI driven models base in regurgitated  instead of scientific research based unvarnished, peer reviewed FACTS that the incoming guard is loosing their grip on reality and the OEM's are tickled pink while the blends bend the knee.    You have an ever limited set of tools to work with. And sooner or later those will be taken from you as the API and the EPA strangle the last remaining fluids from the system. What you have left is your wits. If you care to use them.    At some point in the very near future it will not longer be possible to do "What is best for the machine", and be replaced with "The best you have access too". You WILL be rewarded with half the life and twice the cost. That isn't that hard to predict.         
    • Chuck FB
      Software Update

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I trust you saw the other comment where he knew what he was talking about !. Yes, these darned newer vehicles with all their so smart they are stupid technology, goes and drains the battery down. As you might see my other comment, I installed a Noco 5 battery tender under the hood and at this point still have the cord routed so I have to lift the hood and then plug it in but am typically parked in a garage or a shed so its not risking the engine hood in the wind. That way I am assured or hopefully so of not finding I have a battery drawn down and can't even start the truck and that also damages the battery to draw it down too far. 
    • Chuck FB
      Software Update

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I guess no surprise my guesses were wrong !, at least now I know if I ever happen to see it grayed out in my own truck as to what is going on.    I never happened to catch my truck with it grayed out, it seemed every time I would test to see if there was an update it never found anything and yet more than once I would check to see if there was an update and there was nothing, then a day later or even that same morning I would drive to town and after more than one engine shut down in town as I did my errands it would pop up that there is an update now ready to install and the only place I have a connection to the internet is at home by wifi so its not as if it grabbed the download while driving. I don't trust these new vehicles due to all the crap they can decide to do while sitting for some days not running and run the battery down so most of the time if I know the truck will sit for a few days I plug in the battery tender I have mounted under the hood and so the only time the truck must have downloaded software was when it was sitting in the garage where the signal is awful but I have that tender plugged in and somehow it managed to download it. I honestly detest all this crap, way to easy to leave a person stranded.    Since I don't trust any of it I don't do the install of the already downloaded software until I get home and sometimes have even sat in the truck to watch what its doing as its going through the process to its conclusion as its not like it is set up that it will tell you the next time you fire up the engine that the update that was initialed actually installed or installed properly. Yes I can go into the updates and see the list. After I go through the install where I feel its safe to do so in case it breaks down as a result, I will plug in the battery tender after the fact to recharge as I don't know how much power its taking just to do the install and that can take a while for it to install. 
    • nfisherman
      Software Update

      By nfisherman · Posted

      Thanks for the reply. All settings were correct and the engine was off, as it was supposed to be. It turned out to be something simple. I took a drive for about an hour. I must have had a low battery without knowing it. The voltage gauge on the display looked ok. At the end of my drive, I shut off the engine and the update prompt came up and it updated normally. It’s ironic because one of the features of the update is a reduction of battery drain. 

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...