14 1500 Z71 suspension/tires upgrade

80vette383 · November 28, 2019

I've got a 2014 Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71 that I'm getting ready to modify slightly, and figured I'd make a thread for a couple reasons. First, I have a couple questions about which way to go with the truck. Second, I want to make it easier for guys looking to do a similar set up to mine to find info and pics, which I'll post once I'm done. I've done a ton of searching on here, there's a ton of threads on leveling and tires (as you know), but most of them are lacking pictures/info, or are 200pgs and cluttered with crap. Also, most seem to be guys with aftermarket wheels or stock 20s, so I wanted to make one specific to stick Z71 18s. Anyways, onto the point...

Level:

I'm going with either

1) Bilstein 5100s

2) Bilstein 6112s

3) Rancho Quicklift

Like most, my truck sees mostly paved roads, with occasional offroad but nothing crazy intense (except a couple weeks on the beaches of the outer banks haha). I have a large polaris ATV that goes in the bed a lot, plus do small contracting jobs, so the bed is used for decent sized loads fairly regularly. I do occasional towing as well. So basically, I like the look of leveled, but think I may need to keep a slight rake to avoid the back end sagging when hauling. Of the 3 options, the Ranchos may be the hardest to accomplish this with because they don't have adjustable height, what you get is what you get (which is supposed to be right at 2"). There's a lot of info on the bilstein in here, but not much on the Quicklift. Does anybody have any experience? I'm thinking to keep a little rake, the Bilstein on the 3rd setting may be best? Also, I've seen mixed reviews in ride quality versus the stock Z71 Ranchos... Some day night and day difference for the better, some say unnoticeable, some say they're stiffer... Any input?

Tires:

My number 1 choice is the BFG K02s. I've always had good luck with these tires, and have installed them on many friends rigs. However, I'm trying to stay away from LT tires on this truck to avoid the performance /mpg/ride quality loss. I'd prefer the durability and look of LTs, but trying to stay with P/SL I've narrowed it down to

-Firestone Destination AT2

-Continental Terraincontact AT

I've had great experience with continental on my cars, but have never gotten an AT your from them (it's a new segment for the Conti line). Anybody have any experience with them? I'm sure they ride great, but I'm more concerned with they're AT and snow ability.

The firestone AT2s were just released this past year. I just installed them on my mother in laws truck and they seem nice, plus they have the 3 peak snow rating, so I'm kind of leaning this way. Anybody have any experience with them on their truck?

Size wise I'm looking at a less popular 265/70 because I'm trying to avoid the LTs in the 275/70 range. The 265/70 will keep the stock width of roughly 10.5" to hopefully not impact MPG, but will get me an extra 1" diameter to go from the stock 31.5" to 32.6"

Depending on the advice I get from you guys in going to try to order everything this week and install next week. Pics to follow.

I appreciate any input!

Thanks

Lsgun1 · November 28, 2019

I haven't had those specific bilstein shocks but I would recommend the brand itself especially over Rancho. As for tires I've had the original destination AT and was happy with them. The BFG has a really nice look and last forever though.

L86 All Terrain · November 29, 2019

I don't think you even need a level to run those tires sizes tbh. Your ride quality and wear parts will suffer as a result of installing one. If you want to be that close to the stock tire size, I would just keep the suspension stock or just swap shocks if you don't like the ride.

80vette383 · December 4, 2019

On 11/29/2019 at 9:57 AM, L86 All Terrain said:

I don't think you even need a level to run those tires sizes tbh. Your ride quality and wear parts will suffer as a result of installing one. If you want to be that close to the stock tire size, I would just keep the suspension stock or just swap shocks if you don't like the ride.

I'm looking to get rid of some of the rake. I was under the impression with the bilsteins the impact on the wear parts wouldn't be as bad as with a strut spacer. Also, I've read nothing but retorted improvements of ride quality with the Bilsteins over the stock Ranchos, but who knows. Either way swapping control arms out in these isn't a big deal. If my ball joints wear I'll upgrade the arms.

I decided to go with the Bilstein 5100s, set on either the 3rd or 4th highest setting, I haven't decided yet. I also ordered Continental Terraincontact ATs in 265/70r18 which will keep the stock width but give me an extra inch in height, just shy of 33s. I've installed a lot of Contis and they make a great tire backed with a great warranty. These have a decent aggressive look but should be very quiet/comfortable on the road and maintain good mpg.

I'm doing the install at my shop Saturday. I'll update with pictures.

Lsgun1 · December 4, 2019

Don't forget to reprogram the speedo

80vette383 · December 4, 2019

1 hour ago, Lsgun1 said:

Don't forget to reprogram the speedo

I probably will at some point, but for a small change from 31.5 to 32.5 inch tires it's not the end of the world. At 70 it'll be off by 2mph

Lsgun1 · December 4, 2019

I think of it more as cheating the odometer

Alex2015sierra · December 4, 2019

I'm glad you started this thread! I would also like to continue upgrading my suspension and I'm curious what other people have done and how they use their trucks. Mine is a 2015 Sierra double cab standard box.

I've had my 5100s installed for about 60k miles and I'm very happy with them. My truck sees some light off roading on fire roads, beaches, and some poorly maintained forest roads while on camping trips. It is also my daily driver and what I used to tow my 12ft box trailer as well as my el camino from Jacksonville to Maryland.

I have the 5100s on the third highest setting and the stock rear block. I'm considering taking them up to the highest setting and installing a 1 inch lift block in the back, but I haven't found a reason to yet. The truck was definitely nose high while towing the El Camino on a UHual trailer, but other than that it sits fairly level when towing 1500 lb box trailer.

25k miles ago I got 275/70R18 KO2s on the stock wheels and I have also been happy with those, but they did hurt my mileage, especially around town. My truck has 3.08 gears though and they don't help.

I'm putting some pictures in this post so you can get an idea of the what the 3rd setting looks like with the stock rear block and 33 inch tires.

Right after tire install:

This is with around 1100lbs of scrap wood in the bed:

This is probably 500lbs in the bed:

This is towing the El Camino, about 4500lbs but the weight is biased forward on the trailer:

Alex2015sierra · December 5, 2019

So far the 5100s and tires are the only changes I've made to the suspension. When the ball joints wear out I'm planning on getting new arms, and at that point I'll either up the lift to the 4th setting or get some 6112s and install them at the 4th setting (both are supposedly the same at 1.85" of lift). When I do that I'll lift the rear also, but I have the blocks sitting around so I might do the rear first to see how I like it. With the shocks on the top setting and the rear blocks installed, I should see around 1/2 inch more rake. Right now I have 1.5 inches of rake with the bed empty. Measuring from the center of the hubs to the top of the wheel arch I'm at 22.25" up front and 23.75" in the back.

My goal for the front suspension is to increase the total wheel travel and regain the down travel I lost because of the lift. I really like the way the 5100s dampen out bumps and ruts, but sometimes I feel like the front wheels "fall" into holes and down off of of ledges, causing the front of the truck to fall and then rebound significantly. More down travel should help with that and offer a more controlled ride, but I'm not a chassis or suspension engineer so I don't know.

80vette383 · December 11, 2019

I did the install up at my shop this past weekend. Everything went smooth, these struts are VERY easy to get out of the truck... just the 3 upper nuts and 2 lower bolts and it's out, didn't even need to loosen the end links. Going back in I needed a little more wiggle room, so I removed the end links, still VERY very easy though.

I didn't take really any pictures during the actually install because I was rushing to get everything done before evening plans (I was also doing tires, rear brakes, new side steps and some other little things)

Install notes:

-I re-used the OE strut shaft nuts to avoid the Bilstein-bump. The OE nut is definitely better quality than the supplied nut with the strut. Ideally I would have gotten NEW OE nuts to use seeing you're technically not supposed to be re-use those oval lock nuts. But, I didn't have new OE nuts, and the old ones still seemed like a better option than the supplied nuts.

-I went with the highest setting (4th notch) and got 2", but that was right after coming off the lift, so there should be some settling. Currently I have about 1/2" to 5/8" of rake.

-I also re-used OE clip nuts, because again they seemed like better quality than the supplied nuts.

-Alignment was not very far off after install. Camber and Caster were dead on, Toe was about 0.3* off on both sides.

Review:

I'd say about 95% of the reviews I read prior to buying the 5100's are accurate. The change is pretty significant. I should note my truck and it's stock Ranchos had 55k miles. They were pretty heavily rotted on the outside, but I didn't realize how blown they were until I got them off and felt how little resistance they had left.

Handling

I would say the biggest change I notice is the huge decrease in body roll. Turns, especially quick turn ins are SO much more stable. It's hard to describe in words, but very noticeable. It's most noticeable going around a rotary near my house. I used to have to take it much slower, and you could really feel the truck shifting it's weight. Quick turn ins would cause the weight to sort of bounce back and forth from left to right, to the point you could feel the wheel rocking, until it kind of settled in. Now it just stays rock steady. Brake dive was also something that has gone away. I never had given it much thought, it was just something I had gotten used to. Everything about the handling has greatly improved. NOTE: Some of this may be attributed to the change in tires, but the body roll improvement is definitely the suspension.

Ride quality

The ride quality is great. Like others mention it's definitely stiff, but not anymore than it was from the factory in my opinion. Smaller bumps and imperfections in the road are greatly improved over stock. They suspension just absorbs them and you barely notice them. Rougher roads and large bumps are where you feel the stiffness, but like I said it's nothing outrageous. I think it feels like a truck should, and the stiffness is well worth the improved handling!

Tires:

I went with the Continental Terrain-contact ATs. As I said above, I have always had good experiences with Continentals performance and passenger car tires, so I was looking forward to trying their newer ATs. The quality is great and the ride is awesome. The steering is WAY more responsive with more feel/control than the stock Goodyears. From a technical standpoint they balanced well with very little weight, which in my experience is a sign of quality tires. Also, for those that know Roadforce balancing, 3 of the 4 tires roadforced at under 10, which is again a sign of a quality tire. I love the BFG KO2s, but for how I use my truck I couldn't justify going with those and taking the mpg/acceleration/suspension wear/ride quality hit that comes with the significant added weight of them. Compared to the KO2s, or other LT options, these obviously aren't as aggressive, but I think they have a decent aggressive look, and at the same time have ZERO road noise, great handling, no noticeable impact on MPG, and an awesome ride. Also, for size I went with kind of an odd duck 265/70R18. Not many people on here have gone this route, but I decided they fit what I was looking for. I wanted a little bigger, but didn't want to jump to the LTs which is mostly what's available in the larger sizes. I also didn't want to significantly impact my MPG by adding wider tires. So the 265/70s gave me an extra 1" diameter while maintaining stock width. I think it's a nice size, not too obvious, but maybe something the truck could have come with from the factory. The size is 32.6" tall by 10.5" wide, vs 31.6" and 10.5" stock.

Before pictures: