GM Leveling kit discussion

PlainWhiteZ71 · May 17, 2023

My first post here. I have a 2022 (refresh) Silverado Crew Cab LTZ Z71. It is pretty well loaded including all of the cameras, etc. I know there are cheaper ways to level but I have some GM rewards to use and was looking at the GM leveling kit and it states that the dealer would re-calibrate cameras, etc. as part of the install and none if it voids any warranties. Wondering if anyone has this kit and has any thoughts on it?

Also, regardless of which kit, would like to get input on a good tire size to go to on the stock wheels. It came with 275/60R20 Wrangler Trailrunner AT's. I'm not looking to stuff the biggest tires possible. Mainly, I like the look of a more leveled truck (small amount of rake ok) and just want to choose a good tire size that looks right with the level. The Goodyear site says the stock tires are right at 33" tall but the width is not specified. I'm thinking something around 34" tall and 11.5" or so wide should fit the bill, but it would help to have some experienced info on that.

Gangly · May 17, 2023

To keep this short since there are a gajillion posts on this already:

1. The kit is decent, but there are cheaper and better alternatives.

2. No suspension leveling kit will void your vehicles warranty

3. You can fit 35" tires on your truck with little to no rubbing as long as you stick with factory wheels. Once you go to an aftermarket wheel with varying offsets, you will run into issues.

PlainWhiteZ71 · May 17, 2023

I have no doubt that "what's the biggest tires I can fit with a level?" has been posted and answered a gajilion times. That's really not the main point of my post, however. I imagine 35's that are narrower than 12.50 will fit with no rubbing but may look overstuffed on nothing more than a leveled truck.

Appreciate the feedback that no leveling kit will void warranty, but I have to say I'm dubious about that being completely the case no matter what.

Anyway, when I was looking at things to burn my rewards on, I came across the leveling kit and it pointed out that with the "dealer install" option, they would recalibrate the camera system and power steering. I wonder how important that is or if it's even necessary. If it is recommended, I'd want it done. I paid a lot of extra money for a truck loaded with features that depend on those cameras, and I'd want them to work as designed.

A "decent" kit would be fine with me. I just want a bit more of a leveled look - no plans to really do any off-roading or beat the truck up in any way. But for those reasons, I would still want to maintain a quality ride and not sacrifice significant ride quality just to go cheaper on the mods.

Amcguy1970 · May 18, 2023

19 hours ago, Gangly said:

To keep this short since there are a gajillion posts on this already:

1. The kit is decent, but there are cheaper and better alternatives.

2. No suspension leveling kit will void your vehicles warranty

3. You can fit 35" tires on your truck with little to no rubbing as long as you stick with factory wheels. Once you go to an aftermarket wheel with varying offsets, you will run into issues.

No, but it will void the suspension warranty that it interacts with and probably what the OP wants to avoid as a precaution. Ball joints, a-arms, CV joints, tie rods, etc. If you go larger and heavier on tires or offset the rims it can also void the wheel bearing warranty. So no, it won't void your vehicles warranty, just parts it interacts with. They have bulletins out to their techs specifically looking out for pucks, spacers, lifts, etc and what the vehicle is in for warranty work. They don't want to pay if something the owner did broke and nor should they, it will just be denied...

Tyler

Gangly · May 18, 2023

19 hours ago, PlainWhiteZ71 said:

I have no doubt that "what's the biggest tires I can fit with a level?" has been posted and answered a gajilion times. That's really not the main point of my post, however. I imagine 35's that are narrower than 12.50 will fit with no rubbing but may look overstuffed on nothing more than a leveled truck.

Check the overall diameter of the tire, that is the most important aspect. Most 35" tires are actually in the high 34.XX" range and will fit fine with an 11.5" width. Some will fit with a 12.5" width, but tire OD really comes into play at that point.

Appreciate the feedback that no leveling kit will void warranty, but I have to say I'm dubious about that being completely the case no matter what.

A leveling kit for a Z71 is a 2" shock lift. Your Z71 comes with the same front end suspension components as a TB, minus the shock which is a factory 2" lift. All other front end suspension components on your Z71 are the same as on the TB, so the suspension is designed and built from the factory to work in conjunction with a 2" shock lift. The longer CV's, components of the drivetrain, are nice but are not needed, especially if you aren't doing any maximum flex rock crawling or ditch diving. There are COUNTLESS people out there with 2" level kits running stock CV's, and you don't hear of any breaking or pulling from the differential because it doesn't happen and its not an issue, simple as that.

Anyway, when I was looking at things to burn my rewards on, I came across the leveling kit and it pointed out that with the "dealer install" option, they would recalibrate the camera system and power steering. I wonder how important that is or if it's even necessary. If it is recommended, I'd want it done. I paid a lot of extra money for a truck loaded with features that depend on those cameras, and I'd want them to work as designed.

I would guess that trucks with a recalibrated power steering system are a rarity because the ONLY people to have had that done would be people who purchased a lift kit from GM, and those individuals are a minority in comparison to the aftermarket. The other gajillion individuals who lifted their trucks in one form or another are perfectly content without the steering calibration. There is an older post where it is believed that the calibration basically takes into affect altered center mass geometries when making calculations based on accelerometer inputs from the SRS systems. As far as the camera calibration, I would definitely want that if possible.

A "decent" kit would be fine with me. I just want a bit more of a leveled look - no plans to really do any off-roading or beat the truck up in any way. But for those reasons, I would still want to maintain a quality ride and not sacrifice significant ride quality just to go cheaper on the mods.

I personally really enjoyed the factory suspension, it just went to crap on me in the first 20k miles so I upgraded to Eibach. I now have 96k miles on the truck and the shocks feel as good now as they did when I first installed them. If you enjoy your current ride and want to maintain the factory handling characteristics, just lower the back end a tad for your leveled look and keep the front end unchanged. A heads up for you though, a leveling kit will stiffen up the truck some, which may or may not be what you want.

Good luck with whatever route you take.

PlainWhiteZ71 · May 18, 2023

A heads up for you though, a leveling kit will stiffen up the truck some, which may or may not be what you want.

Thanks again for the feedback. I would expect a little difference but I know, if done right, a truck can be leveled and still have a pretty good ride quality. If I'm not mistaken, the GM kit is basically the components from a Trail Boss or even a ZR2 that aren't yet installed on the other models, correct? And those trucks still ride pretty darn good. I've had trucks leveled just by tightening the torsion bars (much stiffer ride), trucks leveled with spacers (cheap but decent ride), and the last brand new truck I bought (not a GM), I had the dealer install the "factory" leveling kit and larger tires before I even took delivery and still enjoyed a supreme ride that was hardly discernable from the test drive I did before purchasing the truck.

Check the overall diameter of the tire, that is the most important aspect. Most 35" tires are actually in the high 34.XX" range and will fit fine with an 11.5" width. Some will fit with a 12.5" width, but tire OD really comes into play at that point.

The manufacturer spec on the OEM Goodyear 275/60R20's is a diameter of 32.99" (let's call it 33"). I'm pretty sure a 35" diameter tire would fit as long as it's not a 12.50. But I'm thinking more along the lines of a LT tire that's maybe not quite as tall as 35 but would be slightly wider than 11.5. I'm seeing some specs on some of the Nitto offerings that are spec'd at close to 34" tall and 11.75" wide. I'd rather have a tire that is a little shorter but a little wider than to just to as tall as possible and sacrifice width as a result.

newdude · May 18, 2023

22 hours ago, PlainWhiteZ71 said:

My first post here. I have a 2022 (refresh) Silverado Crew Cab LTZ Z71. It is pretty well loaded including all of the cameras, etc. I know there are cheaper ways to level but I have some GM rewards to use and was looking at the GM leveling kit and it states that the dealer would re-calibrate cameras, etc. as part of the install and none if it voids any warranties. Wondering if anyone has this kit and has any thoughts on it?

Also, regardless of which kit, would like to get input on a good tire size to go to on the stock wheels. It came with 275/60R20 Wrangler Trailrunner AT's. I'm not looking to stuff the biggest tires possible. Mainly, I like the look of a more leveled truck (small amount of rake ok) and just want to choose a good tire size that looks right with the level. The Goodyear site says the stock tires are right at 33" tall but the width is not specified. I'm thinking something around 34" tall and 11.5" or so wide should fit the bill, but it would help to have some experienced info on that.

The GM kit is a full lift, not a level. It will raise the front and rear 2 inches and maintain the rake.

275/65R20 is a 34 inch tire which is safe option for diameter but no width changes. If you want more width and diameter, 285/60R20 is 33.5", 295/60R20 is even wider but 34" diameter.

Edited May 18, 2023 by newdude

Gangly · May 18, 2023

The components from the TB are unchanged since the first one in 2019 . The ZR2 kit is considerably more expensive and considerably more capable, probably beyond the capabilities of anybody in this forum. The ZR2 is an incredible platform with, quite literally, class leading suspension. The TB suspension is basically a Z71 with upgraded 2" longer shocks but the shocks aren't particularly great/durable when compared to Eibach and Bilstein, but definitely better than stock Z71 shocks. Both Eibach and Bilstein shocks will handle significantly better than the factory Z71 or TB shocks, and the truck will feel infinitely more "planted" with better dampening, less body roll and less bounce.

A few people have mounted 35" nittos on factory wheels with no issue, but I cant remember if it was the Trail Grappler, Ridge Grappler, or Recon Grappler. Others have had some success with the BFG KO's as well.

Good luck to you.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Gangly

PlainWhiteZ71 · May 18, 2023

A few people have mounted 35" nittos on factory wheels with no issue, but I cant remember if it was the Trail Grappler, Ridge Grappler, or Recon Grappler. Others have had some success with the BFG KO's as well.

Probably the Ridge Grappler. That last new truck I referenced, I started out with BFG KO2's on the stock wheels and went with a size that was closer to 35" tall but not very wide. I later replaced them with Fuel Wheels and 35x12.50 Ridge Grapplers but the reason I had no rubbing issues was because the RG 35 was not quite 35" tall nor was it quite 12.5 wide. But I'm trying to learn from my displeasure with previous deeds because I did not like how the tall/thin KO2's looked and then wasn't happy with how the 35's overstuffed the fenders on my leveled only truck. Something in the middle of those 2 extremes would have looked best and I think what will be best, for my taste, in this case.

wepiii · May 19, 2023

I did the rough country 3.5 inch level and have been very happy with it. It included new struts, new upper control arms, rear blocks and new rear shocks. I put on Nitto 285/65r20 recon grapplers. I am very happy with the look and the ride.

4banger · May 25, 2023

she looks nose high to me, they level just fine out of the box when you have some weight in the box or the trailer on, I did the 4/3 ready lift and had to add airbags just to make sure I can remain 'level' when I hitch up or fill that box up, I wish it was a 4/4 proper lift but hey, I use it as a truck, anything over 1" plus on the front is going past level and to the nose high side of the scale

recommend if going up do no more than 1" more on front but if you can do same front/rear if you actually use your truck for truck things

Hoopstar · August 4, 2023

On 5/18/2023 at 7:23 PM, wepiii said:

I did the rough country 3.5 inch level and have been very happy with it. It included new struts, new upper control arms, rear blocks and new rear shocks. I put on Nitto 285/65r20 recon grapplers. I am very happy with the look and the ride.

How has this Lift held up, did u have the monoleaf spings. Are those factory rims?

wepiii · August 4, 2023

1 hour ago, Hoopstar said:

How has this Lift held up, did u have the monoleaf spings. Are those factory rims?

Rides as good as it did the day I bought it! Yes to mono leaf springs and yes to factory rims!

Hoopstar · August 4, 2023

29 minutes ago, wepiii said:

Rides as good as it did the day I bought it! Yes to mono leaf springs and yes to factory rims!

Thanks, truck looks amazing.

So no issues using the rear block from RC on the monoleaf.

Any rubbing with that size tire.

Really like the look of yours and want to do something similar.

You have any more pics?

Mmotown · June 5, 2024

Wepiii I have the same exact truck as yours. Elevation with off road package and tow. I am new to trucks and wanted to do a minor mod. What made you go with a lift kit instead of a leveling? Also I would like to keep my original rims but a wider stance tire. Your look is what I want. May I also ask who installed your kit and who's the manufacturer? Thanks!