Anyone have a lowered Z71?

ga1990 · May 8, 2006

Just curious...I've got a 2003 Z71 and was thinking about lowering 3 inch front 4 inch rear. I was thinking 3 inch lowering keys in the front and 4 inch shackles in the rear...wondering if anyone had done this and what else would I need. Will the stock shocks still work? DJM sells a kit that comes with 3 inch lowering control arms and 4 inch shackles, they say their kit requires new shocks. Also wondering if their kit with control arms was a better option than the keys. Also wondering how either of these options would effect my ride quality. Any input is appreciated!

Meatywand · May 9, 2006

Its gonna ride bad if you lower it..but thats a given. I personally don't see the point in lowering a 40,000 dollar 4x4 when you could have a got a 2wd cheaper and done the lowering on it. But there a few people around here with lowered Zs

Breezy · May 9, 2006

Belltech makes lowering keys 1-3 inches for the front. Use 2WD kit on the rear because they don't list it for 4WD. Ride should be close to stock since your torsion bar is still the factory unit. This is what holds the weight of the truck your just changing the position of the bar. The kit for the back does not take leaves out so once again your ride should be the same. It will lower the center of gravity so it should corner a little better and not have a wobling effect. This is my plan for my 4x4. I put the shakles on Sat. took about 30 minutes. Trucks pretty level now. Hope this helps you out.

ga1990 · May 9, 2006

Breezy...will you be able to keep your stock shocks with that setup? How much of a drop did you go with in the rear? I was looking at my truck and did some measuring, and I think if I could just go 1.5" in the front and 3" in the rear I'd be happy. As to meatywand and anyone else who's thinking it...I wouldn't want to give up my 4x4...i only end up off road about 2-3 times a year, but it's no more than a dirt (sometimes mud) road...i'm only thinking of lowering my truck a few inches to ride a little more level and look a little more sporty...it'll still have more ground clearance than any all-wheel drive car...this way i can have somethign that looks better on the road (where my truck spends 99% of it's life), can still get me out of a little mud, snow or pull boat up a slippery ramp without any trouble. And it wasn't just the 4x4 that made my truck cost as much as it did, it's also all the other options that come along with an LT. And the idea is to keep my stock springs and shocks so that it won't ride bad.

Meatywand · May 9, 2006

Never mind I read the amount of drop wrong...but just so you know ( I have no idea how much a lowering kit costs) You can get a 2" Rough Country Lift Kit that will make it sit level for about 129 from JC Whitney. I'm gonna be ordering one for my Z in the next month..but whatever enjoy the truck...and if your going to lower take advantage of the extra handling and make that sucker faster!

Breezy · May 9, 2006

ga1990... I would think so. Best thing to do is unbolt the bottom of the shock and depress it toward the top. It will more than likely get pretty short. Most shocks on fullsize trucks have a travel of 7 inches at least. I dropped the rear about 2 1/2 to 3 inches with part #6400 I seen on there website they had a longer shackle that was part #6700 if I remember right. Remember look at 2WD same set up on the back. If all you want is 1.5 or so in the front you can get that much from loosening the bolts on the torsion bars. Just the opisite as raising the front with a torsion bar crank. That's what they called it on ZR2's anyway. I just traded mine in on this truck. Did that 5-6 years ago and never had any trouble. I measured my fender opening against a true SS silverado AWD and there was only 1 inch lower on front and 3 or so on back. The shocks are the same according to my monroe book at work. Well that's enough out of me for awhile. Headlines are on Lateshow. Later

sc4808 · May 10, 2006

The problem is that these tuucks only have a couple of inches of travel to begin with, look at the bump stops and you will see what I mean, If you lower a 4x4 GM product you wll be riding with no suspension travel at all.

Breezy · May 11, 2006

Cut the snuber down to allow extra travel. Just figured something out today. If your truks are like my 06 you can drop the rear for free. My truck has a 2 inch block added between the axle and the spring. Just take it out and put it back together. Axle has a hole for the spring tie bolt to set in so it would be just like the way a 2WD is set up. The ubolts maybe just a little to long if anything. I have some shorter u-bolts from a 2WD coming from GM. I have already dropped 2 inches with Bell shackles. Bell also will tell you to cut the front snubers when installing there front lowering keys. inch drop and still has enough travel. You must remember where the snuber is located does move as much as your wheel going up and down at the end of the suspension. Probably only moves 1/4 to 1/2 inch at the snuber when the wheel moves a inch or more. Just my 2 cents. By the way I got my SS dubs on tonight. SWEET

gman697 · May 25, 2006

LMC Truck makes a lowering kit just for a Z-71. Im thinking they might only offer it only up to 2004. Check them out just in case, catlogs are free. www.lmctruck.com

droptail · July 8, 2007

LMC Truck makes a lowering kit just for a Z-71. Im thinking they might only offer it only up to 2004. Check them out just in case, catlogs are free. www.lmctruck.com

Did mine a long time ago. Used Bell tech. Actually had to crank it up this week for the first time when I put on 2007 take-offs. Lowered truck handles better on road where I drive it.

1990 Silverado Sport 5.7L 5-speed Z71

I have an intermittant odometer failure prob. How to fix it? What years are the analog gauge with tach replacements that fit in my 1990 from?

bletour · July 25, 2007

Just curious...I've got a 2003 Z71 and was thinking about lowering 3 inch front 4 inch rear. I was thinking 3 inch lowering keys in the front and 4 inch shackles in the rear...wondering if anyone had done this and what else would I need. Will the stock shocks still work? DJM sells a kit that comes with 3 inch lowering control arms and 4 inch shackles, they say their kit requires new shocks. Also wondering if their kit with control arms was a better option than the keys. Also wondering how either of these options would effect my ride quality. Any input is appreciated!

I would love to lower mine a couple of inches as well! I'm new to the GMC world. Can anyone explain the differences between the 2WD and 4WD setups? Why do no vendor seems to have 4WD parts? I checked Bell Tech but their 4WD kits seem to stop in '98. All the listed kits are for 2WD only.

Also, what is the difference with the SS setup? Why can't SS parts be used on the 4WD setups?

Thanks,

--Bill