A 2/3 DROP FOR THE ’07 TAHOE
DJM Suspension installs their 2/3-drop kit for the new Chevy Tahoe…
Story & photos by Marshall Spiegel
Like all new vehicles manufactured in the U.S., the ’07 Chevy Tahoe was born with its butt in the air. It’s good looking with well-bent sheet metal; quality interior appointments and a price tag to match. The stock ride height is 20 ¼ inches in the front and 23-1/8 inches in the rear measured from the center of the hub to the lip of the fender well. Since Chevrolet was attacking the market as early as possible with this ’07 model, the crew at DJM Suspension decided to attack the Tahoe’s ride height as early as possible also.
After a bunch of staring and measuring from beneath the company’s own ’07 Tahoe, undoubtedly the first one purchased anywhere in the Los Angeles area, the DJM engineering department created three-inch drop coils with shock extenders and a 2/3 drop kit evolved for the new Tahoe. For a successful three-inch drop in the rear, the stock bump stops had to be trimmed. As the 2/3 drop kit evolved, the engineering guys discovered that the sway bar had to be moved ¾-inch to the right (passenger ‘s side) to clear the panhard rod bracket. As a result, two new mounting holes had to be drilled on the left side. Then new DJM end links were installed and tightened.
To stop a bind on the existing trailing arm and properly align the drive shaft, the trailing arm relocator had to be tightened also. After the installation was complete, the rear ride height measured 19 ¾ inches, a drop of slightly more than three inches.
The front end drop, which turned out to measure exactly 2 ¼ inches, is a matter of removing the stock lower control arms and replacing them with new DJM arms. The DJM twin tube sleeves must be greased before they are installed. An extremely important feature of this DJM front drop are the new DJM ball joints,, each equipped with a fixed boot, essentially a bag that holds grease to lubricate the joint and keeps dirt and impurities away from the ball joint.
Stock Chevrolet lower ball joints are notoriously difficult to remove without damaging the boot. Using a pickle fork to remove the stock ball joint is very tempting, but this can easily damage the boot. When the boot is damaged, the grease leaks out and the dirt gets in. A damaged boot creates problems down the road until it is replaced.
Other lowering kits may have to reuse existing ball joints and control arms and, in so doing, may damage the ball joint boot. If the boot is damaged in removal, it should be replaced before re-assembly.
DJM’s newly engineered lower control arms lower the truck 2 ¼ inches and come with improved twin tube sleeves and new ball joints with fixed boots and zerk fittings. The result, according to the DJM engineering team, is perfect front–end geometry and excellent handling. I don’t know anything about “perfect front-end geometry,” but I do know “excellent handling,” and if you get a chance to drive an ’07 Tahoe with this 2/3 DJM drop kit, you’ll know excellent handling too.
In any case, the accompanying photos and captions follow the highlights of the installation of this new DJM 2/3drop kit into the new ’07 Chevy Tahoe.
Take a look at the 2/3 kit here!
