Lift/Tire Ratio

Mike Reitzloff · October 12, 2020

Ok, I know many of these conversations have taken place already, but I'm having a hard time finding specific info that I'm looking for and am hoping someone out there can help out. I have a 2017 Sierra Denali (1500). I'm trying to decide between a 2.5" RC leveling kit, which replaces factory 1" block in the rear with a 2" so would raise back by 1" it seems, or Motofab 3" front/2" rear level. With the RC 2.5", a reviewer on their site says he went with 285/60r20 Duratracs with no rubbing issues. The Motofab 3" has a reviewer that says he's running 285/65r20 but doesn't say whether or not there's any rubbing or trimming needed. I don't want to do any offsets or trimming. I'd of course like to have 0 rubbing, and I want to stick with factory 20" wheels. I'd love to go with the 285/65's if possible, but if those wouldn't fit with the 3" kit, I'd rather go with the 2.5" because I like the look of filling the fender wells as much as possible, so I don't want to lift higher if I can't run larger tires with it. Anyone running 285/65's with a 3" kit?? Thanks for any help anyone can offer!

18redhot · October 24, 2020

You’ll be safe running the 285/65s with the 3” for sure, at most maybe zip tie the carpet back, no metal trimming. You will more than likely rub the sway bar and uca with both kits at full crank

Mike Reitzloff · October 24, 2020

That's good to hear, thanks for the info! I really liked the look of the truck with the 3" and the 285/65s a lot. As far as rubbing the sway bar and uca, I have to ask because I'm new to the truck world (this is my first truck), is that not that big of a deal? It sounds like it'd be bad, lol!

18redhot · October 24, 2020

51 minutes ago, Mike Reitzloff said:

Yeah buddy tbh you could run a 295/65 all terrain and get by, I’m putting 35 12.50 venom power terrain hunter xts on mine when I get some time off work, I’d recommend the motofab 3/1 with ucas I already have the kit and the quality seems unmatched for the money, around 400 for everything, use promo code pc10 it’ll get you around 40$ Off the kit

18redhot · October 24, 2020

Also, rubbing the uca isn’t too big of a deal, just don’t go full crank lol. In all reality it pretty much just rubs the finish off and there will be a shiny spot, ran a nnbs Silverado rubbing the sway bar for 120k no issues

Mike Reitzloff · October 24, 2020

Ok, cool. Good to know! Thanks for the input! I think I will go with the Motofab 3" kit. You'll have to post some pics of your truck when you get that kit installed, it sounds like it's going to look great!

amxguy1970 · October 24, 2020

Nothing is specific, all trucks have a tolerance and a slight variance. What may work for some person might not work for another especially when trying to push the boundary. Tire brands and styles play a hand in it as the same size tire between two manufacturers aren't the same exact size. That is why you search and do your due diligence on all the other thousands of threads and see what most people have works. I personally wouldn't go with what one or two people said in a repetitive thread as the people who may have your specific set up including tire type and brand may have seen something different but they aren't going to go in to 5 threads a day answering the same question when they already have in another thread.

As far as the kit goes, your truck is going to hate you. That is why I won't buy a used truck as you never know what the previous owner did and took off. The 3 inch level puts you about maxed out on droop and all the other angles are going to be horrible for long term wear. Even adding UCA's the lower control arms, tie rods and CV's are going to be at pretty extreme angles. If you aren't off roading they may last longer but that is still extreme. Many people for some reason or another say 2.5" is safe (not sure how they pulled that number out of their azz) but that is not the case, anything higher than stock just reduces the life of the components. The further you go from stock the more time it takes out of other parts, just remember that. The larger and heavier you go with tires will also impact your wheel bearings as well as negative offset wheels (very popular in Texas). Just some info for you for a first time truck owner.

My set up I went 1 inch larger with tires and stayed P-rated to gain minimal weight and did a 1.5"level in front and 1" rear to keep rake when towing and hauling, I ended up changing the level out to Bilstein leveling shocks when my stockers were worn and set them at 1.25". If you do plan to tow or haul keep some rake in your truck, it will drive and handle better level as too much sagging takes weight off the front tires. Also remember to adjust your headlights down so you don't blind on coming traffic once you have it installed, a large level will be like running around with your brights on to everyone with an HID or LED set up.

One more thing, I think your truck has magnetic ride control so I think that may limit level choices? I am not sure as I didn't go that route so I haven't checked in to it, just what I have seen. Maybe that is an option and wasn't standard?

Tyler

18redhot · October 24, 2020

5 hours ago, Mike Reitzloff said:

Ok, cool. Good to know! Thanks for the input! I think I will go with the Motofab 3" kit. You'll have to post some pics of your truck when you get that kit installed, it sounds like it's going to look great!

Check out lmfscrew on YouTube, very helpful

Mike Reitzloff · October 26, 2020

I checked out a few of that guy's vids, it does seem like he has some good info for sure.

*Tyler, you have a good point there. I have done quite a bit of research though, and if parts wear prematurely, I will just have to replace as needed. I want my truck to look tougher than the stock look. I don't think they're tall enough off the assembly line. The Denali's do all have magneride for the '14-'18s. These kits I'm looking at come with the magneride sensor relocation brackets to maintain factory ride quality. I agree about leaving some of the take in there for towing though. That's why I am leaning towards a 3" front/2" rear kit. That only reduces the take by an inch. I believe they are at least 2" take stock, and I do plan on pulling a camper with it, but I won't go more than 6K lbs @ under 600 lb tongue weight, so I'm hoping that wouldn't cause me to squat. ??? It seems there are a LOT of guys out there lifting these things though, so I would think more of them would be mentioning problems if they were common with these kits. Idk, maybe I'm wrong there.

18redhot · October 26, 2020

50 minutes ago, Mike Reitzloff said:

I checked out a few of that guy's vids, it does seem like he has some good info for sure.

*Tyler, you have a good point there. I have done quite a bit of research though, and if parts wear prematurely, I will just have to replace as needed. I want my truck to look tougher than the stock look. I don't think they're tall enough off the assembly line. The Denali's do all have magneride for the '14-'18s. These kits I'm looking at come with the magneride sensor relocation brackets to maintain factory ride quality. I agree about leaving some of the take in there for towing though. That's why I am leaning towards a 3" front/2" rear kit. That only reduces the take by an inch. I believe they are at least 2" take stock, and I do plan on pulling a camper with it, but I won't go more than 6K lbs @ under 600 lb tongue weight, so I'm hoping that wouldn't cause me to squat. ??? It seems there are a LOT of guys out there lifting these things though, so I would think more of them would be mentioning problems if they were common with these kits. Idk, maybe I'm wrong there.

1-2” of rake will be fine for towing your camper assuming you have a load leveling hitch, just make sure to check what control arms you have, the stamped steel are dangerous with the larger leveling kits due to lack of ball joint support, and some people suggest new ucas for aluminum also

Mike Reitzloff · October 26, 2020

I'm trying to find out what UCA's I have still. I feel like this stuff is way more complicated than it needs to be. I just wan to make my truck taller. I feel like the guys that make the lifts should be able to tell me exactly what I need to accomplish that without screwing crap up. The Motofab UCA's say they don't fit Denali's. So I will have to do some more digging around to find out I guess. Thanks for the info though! This is definitely helping!

18redhot · October 29, 2020

On 10/26/2020 at 10:29 AM, Mike Reitzloff said:

I'm trying to find out what UCA's I have still. I feel like this stuff is way more complicated than it needs to be. I just wan to make my truck taller. I feel like the guys that make the lifts should be able to tell me exactly what I need to accomplish that without screwing crap up. The Motofab UCA's say they don't fit Denali's. So I will have to do some more digging around to find out I guess. Thanks for the info though! This is definitely helping!

https://www.readylift.com/blog/2017/07/11/upper-control-arms/

this should help ya out bud, best to do all the research you can so you don’t get your truck torn apart and run into something that will have you scratching your head. Pm me if you want I’d be glad to help walk you through it