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2500 to 1500 ? Help

S

Spchevy

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Huy guys im from nz i am looking at changing a 94 2500 back to 1500 spec diff leaf springs wheels and front spindles is this possible as trying to drop 400 kgs to meet reg to put on road and keep bb am i dreaming or is this possible as truck is mint any much appreciated cheers steve
 
I’m guessing nz is New Zealand? I have a friend that moved here recently from there. Height, width, length, and weight requirements that classify the vehicle and the government fees go up as classification does.

He didn’t mention anything about how many lug nuts per tire however. Is that a classification also?

I am no help with 2500/1500 suspension parts swapping, sorry. But I have done a LOT of weight reduction in vehicles. Expensive is the word to apply. Some options belo

Guessing you already looked into aluminum of magnesium wheels.

If legal- look into aftermarket fiberglass parts. I had almost an entire truck made of fiberglass years back. One piece tilt front clip. Fiberglass doors. Custom made fiberglass bed. Lexan in place of glass windows. Forget the cab- that was insanely expensive.
radiator to aluminum. Do the btu math and have it ceramic coated for shedding heat best and use as small a size as possible to shed its weight and less coolant. Exhaust to stainless steel and minimal as possible. Get rid of all the cast iron parts on there possible.

Yes you can just remove some leafs, or replace leaf springs with a composite one, if you don’t haul a lot of weight it will ride better. However if you need a stiff one for weight when hauling it will shake your teeth out of your mouth. Going to a DOM thin wall chrome alloy tubing 4 link suspension will save some, not a lot of weight. Same for A-arms. Both stronger and lighter. Same for centerlink and tie rods. Not sure how prevalent custom titanium work is out there. A guy on our Hummer forum is making Hummer frames from titanium. One man can carry an entire frame by himself.

Factory seats are crazy heavy. Couple racing seats in there look cool and save weight.
Many racers spent time cutting out double or triple wall bracing. Not ideal for longest vehicle life but works if you can’t go with fiberglass. Lithium ion battery in place of lead. Plastic fan inplace of metal- depending on engine electric might work or might blow up engine. Share more details there. Post pics of what exactly you have. I can get a sumo wrestler to make weight for a boxing match but need to see what I am working with, know limitations like budget and usage.

There is a saying here for military and hickers: Ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain. Yes look for the heavy parts you can eliminate first-but remember to list everything you see as possible because it all adds up.
 
btfarm said:
Welcome to The Truck Stop.
What regulations are you referring to?
Click to expand...
Thanks in new zealand we have a warrant of fitness check each year to be able to legally drive it on the road up to 3500kg if over that requires next level certificate of fittness which is for all heavy vehicles but they wont issue one for a lh drive vehicle as the rules stand which is rubbish cheers mate
 
Will L. said:
I’m guessing nz is New Zealand? I have a friend that moved here recently from there. Height, width, length, and weight requirements that classify the vehicle and the government fees go up as classification does.

He didn’t mention anything about how many lug nuts per tire however. Is that a classification also?

I am no help with 2500/1500 suspension parts swapping, sorry. But I have done a LOT of weight reduction in vehicles. Expensive is the word to apply. Some options belo

Guessing you already looked into aluminum of magnesium wheels.

If legal- look into aftermarket fiberglass parts. I had almost an entire truck made of fiberglass years back. One piece tilt front clip. Fiberglass doors. Custom made fiberglass bed. Lexan in place of glass windows. Forget the cab- that was insanely expensive.
radiator to aluminum. Do the btu math and have it ceramic coated for shedding heat best and use as small a size as possible to shed its weight and less coolant. Exhaust to stainless steel and minimal as possible. Get rid of all the cast iron parts on there possible.

Yes you can just remove some leafs, or replace leaf springs with a composite one, if you don’t haul a lot of weight it will ride better. However if you need a stiff one for weight when hauling it will shake your teeth out of your mouth. Going to a DOM thin wall chrome alloy tubing 4 link suspension will save some, not a lot of weight. Same for A-arms. Both stronger and lighter. Same for centerlink and tie rods. Not sure how prevalent custom titanium work is out there. A guy on our Hummer forum is making Hummer frames from titanium. One man can carry an entire frame by himself.

Factory seats are crazy heavy. Couple racing seats in there look cool and save weight.
Many racers spent time cutting out double or triple wall bracing. Not ideal for longest vehicle life but works if you can’t go with fiberglass. Lithium ion battery in place of lead. Plastic fan inplace of metal- depending on engine electric might work or might blow up engine. Share more details there. Post pics of what exactly you have. I can get a sumo wrestler to make weight for a boxing match but need to see what I am working with, know limitations like budget and usage.

There is a saying here for military and hickers: Ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain. Yes look for the heavy parts you can eliminate first-but remember to list everything you see as possible because it all adds up.
Click to expand...
 
High will thanks for your knowledge yes i am a kiwi in my reply above tells you my predicament i am looking at buying this 94 suburban 2500 an old fella imported to only end up with this problem and he has given up its such a nice tidy well looked after truck 125 km on the clock has 14bolt rear 6 leaf springs 8 lug just seems such a waste for someone to wreck it i did have a 87 c20 suburban running 8 lug to and wof but rules changed in the 90s thanks again steve
 
Oh.... Suburban. That just got harder. You are going to have to bastardize this suburban to make it work. I couldn’t see doing this for less than $7,000 USA money, and that is parts alone. Be 100% sure this is the route you want because you will loose value in The truck resale.

here is a fiberglass front clip, $1,899. Shipping it to you he opposite side of the world... umm? http://www.usbody.com/
This is an example only! I am not say this is the one to buy. It has been a lot of years since I bought fiberglass parts so idk who to buy and who to avoid. You HAVE TO do your research because there will be companies that sell total junk. Make sure you are getting the weight difference. Know that you will have to add some weight in bracketing and support. Know that you are less protected in a crash. Really look into custom fiberglass and carbon fiber shops near you, point out to them if they make and keep the molds they have a lot of reuse potential in the racing market as well as others doing the same you are for making weight requirements. Front clip, doors including rear door. Bring them a lot of printed out material on companies selling it here in the US so they take it seriously- I know racing is picking up a lot more for trucks in Australia so that could be a decision factor in your cost - if all they want to do is break even or even loose a little money making the molds.

Getting rid of the factory seats will shed weight - but you need to decide how many seats you want and what is comfortable enough. I suggest checking out race shops near you.


As to changing out the axle- that is a problem. GM didn’t put a big axle under there because the customers think it’s cool or advertising purposes like horsepower numbers. You Have to get rid of a bunch of weight of the vehicle first before you can use a smaller axle or it will break and you will crash because of it. You are playing with fire there- best option is high performance Ford 9” and since we are talking about a suburban not something worth $50,000 or more- ya might not like those prices for saving so little money.
IS THERE A DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATION BECAUSE 8 LUG INSTEAD OF 5 OR 6 LUG? This is a crucial question. It that is a factor the eliminates weight restriction then high performance titanium axles (not entire rear end) drilled smaller, and titanium wheel studs with custom made rims can do be done. Idk about custom front hubs- but important to know before moving foreword.
On basis weight still required issue:

Look into sliding ragtops. Do i like them? Nope- horrible. They are noisy driving down the road, the need replacement every 5-7 years at best and one as big as you should install means maybe sooner. It is a nice feature in good weather to enjoy the sunshine or the stars at night. A rollover crash they are more risky for injuries- if no seatbelt surely death. Make it as wide and long as possible obviously for more weight loss.

Looking into plexiglass (plastic) windows will save a descent more amount of weight loosing all that glass. You will have to replace them every few years. If you are allowed dark privacy glass, then I suggest the darkened plastic. It will be less noticeable compared to the clear fading to yellow and the scratches- oh how I hate the scratches.
 
900 pounds out of a 2500 Suburban will be a TALL order to fill. Have you weighed it to see how heavy it actually is? Or do they go by the gvwr rating of 8600 lbs? 3500kg is 7716 pounds which is considerably more than even a 4x4 454 suburban should weigh. A 94 4x4 454 Suburban shouldn't weigh more than around 6600 pounds actual which us well under 3500kg, so I'm guessing they're going by the gvwr rating which means changing back to 1500 drivetrain won't change what it was factory rated at.
 
Will L. said:
Oh.... Suburban. That just got harder. You are going to have to bastardize this suburban to make it work. I couldn’t see doing this for less than $7,000 USA money, and that is parts alone. Be 100% sure this is the route you want because you will loose value in The truck resale.

here is a fiberglass front clip, $1,899. Shipping it to you he opposite side of the world... umm? http://www.usbody.com/
This is an example only! I am not say this is the one to buy. It has been a lot of years since I bought fiberglass parts so idk who to buy and who to avoid. You HAVE TO do your research because there will be companies that sell total junk. Make sure you are getting the weight difference. Know that you will have to add some weight in bracketing and support. Know that you are less protected in a crash. Really look into custom fiberglass and carbon fiber shops near you, point out to them if they make and keep the molds they have a lot of reuse potential in the racing market as well as others doing the same you are for making weight requirements. Front clip, doors including rear door. Bring them a lot of printed out material on companies selling it here in the US so they take it seriously- I know racing is picking up a lot more for trucks in Australia so that could be a decision factor in your cost - if all they want to do is break even or even loose a little money making the molds.

Getting rid of the factory seats will shed weight - but you need to decide how many seats you want and what is comfortable enough. I suggest checking out race shops near you.


As to changing out the axle- that is a problem. GM didn’t put a big axle under there because the customers think it’s cool or advertising purposes like horsepower numbers. You Have to get rid of a bunch of weight of the vehicle first before you can use a smaller axle or it will break and you will crash because of it. You are playing with fire there- best option is high performance Ford 9” and since we are talking about a suburban not something worth $50,000 or more- ya might not like those prices for saving so little money.
IS THERE A DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATION BECAUSE 8 LUG INSTEAD OF 5 OR 6 LUG? This is a crucial question. It that is a factor the eliminates weight restriction then high performance titanium axles (not entire rear end) drilled smaller, and titanium wheel studs with custom made rims can do be done. Idk about custom front hubs- but important to know before moving foreword.
On basis weight still required issue:

Look into sliding ragtops. Do i like them? Nope- horrible. They are noisy driving down the road, the need replacement every 5-7 years at best and one as big as you should install means maybe sooner. It is a nice feature in good weather to enjoy the sunshine or the stars at night. A rollover crash they are more risky for injuries- if no seatbelt surely death. Make it as wide and long as possible obviously for more weight loss.

Looking into plexiglass (plastic) windows will save a descent more amount of weight loosing all that glass. You will have to replace them every few years. If you are allowed dark privacy glass, then I suggest the darkened plastic. It will be less noticeable compared to the clear fading to yellow and the scratches- oh how I hate the scratches.
Click to expand...
I know and doesnt matter now sorry guys thankyou for your help the powers that be have told me they wont reclasify its weight even if changed so off to the scrappers it will go i guess what a waste or needs to be converted to rh hook not worth it and would be in tuffer vehicle checks once again thanks for your wealth of knowledge
 
Sell off as much of it as You can before dragging it off to the scrappers. Body panels, interior and trim must be worth something to someone.
 
Spchevy said:
I know and doesnt matter now sorry guys thankyou for your help the powers that be have told me they wont reclasify its weight even if changed so off to the scrappers it will go i guess what a waste or needs to be converted to rh hook not worth it and would be in tuffer vehicle checks once again thanks for your wealth of knowledge
Click to expand...
That's a damn shame... If it's any consolation, we probably aren't far off of your situation since the communist dictatorship has effectively taken over America.
 
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