Suburban Question! Going for the LONG Haul. Suspension replacement

drew1987 · February 25

Hey all,

I hope this is welcome here... Wife's Suburban, 2013 1500 LTZ is still her dream vehicle, so I maintain it with no regard to miles or cost, just simply to keep it going forever. Great little truck.

The z95 magnetic suspension is just about done, and I VERY much am hoping to hear from people who have gone from it to plain old KYB struts and shocks, keeping their 20"/32" wheels/tires, that can tell me what I would expect in ride quality. It's a difference of almost $1500 in parts. z95 is cool, but we'll be driving on mostly smooth roads and occasionally offroad.

I am looking to hear specifically from people who experienced the truck - specifically a 900 suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade ESV both BEFORE AND AFTER deleting the fancy stuff for regular suspension. Someone who deleted it for offroad suspension wouldn't be able to give me a good idea because we wont be doing that, her truck rarely goes off road but going 25-30k per year on highways

THANK YOU!

old08 · February 25

51 minutes ago, drew1987 said:

Hey all,

I hope this is welcome here... Wife's Suburban, 2013 1500 LTZ is still her dream vehicle, so I maintain it with no regard to miles or cost, just simply to keep it going forever. Great little truck.

The z95 magnetic suspension is just about done, and I VERY much am hoping to hear from people who have gone from it to plain old KYB struts and shocks, keeping their 20"/32" wheels/tires, that can tell me what I would expect in ride quality. It's a difference of almost $1500 in parts. z95 is cool, but we'll be driving on mostly smooth roads and occasionally offroad.

I am looking to hear specifically from people who experienced the truck - specifically a 900 suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade ESV both BEFORE AND AFTER deleting the fancy stuff for regular suspension. Someone who deleted it for offroad suspension wouldn't be able to give me a good idea because we wont be doing that, her truck rarely goes off road but going 25-30k per year on highways

THANK YOU!

old08 · February 25

I have a 13' ltz with z55went with rock auto struts and installed resistors, to keep warning lights off. retained the rear air ride

no off road

way satisfied with highway ride

i think they are silverado struts, Saved $$$$s

asilverblazer · February 25

Preface: the following is a personal opinion and not a personal attack.

Something that I am against:

You plan on keeping it forever, but don't plan on keeping all the 'features' forever.

Removing the Magnaride to me is disabling a feature that you paid for - one way or another - would you likewise disable the A/C, power windows, radio, etc. because the fix was too expensive?

Yes, the parts are costly, but careful research on the specific parts you buy may net you a Magnaride strut that has a lifetime warranty. Specifically, on my 2016 Denali, those come with a lifetime warranty (plus 2 years labor at a gm dealer).

Further, when you do sell it there is a chance the price could be affected by the "boot-leg" repair - not a big factor in your case.

There is also a noticeable difference in handling between a passive shock and the Magnaride, especially in 'extreme' or 'evasive' maneuvers. Experiencing this once is enough to convince you they are well worth the price.

Not meant to be an insulting post, plenty of people have done what you are planning. But consider that at some point you bought premium features for a reason and price, if you didn't plan to maintain that premium, why buy it in the first place? You could have bought a 'base' or lesser model and saved money on purchase and maintenance.

Example: we know there aren't many features that make a Denali different from any other GM SUV, if I start scrapping those, all I have is a badge - I suppose that is worth something to some people (ones, I don't care for).

It's your truck but my opinion is don't do it a disservice.

old08 · February 25

2 hours ago, asilverblazer said:

Preface: the following is a personal opinion and not a personal attack.

Something that I am against:

You plan on keeping it forever, but don't plan on keeping all the 'features' forever.

Removing the Magnaride to me is disabling a feature that you paid for - one way or another - would you likewise disable the A/C, power windows, radio, etc. because the fix was too expensive?

Yes, the parts are costly, but careful research on the specific parts you buy may net you a Magnaride strut that has a lifetime warranty. Specifically, on my 2016 Denali, those come with a lifetime warranty (plus 2 years labor at a gm dealer).

Further, when you do sell it there is a chance the price could be affected by the "boot-leg" repair - not a big factor in your case.

There is also a noticeable difference in handling between a passive shock and the Magnaride, especially in 'extreme' or 'evasive' maneuvers. Experiencing this once is enough to convince you they are well worth the price.

Not meant to be an insulting post, plenty of people have done what you are planning. But consider that at some point you bought premium features for a reason and price, if you didn't plan to maintain that premium, why buy it in the first place? You could have bought a 'base' or lesser model and saved money on purchase and maintenance.

Example: we know there aren't many features that make a Denali different from any other GM SUV, if I start scrapping those, all I have is a badge - I suppose that is worth something to some people (ones, I don't care for).

It's your truck but my opinion is don't do it a disservice.

old08 · February 25

good luck at the dealer

i couldn't afford a burb until it was 10 years old

found one with 68,000 miles

I tested the evasive maneuver part

I 95 through N.C. at full speed LOL

drew1987 · February 25

I bought this because it was black on black and had heated seats. I get that the z95 is nice, what I came here to find out is how people who had z95 for its good years and then saw it degrade felt when they went to regular suspension. If i hear a bunch of people say "Yea we went with KYB struts and shocks and still love the truck, it doesnt feel like it did NEW with z95, but it feels 15x better than when it was worn out z95" thats what I am going to do. If a bunch of people say "we are glad we saved money but we miss the way it rode," then I will spend the money

I don't care about resale and I also don't care about what "the right thing to do" is, I just care that my wife has her dream vehicle. She doesn't like the newer styles. I will spend $2k if its needed, but i would be a fool to spend it if it's not necessary. My truck has KYB and it's more harsh than hers, but its a tundra. My brother in law's 2009 Silverado rides like a couch... i wouldn't mind if that's how her suburban rode with KYB.

asilverblazer, no offense but I specifically asked to hear from people who have had z95 on a 900 long wheel base SUV and switched... your post makes sense but it just adds confusion to this topic - I need to hear from a bunch of folks who have experience in what I have in front of me

old08 · February 26

try your question on tahoe yukon forum

good people

you will get all your questions answered

Good Luck

swathdiver · February 26

21 hours ago, drew1987 said:

Hey all,

I hope this is welcome here... Wife's Suburban, 2013 1500 LTZ is still her dream vehicle, so I maintain it with no regard to miles or cost, just simply to keep it going forever. Great little truck.

The z95 magnetic suspension is just about done, and I VERY much am hoping to hear from people who have gone from it to plain old KYB struts and shocks, keeping their 20"/32" wheels/tires, that can tell me what I would expect in ride quality. It's a difference of almost $1500 in parts. z95 is cool, but we'll be driving on mostly smooth roads and occasionally offroad.

I am looking to hear specifically from people who experienced the truck - specifically a 900 suburban/Yukon XL/Escalade ESV both BEFORE AND AFTER deleting the fancy stuff for regular suspension. Someone who deleted it for offroad suspension wouldn't be able to give me a good idea because we wont be doing that, her truck rarely goes off road but going 25-30k per year on highways

THANK YOU!

Z55 on that generation. Only the Denali and Escalade Hybrids got Z95.

Anyhow, many of the guys who ditched the Z55 components for a dumb suspension eventually converted it back. The truck will not ride nice with 20 or 22 inch wheels and those low profile tires without the Z55 system.

My Yukon XL has the dumb suspension and rides great with 17 inch wheels on stock size tires.

The fellas on the TahoeYukon forum can tell you where to get the best prices on the shocks and struts and air compressor.

My own preference is always GM OE and ACDelco Professional/Gold when OE is not available.

drew1987 · February 26

Thank you!

FWIW her LTZ has the wire harnesses on the top of the front struts, meaning fully magnetic - z95. Its a 2013 Burb LTZ

And I will head over to that forum soon

I know the 20's suck for ride. My tundra with factory 20"s rides like an f350 even with new struts (its 500x more controlled). My pastor's tundra rides like a camry with 18"s and its got like 180,000 on the original struts

For 22 years I have wanted 17" Avalon Limited wheels on my 1999 Camry (14"s). I wont do it for this EXACT reason. Maybe it will get JDM Toyota Crown 15" wheels if when I sell one of my Crowns, I work keeping the factory wheels into the deal. I can justify an inch and even add 1/2 or more of it back in rubber, but man these BIG wheels kill kill kill ride. And unsprung weight is hard on suspension, too

At work I deal with a lot of 2004-2019 Prius. They have 15"s that weight literally nothing... they are so light it's crazy. For a small car they ride suprisingly nice at 250,000 miles on original suspension.....

My tundra will soon get the factory 17"s if I can find them, with 34" rubber. That solves that. But my wife LOVES this suburban the way it is, so if $2,000 suspension is what I need for her to enjoy it, then it's $2,000 suspension I will buy. I just am not convinced that it's true

I MIGHT just buy a similar suburban but an LS and throw her wheels on it for a few days and see how it rides, then switch back and sell it at work. cant deny those results hahaha but I deal in small cars. I HATE dealing in tucks for obvious reasons.....

newdude · February 26

1 hour ago, drew1987 said:

Thank you!

FWIW her LTZ has the wire harnesses on the top of the front struts, meaning fully magnetic - z95. Its a 2013 Burb LTZ

Z55 has connectors at the front struts as well.

Suburban LTZ had Z55 bi state electronic damping with Autoride, but never had Z95 Magnetic Ride Control. Only Denali and Escalade had Z95 on the 07-14 generation. Tahoe/Suburban didn't get access to Z95 Magnetic Ride until the 2015 K2XX generation.

So you'd be deleting Z55 suspension. I will gladly eat crow if you open your glovebox and look at the SPID label and see Z95 on there, but I'm betting it says Z55 having verified this with the brochures, order guide and running multiple VIN numbers.

You'd need front struts, rear shocks and also I'd consider the rear springs from a ZW7 Smooth Ride as well (same as Z71 spring). You will also need the bypass resistors.

I'd really be asking the wife though since this is her new 13 year old dream vehicle how SHE wants it to ride. If she likes how it was, she's not going to want it worse.

Edited February 26 by newdude

asilverblazer · February 26

20 hours ago, drew1987 said:

asilverblazer, no offense but I specifically asked to hear from people who have had z95 on a 900 long wheel base SUV and switched... your post makes sense but it just adds confusion to this topic - I need to hear from a bunch of folks who have experience in what I have in front of me

Noted, I'll give you a refund for the opinion for exactly what you paid for it.

Admittedly, I didn't spell out all my experiences and related only my most recent example with the 2016.

Best of luck.

drew1987 · March 1

That wasn't meant to be offensive - i just want to keep it to first hand accounts. At this point I have half a mind to do an experiment. Throw on KYB and if it sucks, shelve them for the next time a GMT900 base model half ton comes through my hands. Wife's suburban is a long term vehicle. So if it needs $2k suspension, it needs 2l suspension. I just half a sneaking suspicion that it doesn't.

I got my brother in law an 08 silverado 1500 base model and it rights like an 05 impala. I wouldnt mind if her suburban rode like that. But 16" vs 18"