Jump to content

GM Leveling kit discussion

PlainWhiteZ71
 Share

Recommended Posts

PlainWhiteZ71 Enthusiast

PlainWhiteZ71

Posted
Posted

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 Senior Enthusiast

Gangly

Posted
Posted

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 Enthusiast

PlainWhiteZ71

Posted
  • Author
Posted

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 Enthusiast

Amcguy1970

Posted
Posted
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 Senior Enthusiast

Gangly

Posted
Posted
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 Enthusiast

PlainWhiteZ71

Posted
  • Author
Posted

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 Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted (edited)
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 by newdude
Gangly Senior Enthusiast

Gangly

Posted
Posted (edited)

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 by Gangly
PlainWhiteZ71 Enthusiast

PlainWhiteZ71

Posted
  • Author
Posted

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 Enthusiast

wepiii

Posted
Posted

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.

IMG_3532.jpeg

4banger Enthusiast

4banger

Posted
Posted

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

  • 2 months later...
Hoopstar Enthusiast

Hoopstar

Posted
Posted
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.

IMG_3532.jpeg

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

wepiii Enthusiast

wepiii

Posted
Posted
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 Enthusiast

Hoopstar

Posted
Posted
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?

 

  • 10 months later...
Mmotown New Member

Mmotown

Posted
Posted

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!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Atlas
      Wow I'm in a pickle. (Broke down truck) and a story.

      By Atlas · Posted

      Declaring victory would upset the demons that possess this Blazer, so I won't. But I did make progress today--after it put up a fight. Always a fight.   I had the day off so I spent the morning cleaning up the shop and I thought I'd get ahead of things by filling the cooling system in prep for the final part I needed to arrive: the driver's side knock sensor. Glug, glug, glug....and then the unmistakable sound of liquid hitting the shop floor. It induces the same chagrin when the sonar and targeting laser temporarily malfunction during a late night bladder evacuation over the toilet with the bathroom light off. D'OH!!! That made a mess...   Oh, hey, that knock sensor I removed? It threads into a wet port. Who knew?! Learn something new every day. Put a pin in that chore, I'll fill it the rest of the way later.   The knock sensor arrived at about 1pm. I threaded it in, connected the wire, filled up the coolant, checked for leaks, and... drumroll.... fingers crossed for a perfect start, excellent timing, model fuel trims, and ...no squeaks... Here goes.....   No, it didn't start. At all. I cranked it a few times and it wasn't sounding good. Furthermore, I heard leaking again. Jesus H Tapdancing Christ, stop leaking all over the dang floor. This time I had accidentally overfilled the coolant reservoir and the churn of the water pump via cranking caused a bit to burp out. Ok, just, breathe... Put the flamethrower down. Dang thing wouldn't burn anyway, leaks too much...   Did you know the rotation of a round crank sensor in a round hole, matters? I do now. Took me about half hour to retrace steps and realize what I had done. Then it started right up.   No squeaks. The squeak was the old balancer.   Once it entered closed loop, fuel trims are dead on, hovering right around zero at idle. No more -30%. I'll credit the injector rebuild on that one.   Timing? I think there's an OBD 1.5 translation error with my Actron scanner. It's anywhere from -20 to -30 at idle, sometimes as high as -40 cruising. Sorry, the engine just isn't running that smoothly at -40 degrees ignition advance. It's just not. It's smooth all through the rev range and has decent power. I'm going to have to trust the seat of my pants on this one.   The new exhaust is very quiet. The old catalytic converter? Not melted, but definitely not healthy. Rains glitter when you turn it on its end...all the precious metal is flaking out. Once the new exhaust system burned in/smoked off a bit, the engine's exhaust smell is normal again. Not that I'd recommend going around huffing car exhaust, but, you know what I mean?   One problem to correct. The new exhaust has the opposite problem of the old spliced up exhaust. It wants to hit the floor where the old one wanted to rest on the cross member. Happy medium, please? Still noodling on that one, need to look at how I can adjust some hangers.   I don't know what's next. On one hand I want to run away from this thing as far and as fast as I can -- there have been a lot of NOT fun moments. On the other, now that it kinda drives nice, maybe drive it around for a little bit?   Shhh... it's not currently dripping oil all over the floor. I can see just a little wet at the bottom of the timing cover where it meets the oil pan seal. It's not dripping multiple drops with every ignition cycle, in fact, after some driving this evening it has yet to even form a drop that could drip off yet. But the weekend is young... I fully expect this could turn into Exxon Valdez by Sunday. Because this Blazer hates me. LOL.      
    • Grumpy Bear
      The Peckish Synapse

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      About that:   Once upon a time in a land far far away lived a car company that was shy about taking your money and wanted to be sure that they gave you more that you asked for so that you'd come back. No really, not a fairytale. 😱   But after the field got thinned out enough to limit the competition it seemed good enough to give you only what you asked for. Fair enough I say but in such a market you have to give something the others are not or they go to the one who does. Gimmicks or glitz. Oh, fins and chrome. Yea, shinny crow like cars. Yum.    Field narrows a bit more and 'brand loyalty' becomes a thing and the minute it does they start thinking to themselves, "Could we make more money if we gave them less than they expect and they will hang in there for brand and comfort with the known?" They gave it a try and da*n, it worked!!    Well, what if we teach them, groom them into believing that less is "Normal" and cut some more corners. Will that work? Oh heck yea!    🤔 I wonder, can we give then WAY less than they expect and make them mad enough to spit nails and STILL get them to pay up? Sure, if we get everyone else to do the same so that the choice is less or nothing at all. How would be do that? Platform sharing.  What a concept, right?  Steal like there is no tomorrow and it's legal too!    Truth is no one is going to give up driving, not for very long. The Gen Z crowd is fine with it and will be as long as someone not Gen Z will haul them around. At some point we all die.    Economic voting only works if you cast a NO vote now and again and enough of them to get dumb and dumber to wise up. Well, that's how I was taught anyway. And it should have worked. Would have worked. But the Bail out!!   Look, you have another choice if  you take that bag off your head. If the dumb it down to some predetermined expectation of how John Q Public will use it the, that is under design it to failure they you use it to a lower stress mode. D'ho!    A 1950 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 will go anywhere a Suzuki Hayabusa will and for just as long. But you will have to treat it for what it is and not for what you wish it was. 
    • Vu1can
      Bridgestone vs Goodyear tires?

      By Vu1can · Posted

      Maybe I was just too unlucky, but I had nothing but bad luck with Bridgestones. Out of 3 sets, they all started losing a lot of air when they got down to about 1/2 tread life, and at that point also wet traction suffered more than it should have. Also, the only tire I ever had in my 60 years of driving that had a side wall blow out was a Bridgestone.   I'm currently running Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse AT and am very happy with them.   
    • davester
      Broke Down on the Mountain

      By davester · Posted

      maybe when the trip is over, check all the other joints in the front end, like all the ball joints, tie rods, pitman & idler arms, etc...
    • Carlos Eduardo Silva
      adding 360 surround view, UVI (Trailer Camera) package to UVS (Surround/invisible Trailer) Upgrade 2020 Silverado RST

      By Carlos Eduardo Silva · Posted

      Thks, and actually it was my bad, because here in this post there is someone showing the correct wire position as well. My bad... But thank you a lot with the help as well. I was able to find and buy a 10 channel VPM that came from a sister silverado of mine. The same year, same mode, same trim, same everything. 2022 Silverado 1500 LTD LTZ (pre-refresh). I also found to buy just the bottom mirror part that has the cameras, so way cheap than the full mirror. + a used front camera. I did test everything together, cameras, cables and the VPM.... everything worked EXCEPT my original Bed camera and the backup grid lines. I think the reason is because now I need to do the VPM reprogram. I sent a msg White Automotive & Media Service to confirm that it is the problem and that they can do it service for me case.   Once I get it 100% done I will post here result....

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...