Handling mods
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Handling mods - 11/28/2007 9:20:29 PM
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duckstu
Posts: 98
Joined: 11/13/2007
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Ok,..so I'm not into rock crawling and stuff,...I use my yeallow station wagon for commuting to work and hauling stuff from Home Depot and Sams' Club.
Anyway,..I like sports cars (have one) and hate it when a car pushes terribly in a turn. So I set about to make a few improvements in the H3s' street drivability.
First mod was to order the Ground Force lowering kit. Mid $300 range,..and came with tapered 3" lowering blocks for the rear, longer "U" bolts,..better rear shocks (less compression dampening I believe), and better designed spring plates, so the shock doesn't ride below the bottom of the leaf spring.
Here's what the kit contained;
And a pic of the rear shock perches/spring plates;
After doing the 30 minute lowering job,.. here's pics of the result.
Stock height.
1" front drop,...3" rear drop.
Now,..this admitedly this looked a tad odd. Even thoguh the wheel gaps were perfectly even,..there is an optical illusion that the rear is low. So I bought some 2" spring spacers and used them last winter,..and this summer I reinstalled the 3" ones and lowered the front a 1/3" more than in the above "after" pic. Looks very normal now,..and drives great. Maybe in a day or so I'll replace the after pic with what it looks like currently.
Next was to lessen the front push (where the front tires howl incessently in any turn).
I used a 2 pronged approach, employing the same stuff I use when I track my sports car. One was to add some front negative camber. I dialed in -1.34 degrees. Stock is zero,...but not only does this result in lousy handling,...the front tires also showed excessive wear and cupping on the outside. So some negative camber would not only impove handling,..it would also increase tire life.
Step 2 was to stiffen the rear swaybar. I know that Hellwig (and maybe others) make a stiffer one,..and includes stiffer bushings for the front http://www.teakatoys.com/Hummer_H3_Sway_Bar_by_Hellwig_p/hw-7682.htm for $264,..but this is a lease and I don't want to add too many aftermarket parts or spend too much money. So I decided to modify the stock bar so as to make it adjustable.
The stock bar is solid and pinched at the end. I added some weld to the top and bottom of each end an inch or two from the ends,..and then ground that part of the round bar flat. All this to extend the flat and wide area where the endlinks attach. Then I drilled a new set of holes an inch inboard of the origionals,..and hit them with some black spray paint. The endlinks are actually closer to vertical than before.
If I'd though about it a year ago,..I might have ordered up a set of 18" rims from Tire Rack with some bridgestone Dueller LT (Not the A/T that the H3x comes with). But my lease is up in 10 months,..so this is probably all I'll do.
I'll sell the lowering package before then and put the rear endlinks back in their origional holes.
If I had it to do over,...I'd make the second set of rear endlink holes 1.4" inboard, and maybe run -1 degree of front camber. It's great now,...but that might suit more H3 owners better. No calculators,..just trial and error.
This pic added a month and a half after start of topic, so the coments below don't include
< Message edited by duckstu -- 5/21/2008 9:23:47 PM >
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Most of my money I spent on beer and women,..the rest I just wasted.
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 12:23:52 AM
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HummBob
Posts: 16156
Joined: 5/6/2006
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Sweet!!
I think Vader may be interested in this!!!
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 3:09:13 AM
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hilljob26
Posts: 2069
Joined: 9/2/2007
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nice.there are quite a few out there that wouldnt mind a lowered look.......and that doesnt seem to be a bad price
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 5:57:39 AM
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duckstu
Posts: 98
Joined: 11/13/2007
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You can lower it with just spring spacers and longer "U" bolts. Total cost should be $30.
Stock "U" bolts are 3 5/8" ID and 7.25" long. So you'd add your desired drop to the 7.25" length.
Here's some that are 3 5/8" x 10", so they would be good for a 2.75" drop (probably for a 3" too). You can just cut them down to the required length if you don't like having the extra threads hang down. Note,..that after 2" you need to use tapered blocks to keep the pinon angle in check. $12.50
http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/u-bolt-58-x-3-58-x-10-p-215.html
Here's some lowering blocks $14.76 a pair.
http://www.gcustoms.com/product_info/category_id/5/subcategory_id/139/subcategory2_id/4009/products_id/264/
So to do a 2" rear drop and a 1/2" front drop would run about $28.00 This would be a good option for those simply looking to level their cars. A 1" drop in the back and a 1/2" lift in the front would work great also,...and be much better for the suspension and front axles / CV joints than simply trying to crank the front up 2".
The Ground Force kit also gave a better ride with the better designed shocks. Less comp dampening and possibly a tad more rebound makes it less bouncy.
I'd think everyone would like the car better with a 1.5" rear drop, but I haven't found 1.5" blocks. So 1" rear drrop with 1/2" lift in front or 2" drop in back with a 1/2" drop in front seems the best options.
< Message edited by duckstu -- 11/29/2007 6:00:36 AM >
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Most of my money I spent on beer and women,..the rest I just wasted.
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 7:48:51 AM
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Doc Olds
Posts: 3805
Joined: 7/11/2007
From: Boat Town USA (Michigan 48045)
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Wel now, this is interesting. I would cut you all the slack in the world on whatever you want to do with your Hummer. You paid for it, if you want to lower it, cool with me. I have no problems with street Hummers for pounding pavement. Not my style, but that doesn't matter. There are more off roaders on this site than pavement pounders, but everybody is equally welcome. 
The Suburu thing, and from a Detroiter, I'm gonna try super hard to keep from sharing my opinions about jap crap. 
Got rice?
 
< Message edited by Doc Olds -- 11/29/2007 10:03:02 AM >
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 7:52:09 AM
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Desert Dan
Posts: 145
Joined: 3/6/2007
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Why did you get an H3 if you want a sports car?
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Desert Dan
H3 2006 Adventure/Lux/5-spd/sunroof/rock rails/underbody skids/block heater/Defender Roof Rack
Jeep TJ Rubicon 2003
Gone-But Not Forgotten 4x4\'s
1994 Jeep YJ
Toyota 4x4 Truck(s)
1970 Jeep CJ-5
1962 Willys Wagon
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 9:02:19 AM
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duckstu
Posts: 98
Joined: 11/13/2007
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Desert Dan
Why did you get an H3 if you want a sports car?
I have both. I have a daily driven Subaru sports car that seats 5,..and on street tires turns the same lap times as the half dozen trailer'd '03 and '04 ZO6 Vettes on slicks that I see at the track days..
And I have the H3 is for when It's really cold out (remote start) and for when I need to haul concrete, mini-fridges, plywood (on roof) etc. It's also my loaner car when a friend needs to borrow something. A friend of mine turbo'd his Cobalt SS and used it for 3 weeks recently.
I really like the new Ford Edge too, but the Flex will have more room for hauling junk. I'll have to check it out when it hits showrooms. I had pulled the rear seats out of the H3 to try to get more cargo room. It's tiny inside,..but does have the required 32" rear opening height I need for mini-fridges (I own a small hotel).
I'd done these mods a year and a half ago. I'd just thought I'd post them somewhere for others amusement / benefit before I turned the car in. There's opnly about a 30% chance I'll get another one. Some visitors to this site may want usable armrests,...rearward vision or descent handling. For those rare people,..heres what I did.
True most people on this board probably go out of their way to drive off-road,..but 9 out of 10 H3 owners use them like a minivan. Some of them may happen along this site one day.
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 9:44:10 AM
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Golden Shellback
Posts: 419
Joined: 2/4/2006
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Don't be a hater, I think it's pretty cool, very unique.
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 10:11:18 AM
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Golden Shellback
Posts: 419
Joined: 2/4/2006
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quote:
ORIGINAL: duckstu
True most people on this board probably go out of their way to drive off-road,..
Wow, I didn't know that!
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 3:39:33 PM
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rhill20
Posts: 4549
Joined: 10/27/2007
From: Delaware, Ohio GO BUCKS!
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I'm from Ohio, and when I grew up you bought a truck or SUV (I REFUSE to call it a station wagon, I don't care what MI, (it's the same in OH by the way), puts on the registration) because it can go and do things that a car can't. Now my wife is from the lovely state (sarcasim) of CA and she doesn't think that anything is wrong with it. Everything out there is slammed, except for the occasional desert runner. I do have to agree with doc on the fact that you bought it, do what you want with it.
I personally can't stand it when people lower thier trucks but I think that it's great that you have figured out how to do your thing to it cheaply and are sharing. That's the whole point of this site, IMO.
Sorry, just had to vent on the topic a little.
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RE: Handling mods - 11/29/2007 3:44:40 PM
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hilljob26
Posts: 2069
Joined: 9/2/2007
Status: offline
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i think we all need to step back.....drink a beer......look at some boobs....and rethink the situation.hahaha........im gonna do it dang it
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dont sweat the petty stuff,pet the sweaty stuff
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