H3 Advices & Recommendations!

[H3-ALPHA]

Hello guys. .:thumbs: Finally got my hands on a low mileage clean alpha H3



the tires that came on it are 275/75/16. they look small on it. Thinking of going bigger. bigger tires? bigger wheels and tires? I won't be doing anything more than cranking the T-bars an installing front shocks Bilstein probably and rear shackles, suspension wise. I could not find 315 for the 16". It is only available for the 17". I am not sure if I shall keep stock wheels or go bigger (18" in my mind). I off-road my 4wheels in desert sometimes. No snow, no rocks where I live (Gulf region). Another thing, regarding the bump stop kit, I saw some for peanuts (50$) and I saw the timber bump stop kit for almost 500$ (rear & front). Any previous experience with both? difference? which one I need to get?

One more thing, I have noticed a vibration while it is the Parking position only. Do you encountered anything smiliar? cause?

I need your recommendations and advices related to the above. any other suggestion is welcomed.

 

[High Five H2]

That's a nice looking alpha. it looks like mine when I first got it, only i like the single spoke wheels like you have better. You can't find 35's for those wheels? it should be a common size.

 

[H3-ALPHA]

That's a nice looking alpha. it looks like mine when I first got it, only i like the single spoke wheels like you have better. You can't find 35's for those wheels? it should be a common size.

I agree with you. I am not able to find them locally where I live in Qatar.

 

[amrg]

Nice looking truck! Before you get the bump stops, there are several things you need to consider:
1. they will make your truck ride rougher (they aren't progressive like the original ones so they are only one rate, stiff, the original are two rate, soft then stiff)
2. they will limit suspension travel offroad, the Hummer doesnt have much and 1/2" less is actually important
3. they will improve your handling onroad when you raise the front
4. buy the ones from trailduty.com, you can buy them with the bilsteins 5100s as a package (shipping is kinda expensive from there, I recommend using eshocks.com for the shocks, they give cheapest shipping rates to Qatar). Personally, I had the bump stops on the 5 Cylinder, still have them on it, but for the Alpha I didn't add them. I don't notice they aren't there until I drive above 150 with head wind (Im leveled, have a body lift and a 40" LED bar on the roof so it gives alot of air resistance, the front part of the truck lifts up and the truck starts to be floaty which doesn't feel well for stability)

As for the rough idle, most probably throttle body is dirty. Get it cleaned and clean the maf sensor with a maf sensor cleaner. Your truck will act weird for a day and then it will go back to normal.

 

[H3-ALPHA]

Nice looking truck! Before you get the bump stops, there are several things you need to consider:
1. they will make your truck ride rougher (they aren't progressive like the original ones so they are only one rate, stiff, the original are two rate, soft then stiff)
2. they will limit suspension travel offroad, the Hummer doesnt have much and 1/2" less is actually important
3. they will improve your handling onroad when you raise the front
4. buy the ones from trailduty.com, you can buy them with the bilsteins 5100s as a package (shipping is kinda expensive from there, I recommend using eshocks.com for the shocks, they give cheapest shipping rates to Qatar). Personally, I had the bump stops on the 5 Cylinder, still have them on it, but for the Alpha I didn't add them. I don't notice they aren't there until I drive above 150 with head wind (Im leveled, have a body lift and a 40" LED bar on the roof so it gives alot of air resistance, the front part of the truck lifts up and the truck starts to be floaty which doesn't feel well for stability)

As for the rough idle, most probably throttle body is dirty. Get it cleaned and clean the maf sensor with a maf sensor cleaner. Your truck will act weird for a day and then it will go back to normal.

Thank u amr for the above info. So u have no bump stop on your alpha? With the cranked t-bars u must have felt body drop on brakes. Shall I get the trail duty? My 4 bilstein are ordered already. Another Q, how about rear shackles? Are they a must?

How about wheels/tires? 305(33") on stock 16" wheel or a new combo?

 

[Bananatank]

Thank u amr for the above info. So u have no bump stop on your alpha? With the cranked t-bars u must have felt body drop on brakes. Shall I get the trail duty? My 4 bilstein are ordered already. Another Q, how about rear shackles? Are they a must?

How about wheels/tires? 305(33") on stock 16" wheel or a new combo?

Personally if i was you id stay stock with the 16' rim and 305 tires. Just my opinion tho [emoji108] I'm sure others will chip in[emoji106]

 

[amrg]

Thank u amr for the above info. So u have no bump stop on your alpha? With the cranked t-bars u must have felt body drop on brakes. Shall I get the trail duty? My 4 bilstein are ordered already. Another Q, how about rear shackles? Are they a must?

How about wheels/tires? 305(33") on stock 16" wheel or a new combo?

With the alpha the nose dive at braking is less noticeable since the Alpha has stiffer suspension from the factory than the 3.7L, thats why I didnt add the stops (still using originals)
As for tires, Ive seen people run the dynapro MTs on the H3, looks nice and not expensive, plus its aggressive tread design will help offroad. Not sure about how hard/soft the tire is or the noise, but I believe that is your only option for a 16". Btw, looks wise, an MT tire always looks 1 size bigger than an AT tire, so a 33" MT will look like a 34" AT.
If you are buying new wheels, get 17" and buy 35s locally.

As for shackles, not really needed unless you really want to raise the rear. I have a set of schwarttzy shackles, new and still in the box if you still want to lift the rear. They will raise it 1 to 1.5"

 

[H3-ALPHA]

Amr. I might be interested. How much u want for them?

 

[Pappibri]

I'm running 315/75/16 Duratracs on the stock rims. Love em