2011 V8 5.3l Suspension Lift

tmichelli · June 2, 2011

Hello guys, Im new to this website. I just recently bought my 2011 GMC Sierra 4x4 5.3L Im loving it so far... but i have been really interested in getting a suspension lift. I have asked around town where i live and alot of people are telling me the new silverados have problems with lifts. IE with brakes, had two guys tell me when you turn with the truck after the lift its "dead pedles" basically meaning VERY hard to brake. Is this correct? If so which lift brand should i use? I was looking at the typical brands like Rancho, Sky jacker, Rough Country, etc... Whats your input? Looking at a 4-6inch lift also.

Thanks!!

NickS · June 2, 2011

I've never heard of anything like that. I doubt anyone would lift their truck if something like this was the case. As far as lifts, look at the BDS. It seems to be one of the best. It comes in a 4"-6" range. I've so heard rancho isnt too bad either. As far as RC, people seem to like their 5", but I don't know. I and several other have had their 3"-3.5" with very bad luck. Their are a few people who are running them without problems (yet), so maybe they fixed it. If I hadn't wasted all of that money on the RC lift (and as far as my next truck), I'll be running BDS. Never heard of problems, and warranty/customer service that can't be beat.

Stevens03 · June 2, 2011

No,.. someones feeding you a line of crap. You can lift the GMT-900's as easy if not easier than the GMT-800's. No issues other than it requires more lift on the GMT-900's to run larger tires than the GMT-800's did due to the fender design. The brakes on these trucks work AWESOME! Better than the GMT-800's.

How much lift are you looking for and what size tires are you interested in?

And... Congrats on the new truck and welcome to the site

blackout07 · June 2, 2011

jimbrown1 · June 2, 2011

Hello guys, Im new to this website. I just recently bought my 2011 GMC Sierra 4x4 5.3L Im loving it so far... but i have been really interested in getting a suspension lift. I have asked around town where i live and alot of people are telling me the new silverados have problems with lifts. IE with brakes, had two guys tell me when you turn with the truck after the lift its "dead pedles" basically meaning VERY hard to brake. Is this correct? If so which lift brand should i use? I was looking at the typical brands like Rancho, Sky jacker, Rough Country, etc... Whats your input? Looking at a 4-6inch lift also.

Thanks!!

I'll be interested where you get your lift as well as what brand and height increase and what size tires you're able to run, as I'm near Houston as well.

tmichelli · June 2, 2011

No,.. someones feeding you a line of crap. You can lift the GMT-900's as easy if not easier than the GMT-800's. No issues other than it requires more lift on the GMT-900's to run larger tires than the GMT-800's did due to the fender design. The brakes on these trucks work AWESOME! Better than the GMT-800's.

How much lift are you looking for and what size tires are you interested in?

And... Congrats on the new truck and welcome to the site

Ok awesome thats what i want to hear lol. Thanks for the welcomes. Im looking towards 4-6inch. Leaning more towards the 5inch RC lift. Been browsing the site and alot of people are happy with there Lift from them. But havent seen any with the 5inch lift. Looking to run my 20inch rims with 33 ich tires. I had a 2008 Chevy Colorado before this and had a 3 inch lift with 33inch tires with 17inch rims and loved it, and the braking on the Full size truck are awesome lol was very suprised by that. I looked at some other brands but jeeze 1900-3400$ for a lift wow ...

ruggedlife · June 3, 2011

i love my bds 6" its one of the best ive installed and trust me i have installed many... the fit and finish of the product is amazing compared to some of the others. ive noticed that some of the cheaper kits looks like a drunk redneck put it together in his garage where as the quality kits you get what you pay for... i have never had a single issue with any one of the bds lift kits... i have however installed several rough country kits on various vehicles that have been missing hardware, or other various parts to install the kit. i know the prices scare some people away from nicer kits, but lets face it.. you just bought a 30-40 thousand dollar truck... do you really want to have to question what you're putting on it?

tmichelli · June 3, 2011

i love my bds 6" its one of the best ive installed and trust me i have installed many... the fit and finish of the product is amazing compared to some of the others. ive noticed that some of the cheaper kits looks like a drunk redneck put it together in his garage where as the quality kits you get what you pay for... i have never had a single issue with any one of the bds lift kits... i have however installed several rough country kits on various vehicles that have been missing hardware, or other various parts to install the kit. i know the prices scare some people away from nicer kits, but lets face it.. you just bought a 30-40 thousand dollar truck... do you really want to have to question what you're putting on it?

Ok "ruggedlife" in that case, for "middle class" lift which should i go with. Its mainly for looks.. I work in the oil field and am on leease rds that wash out, pot holes, muddy etc... nothing serious tho. I do not want to spend 4k on a lift tho. Id be happy with a 3-6ish.... Thanks agian.

NickS · June 3, 2011

Middle class to me is a leveling kit and small body lift. Mine is a 4" lift (CCM 2.5" leveling kit, and Zone 1.5" body lift) all for under $350. You could also do a 2" leveling kit and 3" body lift (which doesn't look bad, especially if you have some nerf bars installed), for 5" of lift. I'm running 33's on mine easily, and you can't even tell this trucks have the 1.5" BL with/without nerf bars.

If that's not an option, than I would save up and do it right. Like ruggedlife said, you'll be glad you did. Also, none of the lifts that I mentioned are over $2000, so I hope you don't spend anywhere near $4000 on a 3"-6" lift.

tmichelli · June 3, 2011

Middle class to me is a leveling kit and small body lift. Mine is a 4" lift (CCM 2.5" leveling kit, and Zone 1.5" body lift) all for under $350. You could also do a 2" leveling kit and 3" body lift (which doesn't look bad, especially if you have some nerf bars installed), for 5" of lift. I'm running 33's on mine easily, and you can't even tell this trucks have the 1.5" BL with/without nerf bars.

If that's not an option, than I would save up and do it right. Like ruggedlife said, you'll be glad you did. Also, none of the lifts that I mentioned are over $2000, so I hope you don't spend anywhere near $4000 on a 3"-6" lift.

Doing the leveling kit and the 3inch body lift isnt going to wear anything out down the line? I have running boards, my truck is already level. I got the Texas Edition 4x4. I want it level after the "lift".

stlavsa · June 3, 2011

BDS certainly isnt the only good kit out there, there are plenty. If you are looking at the RC 5" i would look towards the Rancho kit instead. It is marketed as 4" but its more like 5 or even some say 5.5" of lift. It will clear the 33s nicely, and its a good quality kit at a good price. Never heard a single complaint about it.

NickS · June 3, 2011

Are you sure its "level". Go and measure your fenders. I've never seen one come level from the dealership. And no, not really on the wear. Especially with the 2" leveling kit. All it does is put your axles at a little more of an angle, but doesn't mess with anything else like the RC does. Many people run a 2" for years and well over a hundred thousand miles with no issues. And a body lift no matter how high (1.25", 1.5", or 3"), it has nothing to do with your suspension, so it doesn't affect it at all. Blackout07 is running the BDS 6" with a 3" lift on top of it. His suspension would be exactly the same if he didn't have the Body lift on, his body of his truck would just be 3" lower.

NickS · June 3, 2011

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...l=rough+country

tmichelli · June 3, 2011

BDS certainly isnt the only good kit out there, there are plenty. If you are looking at the RC 5" i would look towards the Rancho kit instead. It is marketed as 4" but its more like 5 or even some say 5.5" of lift. It will clear the 33s nicely, and its a good quality kit at a good price. Never heard a single complaint about it.

I might end up doing that Rancho Lift if thats true. If not ill save my self the pain and money and do it the way NickS has it.

Seeing Rancho 4' for 1400, that anit bad really.