gmc 2006 sierra 2500HD 4x4 Level or lift?

[burton861]

Ive got a 2006 gmc sierra 2500HD and I want to level or lift it. I dont know how much i want it to raise, probably under 6

 

inches, and I want it to have a more aggressive stance. does anyone have any advice on what i should do? level or lift?

 

also what is torsion key cranking? should i try that? also i would love to see pictures of your trucks to help decide!

 

thanks for any responses.

[Vortec-Z71]

Cranking the T bars will only give you 2" of lift safely. Any more than that and you are putting too much stress on the suspension. That will level you're truck. You can put a 2" block in the rear if you want to retain the same rake. That would give you 2" of lift all around.

[burton861]

Does cranking the T bars effect the ride quality? what are the pros and cons of this vs. a leveling kit?

[bones30]

I just cranked mine up. Makes it ride little stiffer. I was a little hesitant because I heard if it bounces hard offroad there is a chance of it breaking due to the added stress.

[burton861]

I think i would rather level than crank the t bars. so if i level and put 2'" blocks in the back i will have the same amount of rake that i do now?

[Shatterz]

The simple fact of the matter is that on these trucks, without a kit the drops down the front axle , no matter what you do, you are asking more from the front suspension than was designed. A leveling kit for these trucks give you re-indexed torsion keys so the bars are not cranked as much, and shock extensions. BUT your CV angles are being increased from factroy spec, and you are putting more stress on the ball joints, tie rods, tie rod ends etc.

 

Just cranking the torsion bars is a horible idea. On these trucks, the shock abosrbers act as the suspension drop stops. By cranking the bars and raising the suspension you run the risk of blowing out your shocks by overextending them from suspension movement. A level kit with either longer shocks or bolt on shock extenders alleviates this concern and there is still added stress to the other previoulsy mention items.

 

So why do these trucks have adjustable torsions bars you say? Well, so that you can add equipment to the truck, like a snow plow and crank the bars to compensate for the suspension droop of the added weight, and bring the front of the truck up to sit better with the added equipement.

 

A proper lift kit, which drops the front axle for better cv angles and provides new knuckles for correct steering geomerty is a much better choice for maintain suspension geometry "closer" to stock then other options out there.

 

 

If other disagree with me, thats OK, I'm just giving my input from personal experiece.

[Adrian17]

Shatterz, so leveling a 2WD truck eill come with less problems then right.

[ep224]

I have a '99 suburban 1500 that I went the cheap route on and dialed out the T bars and put blocks on since it gets low miles. I go through the steering parts every two years. Tie rod ends and joints just wear right the hell out with the adjustment and the 33s.

 

Now... I just picked up a '13 suburban 2500. NO ONE - and I mean no one - makes a kit to lift this thing 3". I don't want to go higher than that - I just want 33s on it. Someone told me that I need to look at the kits for the 01-10 2500 HD pickups but the BDS guys said their products aren't direct bolt on to the suburban and they've seen stabilitrak issues. I just saw a camburg 2.5" for the pickup... Anyone have anything to add to,this?

 

Help!!!