lift or not

silverchevy · September 24, 2003

My 2500 2000 is rather plain and i am considering a lift. Pros Cons, about h9ow much will it cost. thanks

ridnlow · September 24, 2003

Pro's - looks, performance cons - strain on drive train, possibly having to regear

cost - however much you want to spend. You could go cheap and get a 3 inch body lift or go all out and get a 10" suspension. Dont forget the money to buy new tires and rims

willfxp · September 25, 2003

How does a lift help in performance?

ridnlow · September 25, 2003

Peformance when it comes to off roading....

silverchevy · September 25, 2003

my tires are already bigger then facxtory, i would like a 6 inch. what the diff from body and shocks and price difference. about how much am i looking at with new tires and all.

PFarkas · September 26, 2003

Pros: Performance benefits include: Increased ground clearance to frame (suspension lift), ability to run oversized tires (suspension and/or body lift), increased ground clearance to differentials (with oversized tires).

Cons: Reduced fuel efficiency. Slightly reduced payload capacity (the weight of a suspension lift kit is non-trivial and the kit does not change the GVWR of the truck). No fifth-wheel towing with a body lift. Increased step-in height (tube steps reduce the severity of this issue). Increased bed deck height (may or may not be an issue, depending on how you use your truck).

Serious Cons: In many cases, dealerships will NOT perform warranty work on a modified truck. Reduced Resale Value - rarely, if ever, is a modified truck worth as much as a stock one. Reduced driveline strength, especially in half-ton 10 bolt semi-floating differential - changing to 4.56:1 or 5.13:1 gearing in these differentials means a very small amount of teeth are engaged in the diff - stories of these failing when put under load (off-roading, hauling, or towing) are not uncommon, NOT regearing results in increased strain (and a very real possibility of reduced life) on the rest of the driveline.

Cost: To do a 6+3 (six inch suspension and three inch body lift), you'll be around $6500. That includes the price of the suspension lift, the price of the body lift, the price of new differential gears, a new front drive shaft, speedometer correction, tires and rims, and some money for labor. Of the listed items, the only element that I would consider not including is the body lift. To go up two (or more) tire sizes without re-gearing can SERIOUSLY reduce the usability of the truck.

This topic has been discussed in the past on this and other forums. Check out this thread for more information:

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...topic=17655&hl=

You may also want to check out the forums at http://www.fullsizechevy.com

A suspension lift on our IFS trucks is pretty much a permanent modification, and should not be casually embarked upon. I recommend that anyone considering a lift carefully study the options, ask lots of questions, and try to become as much of an expert on the topic as you can before they begin.

Only you can decide whether or not you should lift your truck.

silverchevy · September 29, 2003

any other thoughts?

tmf6902 · September 29, 2003

With my 6 in fabtech, I got the lift for $1500, labor for install was $400, tires were about $600, shock, and wheels, were probably around $600, but I got a deal for buy 3 get one free on the wheels for some cheap weld's....and the shocks were buy 3 get 1 free from procomp........so the total package was somewhere between 3k and 3500 with tax and things I am forgetting about.....

My lifted ride is better than the stock ride, and it looks a hellava lot better.

Definatly think about it for a while....make sure you have enough money to do the job right, and for the things that will bite you in the ass once you have it on there.....murphy's law says that if you have just enough money to do it, something will screw up and you'll need a new flux capicitor or something. For example I blew a CV joint shortly after my lift was installed...the lift installers didn't want to pay for it, and neither did GM....so american express did.

good luck.....but just a word of warning....since you are already thinking about it, your brain is gonna hurt thinking about it cause your gonna want it so much.....and once you see some of the kick ass trucks people have on this site....your gonna want it even more.