Possibly beat to death

[Ganudorm]

I was thinking about putting a 3" body lift on my truck instead of a leveling kit. I want 35s for some reason so I was thinking 3" body lift on a 99 z71 would work? how bad would the gas drop on a 5.3 litre?

[Mark_in_Tulsa]

I was thinking about putting a 3" body lift on my truck instead of a leveling kit. I want 35s for some reason so I was thinking 3" body lift on a 99 z71 would work? how bad would the gas drop on a 5.3 litre?

 

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It would hurt bad. I would highly recommend changing the gears out to help with the loss of power and mpg. Plus, those tall tires will really hurt your tranny with stock gears.

[snoman]

I was thinking about putting a 3" body lift on my truck instead of a leveling kit. I want 35s for some reason so I was thinking 3" body lift on a 99 z71 would work? how bad would the gas drop on a 5.3 litre?

 

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It would hurt bad. I would highly recommend changing the gears out to help with the loss of power and mpg. Plus, those tall tires will really hurt your tranny with stock gears.

 

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Gears are a very good idea, (about a 4.56) but you have other issues too as 35's will beat up front end parts as well as MPG and expect aligment issues, tread wear problems and short ball joint life and if you play hard off road, expect some breakage. If you play hard, 33's would be a better compromise on that truck for looks, performace and durabilty.

[saltwater_addict]

I've got a 3" body on mine and i love it it was doable at the house and cheap no problems that everyone is always talkin about with them ie: squeaking rattling there is no way that i could get 35's under it it rubs as it is right now this is with 10" rims though i have a set of keys in the barn but not on yet i think you can get 35's with the keys and body lift im gonna put these on when i retire the truck to the ranch youre power is going to suffer but with 3.73's i can still do almost everything i did before just makes it harder to scratch em btw 33's are almost better if you arent going to change the gears i know alot of friends that had 35's and thier trucks were less capable due to the power loss this is in mud and sand i cant speak about rockcrawling or anything like that

hope this helps

[snoman]

I've got a 3" body on mine and i love it  it was doable at the house and cheap  no problems that everyone is always talkin about with them ie: squeaking  rattling        there is no way that i could get 35's under it    it rubs as it is right now      this is with 10" rims though      i have a set of keys in the barn but not on yet  i think you can get 35's with the keys and body lift    im gonna put these on when i retire the truck to the ranch    youre power is going to suffer but with 3.73's i can still do almost everything i did before    just makes it harder to scratch em        btw  33's are almost better if you arent going to change the gears i know alot of friends that had 35's and thier trucks were less capable due to the power loss  this is in mud and sand i cant speak about rockcrawling or anything like that

hope this helps

 

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Even 33 are too tall for 33's unless you have very lower performance standards and not to mention the strain on the tranny too. I guess I am old fashioned because I believe the a 4x4 should be geared properly and effectively and not like a car but like a real truck!

[phire]

So, as I'm new to the truck/4x4 world, how can one raise up the truck a few inches without hurting economy/power/drivetrain? I thought about raising it a little bit but I'm not entirely interested in bigger tires/wheels as I don't drive in the kinda conditions that would fully utilize them much.

[snoman]

So, as I'm new to the truck/4x4 world, how can one raise up the truck a few inches without hurting economy/power/drivetrain? I thought about raising it a little bit but I'm not entirely interested in bigger tires/wheels as I don't drive in the kinda conditions that would fully utilize them much.

 

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Any lifting you do will increase strain on drive train make no mistake. The question is what is acceptable (minimal impact) and what is not. Generally one tire size is not much concern. Starting with two tires sizes and above it gets a lot more noticable and how your truck is geared to begin with has some impact on this to because if your truck has like 4.10, a two size increase will not be felt as bad a a 2 size increase on a 3.73 and two sizes on a 3.42 will really pull it down.

[asilverblazer]

Lifting alone will not cause the problem, it is the larger tire diameter that many install with a lift. The only time "drive train" will suffer, is if you add a big suspension lift (greater than 6") with out addressing driveshaft u-joints and pinion angles. Also some suspension lifts generate the lift by using different spindles which increase cv-joint angles, though generally not enough to notice a decreased life span of them.

[Ganudorm]

If I just threw some 33 super swampers on there i wouldnt have to regear would i

[snoman]

Lifting alone will not cause the problem, it is the larger tire diameter that many install with a lift. The only time "drive train" will suffer, is if you add a big suspension lift (greater than 6") with out addressing driveshaft u-joints and pinion angles. Also some suspension lifts generate the lift by using different spindles which increase cv-joint angles, though generally not enough to notice a decreased life span of them.

 

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Actaully lifting alone (before you add tires) does increase strain because of increase drag and higher angles in drive shafts and front axle CV's (unless it is just a body lift) ALso it changes and raises the CG of vehicle which ads strain to suspension components. On more thing ANY suspension lift will increase strain to front CV's if it change the angle they run at.

[phire]

What about those keys that seem to be so popular in levelling out our trucks?

 

But, basically the safest way to add lift without putting additional strain is with a body lift?

[saltwater_addict]

3.73's with 33's are fine ive had had mine on there for 98k miles now truck is fixing to roll over 166k it can dust my buddies 06' with the 3.42's much more responsive without the torque mgt. if you have 3.42's 33's will probably be too much i dont know if you tow anything or really use it offroad but like i said, mine will still pull the horses or the boat just fine i just cant rev at the mustangs anymore haha

[snoman]

What about those keys that seem to be so popular in levelling out our trucks?

 

But, basically the safest way to add lift without putting additional strain is with a body lift?

 

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Keys raise via Tbar reindexing and run CV's at a lot higher anlge which increase strain on them

[snoman]

3.73's with 33's are fine        ive had had mine on there for 98k miles now  truck is fixing to roll over 166k      it can dust my buddies 06' with the 3.42's        much more responsive without the torque mgt.        if you have 3.42's    33's will probably be too much  i dont know if you tow anything or really use it offroad but like i said, mine will still pull the horses or the boat just fine    i just cant rev at the mustangs anymore haha

 

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Good for you but you have low performance standard because that is like putting 3.42's with stock tires which is not a good conbo in a heavy truck and both would rendure OD next to about worthless most of the time. Different people have different preformance standards and some are a lot lower than others. I drive a HD pickup when I need it and I would not do any thing to compromise its pulling power. I consider a 4.10 minimum for 31's in a heavy 4x4 truck with a SB if you want it to be able to do something and have a effective OD and with 33's to 35's at least a 4.56. Some are scared away by the numbers but OD really cutts it down and I have little doubt that with atleast 4.10's you would not only see a improvement in performance in all of the gears but likely in MPG as well. Also I would not bet to heavily on that tranny making it to you mileage goal with current setup.