Advice on lift for DD

DeanH1290

DeanH1290

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Jan 20, 2014
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Been looking around this section for a bit and can't seem to find the answers I am looking for. Also wouldn't mind some outside advice.

I'm looking at doing a small lift or level on my 2011 Silverado 1500. This truck is my DD and is also a family car at times, and I still need to be able to get my son into his car seat without too much trouble. I also don't want to tank my gas milage or ride quality. For now I'll be sitting on stock wheels and tires and I don't plan on changing them anytime soon. I will eventually run some bigger tires, but I don't have a grand to drop on them now. On top of all of that, I'd like to keep it as cheap as possible and if possible, something I can install myself.

I've seen a lot of guys here with the rough country level, and I really like the stance it gives the truck. They also seem to be budget friendly. How do you guys like it? And what size tire can you run without any trimming?

Here is my truck if it helps any.
pepa2e6e.jpg

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DeanH1290 said:
Been looking around this section for a bit and can't seem to find the answers I am looking for. Also wouldn't mind some outside advice.

I'm looking at doing a small lift or level on my 2011 Silverado 1500. This truck is my DD and is also a family car at times, and I still need to be able to get my son into his car seat without too much trouble. I also don't want to tank my gas milage or ride quality. For now I'll be sitting on stock wheels and tires and I don't plan on changing them anytime soon. I will eventually run some bigger tires, but I don't have a grand to drop on them now. On top of all of that, I'd like to keep it as cheap as possible and if possible, something I can install myself.

I've seen a lot of guys here with the rough country level, and I really like the stance it gives the truck. They also seem to be budget friendly. How do you guys like it? And what size tire can you run without any trimming?

Here is my truck if it helps any.
Click to expand...

A leveling kit sounds like exactly what you should be looking for. There are a ton of companies out there. I had the 2" Rough Country kit in my 2009. It's a spacer that goes underneath the strut and on top of the lower control arm. Install is super easy, if you've got any mechanical know-how at all you should be able to breeze through it in a few hours. You'll definitely need an alignment afterward, so factor that cost into the total in addition to the leveling kit itself.

I ran 295/55/20 Nitto Trail Grapplers on mine after the level with very minimal rubbing (only on sway bar at full lock), but any tire in the 33x12.5" range is about the max you would want to run.

Here's a link to the RC kit: 2in Leveling Lift Kit for 07-13 Chevy / GMC 1500 Pickup | Rough Country Suspension Systems

If you get that one, you want the one for steel lower control arms.



Lastly, go check out this thread http://customgm.com/lifting-tech/1236-nnbs-leveled-only-thread-8.html for some more ideas.
 
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Thanks for the reply Jordan.
That is actually one of the kits that I was eyeballing. Seems simple to install. I dont know much as far as vehicles go, but I am pretty good when it comes to following a set of instructions. (if they are good instructions, that is)

I've thought about pairing a small body lift with a leveling kit. It would leave my step bars where they are, but would gain a little height and room for tires.

That thread is actually what is making me want to do this so bad, lol.

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DeanH1290 said:
Thanks for the reply Jordan.
That is actually one of the kits that I was eyeballing. Seems simple to install. I dont know much as far as vehicles go, but I am pretty good when it comes to following a set of instructions. (if they are good instructions, that is)

I've thought about pairing a small body lift with a leveling kit. It would leave my step bars where they are, but would gain a little height and room for tires.

That thread is actually what is making me want to do this so bad, lol.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about the other kits, but the Rough Country kit came with very detailed instructions with pictures. I think you can actually view the instructions by downloading the PDF on the Rough Country link I provided.

There are quite a few people out there that have done the level/body lift combo and I think it looks great. I'm not a huge fan of big (>2") body lifts, but the smaller ones can look really good and hardly be noticeable.

Rough Country makes a 1.25" body lift for the NNBS trucks, that one seems to be really popular with the forum guys.

1.25in Body Lift Kit for 07-13 Chevy / GMC 1500 Pickup [RC701] | Rough Country Suspension Systems
 
I know I won't do a suspension lift, cause my short ass wouldn't be able to get up in it, lol. I'm only 5'5 and my fiancée is 5'2, so I can't go very high. Plus, I know the higher you go, the more gas milage you loose.

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TechieTruckGuy said:
I think they make a rancho 4" lift


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Just looked it up, and that's quite a bit out of my price range.

On the other hand, I did just find a RC 3.5" suspension lift for 250. I don't think I would want to go much higher though.

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The 3.5" RC kit is really stretching it. While it does have diff drops to help with CV angles, your TREs and BJs will hate life with that much lift. If it were me, I'd do a 2/2.5" leveling kit and the 1.25" BL.
 
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Good to know, don't want to wear out the front end.

The only other thing I have seen that interests me so far is the bilstein leveling shocks. I haven't looked up pricing on them though.

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If I ever find myself in a new truck I will start with a reverse level aka lowering the rear. The ride is better and its way cheaper than leveling. No need For bigger tires, longer shocks new alignment, longer life of front end parts better ride the list goes on. Theres a couple different ways to do it but 2" lowering shackles can be had at autozone for like 42 bucks OTD
 
DeanH1290 said:
Good to know, don't want to wear out the front end.

The only other thing I have seen that interests me so far is the bilstein leveling shocks. I haven't looked up pricing on them though.
Click to expand...

Those are a great option as well. They use an adjustable spring perch on the bottom of the strut to adjust the height of the truck up to ~2" of lift. Kind of similar to a coilover adjustment. A little more labor intensive than a spacer since you'll need a spring compressor to disassemble and reassemble your stock spring/strut, but people say they ride great. You can rent a spring compressor from most auto parts stores to do the job, other than that, it's not a whole lot different than the spacer, just a few more steps.

You can get them from Cognito, they're $278 plus shipping. Here you go 2inch Cognito Leveling Kit Package CLKP-1003.12 for Chevy,GMC,Cadillac
 
Thanks for the link. They look like a great choice for the level. I'm still not sure how much I want/can spend on this just yet, planning on using some tax money if I get enough.

How hard is the RC Leveling kit on ball joints and such? I'm thinking this will be the more affordable choice, since it can be had for under $100

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DeanH1290 said:
Thanks for the link. They look like a great choice for the level. I'm still not sure how much I want/can spend on this just yet, planning on using some tax money if I get enough.

How hard is the RC Leveling kit on ball joints and such? I'm thinking this will be the more affordable choice, since it can be had for under $100
Click to expand...

At a 2" level, it's the easiest on front end parts out of all of them. I had mine in my truck for 50k miles and didn't notice any pre-mature wear. I think you should be fine with that kit.
 
slicksierra said:
If I ever find myself in a new truck I will start with a reverse level aka lowering the rear. The ride is better and its way cheaper than leveling. No need For bigger tires, longer shocks new alignment, longer life of front end parts better ride the list goes on. Theres a couple different ways to do it but 2" lowering shackles can be had at autozone for like 42 bucks OTD
Click to expand...

Although I like the look of lowered trucks, I don't want mine lowered. My truck gets worked from time to time and I tow trailers on occasion, so it doesn't make much sense for me to lower it anyways.

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Jordan said:
At a 2" level, it's the easiest on front end parts out of all of them. I had mine in my truck for 50k miles and didn't notice any pre-mature wear. I think you should be fine with that kit.
Click to expand...

That's good to hear.

How was ride quality?

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