The current crop of SUVs has made a major impact on many of our daily transportation necessities. Initially, SUVs were designed and marketed to fill the void between pickups, vans, and luxury cars. Today, they have become a status symbol of coolness and reflect an active lifestyle. After seeing the possibilities of transforming SUVs into stylish chariots, the custom truck aftermarket is focusing heavily on SUVs. Simple bolt-on goodies are becoming extremely popular, such as large billet aluminum wheels, tires, billet grilles, sport mirrors, clear corner taillights, headlights, interior dash kits, outrageous sound systems, DVD players with 7- to 17-inch monitors, and the list goes on and on.
A tricked-out SUV definitely attracts attention. However, for those serious enthusiasts who know cool when they see it, a hot area for refinement is an SUV's rolling profile and stance. To achieve a level horizontal plane, the suspension must receive some hands-on adjustments. Adjusting the SUV's profile will improve its handling by lowering its center of gravity. It will also decrease body roll while cornering, and firm up the suspension's overall characteristics.
The folks at Belltech have developed a 2/3 torsion bar/coil spring drop kit, which is available for the 2000-and-later Chevrolet 1500 Tahoe/Suburban, 1500 GMC Yukon/Yukon XL, and Denali. The kit introduces a newly designed Torsion Bar Adjustment Arm to replace the factory arm. To drop the nose 2 inches, Belltech has tweaked the Torsion Bar Adjusting Arms by changing the rotation (re-clocking) of the hexagon hole of the Torsion Bar Adjusting Arms to achieve the correct adjustment of the front torsion bars. Belltech Nitro Active shock absorbers also damp the front suspension. The rear suspension is lowered 3 inches by simply removing the factory rear coil springs and replacing them with shorter Belltech lowered coil springs, along with a pair of Belltech Nitro Active shock absorbers with limiting straps.
We worked with the team at Top Line Performance in Huntington Beach, California. Follow along as Mario Romero performs all the needed alterations to achieve a mild 2/3 drop on this '03 Denali.
Before |
After |
 1. Belltech's kit (PN134/135)...  1. Belltech's kit (PN134/135) is simple and straightforward, and comes complete with everything needed to achieve a 2/3 drop. The kit includes replacement rear progressive coil springs, rear shocks, bumpstops, and limiting straps. The nose is brought down by replacing the factory torsion bar adjustment arms with a pair of (clocked) front torsion bar adjustment arms (torsion key). Additional Belltech components include bumpstops and shocks. |
 2. After Mario secured the...  2. After Mario secured the '03 Denali on the rack, he removed the front wheels and tires. |
 3. With the wheels and tires...  3. With the wheels and tires removed, the front factory suspension was exposed. |
 4. The first factory components...  4. The first factory components to be removed were the front shocks. |
 5.A&B To make the suspension...  5.A&B To make the suspension area more accessible, Mario removed the tie rod ends and stabilizer endlinks from the stabilizer bar. |
5B |
 6. The factory jounce-stops...  6. The factory jounce-stops were removed to gain access to remove the jounce-stop frame mounts. |
 7. A&B A drill motor, equipped...  7. A&B A drill motor, equipped with a 2-1/4-inch hole saw, was used to remove the jounce-stop cup from the frame mount pad. The hole saw was only used to cut through the weld, not all the way through the frame mount pad. |
7B |
 8. A pair of pliers was used...  8. A pair of pliers was used to twist the jounce-stop cup loose from the frame mount pad. |
 9. Mario used a small disc...  9. Mario used a small disc grinder to eliminate the remaining weld from the frame mount pad. |
 10. After grinding the frame...  10. After grinding the frame mount pad smooth, tape was used to measure 3-1/4 inches from the leading edge of the frame mount pad. |
 11. A drill motor was used...  11. A drill motor was used to drill a 3/8-inch hole at the centered mark. |
 12. A&B After using a rattle-can...  12. A&B After using a rattle-can to paint the frame mount pad surface, the Belltech urethane jounce-stop was installed and secured. |
12B |
 13. To damp the front lowered...  13. To damp the front lowered suspension, a pair of Belltech gas-filled shocks were installed and secured. |
 14. With front suspension...  14. With front suspension modifications and Belltech components installed, we were ready to move to the torsion arms. |
 15. Prior to removing the...  15. Prior to removing the factory torsion arms, the factory adjustment bolts settings were measured and recorded. This information would be helpful if the vehicle was ever returned to its stock ride height. The tension was increased on the adjustment arm until the load was removed from the adjusting bolt and adjusting nut. |
 16. To achieve the 2-inch...  16. To achieve the 2-inch lowered ride height of the front end, the factory torsion adjusting arm was replaced. The new Belltech adjusting arm was clocked to the proper degree to acquire the 2-inch lowered ride height. Notice the difference in the arm position compared to the hexagon hole; it was repositioned to allow for the proper torsion bar tension. |
 17. A&B The new Belltech torsion...  17. A&B The new Belltech torsion adjusting arm was positioned up inside the torsion bar crossmember. The factory torsion bar was then threaded through the new adjusting arm. |
17B |
 18. Mario used a pneumatic...  18. Mario used a pneumatic gun to increase the tension on the adjustment arm, loading the torsion bar. |
 19. A&B Mario removed the...  19. A&B Mario removed the rear wheels and tires to gain access to the suspension. |
19B |
 20. The factory rear sway...  20. The factory rear sway bar was disconnected, then the rear axlehousing was lowered to extend the massive factory shock to its maximum stroke. The shock was then unbolted and removed. |
 21. With the rear factory...  21. With the rear factory shock absorber removed, the rearend housing was lowered to release the tension on the rear coil spring. After the rear coil spring was freed, it was removed. |
 22. A,B&C Because the rear...  22. A,B&C Because the rear suspension was being lowered, the factory jounce-stops needed to be removed and replaced with the shorter Belltech jounce-stops. These shorter urethane jounce-stops allowed the lowered rear suspension more squat or compression travel before contact was made on the rearend housing. |
22B |
22C |
 23. A&B The factory upper...  23. A&B The factory upper and lower coil spring insulators were reinstalled on the Belltech lowering coil springs, then they were carefully installed onto the rear axlehousing perches and upper cups. The rear axlehousing was raised up, compressing the new Belltech lowering coil springs. |
23B |
 24. New Belltech Nitro-Active...  24. New Belltech Nitro-Active rear shock absorbers were installed.27. With all of the new Belltech 2/3-inch lowering components installed, Mario re-torqued all the lug nuts. |
 25. To eliminate any over-extended...  25. To eliminate any over-extended unloading of the rear suspension during any off road excursions, Belltech suspension travel limiting straps were installed using the shock absorbers mount points. |
 26. After rechecking and tightening...  26. After rechecking and tightening all the fasteners, Mario remounted the wheels and tires. |
 27. With all of the new Belltech...  27. With all of the new Belltech 2/3-inch lowering components installed, Mario re-torqued all the lug nuts. |
 28. Measurements were taken...  28. Measurements were taken from underneath the rocker panels to ensure a corrected level stance. Ride height adjustments from side to side can be made by tightening or loosening the front torsion bars. Any time there are front and rear suspension adjustments made to a vehicle, the suspension must be realigned on an alignment rack. After 500 miles, the new Belltech suspension components will settle, and the ride height measurements should be checked again. |
 29. When an SUV is fitted...  29. When an SUV is fitted with larger wheels and tires, it must be lowered and leveled out to achieve a more presentable, aggressive stance. It is amazing how only a couple of inches can make the difference. Lowering the suspension and the center gravity of the Denali improves its handling performance. |