H2 Long Travel Suspension

[Humvee21]

After reading most of ReconH3's build, I searched high and low for a long travel suspension set up for H2's. Unlike ReconH3, I'd personally like to keep the IFS. Therefore, a LT suspension would be ideal to increase travel, stability, capability, ride quality, and more.

My search has only brought up one result: http://www.thecustomshopvegas.com/i...ID=709&cat=Hummer&showall=&page_number=1#t709

Does anyone know this H2? Would like some details please

 

[cgalpha08]

Id say your best bet is to have a good 4x4 shop custom fab a suspension system

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[06 H3]

its got coilovers thats badass.

 

[seventwozero]

Id say your best bet is to have a good 4x4 shop custom fab a suspension system

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This is probably your best shot, I don't recall ever seeing a kit, or even many trucks that have had it done.

It's worth pointing out that depending on the year and condition of your truck, to do a setup similar to Bebe's H3 you'll very likely be spending the value of your truck on the project.

 

[Big2dabank]

Your best bet is a custom suspension. You will never find a kit that is direct bolt on. I'm sure there are some really good redneck fab shops in your area. Here in Florida, there are lots of guys doing phenominal fab work on mud trucks in their back yard. So for some beer and some $$$$ you can get them to fab something up for you. You'd be suprised at how good the H2 rear suspension flexes. Front IFS is another story, shock length, bump stops, and droop stops prevent the supsension from traveling to much.

H2 Flex.




[video=youtube_share;TimVB5WuRiA]http://youtu.be/TimVB5WuRiA[/video]

 

[tomp]

How much more travel are you looking to gain? You can get a couple inches on on 4 corners just by doing some research and tweaking what's already there. Adding Cognito upper control arms, shocks with more travel and half shafts with more flex - will gain you +2" on each front wheel.

For the rear, you can do longer travel shocks and Samco coil springs

By adding 2" on each corner, equates to more travel out at the edge of the tire. I run this exact setup above and by removing the front sway bar, it is much improved over stock. I also added +2" brake lines...

 

[Humvee21]

Very cool, Tomp. I wouldn't be doing this anytime soon, but thought it was cool. Just would like more details of what's been done to that truck.

Btw did you remove both the front and read sway bar?

 

[tomp]

You will likely find it costs as much as a lift kit, but I did it this way to keep COG low and maximize travel/flex. I felt the stock H2 had severly limited travel in the front. Granted a lift kit will gain you some front travel, like the Rancho and others...

generally, I leave sway bars connected unless I am going to be wheeling several days. In that case, I completely remove the front sway bar. The rear always stays connected for obvious reason.

Front:
-Bilstein shocks (extended length with similar compressed length as OEM)
-Cognito uniball control arms
-RCV half shafts (been too lazy to install)
-+2" brake lines
-Cognito limiting straps (been too lazy to install)

Rear:
-AirLift air bags (manually inflated)
-Bilstein shocks (extended length with similar compressed length as OEM)
-Samco H2 Coil springs
-+2" intermediate brake lines, OEM length at wheel

The above items are just those installed to increase travel/flex. There are other mods too, but this gets you where this thread is going

If you havent already increased strength in steering area, that is suggested first over these mods as it's a weak area.

 

[tomp]

This was with front sway bar connected, at 7:12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYABtBi5XsQ

 

[SummitUp]

... by removing the front sway bar, it is much improved over stock.

Tomp... 2 questions:

1. Did you actually permanently remove the front sway bar, or do you just disconnect it when off-roading? I seem to remember at onr time you were designing a quick disconnect for the sway bar, what became of that project?

I also added +2" brake lines...

2. I little OT, but did you replace your brake lines with Crown Performance Stainless Steel Lines? I just purchased a set of these and getting ready to install them but I wonder what your thoughts are in regards to the rear brake lines. The H2 OEM rear brake lines terminate with a block style banjo fitting with a right angle bend (same as the front, and there's even a square recess in the caliper for the the block banjo fitting to fit into) while the Crown Performance rear brake line terminates with a round ring style banjo fitting with little or no bend which makes the brake line exit the caliper at right angles so the brake line no longer lays flat against the back of the wheel like the OEM brake line does. So IMO the Crown rear brake line isn't a true OEM replacement as they claim and it doesn't seem as strong and seems like it is more susceptible to getting snagged on something while off-road. What do you think?

OEM H2 Rear Brake Line with Block style banjo fitting:

Crown Performance rear brake line with ring style banjo fitting:

 

[Humvee21]

I've seen lift kits and i am not impressed at all. These lift kits do increase ground clearance, but i am not sure they increase any travel. I've seen them on some uneven terrain and it is odd how little articulation it adds if it even does add any at all. I'm in the same boat as you... Don't want to make the COG any higher. I'll be looking into a steering upgrade soon. Thanks for your advicr

 

[SummitUp]

generally, I leave sway bars connected unless I am going to be wheeling several days. In that case, I completely remove the front sway bar. The rear always stays connected for obvious reason.

Well, you answered that question, what about the Crown brake lines?

-RCV half shafts (been too lazy to install)

So when are you going to sell those to me!?

 

[tomp]

Hi Frank!!! I still have the RCV shafts with your name on them. I am strongly considering selling the H2 this fall and getting a Dodge Power Wagon. When that occurs, the shafts will be for sale to you first - at a very good discount for waiting for them so long

I hadnt noticed any concerns with the lines and I have the Crowns too. They are much better protected over OEM with SS and kevlar, etc. I would do OEM length on the front, if I had to do it over again. The extra length I have gets in the way and its hard to tuck it in without hitting wheel lip.

The darn machine shop started to move to a new building, so we never finished the sway bar disco design. I am not sure I will restart that project as the power wagon has electronic discos on front

 

[Big2dabank]

For what its worth, I have been waiting to get some shop time to install my airbag system on my H2. I got all the parts from airbagit.com, including an in-cab controller, etc.. I already have the tank and compressor installed, just need to find a place to mount the rest of the electronics and get the brackets installed. I have an extra airbag to keep as a trail spare, I wanted all the bags to be the same so if I had a failure it would be easy to swap out bags. Airbag it told me I most likely would never need the spare, because the bags are super strong, we'll see about that. I also have some schrader valves that I plan on intalling inline of each bag, after a check valve and the solenoids, this would give me the ability to manually adjust each bag in case the electronics fail.

Here is a pic of the new front UCA with a replaceable Moog balljoint and the upper bag mount that I need to weld to the frame. I defaintely like to try to swap the moogs out to uniballs.


There is no real kit for this, so its been in the works for quite some time. Anyway, here are a couple more pics with the tank before I finished all the plumbing.



Its been a big pain in my ass for the last two years, but I wanted to take my time with this setup planning, etc. before cutting/welding stuff up. I have a electronically controlled solenoid valve for each bag that will be controlled via an in cab controller that shows a digital pressure reading for each bag as well as the tank. Each valve can be controlled independently, just front, just rear, left, right, or all together.

Here is the controller I am using


Not excatly the same wiring/plumbing diagram/but close


Pair of solenoid valves look something like this, except my pressure transducer is built in


I'll get some pics up when I get back into this project and do a full build thread on it. I just want to take my time and do it right the first time. I have my concerns and hope not to sacrafice any suspension travel in the process. My biggest concern is trying to figure out a new place for the front shocks, since the new UCA and upper baf mount elliminates the OEM upper shock mount. There are definately pros and cons to this setup. Who knows It may suck ass once I'm done and I'll be back to the drawings board to figure something esle out, but its something to piddle around with for now.

 

[Big2dabank]

Hi Frank!!! I still have the RCV shafts with your name on them. I am strongly considering selling the H2 this fall and getting a Dodge Power Wagon. When that occurs, the shafts will be for sale to you first - at a very good discount for waiting for them so long

I hadnt noticed any concerns with the lines and I have the Crowns too. They are much better protected over OEM with SS and kevlar, etc. I would do OEM length on the front, if I had to do it over again. The extra length I have gets in the way and its hard to tuck it in without hitting wheel lip.

The darn machine shop started to move to a new building, so we never finished the sway bar disco design. I am not sure I will restart that project as the power wagon has electronic discos on front

Tom, I was going to ask you about tthe RCV's looks like I have my answer. LOL. Hate to see you sell the truck, I can certainly appreciate the time, money, and energy you have invested into your H2.

 

[SummitUp]

Hi Frank!!! I still have the RCV shafts with your name on them. I am strongly considering selling the H2 this fall and getting a Dodge Power Wagon. When that occurs, the shafts will be for sale to you first - at a very good discount for waiting for them so long

Well that would be great, I've pestered you long enough about those RCV shafts! I would want them in time for the Oct. Blacksheep week though!
BTW, it looks the RCV Half Shafts have been redesigned since they first came out. These look different from yours, yes?

I hadn't noticed any concerns with the lines and I have the Crowns too. They are much better protected over OEM with SS and kevlar, etc. I would do OEM length on the front, if I had to do it over again. The extra length I have gets in the way and its hard to tuck it in without hitting wheel lip.

Damn, I wish I knew that, I already have the 2" longer lines. What was your solution, zip tie them to the side or something? I suppose I could return them to Crown in exchange for OEM length (maybe I should).

 

[tomp]

The extra length is not a big deal, just turn wheels lock to lock to ensure they dont rub the wheel - which will wear through the coating on the lines. If so, tie wrap on side, where it flows through those little bent-over pipe brackets will control their movement.

 

[bebe]

When I was researching my Long Travel Suspension, I first started looking for Colorado and Chevy/GMC Long Tavel Kits....following that logic...here ya go....

Chevy 2500/3500 HD 01-10 Performance Uniball Upper Arms


http://www.camburg.com/store/susp-s...rado-hd-01-10-performance-uniball-upper-arms/

Overview:

When lifting your truck, the stock upper arms become the limiting factor and hold back your suspensions performance. Our Camburg upper arms address these issues and more. Replacing the stock ball-joint with a uni-ball bearing we're able to gain wheel travel with a part that is considerably stronger and will last longer under extreme conditions. We build more caster and change the camber curve to correct geometry so the vehicle aligns correctly and improves driving characteristics and handling.

Features:

• Increases usable wheel travel
• Corrects camber and castor
• Eliminates weak factory joints
• Aurora & FK Bearings
• Heat-treated SS uniball spacers

Additional Notes:

Manufactured completely in-house, we use aircraft quality 4130 chromoly tubing from US mills that is CNC bent and fixture MIG welded. The uni-ball cups and pivot barrels are CNC machined for precision tolerances and the polyurethane bushing and uni-ball bearings are fully serviceable or replaceable. Arms are powder-coated and ready to install with all the necessary hardware included.

IIRC, many of the frame rail components are exactly the same on an H2, Tahoe (1500/2500) and Truck (2500/3500) With a few simple measurements and comparisons, A-Arm length, width at mounting point, pivot points, bump stop locations etc. I think this would be easy to pull off.

My project took over a year of research, tracking down vehicles for measurements and then picking a general direction. Honestly, the H2 is a better candidate just because it bears so many more similarities to other vehicles that have been running these types of long travel suspensions for years.

 

[tomp]

Looks like they did change the H2 shaft to now include spherical housing and cap but it must leak grease by design as they included a zerk and a note to fill it a couple times a year. The shafts I have include their HD neoprene CV boot that are supposed to last a lifetime except if punctured.

Wow, the price has gone through the roof!!! I should have invested in these over the stock market. Just think, if I make you wait until next October, they might be worth $5000.00 each

 

[SummitUp]

The extra length is not a big deal, just turn wheels lock to lock to ensure they don't rub the wheel - which will wear through the coating on the lines. If so, tie wrap on side, where it flows through those little bent-over pipe brackets will control their movement.

Also when I buy your RCV's I'll be able to crank my TB's even further to the max and raise the front end yet another inch, so maybe the extra 2" on the brake lines isn't such a bad idea after all!

Looks like they did change the H2 shaft to now include spherical housing and cap but it must leak grease by design as they included a zerk and a note to fill it a couple times a year. The shafts I have include their HD neoprene CV boot that are supposed to last a lifetime except if punctured.

Wow, the price has gone through the roof!!! I should have invested in these over the stock market. Just think, if I make you wait until next October, they might be worth $5000.00 each

Well they now sell them as a set (2 of them), whereas before they sold them individually. Last time I looked (last spring) they were still selling for over $1100 each so the price hasn't gone up that much considering the improvements they've made.

 

[SummitUp]

When I was researching my Long Travel Suspension, I first started looking for Colorado and Chevy/GMC Long Tavel Kits....following that logic...here ya go....

Hi Bebes!

Yeah those Camburg's look good, and they look a lot like the Cognito UCA's, which were developed for the same reasons and were all that were available back in the day. Here's a pic of my Cognito's:

 

[tomp]

Yep Frank, you are right. That price is listed for a set and no longer listed as each. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[bebe]

When I was researching my Long Travel Suspension, I first started looking for Colorado and Chevy/GMC Long Tavel Kits....following that logic...here ya go..../QUOTE]

Hi Bebes!

Yeah those Camburg's look good, and they look a lot like the Cognito UCA's, which were developed for the same reasons and were all that were available back in the day. Here's a pic of my Cognito's:

Hey Frank!! Tell Kat I said HI!!

The cognito's look good too!!

 

[bebe]

Here is a Dixon Bros. Set up. I like it because is includes everything

http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/112/5/

• 15" of wheel travel, with 4wd!
• 4.5” wider per side
• Tubular upper control arm, with 1" uniball
• Boxed plate lower control arm
• Bolt-on spindle extension, Improves geometry and adds strength
• Removes torsion bars
• Optional bypass shock mount
• Retains factory alignment

Suspension Kit Includes:

• Tubular upper control arms, with Bushings and Uniballs
• Boxed plate lower control arms with Bushings and Balljoints
• Spindle extension/brace
• Shock Towers with Crossbrace
• Complete Axles with Custom heat treated 4340 shafts.
• 930 race series inner CV Joints with Custom Adaptor
• Steering Relay Bar Modified for Rod Ends
• Custom Tie Rod Adjusteers
• Brake lines, Limit straps

 

[Big2dabank]

4.5" wider per side is a deal killer for me.