Safe Leveling....!

GMCIERRA1500 · February 22, 2018

OK, so I have seen TONS of different leveling kits sizes out on the market and want to ask what is the safest MAX level height to use. As you all know there are 3", 2.25", 2.5", 2" and so on. I've heard 2" is the safest, I've heard 2.5" is. So id like a little more input from you guys as you fellas have the knowledge and know how. So could you guys PLEASE give me your input on what is the safest and friendliest to my front end components to use but yet get the maximum level height??

HoosierZ · February 23, 2018

I have a set 1” thick lower spacers on my 2016 Z71 w/ aluminum suspension that raised my truck 1-3/4”. At full suspension droop, the upper arms are 1/16” or less from hitting the stops. If the spacers were any thicker than 1”, the upper arms would hit the stops and whenever the suspension topped out there would be spring pressure trying to pull the upper ball joint apart. While I wish my truck sat a little higher, I’m not willing to sacrifice the ball joints to get it.

MikeChevyFanatic · February 23, 2018

I have a 2 piece 3” leveling kit on my 2016 Silverado 2wd and it seems to be doing me good although I still think I need to take it to an alignment shop and make sure it’s still all good it seems to be perfectly fine but I like to have the piece of mind

GMCIERRA1500 · February 23, 2018

Has anybody ran into angle issues or early failure of components with a 2.5 in front end leveling kit??

amxguy1970 · February 23, 2018

There is no "safest", anything more than stock will accelerate wear, this higher you go the quicker the wear. 2.5 isn't some magic no wear or issue height. This higher you go than stock incrementally increase wear. I wanted a balance, I went 1.5" because I know 2.5 is pushing it and I wanted to keep some rake as I use my truck as a truck with the rear 2 inch block and didn't want to look nose high either.

Just go with how comfortable you feel, there is a chance a 2.5 or larger kit may never give you an issue. There is a chance it could quickly in less than 20k miles. There is also a chance a small kit could give problems, you never know that is why you pay to play as they say. If you never leave the pavement that will help reduce risk and usually add longevity, but there is no 1 answer and searching and reading through all the threads should have given you the same info and answer...

Tyler

GMCIERRA1500 · February 23, 2018

4 hours ago, amxguy1970 said:

There is no "safest", anything more than stock will accelerate wear, this higher you go the quicker the wear. 2.5 isn't some magic no wear or issue height. This higher you go than stock incrementally increase wear. I wanted a balance, I went 1.5" because I know 2.5 is pushing it and I wanted to keep some rake as I use my truck as a truck with the rear 2 inch block and didn't want to look nose high either.

Just go with how comfortable you feel, there is a chance a 2.5 or larger kit may never give you an issue. There is a chance it could quickly in less than 20k miles. There is also a chance a small kit could give problems, you never know that is why you pay to play as they say. If you never leave the pavement that will help reduce risk and usually add longevity, but there is no 1 answer and searching and reading through all the threads should have given you the same info and answer...

Tyler

Yeah, that exact info you just mentioned was exactly what I've found. I was hoping to maybe hear some reviews from people rolling with their kits (kinda like reviews and what they've encountered as far as the good, bad and ugly). I totally agree with you as far as keeping some rake on the truck as I too use my truck as a truck. I just want to get a little more clearance up front. Right now my truck looks to me like it has a lot of rake on it stock (3 inches to be exact) so I wanted to go with maybe the 2.5 up front with the 2 in back to keep her raked but not as much as now and still gain elevation...if that makes sense.

How about vibrations with using tapered rear blocks?? I'm confused as to why every leveling kit which includes rear blocks sends tapered blocks if they cause vibration issues with these pickups. Are the people encountering the vibration issues installing them wrong or is there kits to avoid which it happens with more than with others?? thanks for the info!!

Fasthotrod · February 24, 2018

The reason why tapered blocks can cause vibrations is because it changes the pinion angle relative to the transfer case or transmission output. Odds are, they may even be installed backwards.

This article helps explain it better than I could:

https://www.killfab.com/blogs/news/pinion-angle-setting-up-proper-pinion-angle

zikronix · February 24, 2018

Take off the air dam...gain 3 inches....lol. Ive been thinkin about putting in a 2" as well but after looking i decided ill just remove the air damn and get a similar look.

TXGREEK · February 27, 2018

OK, so I have seen TONS of different leveling kits sizes out on the market and want to ask what is the safest MAX level height to use. As you all know there are 3", 2.25", 2.5", 2" and so on. I've heard 2" is the safest, I've heard 2.5" is. So id like a little more input from you guys as you fellas have the knowledge and know how. So could you guys PLEASE give me your input on what is the safest and friendliest to my front end components to use but yet get the maximum level height??

I was in your shoes when I bought my new truck. Went with Pro Comp 2” front 1” rear, made of billet aluminum.

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silveradosid · February 27, 2018

i went with 3/4 inch spacer which is suppose to be a 1.5 lift and at 70k miles my front end is still tight actually checked this weekend

bcbz71 · February 27, 2018

rough country 2.5 front (upper and lower spacer). Rear 1" taller block. 44,000 miles, no issues. Jarring over potholes and speedbumps, but normal highway ride is stock.

Leveling is a cheap man's lift. You have to put new taller spindles or use a bracket kit if you want to avoid excess wear due to poor angles.

You can replace tie rod ends and ball joints a couple of times for the price of a quality lift kit.

Nothing is free.

TXGREEK · March 1, 2018

rough country 2.5 front (upper and lower spacer). Rear 1" taller block. 44,000 miles, no issues. Jarring over potholes and speedbumps, but normal highway ride is stock.

Leveling is a cheap man's lift. You have to put new taller spindles or use a bracket kit if you want to avoid excess wear due to poor angles.

You can replace tie rod ends and ball joints a couple of times for the price of a quality lift kit.

Nothing is free.

Leveling is NOT a poor mans lift. Auto manufacturers have even started raising their new vehicles for a bit of better ground clearance but being that I’ve had many vehicles lifted I only enjoyed my Land cruisers lifted, both were 90’s and just looked and rode better than any of my other lifted SUVs. I like having my vehicles lifted but got sick of the constant repairs and disgusting mpg’s as well as horrible bounce/vibrations and horrible performance. I’ve got a new Gmc 6.2 CrewCab leveled with 2” front 1” back billet aluminum and rides better than any of lifted trucks except for my lifted LandCruisers. I’ll never have another lifted truck, can’t do squat with it and drives like poo poo. Forgot to mention, I brought up the leveling kit to my dealership and they said not to worry as long as it’s not higher than 2” it’ll be under warranty if I have any problems but not a lift. If anyone wants to get ideas on whether to lift or not, go to YouTube and look for an answers to that question, you’ll find many. Ooops, forgot to mention that wtf is all the [emoji90] under lifted trucks anyway? Look at a new lifted truck and you’ll see metal braces everywhere which puts it back to original clearance. Might as well just do a level and body lift to get the height without all that crap underneath [emoji23] [emoji13]

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