[BlackPearl]

Thanks for the feedback!

How do you like the ride quality after installing the Ready Lift kit? Does it feel just as comfortable/capable on the road?

Haha, well they have to make money somehow right? In all honesty, I would love to go for Readylift's 3.5" or MaxTrac's 4" lift kit, but I just can't rationalize wheel/tire shopping on a brand new truck (plus I have a few other mods in mind and I like the OEM Redline wheels). Like most truck enthusiasts I've always loved the look of a lifted pickup.

With the trucks primarily role being my daily driver though, I'm thinking a 2" front lift (and maybe wheel spacers) will give me a similar look; especially if I can fit a more rugged all-terrain 32" tire down the road. (I only have 35000 miles to go till these are probably bald ?)

I had the ReadyLift 2" leveling kit install on my new Z71 after 6 days and 500 miles. I chose it over the rough country after talking with the guys at the 4 wheel shop I have used for nearly 20 years. the design with the stabilizer bar spacers seem to keep the geometry closer to stock. But leveling kits are just that, not a real suspension system. So far after 500 miles I am happy with it. Of course the guys a the 4 wheel place recommended a 3.5 inch full lift with new wheels and tires... Only time will tell with the leveling kit.

 

[BlackPearl]

I hadn't seen their strut kit. Doing a little more digging, it seems like the Readylift 2" puck doesn't require disassembly of the front struts like the Rough Country spacers making it ride a little more like stock?

I'm not sure on the larger kits. From what I saw it seemed like Readlift's 3.5" and MaxTrac's 4" kits seem like they compensate for any increased angles; but I'm admittedly not too well versed in all of the various lifting options. It's tough to pass on the extra hight for only another few hundred dollars more; but I feel like I would HAVE TO get new wheels/tires if I went that high versus keeping my stock tires on a 2" level until they run dry.

I can't remember the exact site, but I saw an offload shop post images of a Gen2 Colorado with the 2" front leveling kit that added another lift kit bring it to around 5" up front and 3" in the back. I'm not sure on ride quality, etc. but it looked pretty darn good!

The Rough Country spacer leveling kit works fine but for the cost of install you may as well just get their new strut leveling kit or go 1 step higher with a Eibach Pro Truck kit.

As far as I know there is not a 3" or 3.5" kit out there that addresses the issue of extreme CV angles and the dramtic loss of down travel. It's better to combine a normal 2" to 2.7" lift with a 1.25" body lift or step up to a true 4"+ lift kit.

IFS vehicles really shouldn't be lifted higher than 2.5" with shocks/springs alone.

 

[BlackPearl]

Anyone out there have any insight on the 1.5" wheel spacers?

 

[BlackPearl]

Thanks for all the feedback!

Looking at something a little taller, how do you guys feel about Readylift's 3.5"(front)/1" (rear) kit?Could I keep my OEM wheel if I went that route instead, and if so what size spacer would I need to run a 32" you think?

 

[BlackPearl]

You know I hadn’t thought too
Much about body lifts. I guess I always thought it might coming out looking weird compared to a suspension lift.

That’s not a terrible idea though.

Would I have 1.5” of visible fender gab though?

the 1.5 inch spacers will cause your wheels to stick out a little more then if you had 0 off-set wheels (stock are 33mm 1.5 is 38mm)

so if you bought aftermarket wheels with 0 off-set(pretty common) they woulld wear the parts about the same as the spacers. Somme are finding -15 off-set wheels = less wear and they do not stick out as far..

the rought country spacer on my truck goes above the strut not pre-loading the spring lke mentioned above somewhere

think about the 1.5 body lift with 2 inch suspension lift, several people have done that, less wear on suspension and rides almost like stock.

 

[BlackPearl]

Oh nice! I always thought, body lifts would leave a visible gap between the body/frame. I guess they're progressed over the years. That Zone body lift with a leveling kit looks practically identical to the 3.5" suspension kit form Readylift from what I can see from photos.

So, I think I've settled on the Readylift 2" front leveling kit and Bora 1.5" spacers (I feel like the companies reliability is definitely worth it when cruising at 80mph down the freeway). Once it's time to purchase new tires, I may go ahead and opt to throw on that 1.5" bodylift and go up to 32or 33's.

I was able to convince my dealer to include the installation on both with my purchase, while they are doing some minor body/finish repairs. I'm hoping to have all the parts by the early part of next week, and figure the truck will be with them for about a week do to some areas that may need to spend a day or two in the body shop.

I'll post some pics as soon as it's all done!

Thanks again for all the input guys ?

you will not have a gap, Zone brand body lift, comes with brackets to raise the front and rear bumpers, with raising the rear bumper you will not be able to tow with the bumper but if you have a receiver hitch, no problem, as it is mounted to the frame, and they give you a spacer to go between body panel and the hitch.
only gap is in the front between lower body and where the skid plate is,if you have a skid plate.

 

[BlackPearl]

So.. I am still waiting on the truck from the dealer (no big deal). But now they're advising that their service team wont be able to?! It doesn't look all that complex, I just don't have anyway to pre-load the springs.

I guess I'll have to try and work something out with another local shop..

I am trying to finagle my way into a set of DuraTracs, using Goodyears 30 day exchange program. If I am able to, I am curious if a 275/65r18 (or a roughly 32"x10.5" tire) will have nay fitment issues. Any thoughts from those of you that have put larger tires on with just a leveling kit? (I will be using 1.5" Bora spacers)

 

[BlackPearl]

I might see if the local Goodyear shop can tackle it.. May need to go to them for the tires anyhow. My dealer isn't being super helpful anymore now that they have all my money ? Guess that's why you get everything in writing ?‍♂

I spoke with Goodyear's customer service though and they set-up an appointment for me to bring the truck by my local shop to have the tires inspected and swapped at a prorated rate (basically if the tires have full tread life they'll give me full value for them towards the purchase of the DuraTracs).

After looking at some other trucks on here, I am wondering if I wouldn't be better off with a 265/65R18 (31.5") versus the 275/65R18 (32") with just the 2" level. Don't really want to have to cut anything and don't want it to look like too much tire for the size of the truck/lift.

 

[BlackPearl]

UPDATE:

So I spoke with the fine folks at Goodyear and they're going to get me into an entire set of Duratracs for basically the price of 1 tire! ?

I decided to go ahead with the 265/65r18 as the staff there, and the folks at SDHQ advised I'd be rubbing if I went any bigger.

I also decided to toss the Readylift spacer idea and go with the Eibach front springs/shocks to level the truck. After talking to a few different shops around AZ, I'm more or less going to pay the same price for the Eibach kit installed as I was for the Readylift kit installed; and should have a better drivability with the upgrade springs and shocks.

I'm still thinking I may want a bit more lift, to get closer to say 4" or so, but just can't justify the expense of a full lift kit. I've been debating about maybe adding a Zone Body Lift, but have heard that this will mess with the geometry? Also, I'm not sure if my incoming 31.5" tires would look too small with the level AND a body lift?

 

[BlackPearl]

I found it a bit odd as well..

This is what the shop said:

“We do not do any sort of body lift because it is messing with the geometry of the truck and steering angles. It also makes your center of gravity higher which can cause instability in turns.”

 

[BlackPearl]

Hey guys,

So the tires will be going on tomorrow afternoon, and I am all set-up to get the Eibach shocks thrown on at the end of the month.

I am still thinking about maybe getting closer to 3-4" of total lift up front (1-2 rear) but am don't want my 265/65R18's to be too small. Has anyone our there stacked the Eibach shocks with something else to increase the lift? (spindles, UCA, spacers, blocks,,etc.) Do you think the 31.5" tires I have planned will look right if I did go up another inch or two over the leveling kit?

Update

I'm thinking I might be able to run the front/rear Eibach shocks in conjunction MaxTrac 4" spindles/brakeline extensions and throw the MaxTrac 2" lift blocks/u-bolts on the rear along with a pair of shock extenders; assuming the shop I'm working with (SDHQ) can get ahold of the MaxTrac parts and is comfortable with the combo (and I don't go broke doing it!). I figure this will give me the lift of the 4" MaxTrac system along with the performance advantages of Eibach gas shocks.This way I can maybe get 27/65R18's to fit without rubbing too.

 

[BlackPearl]

Haha no, I basically got them to allow me to use their 30 day pledge (satisfaction guarantee) to replace the OEM tires on the truck with the Duratracs. Since the tires were technically part of my purchase price and I had only put about 200mi on them. I just have to pay the price difference between a new set of Fortitudes and the Duratracs plus install. ?

So what is thatdeal? Start a credit card double rebates?

 

[BlackPearl]

Anyone out there know if I can stuff 32” tires on a stock truck short term? I may have to get the tires on a day or two before SDHQ can install the lift.

 

[BlackPearl]

Hey guys,

The truck has been at the dealership all week due to some (mostly cosmetic) issues with the truck when we bought it.

After talking more with SDHQ and XTCMotorsports here in Gilbert,AZ, I am looking at either the MaxTrac 4" lift with upgraded Bilstein 5100 front and rear shocks (around $2000 installed) OR Icon's Stage 1 coil over kit ($2400 installed).

The truck will spend most of it's life on the roadway, but I do hope to be able to improve its poise when doing some mild off-roading/trail driving. My main goal is to get a better than stock ride quality while achieving a lifted appearance and fitting 32" tires. I know both kits will allow for 32" (with the MaxTrac allowing for 33") but the Coilovers will only offer like 2.5" of usable lift without adding upper control arms (for another $800+) making it on paper seem more like a very nice leveling kit?

Anyone out there who has experience with either set-up have any thoughts?

 

[BlackPearl]

Update

I have a deposit in and am on the schedule with XTCMotorsports to get the MaxTrac 4" lift with Fox's performance rear shocks installed next week. I'll hopefully be getting the tires on by the end of the week too and can upload a few pictures for everyone.

 

[BlackPearl]

I got the truck back from XTC last night and couldn’t be happier. The Fox Performance series shocks definitely decreased the bouncing I experienced stock and the truck seems to just handle better overall.

Plus it looks WAY better! ?
It’s tough to get the right angles but here is a quick shot of it before the sun went down.

I’ll be bringing it into Goodyear Tire this weekend to get the 32”s installed and just placed my order for some pretty awesome 18” Fuel wheels. I’ll be sure to post some updated shots as everything else is installed.

 

[BlackPearl]

Hey guys,

I finally got the new Fuel wheels installed this morning and will get some pictures of it soon. In the meantime here it is with the lift and the 275/65r18 Duratracs after the tint (Ceramic Xpel Prime XR: 20% front/5% rear)

 

[BlackPearl]

Here she is

I’ll hopefully be getting a couple of more professional shots in the coming weeks. The shop that installed the wheels wants to have their photographer take some pictures to put on their page and submit to Fuel.

 

[BlackPearl]

Looks like I was a little too late to share my opinion lol. Came out awesome! Looks damn good. Love those wheels.

Thanks man! It took some finagling to make it work, but I’m so glad I was able to run these wheels.

I had to go with a +1mm offset and a 6x135 bolt pattern, and then run a 1” adapter. Trimmed the unthreaded portion of the oem bolts off, removed the from mud flaps and did some trimming in the wheel well front and back.