Review - My new suspension and wheel set up

[midwestdenaliguy]

Thought I'd post a review of the newly installed suspension and wheel set up on my 2016 GMC Sierra Denali 1500. Previous set up was stock MagneRide suspension with ride height sensors and 22" stock wheels with Nitto Terra Grappler G2's size 285/45r22. I'm at 70k miles and the ride was steadily getting worse (too stiff), so I researched for a while and ended up installing the following:

 

• HaloLifts Boss Ultimate Kit (adjustable coilovers for 1" to 3" of lift in front, and 1" of lift in the rear) - http://www.halolifts.com/HaloLifts-Boss-Ultimate-Kit-fits-your-2007-UP-GM-SilveradoSierra-1500_p_220.html
• Stock GMC Sierra 18" rims (powder coated black) with Falken Wildpeak AT3W's size 275/70r18
• Bypass sensor kit for all 4 MagneRide shock sensors and all 4 ride height sensors (I removed all ride height sensors that are mounted to the frame) - http://www.xineering.com/shocksims.html

 

Up first, the HaloLifts Boss Ultimate Kit

 

At $1299, this is a more expensive kit vs the Fox, Bilstein, or Rancho equivalant. What swayed me to this kit was that I was not looking for a crazy lift and I wanted something that was plug and play should I go a different route once these start to fail (like all shocks eventually do). Additionally, I found multiple reviews on this forum and other brand forums where people said they had installed Fox, Bilstein, and/or other brands and this was the best riding kit and worth the extra cash. You'll find a rep from the company, Alex, who's posted in this forum, as well as others, and he says call him with any questions. I did, and he answered every time and would not let me go until I had EVERY question answered. The customer service is outstanding with this place. I ended up going with the coilovers set at 1.5" of lift and I put .5" spacers beneath it to get 2" of total lift and the softest ride possible. Each kit is made custom to what you want, so that's how it arrived for me. You can have the coilovers set at 2" if you want, then add 1" of spacers underneath. Since I am only doing 2" of lift, I did not purchase new UCA's. Below are pics of me opening the packages. Again, thoroughly impressed with how sealed everything was with plenty of foam and cardboard to protect everything. Install was a breeze, thanks to instructions that were included and my convo with him over the phone. One last thing, the "do the rear shock boots go down or up?" debate has been settled. According to HaloLifts they go down :-)

 

Next, the new wheel/tire set up

 

I downsized from a 22" set up to an 18" set up so I could get more sidewall and a softer ride. While I like the look of a larger rim, it was so easy to get scratches on the 22" rims since they are so close to the ground and there's not enough sidewall on the tire to bulge out a little bit to help protect the rims. So, new set up gets me a softer ride and better rim protection. I went with a stock rim and had it powder coated black because I've had mixed experience with aftermarket rims (good and bad). As far as the tire choice, Falken Wildpeaks kept coming up as best all around value for it's performance. I've had KO2's in the past, as well as other AT tires but I wasn't blown away by their performance for how much you spend on them. Falken's were cheaper, but hold up well in rain, snow, and mud. Plus they have an aggressive look, that's a nice bonus. Below are pics of the truck with the new wheel and suspension set up. I'll follow that up with the obligatory, "pardon the dirty truck, haven't had time to wash it".

 

Last, the MagneRide bypass kit

 

This only applies to those who have the MagneRide suspension and ride height sensors (certain trims like Denali). If you do have it, you'll need to bypass the sensors or you'll forever be dismissing a message that says "service suspension system". If you can live with that, then ignore all of this. If it'll drive you nuts, you have 2 options - one cheap, but could lead to other issues and the other is not so cheap, but will not have issues. There are 8 sensors total, 4 shock sensors and 4 ride height sensors. The first option is to go cheap and buy 8 resistors (3 ohm, 25 watts). You then splice them in at every sensor. The risk here is corrosion, if you don't seal the splices properly this leads to the wire harnesses going bad and having to purchase all new harnesses and resistors to do all of the work again (and now you've spent more money on the harnesses). In all, this could run you about $50 for resistors, heat shrink, and a heat gun. The second option is to do what I did and buy the professional bypass kit from x-ineering. It's $425, but they'll give you a $75 discount if you post about your install on social media. I went this route because they clip in and seal the wiring, just like the stock sensors. No risk of corrosion and everything they make is backed by warranty.

 

Overall, I'm super happy and love the ride. Only a couple hundred miles on it so far, I'll report back after all my Thanksgiving travel coming up (1500+ miles). Let me know if there are any questions!

 

Edited November 19, 2018 by midwestdenaliguy

[midwestdenaliguy]

Update - I've got a little over 1000 miles on the new set up and the ride seems to have gotten better. Not sure how that is, but it's almost like the new suspension and tires have settled/broken in - resulting in an even better ride. I am super impressed with the Falken Wildpeak's, we just got about 4" of snow and this week has been a mix of everything - rain, sleet, snow. The tires performed flawlessly while in 2 wheel drive. Not a single slip on wet surfaces like I had with the Nitto Terra Grappler G2's.

 

First big road trip with this set up is next week for Thanksgiving (1500 miles round trip). I'll be heading up north (Michigan) where they've got more snow than us. I'll give another update after this trip.

[B R A D]

Just curious, do you recall what you paid to have it installed?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[beckerspeed]

I just picked up a 15 sierra denali and have been looking for a Magride delete lift and this is a great thread ! I am looking for a 3-4" lift I may reach out to this company for some options.

 

Are you happy with it so far? sounds like it, and looks good!

[midwestdenaliguy]

On 11/16/2018 at 7:18 PM, B R A D said:

Just curious, do you recall what you paid to have it installed?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

I installed the lift and bypass kits myself. I did call a shop out of curiosity to see what they would charge and they said it would be around $300-400. That seemed too steep for me when I have the tools in the garage to do it - and it's a straight forward 'plug and play' lift kit that does not require any permanent mods like major lift kits can require. Took about 4 hours with me really taking my time. Could definitely do it faster if I were to do it again. If you don't have the tools/time, call around your area. I'm sure you can find a shop to do it for a reasonable price since it's an easy install.

 

12 hours ago, beckerspeed said:

I just picked up a 15 sierra denali and have been looking for a Magride delete lift and this is a great thread ! I am looking for a 3-4" lift I may reach out to this company for some options.

 

Are you happy with it so far? sounds like it, and looks good!

Thanks man, yeah I'm super happy with it. It wasn't a huge night and day difference immediately, but it was an improvement over the Mag system right away. What's crazy though is that it's gotten better the more I drive it. This kit gives you a max lift of 3" in the front and 1" in the rear. Still has a slight rake, which is what I wanted. I don't like a saggy rear-end when towing.

[beckerspeed]

I am hopefully ditching magride within the year and this one of only a few times I've seen someone do it. most other threads are so biased with you should have bought some other truck or trim or an SLT if you want to lift it... End of day I'd think no more than 4"with a decent ride is where nineant to be. 

 

Your post was great. Thanks. 

[pronstar]

You’re saying that this setup is more expensive than King’s and/or Fox setups, at $1299...?

I need to shop where you do.

 

Dealer cost for 2.5” King’s is almost twice that.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[AgDoctor]

Thanks for the descriptive write-up! Love the look of your ride. So nice to see a well thought out and executed setup. The wheels look really nice along with the black truck and painted fender trim.

I too spoke with Alex at Halo and also can attest that he is a thorough and patient guy. I believe they are a great company from what I have read in here as well as the Boss and Toytec reviews(same company). I ended up going with a 4" lift but if I had not I was going Halo.

Glad to hear about the smooth ride. I love the GM 22's, but those 18's are slick!


Sent via Morse code

[midwestdenaliguy]

9 hours ago, pronstar said:

You’re saying that this setup is more expensive than King’s and/or Fox setups, at $1299...?

I need to shop where you do.

 

Dealer cost for 2.5” King’s is almost twice that.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

Fox coilovers (2" front lift) and rears (1" lift) for $1119 (no tax, free ship) on this site: https://partsgnome.com/fox-2-0-coil-over-ifp-shocks-set-front-rear-2007-2015-silverado-sierra-1500-4wd-fox-kit29.html

 

Good call out on King, I meant Rancho (Maybe I had King Ranch in my head and typed King instead of Rancho? Lol, I know...I'm reaching). You didn't point them out, but here's pricing for the Rancho coilovers and rears lift kit for $469.99 (no tax, free ship): https://jet.com/product/Rancho-Quicklift-Struts-Rear-RS5000X-Gas-Shocks-Kit-07-16-Chevrolet-Silverado-1500/469c2df1537f443aa9b458c09508ad47?jcmp=pla:ggl:nj_dur_gen_automotive_parts_accessories_a1:automotive_parts_accessories_automotive_performance_parts_chassis_suspension_components_a1:na:PLA_785913087_44722375087_pla-367091177889_c:na:na:na:2PLA15&code=PLA15&pid=kenshoo_int&c=785913087&is_retargeting=true&clickid=a180d570-c7f7-4ff7-b1c1-e50568d4386c&kclid=a180d570-c7f7-4ff7-b1c1-e50568d4386c&gclid=CjwKCAiAuMTfBRAcEiwAV4SDkUsQkBeJ-r3zbhSvjDuvVARvGJfO2F4ZaCo4u8k7Yiy3u_HlesCJqhoCu6gQAvD_BwE

 

 

1 hour ago, AgDoctor said:

Thanks for the descriptive write-up! Love the look of your ride. So nice to see a well thought out and executed setup. The wheels look really nice along with the black truck and painted fender trim.

I too spoke with Alex at Halo and also can attest that he is a thorough and patient guy. I believe they are a great company from what I have read in here as well as the Boss and Toytec reviews(same company). I ended up going with a 4" lift but if I had not I was going Halo.

Glad to hear about the smooth ride. I love the GM 22's, but those 18's are slick!


Sent via Morse code

Thanks. Alex is a good guy. Hope your 4" kit works out for you. I'm guessing if business does good enough Alex will start making larger kits.

[Eredin]

Thank you for the write up. I keep going back to look at Halo/Boss since I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet and my front Rancho's are failing badly. Racecar budget is in the way, but I'm on the edge of just throwing the cash as these vs the 5100s.

[midwestdenaliguy]

It's been over a month and 3000+ miles since the install. Everything overall is still great. In hindsight I probably could have gone with the lighter version of the Falken Wildpeak AT3W with all the highway miles I drive, but when I do the occasional towing or two-tracking in the woods I'll do so with confidence in my 10 ply tires :-)

[2018DenaliGuy]

Hey man, did you have to get the TRM procedure done to your truck after the xineering Kit was installed ? If so how did you do it? 

[2018DenaliGuy]

On 12/21/2018 at 10:44 AM, midwestdenaliguy said:

It's been over a month and 3000+ miles since the install. Everything overall is still great. In hindsight I probably could have gone with the lighter version of the Falken Wildpeak AT3W with all the highway miles I drive, but when I do the occasional towing or two-tracking in the woods I'll do so with confidence in my 10 ply tires :-)

Hey man did you have to do the Trim procedure in your truck after the install of the bypass kit? Xineering guys said that they recommend it.

[midwestdenaliguy]

15 minutes ago, 2018DenaliGuy said:

Hey man did you have to do the Trim procedure in your truck after the install of the bypass kit? Xineering guys said that they recommend it.

I did do the trim procedure to "zero" it out and ensure each sensor was receiving an equivalent amount of voltage. I'm assuming you're installing new shocks that will change it from the stock ride height angles/geometry? If not, it's pointless to do if you're keeping the same height. If you don't do the trim procedure your ride height module will overload the sensor(s) from constantly sending voltage to "adjust" what it thinks are magneride shocks. X-ineering actually provided the programming tool for me to do it at home, but that's because the first sensors they sent me kept failing. They made good on it and sent me all new sensors and the programmer. All has been good ever since. Not sure if they'd send it to you, but it's worth an ask. If not, dealers will do it but what they charge will vary. Totally worth it in my opinion as to not deal with issues after installing the sensors to override the ride height module.

[2018DenaliGuy]

Yeah man, so right now i have a 4” fabtech magneride lift right now, so I am not going from stock ride height. Do you still think I should do the Ride height Trim procedure then? If so, did you put you’re new shocks and the bypass kit on first and then go to the dealership or to do the ride height procedure or what? Thanks man!