Level or Lift 2021 Sierra Denali

jaysusedcars · March 31

Hey guys, I'm looking to replace my stock Alenza tires and go with a slightly more aggressive a/t tire. While doing so I'm wanting to go up one tire size. The only lift I've found available for the 21 Denali w/ ARC is a 3.5" lift. I'm not sure I'm interested in lifting the truck that high so I'm also looking at levels.

Has anyone leveled a 19-21 Denali and if so did it affect ride quality or anything else?

Thanks

HistoryTeacher2020 · March 31

Hello. '20 Silverado LT crewcab, RWD. Installed Eibach shocks front/rear. Added Eibach coils on the front end as well. Leveled the truck. Not interested in raising truck so leveling was fine with me. Added Falken Wildpeak AT/3W 20X9 tires. Using stock rims. Rides well, no noise. Regards.

Gangly · March 31

If all your wanting to do is go with a larger tire size, you don't need a lift or level. If your still wanting to do a lift, hopefully somebody on here with ARC experience can chime in and give you some good information.

jaysusedcars · March 31

I actually installed Toyo AT3 in 285/50/22 which is one size up from stock and they rubbed quite a bit. I put the stock Alenza's back on and returned the tires until I could figure out the best route to go. ARC adds a new set of issues so hopefully someone will chime in.

Thanks

Gangly · March 31

This could be wrong, but the information available to me at this time is as follows:

2019-2020 Chevrolet Silverado & GMC Sierra 1500 - 2wd & 4wd
Factory 20x9.0 Wheel Offset = +28 mm - Back Space = 6.10" Inches
Factory 22x9.0 Wheel Offset = +28 mm - Back Space = 6.10" Inches

With the factory offset and backspacing, the tire you installed is only a 33.2" tire and under no circumstances should it have rubbed. I'm not sure what's going on but I hope you get it sorted out, good luck!

Edited March 31 by Gangly

jaysusedcars · March 31

Yes, the 22" wheel does rub with a 285/50/22 Toyo AT3.

Dirk13 · March 31

2 hours ago, HistoryTeacher2020 said:

Hello. '20 Silverado LT crewcab, RWD. Installed Eibach shocks front/rear. Added Eibach coils on the front end as well. Leveled the truck. Not interested in raising truck so leveling was fine with me. Added Falken Wildpeak AT/3W 20X9 tires. Using stock rims. Rides well, no noise. Regards.

Not applicable to trucks with ARC.

@jaysusedcars how hard did you look? In about 30 seconds I found this:

https://www.roughcountry.com/gmc-leveling-lift-kit-1317.html

I’m sure there’s other brands if you don’t want RC.

Edited March 31 by Dirk13

jaysusedcars · March 31

@Dirk13 No need to question my time researching the subject. There are all kinds of lifts, levels, etc on the market.

I am asking for someone’s real world experience with both a lift and level on a 21 Denali since the ARC system is fairly complex.

Thanks for your response though

Chad Watson · March 31

I have a similar question and seems people forget about the luxury of the ARC system.

thundar56007 · March 31

I have a 2020 RST Rally 6.2 which has the 22 inch factory wheels and had the dealer install the factory trail boss lift

and I put on 285/50/22 Nitto Ridge grapplers and there is NO rubbing at all in fact I tested the 285/55/22 Tires and

they were just about touching but but little to no extra clearance but still fit.

Dirk13 · March 31

2 hours ago, jaysusedcars said:

@Dirk13 No need to question my time researching the subject. There are all kinds of lifts, levels, etc on the market.

I am asking for someone’s real world experience with both a lift and level on a 21 Denali since the ARC system is fairly complex.

Thanks for your response though

Your post read like you could only find a 3.5” lift. My bad, good luck

2017GMCALLTERRAIN · April 1

I have the RC 3.5” lift on my 2021 Denali with 285/55/r22 NRG tires on the stock 22” wheels. I found a great deal on these tires which is why I bought them but I did have to do minor trimmings and add 2” wheel spacers so they wouldn’t rub on the upper control arms. The shop I originally was going to take to get the lift put on said if I go 285/50/r22 I wouldn’t need anything, maybe some wheels spacers but it wouldn’t require any trimming. As for the ride.. the ride did get a bit stiffer but that’s just because of the size of tires I chose but the overall ride quality did change (the truck just felt slightly heavier only noticeable on the drive home). The ARC is still all in tacked and is still smooth. As much as I love my lift and tire set up my next truck will be the level route with the biggest AT tire I could fit without any rub. The maintenance required for these spacer lifts are just not something I would like to do for the lifetime of my truck (re-torques, replacing ball joints, ect.) always remember when lifting a truck past the level height it just puts stress on all these parts and over time they will need to be replaced more often than the stock parts that are on your truck now. The level route would be a set it and forget it kind of lift which is nice in the long run. Another thing to remember is that you can get the same size tire you have on your truck now but in a AT tire and it will always look bigger than what you have bc of the aggressive side walls and thread patterns. The shop you decide to do the lift or level at will tell you the biggest size you can go or you can be like me and scour this site and find exactly what you want. There are plenty of threads to help you along the way. I’ve owned 4 different trucks trucks in the past 11 years and this is my first lift ever. I don’t regret doing it especially when I have fellow truckers admiring my tastefully lifted Denali. Truck lifting is just a faze that I will be growing out of but for now I enjoy being the prince of the road. I leave the “kings of the road” to those who have the 6”+ lift trying to make up for their micro p****.

jaysusedcars · April 1

@2017GMCALLTERRAINThanks so much for the in depth reply, this is exactly the info I was looking for. I have stock 22's and am just looking to go up to a 285/50/22. It sounds like after your experience the level is the way to go. Unfortunately all of the all terrain tires available in our 22" are load rating E which I know will also stiffen the ride.

Do you happen to have any pics of your Denali w/ the 3.5" lift just so I can see it?

Thanks for all of your info.

2017GMCALLTERRAIN · April 1

6 hours ago, jaysusedcars said:

@2017GMCALLTERRAINThanks so much for the in depth reply, this is exactly the info I was looking for. I have stock 22's and am just looking to go up to a 285/50/22. It sounds like after your experience the level is the way to go. Unfortunately all of the all terrain tires available in our 22" are load rating E which I know will also stiffen the ride.

Do you happen to have any pics of your Denali w/ the 3.5" lift just so I can see it?

Thanks for all of your info.

2017GMCALLTERRAIN · April 1

I’ve got about .5” of tire poke which is barely noticeable IMO. If you want to run 285/50/r22 tire I would make a choice on which AT tire is your favorite first and check the measurements of the tire. Not all manufacturers have the same measurements even though they’re the same sized tire. I went with the NGR because the reviews raved about how quiet the tire is and how aggressive the look. I wanted an AT tire that had the least amount of road noice but still looked awesome. I would personally stick with the AT3’s, NRG, Recon Grappler, or the G2’s.