2014+ Lowering / Drop Kits

204-WPG · September 14, 2020

Just an update, after three years in the making, finally i got my 275/35 r24 on a 4/6 drop.

UofAZCats · September 14, 2020

1 minute ago, 204-WPG said:

Just an update, after three years in the making, finally i got my 275/35 r24 on a 4/6 drop.

That is a great looking truck. Well done.

UofAZCats · September 14, 2020

9 minutes ago, 204-WPG said:

Just what I thought. Have you tried reaching out to Belltech to inquire if this flip kit install set up can also be done? I am just worried of the safety aspect, that’s all.

I had driven around with the bottom plate on top and no plate on the bottom for over a year with the only concern being that the rear wheels looked like they were moving back in the wheel well. Part of that I attribute to the lack of a plate on the bottom that would hold the u-bolts in place. With this set up the top plate (which is on the bottom) is held in place by the leaf spring bolt and this holds the u-bolts in place. The purpose of the plates and the u-bolts is to hold the axle and leaf spring together in the right spot. With the bolt on the bottom and another in the top holding the plates in the right spot it shouldn't matter which plate is where. Belltech shouldn't answer the question because of liability concerns, so no I didn't bother to ask them.

Steveo553 · September 14, 2020

6 hours ago, 204-WPG said:

Just an update, after three years in the making, finally i got my 275/35 r24 on a 4/6 drop.

Congrats on getting it done. Looks very good!

SeekAndDestroy · September 14, 2020

19 hours ago, UofAZCats said:

The purpose of the plates and the u-bolts is to hold the axle and leaf spring together in the right spot. With the bolt on the bottom and another in the top holding the plates in the right spot it shouldn't matter which plate is where.

Do you have any driveline vibration? I thought the bottom plate tilted the rear diff up to keep the driveline angles good.

UofAZCats · September 15, 2020

1 hour ago, SeekAndDestroy said:

Do you have any driveline vibration? I thought the bottom plate tilted the rear diff up to keep the driveline angles good.

I haven't noticed any vibration. I hadn't thought about your question but in thinking about it with the way the plates were situated with the top plate on the bottom centered on the leaf spring bolt it sits a little forward of the bottom plate on top so the u-bolts are angled from bottom front to top rear which pushes the bottom plate on top forward which would tilt the axle forward a small amount.

UofAZCats · September 19, 2020

On 9/14/2020 at 6:06 PM, SeekAndDestroy said:

Do you have any driveline vibration? I thought the bottom plate tilted the rear diff up to keep the driveline angles good.

On 9/14/2020 at 8:18 PM, UofAZCats said:

I haven't noticed any vibration. I hadn't thought about your question but in thinking about it with the way the plates were situated with the top plate on the bottom centered on the leaf spring bolt it sits a little forward of the bottom plate on top so the u-bolts are angled from bottom front to top rear which pushes the bottom plate on top forward which would tilt the axle forward a small amount.

Well I was wrong. I got the second RAS installed last night and tightened them both down. I had a vibration in the lower speeds that either got a little worse as the day went on or my patience for it got worse. When I got home from dinner tonight I took them off. I have thought about it and the top plate which was mounted on the bottom was pushed forward it because that plate only has one hole in the middle of the plate. The plate on the bottom though is supposed to be offset from the leaf spring bolt and not centered. If I can get a hole drilled in the plate in the right location I should be able to fix the vibration problem.

Another option I am considering is using the original stock block that came between the axle and the leaf springs. The block has a hole on one side of the block that could fit on the bottom of the leaf spring and has its own nub on the opposite side of the block. As I noted in my original the bottom plate in its correct location did not leave room for the RAS arm to get under the leaf spring. With the block on the bottom of the leaf spring the correct bottom plate could be installed on the bottom of that which would allow enough space to install the RAS arm as it is supposed to. The reason I didn't try that is because that block has ridges in the side with the nub that would keep the plate from sitting flat. To use the block would require getting those ridges cut off.

Either option likely needs a machine shop because I don't have the tools.

The other issue is that with the RAS tightened down it lifted the rear end 1 inch which I am not cool with at all. Before the install I have a leaf spring connected to the 2" drop shackle at the second hole (the one closest to the reverse hanger which is the 1.5" setting) of the two holes. There are no other holes that could be used to offset the extra inch with those shackles. I have my stock shackles but those would really drop the rear and have it lower than the front. Based on comparison of the drop shackle to the stock shackle there is like a 3" difference in length between hole locations so I am not sure how the drop shackles are only considered 2" drop shackles with a 3" difference. Not sure if the sell a 1" drop shackle or not. Anyone with ideas to help with this issue is appreciated. To me this may be the tougher issue to address.

SeekAndDestroy · September 19, 2020

10 hours ago, UofAZCats said:

I got the second RAS installed last night and tightened them both down. I had a vibration in the lower speeds that either got a little worse as the day went on or my patience for it got worse. The plate on the bottom though is supposed to be offset from the leaf spring bolt and not centered. If I can get a hole drilled in the plate in the right location I should be able to fix the vibration problem.

The other issue is that with the RAS tightened down it lifted the rear end 1 inch which I am not cool with at all. Before the install I have a leaf spring connected to the 2" drop shackle

The only benefit from the RAS is towing. If I wanted to tow with my lowered truck I would put air bags and a rear sway bar on. You mentioned that you don't tow so I assume you are trying to get more traction or just a tighter rear end feeling. A set of traction bars, like Cal-Tracs, and a rear sway bar will probably get you a similar feeling to the RAS, and way less hassle to install. Traction bars mount under the leaf springs and the Hellwig sway bar works for our trucks that have a flip kit. I ordered the sway bar and will be installing it soon.

Personally I wouldn't modify the flip kit. It was designed to keep the pinion angle set properly to keep vibration, and wear on the u-joints to a minimum. If you are going to run it with the top and bottom plates flipped around and modified, it might twist the u-bolts into an unnatural position and they will eventually break. You will also have to put shims in to correct the pinion angle.

The shackles aren't really "drop" shackles they are actually lift shackles. The flip kit by itself (with factory shackles) lowers the rear 7" and then you get shackles to raise it back up the desired amount. So if you have 2" shackles then your rear is lowered by 5". They do make them in 1" increments because you can have anywhere from a 4" total drop to a 7" drop in the rear, with a flip kit.

In the end its your truck, but I would put the flip kit back to "stock" and sell the RAS, then buy traction bars and a sway bar. These will not change the drop height and you won't have to worry about changing the shackles. Also the pinion angle will be way closer to factory spec as Belltech designed into the flip kit.

Melks · October 16, 2020

2/5

Dinner · October 19, 2020

On 10/15/2020 at 9:01 PM, Melks said:

2/5

Looks great, love those wheels.

Dinner · October 19, 2020

Belltech 4/7 with 0.5" lift shackle. Only a few more drives before winter storage

October 27, 2020

Hey, I have a 2016 Silverado 4x4 crew cab and was wondering if I would have any alignment issues. I'm trying to go with a 3/6 but camber and alignment issues are what is really making me worried. The kit is a maxtrac which comes with 2 inch drop spindles, 1 inch drop spring, and a adjustable flip kit 5 to 6 inches of drop. Do any of you have experience with aligning a dropped 4x4?

Here is the kit: https://maxtracstore.com/2014-2016-chevy-silverado-1500-2wd-4wd-1pc-drive-shaft-3-5-lowering-kit-maxtrac-ks331535/

Here is a picture of the truck(Note: this truck has been crashed before):

sharkeysierra · October 27, 2020

9 minutes ago, 666 said:

Hey, I have a 2016 Silverado 4x4 crew cab and was wondering if I would have any alignment issues. I'm trying to go with a 3/6 but camber and alignment issues are what is really making me worried. The kit is a maxtrac which comes with 2 inch drop spindles, 1 inch drop spring, and a adjustable flip kit 5 to 6 inches of drop. Do any of you have experience with aligning a dropped 4x4?

Here is the kit: https://maxtracstore.com/2014-2016-chevy-silverado-1500-2wd-4wd-1pc-drive-shaft-3-5-lowering-kit-maxtrac-ks331535/

Here is a picture of the truck(Note: this truck has been crashed before):

Did it align properly before the crash?

With a 3” drop, you will be fine. Once you get into 4” in front, alignment concerns are valid.

October 27, 2020

1 hour ago, sharkeysierra said:

Did it align properly before the crash?

With a 3” drop, you will be fine. Once you get into 4” in front, alignment concerns are valid.

It aligned after the crash with no problems