Advice On My Truck Setup?

matt3989 · February 12, 2008

do you think this would be a good alternative to putting a lift kit on my truck? I mainly want to be able to fit the 33x13.5 tires while still having a good look to my truck. Its a 2006 z71 1500 silverado- any feedback is appreciated!

2-3" inch body lift

2.5" readylift leveling kit

33x13.5 mt baja atz

pro comp 18x10 8 lug wheels

2000DV4.8 · February 12, 2008

Don't go with the leveling kit. A 2.5" leveling kit is the exact same thing as cranking the stock keys 2.5", which is way too much crank. The only difference with aftermarket keys is that they are re-indexed, which allows you to is crank further, which is a bad thing. The further you crank, the worseyour CV/tie rod angles get, which puts too much stress on those parts. Overcranking can also cause balljoint, pitman arm, and idler arm failure. The maximum you should crank is about 1.5", after that your ride will really start to stiffen up, since the suspension will be resting on the top bumpstops, and won't have any down travel when you go over bumps. You will have guys telling you that "they've been running a 3" crank for 4 years or something, and never had any problems" but that is not the norm. Most people have servere wear, or even failure issues. Overcranking the t-bars is not safe, for you, or those around you either. Say you're going down the highway at 70mph, and a ball joint or tie rod end fails. You're you can't control the truck at that point, and you might take others out with you.

You will not need longer shocks, since when you crank the t-bars, you are not changing the actual length of suspension travel, you are just increasing the spring rate so that the suspension doesn't sag as much under the weight of the truck.

I'd go with a 3" body lift, and a set of 305/60R18 (33X12.50R18) ATZ's on 8" wide wheels. You shouldn't need to crank at all with that tire and wheel combo, but if you want to level the truck out a little don't go over 1.5" of crank.

By the way, welcome to the site, and lets see some pictures of the truck!

jhndizzle · February 12, 2008

hey matt i wouldnt do a bodylift and a leveling kit. CST make a 4.5 inch lift perfect for 33's and way cheaper.

matt3989 · February 12, 2008

Don't go with the leveling kit. A 2.5" leveling kit is the exact same thing as cranking the stock keys 2.5", which is way too much crank. The only difference with aftermarket keys is that they are re-indexed, which allows you to is crank further, which is a bad thing. The further you crank, the worseyour CV/tie rod angles get, which puts too much stress on those parts. Overcranking can also cause balljoint, pitman arm, and idler arm failure. The maximum you should crank is about 1.5", after that your ride will really start to stiffen up, since the suspension will be resting on the top bumpstops, and won't have any down travel when you go over bumps. You will have guys telling you that "they've been running a 3" crank for 4 years or something, and never had any problems" but that is not the norm. Most people have servere wear, or even failure issues. Overcranking the t-bars is not safe, for you, or those around you either. Say you're going down the highway at 70mph, and a ball joint or tie rod end fails. You're you can't control the truck at that point, and you might take others out with you.

You will not need longer shocks, since when you crank the t-bars, you are not changing the actual length of suspension travel, you are just increasing the spring rate so that the suspension doesn't sag as much under the weight of the truck.

I'd go with a 3" body lift, and a set of 305/60R18 (33X12.50R18) ATZ's on 8" wide wheels. You shouldn't need to crank at all with that tire and wheel combo, but if you want to level the truck out a little don't go over 1.5" of crank.

By the way, welcome to the site, and lets see some pictures of the truck!

do you think the 33x13.5 is too much? Im getting a great deal on that tire with 18x10 wheels so i was hoping it would work. I also noticed GM has been throwing readylift leveling kits on there new trucks to fit 33" with the same GM warranty. Also they dont void my warranty in case anything does go wrong.

Thanks alot. I'll take your advice with the 3" body lift and 1.5" of crank...btw heres a pic of my truck!

cambo · February 12, 2008

Honestly don't do the body lift at all. Try to stay away from the cranking of the keys....I've done it, it's not a smart way to lift.

Also how can you fit 8-lug wheels on a 6-lug truck?

2000DV4.8 · February 12, 2008

Don't go with the leveling kit. A 2.5" leveling kit is the exact same thing as cranking the stock keys 2.5", which is way too much crank. The only difference with aftermarket keys is that they are re-indexed, which allows you to is crank further, which is a bad thing. The further you crank, the worseyour CV/tie rod angles get, which puts too much stress on those parts. Overcranking can also cause balljoint, pitman arm, and idler arm failure. The maximum you should crank is about 1.5", after that your ride will really start to stiffen up, since the suspension will be resting on the top bumpstops, and won't have any down travel when you go over bumps. You will have guys telling you that "they've been running a 3" crank for 4 years or something, and never had any problems" but that is not the norm. Most people have servere wear, or even failure issues. Overcranking the t-bars is not safe, for you, or those around you either. Say you're going down the highway at 70mph, and a ball joint or tie rod end fails. You're you can't control the truck at that point, and you might take others out with you.

You will not need longer shocks, since when you crank the t-bars, you are not changing the actual length of suspension travel, you are just increasing the spring rate so that the suspension doesn't sag as much under the weight of the truck.

I'd go with a 3" body lift, and a set of 305/60R18 (33X12.50R18) ATZ's on 8" wide wheels. You shouldn't need to crank at all with that tire and wheel combo, but if you want to level the truck out a little don't go over 1.5" of crank.

By the way, welcome to the site, and lets see some pictures of the truck!

do you think the 33x13.5 is too much? Im getting a great deal on that tire with 18x10 wheels so i was hoping it would work. I also noticed GM has been throwing readylift leveling kits on there new trucks to fit 33" with the same GM warranty. Also they dont void my warranty in case anything does go wrong.

Thanks alot. I'll take your advice with the 3" body lift and 1.5" of crank...btw heres a pic of my truck!

I can't see the pictue of the truck since I'm at school. Stupid.

The 33x13.5" tires on a 10" wide wheel will almost definitely rub, unless you crank the hell out of the bars, which like I said earlier, is not a good way to do anything. You'd probably need a true 6" lift to fit those tires on a 10" wide wheel.

And when you say that they have the readylift leveling kit on the new trucks, are you talking about the NBS trucks? Because they don't have torsion bars, the leveling kits for the new body style trucks are just strut spacers.

Honestly don't do the body lift at all. Try to stay away from the cranking of the keys....I've done it, it's not a smart way to lift.

Also how can you fit 8-lug wheels on a 6-lug truck?

Why wouldn't you do the bodylift? It's a relatively cheap, safe, reliable way to fit larger tires on a truck, and give it a better stance. If you get gap guards and side steps, you can't even tell most of the time that the truck has a BL.

And I agree on the wheels, if they're 8 lug, you can't put them on your truck.

matt3989 · February 12, 2008

so i take it a 18x8.5 wheel with 33x12.5 tires would be the way to go?

cambo · February 12, 2008

so i take it a 18x8.5 wheel with 33x12.5 tires would be the way to go?

I still don't recommend doing that. I did it with 305/70/R16 on 16x10 and had to max out my torsion bars, and cut some metal off my wheel well. Don't do any bigger that 295/75.

2000DV4.8 · February 12, 2008

so i take it a 18x8.5 wheel with 33x12.5 tires would be the way to go?

I still don't recommend doing that. I did it with 305/70/R16 on 16x10 and had to max out my torsion bars, and cut some metal off my wheel well. Don't do any bigger that 295/75.

He's talking about with a body lift, I think.

You should be fine with those wheels/tires, and a 3" body lift, just make sure you have the correct backspacing.

By the way, the truck looks great! And lets see some pictures once this is all done!

black jack · February 13, 2008

I have the ready lift keys and installed bilstien 5100 shocks all around going on 6month and love it.I also plan on installing 33s. Heres a link about keyshttp://www.avowners.com/forum.idc?show=forum_posts&TID=870&PN=1

MaxLTZ · February 15, 2008

hey matt i wouldnt do a bodylift and a leveling kit. CST make a 4.5 inch lift perfect for 33's and way cheaper.

That'd look awesome. The 13.5" tire is wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide though.

I cranked the bars on my 2000 tahoe to fit 285 BFGs in. It road like a sherman tank. Go with a lift!

cdfrench74 · March 24, 2008

Leave it alone. Downsize your rim to a 16". Then throw on 285/75/16 BFG All Terrains.

I did this on my 2001 before I sold it. Smartest move I ever made. Never paid for ball joints, brakes, or any other front end parts either.

When I sold it last year, the dealer told me that had I lifted it, it would have decreased the value by 15-30% immediately.

I will never consider lifting a truck again.

Bobslob · March 26, 2008

You know you can fit 285's without cranking the tbars at all. Thats what I'm going to do when my tires need replacing, I guess I just love the look of trucks that are close to stock height w/ filled out fenders.

And you can run 8 lug wheels but you'd have to buy some 6 to 8 lug adaptors.