Rc 3.5" Suspension Lift Reliability Question

brnr17 · February 24, 2011

Well as the title says, i'm looking at putting a 3.5" suspension lift in my 07 silvy. I called the local 4 wheel shop to see what they ran for an install price and he basically ripped into me for even suggesting i was thinking about putting something of such crap proportions on my vehicle. From what i've read on here there seems to be completely differing opinions. Can someone give me some insight here?! Honestly the main reason i was looking at it is because i was gonna go with a 3" body just to give it a little height for a good price, but this 3.5" suspension kit is a bolt on for just a few bucks more.

NickS · February 24, 2011

Well as the title says, i'm looking at putting a 3.5" suspension lift in my 07 silvy. I called the local 4 wheel shop to see what they ran for an install price and he basically ripped into me for even suggesting i was thinking about putting something of such crap proportions on my vehicle. From what i've read on here there seems to be completely differing opinions. Can someone give me some insight here?! Honestly the main reason i was looking at it is because i was gonna go with a 3" body just to give it a little height for a good price, but this 3.5" suspension kit is a bolt on for just a few bucks more.

I will give you some insight as soon as you tell me where you saw "differing opinions".

The insight is they are shit. Don't buy.

brnr17 · February 24, 2011

Well as the title says, i'm looking at putting a 3.5" suspension lift in my 07 silvy. I called the local 4 wheel shop to see what they ran for an install price and he basically ripped into me for even suggesting i was thinking about putting something of such crap proportions on my vehicle. From what i've read on here there seems to be completely differing opinions. Can someone give me some insight here?! Honestly the main reason i was looking at it is because i was gonna go with a 3" body just to give it a little height for a good price, but this 3.5" suspension kit is a bolt on for just a few bucks more.

I will give you some insight as soon as you tell me where you saw "differing opinions".

The insight is they are shit. Don't buy.

lol ... judging by your signature i take it your speaking from experience?

NickS · February 24, 2011

Apparently not with this "new" kit, but I had the 3" in the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 (New one looks the same). Don't know what they changed on it, but It cost me a lot of money and they finally bought the shit back. Don't waste your money. Get a quality kit.

hossmp2500 · February 24, 2011

I dont have the RC 3.5 or anything from RC for that matter. I cant give any first hand knowledge. Your statement of the 3 b.l. being a similar price compared to the 3.5 RC would be enough for me to question how well its going to work.

It seems to be common for people that want some lift on a budget to level the truck with a 2 to 2.5 spacer and then do a body lift to get the rest. If you want you can always go with a suspension lift from one of the other makes like BDS, Rancho, Skyjacker and so on. They will cost you much more but they get great reviews.

NickS · February 24, 2011

And yes, hossmp2500 is right. If your going to do it, do it right (BDS etc...). If you want the cheap route which I did after RC screwed me, I did a leveling kit and the Zone BL for a bigger lift anyways. It is true a lot of times, "you get what you pay for"

and here's some insight when you get bored....

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83809'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83809'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83809'>http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83809

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83809

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218789

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=217981

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=195069

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194992

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=194729

brnr17 · February 24, 2011

I dont have the RC 3.5 or anything from RC for that matter. I cant give any first hand knowledge. Your statement of the 3 b.l. being a similar price compared to the 3.5 RC would be enough for me to question how well its going to work.

It seems to be common for people that want some lift on a budget to level the truck with a 2 to 2.5 spacer and then do a body lift to get the rest. If you want you can always go with a suspension lift from one of the other makes like BDS, Rancho, Skyjacker and so on. They will cost you much more but they get great reviews.

yea, i have a leveling kit coming and was looking at doing a body kit, i don't offroad or anything so it's purely cosmetic. Any recomendaitons on a body kit? I had a performance accessories one on my 01 silvy for 5 years and never had a problem, i was thinking about checking them out again.

NickS · February 24, 2011

Zone 1.5" or 3". Performance Accessories has one too.

brnr17 · February 24, 2011

Zone 1.5" or 3". Performance Accessories has one too.

i'll have to look at zone's, i havent had anything from them before. Sorry for all the questions. I just picked the truck up 2 days ago so i'm full of new questions for my new ride! lol ...... so if i did a 2" front leveling kit, and 3" zone, what kind of rim tire combo should i be looking at? I'm looking at some eagle alloy's 20x8.5 with a 4.649 backspace at the moment.

http://www.aewheel.com/eagle_alloy_wheels.cfm?id=287

NickS · February 24, 2011

Yeah, I'm not sure on wheels and tires. That would be close to a 5" lift. I have the CCM 2.5" leveling kit and Zone 1.5" BL on mine for about a 4" lift.

hossmp2500 · February 24, 2011

Zone makes a good product for the price. They seem to be very popular when it comes to body lifts. If you never plan on going off road there is nothing wrong with a leveling kit and body lift. As long as you dont get greedy with the leveling kit I am sure you will be fine. I take my truck off road and I wasnt happy with how it worked out with the leveling kit so I went with a suspension lift.

You can easily run a 33x12.50 size tire if you have 4-5 inches of lift assuming you get the right wheels. I have no idea if those Eagle Alloy wheels will work for you or not. I would even think about a 9 inch wide wheel as an option when shopping. You will be fine with a 8.5 or a 9 if you dont go crazy with the tires.

sic lsx · February 25, 2011

None of the people that had problems can say anything about the new kit its been changed. They all had the older version. I just talked to them and they said the fixed the problems but who knows. They had to fix the ball joints and the bushings on the upper a arms. So only time will tell. Its a gamble. I thought about it and if ididnt like it ill get my money back. Only thing I Dont really like the stacking of tbe rear blocks

NickS · February 25, 2011

None of the people that had problems can say anything about the new kit its been changed. They all had the older version. I just talked to them and they said the fixed the problems but who knows. They had to fix the ball joints and the bushings on the upper a arms. So only time will tell. Its a gamble. I thought about it and if ididnt like it ill get my money back. Only thing I Dont really like the stacking of tbe rear blocks

I bought a solid 3" block when I had that shit on mine. That is another reason it is shit, they cant even give you a solid block, they want you to stack them. That is just retarded. Also, like I said, those werent the only problems. I called them about my kit (late 09 to early 2010) and asked them about the ball joints because that was the main problem I had heard also. They told me that they re-designed them on the kit that I had from the "old" ones. I pulled up the picture of the "new" lift, and those UCA's look exactly like the old ones I had. They rub the coils, and your front end won't align. And your right, maybe I don't have experience with this "new" kit, but maybe I do. Maybe they just kept all of the parts the same, changed the bushings like they told you, and figured a way to get and extra .5" of lift out of it.

You sound like I did sic lsx. All of the warnings about this, and you are still considering this kit. I did the same thing, everyone warned me and I called RC to double check. They told me they re-designed it and it was good. I bought it anyways despite what everyone told me. Maybe it will work for you, but even you are saying it is a "gamble". Maybe its just me, but there is no way I want to start out lifting my truck with "a gamble on it messing shit up and i'll get my money back if I don't like it".

I wouldn't be so sure about getting your money back either. I know a couple of people on gmfullsize who had the same problems and RC eventually stopped returning their calls. They got stuck with the kit. I lucked out because I had a shop who was a dealer for them and did a lot of business for them un-install it. They were the ones that dealt with RC and took care of me.

I'm sorry, but if you go this route and it doesn't work, I can't feel sorry for you. I've said it in your other posts. It still baffles me that instead of adding a 1.5" or 3" BL on top of your leveling kit you have already, you are willing to, as you say, "gamble" on a lift for your truck for 3 times the money and the same amount of lift. It just doesn't make sense. Good luck whichever route you choose.

Even brnr17's shop doesn't want to put this junk on. Neither did mine. They said 5" or BDS.

sic lsx · February 25, 2011

If i did do it and it is still junk its no big deal to me ill take it off and send it back. I work on cars/truck more aftermart parts for a living and this is a simple install. I Dont want 3" body and i Dont want to trim my truck. Im going to do the 1.25 bl try the tires and wheels i want if they rub then i may try the 3.5" kit.

I mean i would really like the diff drop with the 2.5" level. We know the 2.5" level is nice so if u can drop the diff to get rid of the axle angles then that would be a good kit.

NickS · February 25, 2011

If i did do it and it is still junk its no big deal to me ill take it off and send it back. I work on cars/truck more aftermart parts for a living and this is a simple install. I Dont want 3" body and i Dont want to trim my truck. Im going to do the 1.25 bl try the tires and wheels i want if they rub then i may try the 3.5" kit.

I mean i would really like the diff drop with the 2.5" level. We know the 2.5" level is nice so if u can drop the diff to get rid of the axle angles then that would be a good kit.

FYI - I haven't had an issue, but another bad thing about this kit is it requires you to drill out the knuckle. Like I said, my truck has been fine for 10 months or so, but I have also heard of people that take this crap off, they put their stock parts back on, and the front end keeps coming out of line because the had to drill out the knuckles. Mine has been fine, but I know of a couple of people who had to replace more stuff on the suspension due to the drilling.

And like I also said, it maybe harder than you think to just take off and send back. There are other people who never got their money back.