2015 Leveled w/ Bilstein 5100s and BFG 285/55R20

[hurlz07tahoe]

I pulled the trigger and put on the Bilstein 5100s at the highest level, with new Fabtech Uniball UCAs, and 285/55R20 BFGoodrich AT KO2s.

 

I love the look, however....

 

1. My tires and inner wheel rim edge are slightly rubbing the fwd edge of the new UCAs, which are much thicker and more substantial that the OEMs. I really like how the uniball upper ball joint corrects the angle, and its much beefier. So I don't really want to go back to stock UCAs.

 

2. I want to keep my stock Highcountry wheels. I know, I used to hate them, too. But they've grown on me.

 

3. I hate to say this......but....I think my only option is wheel spacers (%$%#@#@%^%^$@#!!!)

- What are the thoughts on wheel spacers? I should only need about 1/4 inch. I hate to do it, but I also don't want to blow away the $$$ i spent on the Fabtech UCAs....and I'm not buying new wheels (the wife unit would kill me)

 

4. Finally, I may end up throwing on larger rear blocks (Rough Country 2in tapered) to bring the rear end up just a tad higher. Thoughts on those? Would I need to do another alignment?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[hurlz07tahoe]

[hurlz07tahoe]

[Silvern Sentry]

I like it. Need to remove that pesky air dam though. Can hardly tell it leveled from the front with that thing on. Just my preference,

[hurlz07tahoe]

I like it. Need to remove that pesky air dam though. Can hardly tell it leveled from the front with that thing on. Just my preference,

Thanks. Will try and see what it looks like.

[Silvern Sentry]

This is one of those do or do not, there is no try things. Once you get those pesky bolts off, and they are not easy to reach so its like 1/4 turn at a time. You will never want to do that again lol. At least is was real pesky on my 2015 GMC I am assuming yours is similar at least. By 2018 I expect them to start gluing them on as well and riveting for good measure like some sort of sick joke lol.

[crushNchowda]

I added an extra inch of height to my rear when I added the bilstein 5100s @ all 4 corners w/ the fronts @ max, I believe they were readylift brand 2.25", and I still have a nice looking stance/rake when unladen, but less so than stock, I removed the lower front air dam which accentuates the small "lift", I have to agree that it makes a difference as my truck looks higher than yours & I'm still running stock goodyear SRA's

 

I started a thread showing what my leveled truck looked like w/ a couple thousand lbs of rocks in the bed recently if you want to look.

I would recommend going w/ a taller rear block like I did, it just looks better/right, and the rear bilstein 5100s can accommodate the extra inch, so why not?

 

I gotta ask tho, why mess w/ the control arms? For me it seems that would be a step you'd take if you were lifting it 3.5-4", not just a 2" level, it also gives the dealer free pass to void any front end related issues hat would otherwise be covered under warranty - they stick out & are easily noticed. Also, as you point out your tires would fit w/o the arms.

 

Lastly, a spacer is no big deal I had to run one w/ my snow tire setup.

[mt_at]

I ran the same size tire (but duratracs) on my stock all terrain 20x9s (with cognito UCA and Fox 2.0s) and am running a 1.5" spacer on all four wheels. It's not wise to use any spacer less than 1.25" because it puts too much strain on your stock studs. A small spacer takes away useable thread for your lug nuts, which is a huge issue. Studs can be replaced for longer ones, but it's probably not worth your time or money.

 

The 1.25" and up spacers bolt to your hubs, then have a separate set of studs for the wheels. I recommend using the BORA ones, which are hubcentric and used by a lot of the jeepers/offroaders/duramax guys (so their durability is somewhat proven).

 

I really like the stance it gave my truck, the tires stick out about 1" from the side of the truck (which will hit your MPGs on the highway a bit). Also I had to do some minor trimming of the felt liner and some of the inner fender since the spacers affect the clearance of the tire in the wheel well.

 

The setup will probably run you in the neighborhood of $250, which is definitely cheaper than new wheels!

[hurlz07tahoe]

I added an extra inch of height to my rear when I added the bilstein 5100s @ all 4 corners w/ the fronts @ max, I believe they were readylift brand 2.25", and I still have a nice looking stance/rake when unladen, but less so than stock, I removed the lower front air dam which accentuates the small "lift", I have to agree that it makes a difference as my truck looks higher than yours & I'm still running stock goodyear SRA's

 

I started a thread showing what my leveled truck looked like w/ a couple thousand lbs of rocks in the bed recently if you want to look.

I would recommend going w/ a taller rear block like I did, it just looks better/right, and the rear bilstein 5100s can accommodate the extra inch, so why not?

 

I gotta ask tho, why mess w/ the control arms? For me it seems that would be a step you'd take if you were lifting it 3.5-4", not just a 2" level, it also gives the dealer free pass to void any front end related issues hat would otherwise be covered under warranty - they stick out & are easily noticed. Also, as you point out your tires would fit w/o the arms.

 

Lastly, a spacer is no big deal I had to run one w/ my snow tire setup.

Anytime you raise up your front end like this you'll affect your ball joint angles and put different loading on your UCAs. The uni ball design really helps with the angle.

 

Are the 2.25 inch readylift blocks tapered?

I added an extra inch of height to my rear when I added the bilstein 5100s @ all 4 corners w/ the fronts @ max, I believe they were readylift brand 2.25", and I still have a nice looking stance/rake when unladen, but less so than stock, I removed the lower front air dam which accentuates the small "lift", I have to agree that it makes a difference as my truck looks higher than yours & I'm still running stock goodyear SRA's

 

I started a thread showing what my leveled truck looked like w/ a couple thousand lbs of rocks in the bed recently if you want to look.

I would recommend going w/ a taller rear block like I did, it just looks better/right, and the rear bilstein 5100s can accommodate the extra inch, so why not?

 

I gotta ask tho, why mess w/ the control arms? For me it seems that would be a step you'd take if you were lifting it 3.5-4", not just a 2" level, it also gives the dealer free pass to void any front end related issues hat would otherwise be covered under warranty - they stick out & are easily noticed. Also, as you point out your tires would fit w/o the arms.

 

Lastly, a spacer is no big deal I had to run one w/ my snow tire setup.

Anytime you raise up your front end like this you'll affect your ball joint angles and put different loading on your UCAs. The uni ball design really helps with the angle.

 

Are the 2.25 inch readylift blocks tapered?

[Abearclaw]

Thanks. Will try and see what it looks like.

For the record I like the air dam... Just another opinion

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hurlz07tahoe]

I ran the same size tire (but duratracs) on my stock all terrain 20x9s (with cognito UCA and Fox 2.0s) and am running a 1.5" spacer on all four wheels. It's not wise to use any spacer less than 1.25" because it puts too much strain on your stock studs. A small spacer takes away useable thread for your lug nuts, which is a huge issue. Studs can be replaced for longer ones, but it's probably not worth your time or money.

 

The 1.25" and up spacers bolt to your hubs, then have a separate set of studs for the wheels. I recommend using the BORA ones, which are hubcentric and used by a lot of the jeepers/offroaders/duramax guys (so their durability is somewhat proven).

 

I really like the stance it gave my truck, the tires stick out about 1" from the side of the truck (which will hit your MPGs on the highway a bit). Also I had to do some minor trimming of the felt liner and some of the inner fender since the spacers affect the clearance of the tire in the wheel well.

 

The setup will probably run you in the neighborhood of $250, which is definitely cheaper than new wheels!

Do you have any side and straight on front end pictures of your set up? I'm still skeptical of the spacers but I'm not 100% against them yet.

 

Also, has anyone tried welding on steering stop bumps either on to the knuckle or LCAs? Just a little less steering would keep my rim from hitting....

[hurlz07tahoe]

Update: I had the wheel weights moved from the inner rim edge to stick on type weights on the inner wheel surface. It helped a little with the inner rim edge contacting the UCA. I took my truck up to my mountain property which has a long cravel road with some steep sections and steeps curves (4wheel drive is required, which I love!). The tires did amazing...I don't necessarily need to use 4wheel drive anymore with the BFG ATs. No extra rubbing with the little flexing I did no on the mountain gravel road. But it did make turning some of those steep tight turns interesting when I was worried about rubbing my rims on the UCAs at full steering throw.

[hurlz07tahoe]

I ran the same size tire (but duratracs) on my stock all terrain 20x9s (with cognito UCA and Fox 2.0s) and am running a 1.5" spacer on all four wheels. It's not wise to use any spacer less than 1.25" because it puts too much strain on your stock studs. A small spacer takes away useable thread for your lug nuts, which is a huge issue. Studs can be replaced for longer ones, but it's probably not worth your time or money.

 

The 1.25" and up spacers bolt to your hubs, then have a separate set of studs for the wheels. I recommend using the BORA ones, which are hubcentric and used by a lot of the jeepers/offroaders/duramax guys (so their durability is somewhat proven).

 

I really like the stance it gave my truck, the tires stick out about 1" from the side of the truck (which will hit your MPGs on the highway a bit). Also I had to do some minor trimming of the felt liner and some of the inner fender since the spacers affect the clearance of the tire in the wheel well.

 

The setup will probably run you in the neighborhood of $250, which is definitely cheaper than new wheels!

What amount and where did you have to trim, if you remember? I went ahead and tried the 1.25" BORA spacers and I have about .25" too much stud protruding. The pockets on the backs of my wheels are not deep enough. I would need to trim off the tips of the studs to make 'em work. I've heard mixed feelings about trimming studs and heating them up and weakening them...so I'm not sure if thats what I want to do. Another option is to go up to 1.5" spacers but then I'm worried about rubbing on the fender. I would also add some small fender flares to help with the debris damaging my paint.

[hurlz07tahoe]

I spent some time taking the wheels on and off and doing some measuring last night and I think the best and simplest option to eliminate the the grinding of the inner rim on the upper control arm leading edge is to weld on some extra material to the lower control arm steering stop pad. Possibly a small nut, to take up about 0.2". That would keep the wheel from contacting the UCA at full steer and it would alleviate all concerns about the spacers.

[Travis1024]

I ran the same size tire (but duratracs) on my stock all terrain 20x9s (with cognito UCA and Fox 2.0s) and am running a 1.5" spacer on all four wheels. It's not wise to use any spacer less than 1.25" because it puts too much strain on your stock studs. A small spacer takes away useable thread for your lug nuts, which is a huge issue. Studs can be replaced for longer ones, but it's probably not worth your time or money.

 

The 1.25" and up spacers bolt to your hubs, then have a separate set of studs for the wheels. I recommend using the BORA ones, which are hubcentric and used by a lot of the jeepers/offroaders/duramax guys (so their durability is somewhat proven).

 

I really like the stance it gave my truck, the tires stick out about 1" from the side of the truck (which will hit your MPGs on the highway a bit). Also I had to do some minor trimming of the felt liner and some of the inner fender since the spacers affect the clearance of the tire in the wheel well.

 

The setup will probably run you in the neighborhood of $250, which is definitely cheaper than new wheels!

This thread is probably dead, but I'd really like to see pics of this too. Ive got 33s on stock A/T 20s and would like to see what it would look like