Mods to THE BEAST: My 1998 GMC Sonoma Highrider

This page is mainly designed for folks on the ZR2 discussion list, to show what mods I have made to my truck. You can join the discussion list by sending the word "Subscribe" (without the quotes) to mailto:zr2@zr2hr.org.

Since I am often called upon to haul a great deal of weight in my truck for work, I was able to convince my company to purchase some helper springs for it. I'm glad I did!

Helper springs are known for increase the harshness of ride quality. I am pleased with the handling without a load with the helper spring on my truck. There are times when the ride seems more harsh than it did before the spring, but for the most part, I can't tell much difference. I have taken it in the dirt (easy road) without a load, and can't tell a difference between the pre-helper and post-helper performance.

I have not seriously loaded my truck since I had the Helwig installed, but I am please with how it has handled what weight I have put on it. The pics below are of what the Helwig looks like. (It's the less dirty, black spring.)

Here are the before and after numbers for my Helwig EZ-1000 helper spring. The EZ-1000 is designed for 1000 lbs. of weight. The u-bolts are tightened all the way, which means the helper spring kicks in as early as possible when weight is added.

	Ht @ 0 lbs.	Ht @ 150 lbs	SAG
BEFORE	35.8 cm	34.3 cm	1.5 cm
AFTER	40.1 cm	38.5 cm	1.6 cm

(And using a different measuring point . . .)

	Ht @ 0 lbs.	Ht @ 325 lbs	SAG
BEFORE	70.7 cm	64.6 cm	6.1 cm
AFTER	74.4 cm	72.3 cm	2.1 cm

The helper spring lifted the rear end about 4 cm. As you can see, the helper spring didn't start working for the first 150 lbs. It definitely started taking effect somewhere between 150 and 325. I wish I had something heavy to put in the back of my truck to really test it out, but oh well. Too late now. BTW, all the weight was put on the tailgate (to get the maximum amount of rear deflection).

If you're in the Tucson area, drop me a line and we can go wheelin' sometime.

Speaking of which, if you own a Highrider/ZR2/BlaZeR2, or want to find out more about the best little 4X4's around, check out these great sites:

http://www.zr2.com and http://www.zr2hr.org

There is also a ZR2 discussion group, which is very fun for talking about our special trucks and in getting ideas, help, and useful information. I have learned a great deal from the list. You can join by sending an e-mail to mailto:zr2@zr2hr.org with the word "SUBSCRIBE" (without the quotes) in the subject line.

ENJOY!

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