Lift kit help

[sk1]

Funny , the old guys who have been there and done that are mostly over it due to all the cost and hassle. Gas , tires , parts and down time start to wear on you. Chit breaking blows hunts , high operating costs take away from other loves. A few inches of ground clearance and being able to go just a couple of places more than everyone with a stock truck didn't come close to the negatives for me.

im not "pro lift" but just saying if you're going to get a lift, then do it....not pretending to have one with a body lift.

 

[Vitals]

Funny , the old guys who have been there and done that are mostly over it due to all the cost and hassle. Gas , tires , parts and down time start to wear on you. Chit breaking blows hunts , high operating costs take away from other loves. A few inches of ground clearance and being able to go just a couple of places more than everyone with a stock truck didn't come close to the negatives for me.

Throw this young guy into that category. I'm 23 and I'll never lift another truck again

 

[Shrek]

Sk1 , a 3" body lift doesn't change all the driveline geometry so it doesn't break chit as bad or run the gas mileage down as bad and some taller tires will get you a few cheap clearance inches and if you don't go wider and pick lower roll resistance tire designs you could actually pick up a little on mileage. You can pour a ton of money into a suspension build and set yourself up for a bunch more operating cost all for very little more performance gain over a body lift and taller tires. I wouldn't do anything more that a posi rear myself. Actually, even if my budget could eat the cost without a burp I wouldn't drive a jacked up truck. Ride sucks as does climbing in and out. To me when I see someone driving a jack up truck as there every day driver all I can think is someone's over compensating for something.

 

[sk1]

come out to utah.....everyone here is in debt up to their eyeballs with a daily driver running 37's. ive never seen so many lifted trucks, i couldnt believe it when i moved out here.

 

[Jacob Chapman]

I don't want 37's or anything crazy, like I said earlier just a little bit more ground clearance. I don't want a 6 inch lift or anything either. I won't be doing this until I have some things for hunting and fly fishing bough either so probably a year away. If I can get by with what I have now I will just keep the truck the way it is I don't mind walking.

 

[Shrek]

I'm in the deep south , home of mud bog after mud bog. Even the guys around here are thinning out due to the daily operating cost. Gas and tires are killing everyone.

 

[Shrek]

I got good advice years ago but didn't listen. Never buy a new car you can't pay for in three years , housing should never be more than 25% of take home and total fixed expenses shouldn't be more than 50% of take home. If I had lived by those rules when I was younger I would be a happier and wealthier man today. I'm well under that today excluding my son's support and I'm fine in my lifestyle.

 

[Soutie]

Chapman - a better place to look would be at this site:
http://www.silveradosierra.com/whee...rappler-tire-that-fits-stock-20-s-t14216.html

A levelling kit would look better in Bozeman...

 

[gpkhill2]

A leveling kit on a newer Silverado will give you one tire size without rubbing. Which would be a 285/70R17 and that's 33.2 inches +/- depending on manufacture

 

[Rick Leathley]

as someone suggested earlier, there are tons of forums with guys that live and breathe this stuff.....might be a good start. just need to decide if it's right for you or not, I avoided it because i wasnt sure how it would effect my IFS over the years. A body lift will give you the lifted look cheaply other than the new tires, but you dont gain any clearance other than the height difference from your old to new tires. So like an inch more clearance unless you're going from like 31s to 35s or something crazy. The body lift benefit is it won't cause added stress on things, the bad--no extra clearance other than room for bigger tires, and just my opinion....the frame showing doesnt look good.

if you want longevity out of this vehicle as you said it's the nicest you've ever owned, as others have said as much as it sucks to hear -- no lift kits........i bought my 05 ext cab z71 silverado new and almost 8 years later with 78k miles, not a single issue, and i plan to have it for many more. 4 wheelers are the best bet....

Take the money you where going to spend on the lift and buy a used ATV. When the trail get to bad for the stock truck. Dump the ATV out the back and keep going.

Then again when I was your age I had a 79 K5 blazer on 35's with a 383 stroker getting 8mpg. Maybe we should stop giving him good advice and let him get it out of his system...

 

[SDHNTR]

Actually the used ATV route is great advice. Keep your truck stock so it will last and beat up an ATV when you need it. That's my setup, but I do own a Jeep too.

 

[Shrek]

Take the money you where going to spend on the lift and buy a used ATV. When the trail get to bad for the stock truck. Dump the ATV out the back and keep going.

Then again when I was your age I had a 79 K5 blazer on 35's with a 383 stroker getting 8mpg. Maybe we should stop giving him good advice and let him get it out of his system...

LOL! Thats probably the truth . All the old timers told me not to jack my first bronco but did I listen ? A side by side ATV will do a lot of good things in the woods. In the long run cost a lot less also.

 

[Steve O]

Yep you should save you money for some good optics not waste it on gas sucking lifts and tires...

 

[KMT]

My advice is...Don't do it. A 3" lift kit might enable you to increase the tires to the next size up, but that's about it. The wear and tear on your truck will increase substantially, with no "real" improvement in off road capability and a huge decrease in gas mileage. And with a 3" lift, the change in your truck's appearance will be negligible. You might know its lifted, but it wont look bada$$. So, minimal change in appearance, bad mileage, expensive tires, and extra stress on your suspension. Not really worth it.

 

[Rick Leathley]

I think theres whole web sites dedicated to trucks and 4x4s . you would probably be better suited posting on one of those for truck questions rather than a hunting site. im sure theres guys on here that know plenty about it but you'd be talking to a entire group that its all they do, bet you could get some real good info on some of those sites.

I think it was good he asked here. I think he got a lot of real world advice. The problem with enthusiast websites is they are enablers, including this one lol

 

[Jacob Chapman]

Hah yea thanks for the advice guys. I definitely plan on keeping this truck for many years, I'm just going to have to see what it can do and use my legs as I really don't want to be fixing an almost brand new truck due to self induced mechanical problems.

 

[KMD]

For an IFS, get a set of adjustable coilovers to where you can dial out the raked stance of your truck...should be about 2" of lift and won't overstress your CVs, ball joints, etc...
Run a taller tire, 285s in your case.

For the money ya saved on not doing a useless body lift, invest in a full set of skid plates to protect from bottoming out.

Finally, buy a Pull Pal land anchor and a HiLift jack, just in case ya get swamped in the middle of nowhere...


Good luck & have fun!

 

[AZ Vince]

My advice, worth what you paid for it... Don't do it. The Chevy IFS front end has a lot of moving parts to it. Lifting will adversely effect the long term longevity of the entire front end. IMO, lifting is best suited for solid axle vehicles. Plus, once you start this process it snowballs quickly if you want to do it right. All of the driveline and suspension geometry needs to be adjusted with new driveshafts, or adapters, moving exhaust, new gearing for bigger tires, etc. It can get out of control quickly, when all you really wanted to do was put it up in the air a little. I say, invest in some good tires and shocks and call it good.

Spot on mate.