Newest Rough country 3.5 lift kit

MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

I wanted to get everybody's opinion on this kit, I know this kit originally when it first was out was a big leveling kit with a diff drop, but this looks very nice, and is a true suspension lift VS spacer level/lift with UCAs. I would love to hear opinions on this particular set up pictured.

My biggest concern is a new crossmember is not supplied, so they call for cutting a hole in the cross member and cutting a cooling fin to clear the differential. I really don't like that at all and it seems dangerous to me because that hole is going to get packed with mud and salt and just sit there causing it to rot out.

Any experience with this newer designed 3.5 kit would be awesome. I just can see this causing some warranty head aches.

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AgDoctor · July 20, 2016

There are some other companies making the same kit essentially. I have no feedback or experience with those to provide, but from what I've read they will likely cause you some CV wear. Readylift makes a kit that is near exact to that.

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MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

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MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

There are some other companies making the same kit essentially. I have no feedback or experience with those to provide, but from what I've read they will likely cause you some CV wear. Readylift makes a kit that is near exact to that.

I haven't seen readylifts kit for 3.5, I will have to look into that. I am drawn to this one particularly because its just not quite as large as a 4 inch, and 33s look too small to me on a 4 inch. I don't want a large lift, but a tad more than a level but the RCX 2.5 kit will probably be enough for me, just prefer to do a true suspension lift.

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MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

They have a 4 inch kit using spacers and shock extensions, looks like zero cutting or grinding which is excellent but I don't understand how this kit is more money than rough country's and is using spacers to lift the truck.

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Jeff5347 · July 20, 2016

I wonder how thee will reek havoc on the cv's. They both have the spacers to drop the diff to get it back to a more parallel or closer to stock angle. The only draw back on these vs the real expensive ones is the lower brace which relocates the lower control arms. With a 4 in lift without the brace those control arms are at a serious angle. The uppers would help in the ball joint area and bump stops not being so close. I have a 3 in level and drove from mass to fl and still with 7k on the level no problems. Is a real pricey lift better...sure.. But I don't see a problem with the rc or SST as long as the diff drop is there

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MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

I wonder how thee will reek havoc on the cv's. They both have the spacers to drop the diff to get it back to a more parallel or closer to stock. The only draw back on these vs the real expensive ones is the lower brace which relocates the lower control arms. With a 4 in lift without the brace those control arms are at a serious angle. The uppers would help in the ball joint area and bump stops not being so close. I have a 3 in level and drove from mass to fl and still with 7k on the level no problems. Is a real pricey lift better...sure.. But I don't see a problem with the rc or SST as long as the diff drop is there

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My thoughts exactly. If this kit had the cross members included I think it would be really really nice, I don't want a lot of lift. I had a 6 inch BDS on 35x12.50s on one of my previous Silverados, done with that for a while. 3.5 looks perfect to me, but I just don't want to cut my crossmember. Do the lower control arms really need to be dropped with 3.5 inches? Readylift a 4 inch kit is bigger and it still doesn't drop them.

I guess I would be better off doing rough country's 2.5 level, 1 inch difference between the two. That kit still worries me, but should be fine it's very popular on here I haven't seen many complaints.

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Jeff5347 · July 20, 2016

There are a ton of ppl that will say anything more than 2.5 is horrible. I have a motofab 3 in level. Love it. I have had zero problems. It drives as good as stock, aligns well and looks great. Now if I had the money I'd do a 5 in lift but like you cutting the stock CM doesn't sit well with me. Maybe when the truck is 5 yrd old I won't care but cutting just invites rust and who knows what else. My 3 inch came with 2 inch blocks so that gave .75 more lift in the back. I switched those out for 3 in blocks for a total 1.75 in the rear. Just sat uneven. With the 3s in the back and front she is level now

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MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

There are a ton of ppl that will say anything more than 2.5 is horrible. I have a motofab 3 in level. Love it. I have had zero problems. It drives as good as stock, aligns well and looks great. Now if I had the money I'd do a 5 in lift but like you cutting the stock CM doesn't sit well with me. Maybe when the truck is 5 yrd old I won't care but cutting just invites rust and who knows what else. My 3 inch came with 2 inch blocks so that gave .75 more lift in the back. I switched those out for 3 in blocks for a total 1.75 in the rear. Just sat uneven. With the 3s in the back and front she is level now

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For a level kit yes 3 inches is too much, but that's good you haven't had problems. The rough country kit I posted is a suspension lift, not a level. It just doesn't have cross members to account for the diff drop, which I'm not sure is necessary at 3.5 inches of lift. That's what I'm trying to find out

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Jeff5347 · July 20, 2016

In all honesty I paid 123 for my motofab kit. To be on par with the RC I just need to get their UCA at 250 and the drop spacers. I see you're adding in the struts to make the 700. Any reason to not just keep the stock struts. That lift is only .5 inches taller than mine so I would imagine w the stock struts it would handle nice

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mt_at · July 20, 2016

The rough country and readylift 3.5-4" kits aren't a suspension lift. They're a glorified leveling kit. Nice to see RC include replacement struts, but a lot of people I know have had terrible experiences with their shocks, and the new diff drop setup sucks.

Without dropping the diff at that height you are asking for trouble. CVs are not designed to operate at those angles and will wear out quickly, and there is the possibility of binding as well. Your tie rods and lower ball joint will also be in the same boat. Saving a buck on suspension mods is not worth risk and headaches you'll have down the road - ESPECIALLY for a brand new $45k+ truck. You'll probably be out the cash later on when other parts fail. Some people do run the RC/Readylift kits with no problems, but even more people end up taking them off due to weird creaks/noises, wear issues, etc. I'd never run one on a new truck.

If money isn't an object, order BDS's new 4" coilover lift and set them at your desired ride height, and use a smaller block in rear.

Or just level it and do a body lift. Probably the safest route as far as warranty and keeping stock ride, and about the same cost as the RC/Readylift "big level."

MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

In all honesty I paid 123 for my motofab kit. To be on par with the RC I just need to get their UCA at 250 and the drop spacers. I see you're adding in the struts to make the 700. Any reason to not just keep the stock struts. That lift is only .5 inches taller than mine so I would imagine w the stock struts it would handle nice

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I just would prefer to use a strut over a spacer in any lift over a leveling kit range. I like this kit cause the diff is dropped and new UCAs are used but I just don't like cutting a crossmember like that. It seems that any kit over a few inches requires cutting, the readylift doesn't. But that's just as cheap as t gets using spacers and shock extensions. This RCX kit replaces all that which I like. I dunno!

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MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

The rough country and readylift 3.5-4" kits aren't a suspension lift. They're a glorified leveling kit. Nice to see RC include replacement struts, but a lot of people I know have had terrible experiences with their shocks, and the new diff drop setup sucks.

Without dropping the diff at that height you are asking for trouble. CVs are not designed to operate at those angles and will wear out quickly, and there is the possibility of binding as well. Your tie rods and lower ball joint will also be in the same boat. Saving a buck on suspension mods is not worth risk and headaches you'll have down the road - ESPECIALLY for a brand new $45k+ truck. You'll probably be out the cash later on when other parts fail. Some people do run the RC/Readylift kits with no problems, but even more people end up taking them off due to weird creaks/noises, wear issues, etc. I'd never run one on a new truck.

If money isn't an object, order BDS's new 4" coilover lift and set them at your desired ride height, and use a smaller block in rear.

Or just level it and do a body lift. Probably the safest route as far as warranty and keeping stock ride, and about the same cost as the RC/Readylift "big level."

I agree completely, the 4 inch bds kit though requires a good bit of cutting too and I don't want to cut up a brand new truck like that. The cuts the BDS kit requires are not reversible but a crossmember can be replaced if necessary.

But the rough country kit I have pictured is not the cheap one they first released, it uses struts and drops the diff and replaces UCAs. So it is a suspension lift, it just doesn't have dropped cross members which is what I'm trying to figure out is going to cause issues

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tsdrumm · July 20, 2016

The rough country and readylift 3.5-4" kits aren't a suspension lift. They're a glorified leveling kit. Nice to see RC include replacement struts, but a lot of people I know have had terrible experiences with their shocks, and the new diff drop setup sucks.

Without dropping the diff at that height you are asking for trouble. CVs are not designed to operate at those angles and will wear out quickly, and there is the possibility of binding as well. Your tie rods and lower ball joint will also be in the same boat. Saving a buck on suspension mods is not worth risk and headaches you'll have down the road - ESPECIALLY for a brand new $45k+ truck. You'll probably be out the cash later on when other parts fail. Some people do run the RC/Readylift kits with no problems, but even more people end up taking them off due to weird creaks/noises, wear issues, etc. I'd never run one on a new truck.

If money isn't an object, order BDS's new 4" coilover lift and set them at your desired ride height, and use a smaller block in rear.

Or just level it and do a body lift. Probably the safest route as far as warranty and keeping stock ride, and about the same cost as the RC/Readylift "big level."

I agree completely, the 4 inch bds kit though requires a good bit of cutting too and I don't want to cut up a brand new truck like that. The cuts the BDS kit requires are not reversible but a crossmember can be replaced if necessary.

But the rough country kit I have pictured is not the cheap one they first released, it uses struts and drops the diff and replaces UCAs. So it is a suspension lift, it just doesn't have dropped cross members which is what I'm trying to figure out is going to cause issues

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The only difference between the "new" 3.5 kit you are calling a lift and the "old" 3.5 kit you are calling a level is it uses struts instead of strut spacers. But it still isn't a true lift.

The diff does not drop the full 3.5 inches. Your going to end up with CV angles roughly equal to a 2.5 level.

There are no dropped cross members to drop the LCAs so the lower ball joints will be maxed. Yes, the UCAs help with the upper ball joints.

This kit reuses your stock knuckles so the tie rod ends will be at extreme angles too.

Unless a kit addresses all of these issues, it's nothing more than a stretched level kit.

Real lift kits do this with two ways for our trucks.

A bracket lift which lowers both the upper and lower control arms, diff, and rack. Lots of cutting involved but the Stock track width is maintained.

A knuckle lift which keeps the UCAs in the stock location, drops the diff and LCAs, and uses taller knuckles to address the tie rod end the increased space between the control arms. Less cutting is needed but your track width is usually increased with the knuckles, and turning radius is also often reduced.

It all comes down to what you want and what you are or arent willing to do to a new truck. Don't want to get a real lift and cut the diff and frame (like me), then get a level and a 1.5 body lift.

MOhunter92 · July 20, 2016

ame="MOhunter92" post="1839455" timestamp="1469050802"]

The only difference between the "new" 3.5 kit you are calling a lift and the "old" 3.5 kit you are calling a level is it uses struts instead of strut spacers. But it still isn't a true lift.

The diff does not drop the full 3.5 inches. Your going to end up with CV angles roughly equal to a 2.5 level.

There are no dropped cross members to drop the LCAs so the lower ball joints will be maxed. Yes, the UCAs help with the upper ball joints.

This kit reuses your stock knuckles so the tie rod ends will be at extreme angles too.

Unless a kit addresses all of these issues, it's nothing more than a stretched level kit.

Real lift kits do this with two ways for our trucks.

A bracket lift which lowers both the upper and lower control arms, diff, and rack. Lots of cutting involved but the Stock track width is maintained.

A knuckle lift which keeps the UCAs in the stock location, drops the diff and LCAs, and uses taller knuckles to address the tie rod end the increased space between the control arms. Less cutting is needed but your track width is usually increased with the knuckles, and turning radius is also often reduced.

It all comes down to what you want and what you are or arent willing to do to a new truck. Don't want to get a real lift and cut the diff and frame (like me), then get a level and a 1.5 body lift.

Right, i guess what I mean is me personally I consider it more of a suspension lift just because of the reasons I listed, but I get where you're coming from. I suppose what I'll do is wait till the truck is out of warranty until I decide to do something like BDS like I did with my last truck. It'll have a level until then, just can't justify butchering up a brand new truck [emoji51]

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