Truck Lift-Kits?

[MOHSHSIHd]

I know there are mixed feelings on these. I want to put a minimal lift on my Silverado...say 4" suspension lift.

- Will this void my warranty or anything?

- Is this gonna kill my handling totally?

- Will this affect my gas mileage significantly?

- If I am getting this done on the CO Front Range where should I get it done?


Something I never considered with my TRD, but my new truck really isn't that high and I don't want to smash the bottom on trails.

[nick > jesus]

i would start with new wheels and tires (though big tires will not do good things for MPG)

[advres]

DO IT!

[El Chupacabra]

I thought you were unemployed & totally broke....

... lifting an IFS truck = $$$$. Often includes irreversible (or difficult to reverse) modifications, like torching off stock suspension parts at the front end.

[MOHSHSIHd]

I thought you were unemployed & totally broke....

... lifting an IFS truck = $$$$. Often includes irreversible (or difficult to reverse) modifications, like torching off stock suspension parts at the front end.

Unemployed and broke.....until SOMEONE BUYS MY FUCKING TACOMA!!!!



IFS truck?


I see tons of new Chevys lifted around here. Doubt I would ever lower it again.

[El Chupacabra]

Unemployed and broke.....until SOMEONE BUYS MY FUCKING TACOMA!!!!



IFS truck?


I see tons of new Chevys lifted around here. Doubt I would ever lower it again.

IFS = independent front suspension. As opposed to a solid front axle, which is stronger & easier (and therefore cheaper) to lift.

Plan on dropping $1K+ on a full kit, plus installation. Leveling kits can be much less, like $200, and often give enough room to go up 1 tire size.

GM/Chevy trucks are about the lowest-riding 4x4s out there. Great for ease of access, terrible for offroading.

[skiingsamurai]

I know there are mixed feelings on these. I want to put a minimal lift on my Silverado...say 4" suspension lift.

- Will this void my warranty or anything?

- Is this gonna kill my handling totally?

- Will this affect my gas mileage significantly?

- If I am getting this done on the CO Front Range where should I get it done?


Something I never considered with my TRD, but my new truck really isn't that high and I don't want to smash the bottom on trails.

it will void your suspension (obviously) sometimes drivetrain too

depending on how big you go, and how well you dial it in

if you change tire size, which goes hand in hand with a lift, yes. Your stock diffs are geared for the stock tire size. A larger tire needs a higher ratio.
Gas mileage WILL drop.

dunno


I had my old 97 wrangler lifted 5" on 33" tires with a 3.55 ratio in the diffs. I went from 17 mpg to 9

yeah, I sold it for something that gets almost 3 times that milage

[MOHSHSIHd]

IFS = independent front suspension. As opposed to a solid front axle, which is stronger & easier (and therefore cheaper) to lift.

Plan on dropping $1K+ on a full kit, plus installation. Leveling kits can be much less, like $200, and often give enough room to go up 1 tire size.

GM/Chevy trucks are about the lowest-riding 4x4s out there. Great for ease of access, terrible for offroading.

Damn, I figured I would have to spend like 2k at least. I mean I will have to get bigger tires and wheels as well if I lift it 4-6" right?

[BOOTS]

[nick > jesus]

also (you might not care about this) it really drops your resale value

[El Chupacabra]

If you're serious about this, you might want to look into what it would cost you (net) to:

1) sell your stock truck
2) buy a lifted truck, with suspension kit, big tires, aftermarket wheels, already installed

It might turn out cheaper to do it this way. Downside is that you lose the knowledge of the history of your truck, and you'd better shop carefully so you don't end up with some redneck's hack job.

[MOHSHSIHd]

hmmm....

Definately don't want to fuck up the resale or void the drivetrain warranty.


Leveling kits seem like a good a idea since the back looks much higher than the front. They are dirt fucking cheap and if they allow me to step up tire size that might be all I need to do.

[MOHSHSIHd]

If you're serious about this, you might want to look into what it would cost you (net) to:

1) sell your stock truck
2) buy a lifted truck, with suspension kit, big tires, aftermarket wheels, already installed

It might turn out cheaper to do it this way. Downside is that you lose the knowledge of the history of your truck, and you'd better shop carefully so you don't end up with some redneck's hack job.

Good point, but I like knowing the trucks history and my new one only has 700 miles on it.

[seanpistol]

I would never ever lift a truck of mine again. Unless it was an older truck with a solid front axle.

Caused a shitload of problems and cost a lot of money. Fuck it.

[P_McPoser]

Lifted IFS trucks---reach around time!

[The Reverend Floater]

Yo Phish,

If I were you and I was set on doing it, I'd spare no expense in this department. Check out chevy forums and see what they recommend and be willing to spend the money. Throw down for extended radius arms if necessary and make sure you have someone check the driveline and steering components afterwards, else this could lead to serious problems down the road.

Definitely a "you get what you pay for" type deal.

If it were me, I'd just get a leveling kit (springs and bushings) and have it professionally installed. You'd be surprised how much better it'll look and you'll be able to clear some bigger tires. Not to mention it doesn't do anything permanent to the truck for resale purposes. Les Schwaab has them amongst several others.

[jbc28]

IMO, no way would I lift a new vehicle unless you absolutely need bigger tires for off road. My family owns a 4x4 customization shop, and I have had a ton of lifted vehicles. Some did ride better after a lift, but gas mileage, braking, acceleration, overall comfort were always worse. My last 4 trucks have been totally stock, and I have not had trouble selling them either. I do still have a lifted chevy with 36's on it, but it is a beater that is fit for trails only.

Expect to pay 3-4k to do it right....good lift, gears, tires and wheels, reprogram speedo, etc.

[Shaggy]

- Will this void my warranty or anything?

- Is this gonna kill my handling totally?

- Will this affect my gas mileage significantly?

Yes, yes, and yes. Your center of mass will be higher so rollovers are much more likely, and you're increasing drag and turbulance so gas millage will be affected. Anything suspension or drivetrain related will be warrenty void, but other stuff may be ok, unless the reduced handling causes you to be in a wreck.

[Platinum Pete]

Has the truck been bottoming out? Do you really need to get that much further in with your brand spanking new truck? Maybe a buddy with the right equipment can drive on the trails that really need the lift and you can make it up to him/her on a snowy highway drive. Maybe you can hike an extra mile in. Maybe there is something else to climb/ski/do that day...I understand the allure of getting your kit dialed in and not having equipment set any limits on what you can or want to do, but that is a path that most folkss don't follow without serious debts. I don't know your situation and I don't judge you, but if it were me I'd be looking for ways NOT to spend another unrecoverable pile of cash to lower the value of a perfect good new truck.

[BakerBoy]

I don't want to be the naysayer here... actually, that's already been covered, so I'll pull the asshole spectrum. You're a fucking idiot for wanting to lift your truck, and you have a small dick. And that's coming from somebody who owns a turbodiesel F-350.

Its going to cost to 5k if you want it done right. Possibly another 2k+ for wheels/tires. That means lift, all the little things to get every thing aligned right, new driveshafts, etc. On top of that, you're going to have to buy new wheels and tires. The bigger the tires, the more expensive you get. Just bumping up one size to 285/75's in mud terrains was ridiculous. Cooper Discoverer STT's were $277 a tire. Toyo MT's, which are probably the best tire out there, are $370+ a tire. I bought 4, because I was only one size up from stock, so you'd have to budget 5. You're gonna lose a ton of MPG (like 4-5) with a 4" lift and bigger tires, and you aren't even running a diesel.

IFS trucks suck to lift right, I highly doubt you actually need the ground clearance (which only comes from bigger tires -- your diff still is at the same height), and you'll fuck up your resale. If you need to feel cool, buy a leveling kit (just spring spacers), get some bigger tires, chip your truck, and get some gauges. Depending on what company you go with and how heavy your foot is, you might actually come out ahead.

If you're actually planning on off-roading your truck, there's a billion different rigs that are better than what you have. Save the money, buy a cheap solid axle mid-80's Toyota for the same price as your lift and new wheel/tires, and tow it to the trailhead with your nice new truck.

You've been Gosey'd, and you need a phone call from Brett.

edit: I drive my truck up some of the shittiest sled-access roads around, and if I could lower my truck an inch or two with my sled deck and two sleds on it, I would.

[jbc28]

edit: I drive my truck up some of the shittiest sled-access roads around, and if I could lower my truck an inch or two with my sled deck and two sleds on it, I would.

Sorry for the highjack....assuming you have a 99-02 DRW or any model SRW you can swap out the 3 3/4" block for the shorter one from the F250 to lower it about 2".

[born2snowboard99]

A lift and bigger tires depending on your truck will mess a bunch of things up. First of all, a big lift and tires weigh a lot more and will cause your wheel bearings to go out much faster, my friend has a lifted dodge ram and to fix his bearings was about 1k. Not to mention that you might have to get your truck re-geared to compensate for the larger diameter of the tires. You may also need your drive shafts extended and modified as well. In this day and age its basically pointless to lift a nice truck, why not buy a beater Toyota that will run forever and has already been lifted and modified by someone else?

[lemon boy]

Well…I'd disagree with BB to an extent, a susp lift will yeild some real world useful gains, especially for a chevy and bigger tires = the most overrated and misunderstood "improvement" to off-road ability going and comes with a steep cost to other aspects of the vehicle's use.

A leveling kit sounds like a good start to me although I would NOT BOTHER with bigger tires, just good AT tires in the stock size. I take it your truck has the basic skid plate package?

[Caucasian Asian]

I went to my local diesel shop and they put together a set of 2" blocks for the rear and torsion keys to level out the front. Put it all together for me for under $200. Much better ride than cranked torsion bars. Plus I run 33's. If you plan on running bigger than stock tires, you will need to trim the corners of your front air dam or they will rub.

[mr_gyptian]

I don't want to be the naysayer here... actually, that's already been covered, so I'll pull the asshole spectrum. You're a fucking idiot for wanting to lift your truck, and you have a small dick. And that's coming from somebody who owns a turbodiesel F-350.

Its going to cost to 5k if you want it done right. Possibly another 2k+ for wheels/tires. That means lift, all the little things to get every thing aligned right, new driveshafts, etc. On top of that, you're going to have to buy new wheels and tires. The bigger the tires, the more expensive you get. Just bumping up one size to 285/75's in mud terrains was ridiculous. Cooper Discoverer STT's were $277 a tire. Toyo MT's, which are probably the best tire out there, are $370+ a tire. I bought 4, because I was only one size up from stock, so you'd have to budget 5. You're gonna lose a ton of MPG (like 4-5) with a 4" lift and bigger tires, and you aren't even running a diesel.

IFS trucks suck to lift right, I highly doubt you actually need the ground clearance (which only comes from bigger tires -- your diff still is at the same height), and you'll fuck up your resale. If you need to feel cool, buy a leveling kit (just spring spacers), get some bigger tires, chip your truck, and get some gauges. Depending on what company you go with and how heavy your foot is, you might actually come out ahead.

If you're actually planning on off-roading your truck, there's a billion different rigs that are better than what you have. Save the money, buy a cheap solid axle mid-80's Toyota for the same price as your lift and new wheel/tires, and tow it to the trailhead with your nice new truck.

You've been Gosey'd, and you need a phone call from Brett.

edit: I drive my truck up some of the shittiest sled-access roads around, and if I could lower my truck an inch or two with my sled deck and two sleds on it, I would.

to echo this.

These manufacturers put zillions of dollars toward engineering the optimum construction of these vehicles. why on earth would you fuck with that?

do you like repairing your vehicle?