2014+ Suspension Lifts

[Michael94]

Has anyone had any issues with they're uca's hitting they're bumpstops at droop? On my 7 inch rough country lift when I hit a bump or drop off when the wheels extend down the uca seems to come in contact with the uca which feels very rough. Here is 2 pictures as you can see the uca's have the paint wore off the bumpstops from continuously hitting. And while the front is lifted the uca's just rest on the stops

 

Anyone have any tips or solutions

[Hunter79]

Well the time has come and I have decided to lift my truck 2014 GMC Sierra Sle z71. I am sold on the bds kits but I do not know whether to get the 6in or the 4 in kit. The tires I would like to get are 35 in toyo at2 with 20in fuel hostages. But I am also stuck on deciding whether to get 35s or 33s I really do not want to have to do any trimming. I am going to get the fox shocks in the rear with the leaf spring option as well. So the main questions I have are

 

1.Should I spend the extra money for the 6 in coilover kit?

2.should I go with the 6in or 4in lift kit ?

3.Should I go with 33s or 35s ?

4.Will there be a major change in the accuracy of the speedometer?

5.if there is can you please tell me how to fix that?

6. Can anyone who is running these kits show me pictures?

7. How is the ride after the lift?

8.how much is the change in mpg with the 6 and 4 in kits

If in the end if I do go with the 6in lift I am going to get 35s regardless I personally do not like the look of having all that lift and small tires. I was debating on 33s if I get the 4 in lift but it can also fit 35s .Im sorry for all the questions but this is the first time I am ever lifting a truck and I would like to do it right . I am open to all opinions and all replies are greatly appreciated

[Rickbo]

I've lifted every truck I've owned. I'd have to say the Zone 4.5 suspension is one of the best lifts I have had. Also just a FYI BDS and ZONE are both made by fox shocks. BDS is the high end kit but basically most of the same parts. BDS is a 4 or 6 inch kit and ZONE is a 4.5 or 6.

 

Zigs auto has the zone kits for $1195.00 free shipping. I was able to get it for $1075.00 free shipping and upgraded shocks. Great to buy from and fast shipping.

[Rickbo]

It's really not the lift size that changes your mpg it's the TIRE SIZE. I always try to stay with a 33 and my mpg stays close to the same as stock.

[Rickbo]

Stock vs 4.5 zone both have stock tire and wheels. I'll be installing the after market wheels and tire soon.

[Payton34]

Well the time has come and I have decided to lift my truck 2014 GMC Sierra Sle z71. I am sold on the bds kits but I do not know whether to get the 6in or the 4 in kit. The tires I would like to get are 35 in toyo at2 with 20in fuel hostages. But I am also stuck on deciding whether to get 35s or 33s I really do not want to have to do any trimming. I am going to get the fox shocks in the rear with the leaf spring option as well. So the main questions I have are

 

1.Should I spend the extra money for the 6 in coilover kit?

2.should I go with the 6in or 4in lift kit ?

3.Should I go with 33s or 35s ?

4.Will there be a major change in the accuracy of the speedometer?

5.if there is can you please tell me how to fix that?

6. Can anyone who is running these kits show me pictures?

7. How is the ride after the lift?

8.how much is the change in mpg with the 6 and 4 in kits

If in the end if I do go with the 6in lift I am going to get 35s regardless I personally do not like the look of having all that lift and small tires. I was debating on 33s if I get the 4 in lift but it can also fit 35s .Im sorry for all the questions but this is the first time I am ever lifting a truck and I would like to do it right . I am open to all opinions and all replies are greatly appreciated

I just ordered the BDS 6inch Coilover with leaf springs hopefully will have installed in the next couple weeks. I have 35x12.5 r 20 Mickey Thompson ATZ P3 which will go on my oem 20in wheels. The BDS 4 and 6in lifts are identical only difference is the strut length and rear block size. With the Coilover option BDS has told me I can adjust the lift height in front between 4 and 7 inches. It comes set at 6inches. I will be lowering the front about an inch to keep some rake. I hate towing a boat and the rear squatting down which would happen if the truck sat level. BDS also said the OE 20s will fit their lifts with 12.5 wide tires.

[DKZ71]

I am in the same exact boat as Hunter 79. From my research, I would echo the responses above in that BDS is a premier lift and Zone comes from the same parent. However, the BDS kit comes with skid plates and warranty, and replaces the struts where the Zone uses the stock struts and spacers. Either of BDS 4 or 6" kit will accept 35's and Zone states that 35's are "tight, may require trim" with the 4" lift. I think the owner has to evaluate how important mileage or performance is with either kit. With a lifted vehicle, both will suffer for numerous reasons. 35's weigh more and is more rotational impact than 33's, but for me, it is about balancing "the look" (4/33 or 6/35). Some 35's on 4 inch lifts look stuffed and 33's on a 6" lift look lost. You can re gear, but that is expensive. The speedo will be off by about 4-5 MPH but it does add up extra mileage on the odometer. You can recalibrate with a hand tuner, but it will show on the ECU and could void warranty.

 

I have driven a Pro Comp 6"/35" and I didn't think it was too bad (5.3L with 3.42), but it was a 13-15 MPG vehicle (real world). I can live with that, but not 8-10 MPG. I also drove a 4"/35" Pro Comp Rocky Ridge at the dealer and thought it was fine too. New technologies have really changed the ride quality with lifted vehicles.

 

I was not aware that the BDS coil over set up were adjustable 4-7". I would like to know more about that, as I would like to have some rake too. 5" in front and 6" in rear sounds ideal to me. Not sure if rear springs are needed over blocks. I do tow ATV and sleds, so I don't want a lot of squat. I am definitely in for BDS, just not sure what version to pull the trigger on, and plan to keep the stock 20's in any case. With 20's the 35's would offer more cushion for the sidewall of tire which would help ride. I would like to see more side by side pictures if anyone has some.

[bkdR1]

Here's a brief summary of the changes that take place when we increase the size of our tires.

Stock 18" tire - 265/65 18" (659 revolutions/mi.)

My tires - 35" x 12.50" 20 (602 revs./mi.)

*Tire specs based on Toyo AT II

Since our speedo/odo are based on hub revolutions, the calcs indicate the error factor. 659/602=1.0947. Therefore the mileage shown on your odometer needs to be multiplied by this 1.0947 factor to get the actual mileage on your truck. Also this factor can be used to calc your actual speed. At 60 mph on your speedo, you're actually going (60x1.0947) almost 66 mph. If you're running 33"s the error factor is 1.06. Again, everything is based on hub revolutions per mile(odometer), per minute (speedo). This is taking into consideration that a programmer has not been installed. If my calculations are incorrect somebody please let me know.

Edited April 23, 2015 by bkdR1

[dylbeau1500]

I am going to be installing a mcgaughy 7-9" lift kit with 35" tires and went to my gm dealer and asked a service manager if they can reset the computer for 35" tires and they said it would be okay. Do you think it would void the warranty or is it even possible for them to do it. I have been hearing a lot of people on the forum saying dealers won't do it.

[stevencox93]

I am going to be installing a mcgaughy 7-9" lift kit with 35" tires and went to my gm dealer and asked a service manager if they can reset the computer for 35" tires and they said it would be okay. Do you think it would void the warranty or is it even possible for them to do it. I have been hearing a lot of people on the forum saying dealers won't do it.

 

Any dealer I hear that has done it has just bought an aftermarket recalibrator tool and done it

[Mike1220]

I am going to be installing a mcgaughy 7-9" lift kit with 35" tires and went to my gm dealer and asked a service manager if they can reset the computer for 35" tires and they said it would be okay. Do you think it would void the warranty or is it even possible for them to do it. I have been hearing a lot of people on the forum saying dealers won't do it.

The only warranty they can void is for your suspension components. ie if your suspension breaks, they can't and won't do anything under GM warranty since it's not GM parts. But if your fuse box somehow shorts how and ruins all the fuses in there then they still have to fix it unless they can somehow prove that it's linked to the suspension lift.

 

Like Steven said, any dealer I've seen also has just purchased some aftermarket tuner and used that. Then they'll give it to you. I'd say just get a custom tune to fix it or shop for a tuner that you like to do it yourself.

[crafferty]

Well the time has come and I have decided to lift my truck 2014 GMC Sierra Sle z71. I am sold on the bds kits but I do not know whether to get the 6in or the 4 in kit. The tires I would like to get are 35 in toyo at2 with 20in fuel hostages. But I am also stuck on deciding whether to get 35s or 33s I really do not want to have to do any trimming. I am going to get the fox shocks in the rear with the leaf spring option as well. So the main questions I have are

 

1.Should I spend the extra money for the 6 in coilover kit?

2.should I go with the 6in or 4in lift kit ?

3.Should I go with 33s or 35s ?

4.Will there be a major change in the accuracy of the speedometer?

5.if there is can you please tell me how to fix that?

6. Can anyone who is running these kits show me pictures?

7. How is the ride after the lift?

8.how much is the change in mpg with the 6 and 4 in kits

If in the end if I do go with the 6in lift I am going to get 35s regardless I personally do not like the look of having all that lift and small tires. I was debating on 33s if I get the 4 in lift but it can also fit 35s .Im sorry for all the questions but this is the first time I am ever lifting a truck and I would like to do it right . I am open to all opinions and all replies are greatly appreciated

Here are some pictures of my truck with the 6" BDS kit with coilovers, fox 2.0 shocks and rear leaf springs. Just remember that if you deviate from BDS' suggested wheel/tire combinations you can expected to trim.

 

[Hunter79]

Here are some pictures of my truck with the 6" BDS kit with coilovers, fox 2.0 shocks and rear leaf springs. Just remember that if you deviate from BDS' suggested wheel/tire combinations you can expected to trim.

The fuel hostages are 20x10 with a 35x12.50r20 tire and the back spacing is 5.75 do you think I'm going to have to trim a little if I go with the 6 in lift since it is not suggested 20x9 on bds's website but it is not that drastic of a deviation

[crafferty]

The fuel hostages are 20x10 with a 35x12.50r20 tire and the back spacing is 5.75 do you think I'm going to have to trim a little if I go with the 6 in lift since it is not suggested 20x9 on bds's website but it is not that drastic of a deviation

What is your offset?

[Hunter79]

What is your offset?

the off set is 20 and I also have another question about bolt patterns I know it is 6x5.5 is that the same as 6 on 135 4 wheel parts list them as being interchangible (I guess) and its just making me really confused I just wanted to make sure before I order them (sorry first time lifting a truck)