racerkvn

Those are 1/4" thk spacers in the kit you posted a link to. Alot of people mistake the actual spacer thickness for actual height. A 1/2" spacer on the bottom of the strut won't equal a 1/2" difference in ride height. It's playing with the geometry at that point and could easily equal 2" of height difference. A 1/2" spacer on the top of the strut will achieve a closer to but still not equal to 1/2" height difference. Most 2" level kits that I've seen use a spacer under the strut that is only a 3/8" thick spacer. So for yours, using a 1/4" spacer under the strut and a 1/4" spacer on the top, you are probably more along the lines of 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" total difference in height, which explains why you still have a slight rake. Mine is lowered 2" and the lower strut mount is relocated under the control arm and it uses a 1/4" thk spacer. I prefer the rake too. I pull my boat almost every week all year.

I'd love to hear the results as well. I have my C7 intake sitting in the garage... just waiting another couple months before I do it to get a full year under the belt.

I don't think it needs to be separated, people just need to read and comprehend the entire thread. There has been tons of very useful information posted on here from everything from leveling the truck to a 6/9 slammed ride on bags. It's getting impossible because people want a one size fits all answer and that is just not the case no matter how many people did the exact drop you are interested in. Let's face it, some of our trucks were built on a Friday or a Monday, some trucks just require more adjustments than others whether it's shims to correct the driveline or cam plates/bushings for the alignment no matter how many people did the same drop using the same parts.

Refer to timfactors post. You'll need a magnetic angle finder and it's measured after you lower the vehicle and get the ride height set (suspension has settled).

There is no one shim fits all, that's why pinion shims do not come with any kits on the market... tolerance stack ups in the frame will make each truck slightly different and some more pronounced than others. If I were you I'd buy some 2 degree shims and after you lower it see how it does. You may not need them. I ran into this on my 2013 crew cab most people with the exact same drop kit had no trouble and after much research is why I bought THAT kit, but mine was so far out of whack it was almost ridiculous. It also made me not want to lower this 2014 as much as I did my previous truck just to steer clear of issues on another brand new truck.

If I remember right, the higher upper ball joint mount allows the spindle to be used on a 4WD and 2WD truck and keeps the axle boot away from the upper ball joint at all angles. The McGaughys may require more of the ball joint shaft to be cut off below the ball joint nut. I've never ran McGaughys spindles, so maybe somebody with a 4WD could chime in. I have ran Belltech spindles on about 6 vehicles and with no issues at all with bumpsteer on everything from street driven trucks and cars to full on drag cars. It's when you combine the spindle with springs or struts for a lower drop that you can possibly run into bumpsteer headaches. Just as information, the grade 9 hardware exceeds the factory bolt specs, which I "think" is grade 5, and the two grade 9 bolts holding the strut mount will exceed 1 ball joint nut holding the spindle. Mine has been flawless and I'm sure the company has many other trucks using the same set up. As I mentioned before, if it wasn't "safe" a company like Rough Country wouldn't put their business on the line for it. Can it be broken... sure if you abuse it. Some people including myself can break an anvil. It takes sense enough to know that you've lowered the truck and what the new limitations will be.

I can't wait to hear the results!

I also prefer drop spindles, but when I lowered my 2014 there were no spindles available for it and was told the spindles for a 2013 would not work without being modified. That was a bummer because I have the adjustable BellTech 647SP kit I bought for my 2013 crew cab collecting dust in the shop. None of that kit would work on the 2014. Struts were different, spindles were different and the flip kit was different.

My strut has been under the control arm for 12,800 miles has been flawless. The dealership had my truck last week to do the free oil change, tire rotation and vehicle inspection and they said everything including all the suspension looked "great". I was just as reserved about the idea of mounting the strut under the control arm too, but it's has worked out fine for me. I couldn't imagine a company like Rough Country would put their business in jeopardy by selling a kit that wouldn't support the vehicle. If you plan to beat on the truck and abuse it then it may very well break, mine lives a good life, well used but not abused. I also used the factory U-bolts with the factory block removal. The nut is in NEW threads at that position and doesn't require a new set of U-bolts. I think where people run out of thread length is because they run one nut up too tight before getting the other nut in the same position. I ran mine up and snugged them to the point they were even and THEN tightened the nuts. I didn't run out of threads. I check the front end and the rear end periodically myself and as I mentioned, I haven't had a single issue with the suspension.

My High Country wheels had white/hazy spots on them when I took delivery and had the dealership get me 4 new flawless wheels and tires. It looked like somebody in "clean up" sprayed something too harsh on them and didn't wipe it off between the spokes. Not sure if it happened from the GM wheel manufacturer or after the truck was delivered to the dealership.

Brent, your truck is sharp man! The 3/6 drop is perfect.

You shouldn't have any issues at all by just removing the block. I really doubt you'd have any with just shackles either.

Yeah no doubt that 6.2 mileage is insane! My 6.2 amazes me and averages 17+-18+ on my 50 mile daily drive of 50/50 mix highway and stop and go. I find it all to tempting to lay the hammer on Mondays and Fridays though!

I was begining to believe it was the early production Z71's were steel control arms and they were making an advancement to using alum on the later release Z71's but from this, there really seems to be no rhyme or reason... I wish somebody FROM GM would chime in with reasoning for the mixed bag of control arms.

I have 2" McGaughy's drop shackles and removed the factory block, cut the bump stops to the last "ring" below the bump stop cup. Have no problems with the factory shocks bottoming out on travel and have very rarely even hit the bump stops. No vibrations.

My Teryx Sport after I lowered the cage. It was a great machine and would go anywhere. But I sold it and kept my 03 650 Prairie because most of the trails weren't wide enough for the side by side.

FWIW, my 2012 4wd, 2013 2wd and 2014 4wd all have steel upper & lower control arms.

PLWTWO, the reason you'd need new control arms is because if you press the stock bushings out you won't be able to press the cam bushings in that come with the drop kit. Aluminum makes it a one time press fit and therefore non serviceable for bushing replacement. Which ordinarily wouldn't be a big deal since they are non serviceable ball joints anyway.

I will bet your new Denali comes in with steel arms on it. My 6.2 High Country 4x4 has steel arms and as far as I've been told the High Country trucks (and I'd bet the Denali's as well) will not be offered with the Z71 suspension due to ride quality.

Sorry guys I'd normally quote your reply but I can't figure out how to do from the Android App... Mine did align to within specs, but there isn't anymore adjustment left. I will also note, just because mine aligned within spec doesn't necessarily mean yours will. I read just about every forum on the world wide web before I lowered my 2013 crew cab 4"/5" and the general consensus was if I lowered it using the BellTech 647SP kit it should align with the cam bushings that come in the BellTech kit. That was not the case with my truck. It was WAY out and couldn't get it within spec without adding a cam kit. Apparently, the tolerance on the frames and mounting hardware was fairly broad.

SweetSilverado, I didn't actually use a kit, I used McGaughy's 2" shackles in the rear and removed the factory 1-1/4" block. On the front I used Rough Country's lower strut mount for a 2" drop. Cost $88 total + alignment. I've used spindles, springs, struts and flip kits in the past but wanted to give the Rough Country lower strut mount a try this time, and so far, I'm happy. No bumpsteer, no driveline vibrations and it drives/rides as it did stock. I would like to bring the rear down another 1/2" but its going to require some nifty fabrication... I'll tackle that another day.

Man we are just about identical! That's awesome! I freaking want that Denali gauge cluster and red dash lights in a bad way :-)

LOL I took those pictures when I got home from a trip from Huntsville, AL to Gatlinburg, TN a few weeks back.