Lifting Silverado Z71

Z71Silverado

New Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Location
Maiden, NC
Hello, I would like to first off say that I am new and this site has some great information. Ok, so on to the question...

I have 2004 Silverado Z71 Ext. cab. I am wanting to put a small lift kit on my truck. I was looking at maybe a 3" in the rear and 4" in the front. But im not sure what to get, a body lift or a sus. lift. I want something not very expensive. The reason for looking into 4" in front and 3" in rear is because when you look at the silverado (factory) you will see that the front of the truck is lower than the rear and I wanted to even it out. I'm doing this mainly for looks and not for much off roading. So here is my question, what is the best way to do this? Where is the best place to find the parts for a reasonable price? Should I go with 3" in rear and 4" in front OR 3" all the way around?

Thanks for the help
 
IIRC a typical lift kit will level the truck, unless you get a body lift of course. There's also a leveling kit you can get from superlift and a few other places to fit it.
 
Most suspension lifts will level the truck. However, most consider the IFS lifts to be a little expensive. There are "leveling kits" and 3" lifts out there pretty cheap, but most are nothing more than torsion keys and shocks. They tend to leave you will pretty bad CV joint and balljoint angles, which normally causes a BIG decrease in the lifespan of those parts. Without providing room for much more tire.

You really have several options
1- 3" body lift, alot of people knock them, but when installed properly I've never had an issue with one that wasn't on a hardcore trail rig. With the right wheels you can clear a 33" tire, the kit runs about $325-375 depending upon where you get it.

2- 2-3" suspension lift clears about a 33" tire with the right wheel, cost more than the body lift, and wears parts faster.

3- Full on IFS lift, starts around $1000.00 for your truck, mostly available for 6" lift on that truck. 6" will clear a 35 with no problem. Drops all suspension/steering parts or includes lifted knuckles to retain stock steering/suspension geometry.

4- you can do a leveling kit, they normally run anywhere from $99 up, but spend the extra cash to replace your front shocks as the stockers will go out soon with the level kit on normally. clears 285/75/16 or similar.

Any of the kits are only as good as the installation, if you feel up to the task of installing them it will save you some money, but it will take some time to do it right. If not, I can't really quote a labor price because it varies from shop to shop. Not everyone will charge the same thing I do to install any of them I'm sure. Just remember that they do need to be done right, or it's all of us in danger on the road if it isn't.
 
DemonDave said:
Most suspension lifts will level the truck. However, most consider the IFS lifts to be a little expensive. There are "leveling kits" and 3" lifts out there pretty cheap, but most are nothing more than torsion keys and shocks. They tend to leave you will pretty bad CV joint and balljoint angles, which normally causes a BIG decrease in the lifespan of those parts. Without providing room for much more tire.
You really have several options
1- 3" body lift, alot of people knock them, but when installed properly I've never had an issue with one that wasn't on a hardcore trail rig. With the right wheels you can clear a 33" tire, the kit runs about $325-375 depending upon where you get it.
2- 2-3" suspension lift clears about a 33" tire with the right wheel, cost more than the body lift, and wears parts faster.
3- Full on IFS lift, starts around $1000.00 for your truck, mostly available for 6" lift on that truck. 6" will clear a 35 with no problem. Drops all suspension/steering parts or includes lifted knuckles to retain stock steering/suspension geometry.
4- you can do a leveling kit, they normally run anywhere from $99 up, but spend the extra cash to replace your front shocks as the stockers will go out soon with the level kit on normally. clears 285/75/16 or similar.
Any of the kits are only as good as the installation, if you feel up to the task of installing them it will save you some money, but it will take some time to do it right. If not, I can't really quote a labor price because it varies from shop to shop. Not everyone will charge the same thing I do to install any of them I'm sure. Just remember that they do need to be done right, or it's all of us in danger on the road if it isn't.
Click to expand...
Ok, lets say I go with DemonDave's 1st option....When I buy the kit will I need different shocks or will the kit come with the shocks? I need to know the small stuff with buying a lift kit like what extra parts do I need. So lets say i'm going with the 3" body lift. One day I would like to have the rims and 33" tires and Demon you said that the 3" would clear the 33" tires. If I do get the 3" will my front end parts wear out quicker? If so what do I need to do different to save the life span of my front end parts?
Once agian thanks for the help....
 
IMO I'd do the 3" body lift and run 33's or if you want to go to 35's you can fit 35's with a 3" body lift and a little bit of torsion bar crank, but like everyone else said the more you crank your Torsion bars the rougher the ride and the quicker stuff will wear out.

Any IFS suspension lift other than a leveling kit will cost allot, plus when you do a body lift it gives you a good bit more room under the vehicle if you need to work on stuff, If all you want is a slightly larger tire for looks body lift is the way I'd go.
 
Z71Silverado said:
Ok, lets say I go with DemonDave's 1st option....When I buy the kit will I need different shocks or will the kit come with the shocks? I need to know the small stuff with buying a lift kit like what extra parts do I need. So lets say i'm going with the 3" body lift. One day I would like to have the rims and 33" tires and Demon you said that the 3" would clear the 33" tires. If I do get the 3" will my front end parts wear out quicker? If so what do I need to do different to save the life span of my front end parts?
Once agian thanks for the help....
Click to expand...

Thats the beauty of the body lift, you won't need new shocks, you wont change anything that has to do with the suspension or steering it will all still be stock as if you had never done anything but you still get the 3" lift.
 
No need for new shocks or anything of that nature, you can get "gap guards" to cover the gap between your frame and bed/front wheel wells if you prefer them. 33's will fit, but it's best to stay away from wider than 8" wheels, the wide wheels tend to run them into the fenders. You may have to trim a little of the plastic inside the wheelwells in the front, or a little of the edges of the valance, but nothing either major or noticable. Anytime you go to a larger tire you will increase wear on the suspension, but staying with 8" wheels, and not turning up the torsion bars more than an inch or so will minimize the affects.
 
Hey thanks everyone for the info. Very helpful and I am going to see about getting a 3" body lift and not too long from now getting some rims and 33" tires. One more question, When I go to buy my rims for my 33" tires what size rim should I look for? The main thing that I am trying to do is make my truck look better and beefier. I am not doing any hard core off roading. I DO NOT want anything bigger than a 18" rim. Here is an example of what I want my truck to look similar to, but this truck has a 6" lift---> http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/RC_Z71.jpg

Once agian thanks
 
To go for a look such as that and keep cost down a little, I'd go with a 16 inch rim and 305/70/16 tire. If I can help you with any of it shoot me a pm.
 
Ok so im going with the 3" body lift for sure.....Right now im not going to do the rims and tires b/c my tires are brand new on my truck. I could probibly sell them but I dont want to go through that trouble. Does anyone know where to find a reasonably priced 3" body lift for my truck, that is not the cheapest kit on the market? Some of the large surrounding areas around me are Hickory, Mooresville, Charlotte, and Lincolnton. If you know of any reasonably priced shops that can put the kit on for me and do a good job please feel free to give that info.

thanks for the help
 
The 15's can go on that truck, but it takes steel wheels, low backspacing, and grinding on the calipers to make them fit without scraping. I try to avoid grinding calipers, but I've seen many people do it.
 
DemonDave said:
The 15's can go on that truck, but it takes steel wheels, low backspacing, and grinding on the calipers to make them fit without scraping. I try to avoid grinding calipers, but I've seen many people do it.
Click to expand...

Newer Silverado's brakes must be different than the 88-98 models then cause I haven't had any issues fitting 15's on them

As far as getting the body lift kit you can usually find em cheap on ebay, and its a real easy install, if you have common handtools and a jack you can usually do it yourself real easy.

I'd say I'd do it for you but I'm not gonna be settled back in Mooresville till like mid may . . . . 4WP of charlotte can do it, Extreme Machines In hickory I think can do it, Hicks of Mooresville can do it, and I'm sure I'm missing more
 
Just run the 285s and if you have 16s then its 285/75r16 17s is 285/70r17 both will fit with a very slight torsion bar crank and some without.
 
Z71Silverado said:
I found this on ebay. Is this all I need or does anyone have any objections.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Trux...019QQitemZ290221980847QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW<<<<<sounds to me like this is a leveling/lift kit. It said 1" in rear and 3" in front. Should I go with a 3" all the way around and then get the torsion keys later on to maybe level it out?
Thanks
Click to expand...

This is what we were trying to say avoid because this leveling kit is done by cranking your torsion bars and that causes stiff harsh ride and your suspension components to wear out quickly

A body lift is called a body lift, do a ebay search for body lift not leveling kit

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/03-0...Kit-10133_W0QQitemZ310041330372QQcmdZViewItem

or

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lift-Kit...ft-Kits.aspx?t_c=1&t_s=20&t_pt=3680&t_pl=3372

http://www.ntwonline.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=48&Product_ID=2106&CATID=35

http://rockymountainsusp.com/W_pa_chevy_body_lift.htm

http://www.suspensionconnection.com...e/to=x/tf=model/to=x/tf=description/to=r.html



there all your research is done for you, just pick who you want to buy it from ;)



btw while your at it I suggest a Cognito 12" lift kit as well as the body lift, some 54" Boggers on some 20" black chrome wheels :driver: I'm just kidding, thats just what I'd Ideally like to Daily Drive if I had the chance :Rockon:
 
Hey thanks jrraw. As you can see im a real newb at this. I just figured I would try to figure out alot of this stuff instead of going out and buying all kinds of junk.. I will consider everyones opinion. Once agian thanks everyone for the help and fast replies. Oh yea by the way out of those web sites e-bay sounds the most reasonable..
 
Z71Silverado said:
Hey thanks jrraw. As you can see im a real newb at this. I just figured I would try to figure out alot of this stuff instead of going out and buying all kinds of junk.. I will consider everyones opinion. Once agian thanks everyone for the help and fast replies. Oh yea by the way out of those web sites e-bay sounds the most reasonable..
Click to expand...

Ebay will be cheapest....but has least support.

if you aren't 00% comfortable, $20 could go a long wway when you need to make a phone call
 
Ok I found this on Summit and it seems very cheap compared to anyone else. Tell me if you think this is what I need please? Also like Sky said if I needed to return the item it would be alot easier to return it to summit rather than returning it to and ebay seller. And plus if this is what I need then it is about 100.00 cheaper than anyone else..

http://store.summitracing.com/partd...&N=700+4294918515+4294789402+115&autoview=sku
 
Yes, I just seen that........what a newb. Summit's web site is so hard to naviagate on...
Thanks for looking out for me jrraw... I bet you guys are saying "what a newb and I wish this thread would close....." lol.... oh yea the one that I need from Summit is the 364.00 one...Performance Accessories
 
There are a ton of shops here in NC, hell, one of them helped you in this post..

Support your local shops!
 
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