Best way to add bit of ground clearance?

[Marauder_Pilot]

I'm new to lifting and building trucks, and vehicles with IFS in general (Coming from Jeeps), so this may be a pretty obvious question to some of you guys.

I'm building up a 2001 Silverado Z-71 as a daily driver/weekend warrior, and I'm looking to gain a little bit of ground clearance without needing to go up more than one tire size to fill the wheelwells (Since it's a 4.8L and I don't want to put the money into a regear right now)

My current plan is replacing the current shocks with Bilstein 5100s and putting a 1.5" or 2" lift key in the front. The rear springs are a little worn out, since while the truck doesn't have a ton of miles on it, a lot of those miles were spent hauling ATVs and a camping trailer. What's my best bet to restore the original suspension and gain a little lift on the back to match the front lift, since I like to maintain a little bit of rake to the truck.

 

[pappawheely]

Fix the springs. Either have them rebuilt or get new ones. Add-a-leafs, blocks, etc. will do nothing if your leaf springs are sacked. If it is a daily driver, just put some bigger tires on it. That will give you more ground clearance where it counts, at the diff and front x-member. Once you start lifting the suspension you open a whole can of worms. Steering, wheel travel, gas mileage are all affected.

 

[Oobray]

I'll go ahead and give a plug for Cognito suspension parts. Their kits are awesome, and the ride is awesome. You can just crank the bars and use their control arms to gain droop back. The shocks are really valves perfectly and street / off road ride is really great. Not cheap though. I have their stage 6 on my Yukon XL

 

[Ducky's Dad]

The only way to get more ground clearance under the pumpkins is larger diameter tires. Period. End of statement, unless you want to go to portal axles. Which you don't. All the other lift tricks are snake oil unless you run bigger tires. The pumpkins will always be where they are in relation to the tire O.D. You can do a 12" lift, and the pumpkins will always be the limiting factor. My GMC is a '98 IFS 5.7 and I ran 35" tires for years on stock suspension with no lift, and I had more ground clearance than all the flat billers with their lift kits and bling. The key is careful selection of wheels (rim width and offset and backspacing), and tires (OD and cross section). With a 4.8, your best bet may be a new wheel/tire combo that gives you max OD and minimum weight (i.e., tall and skinny tires) and add a programmer to optimize shift points for your new effective gear ratios.

 

[rayra]

Looks like about $400 for factory replacement rear springs, at rockauto.com.
There's lots of 'patches' like add-a-leafs and air bags etc, but the right way is replace the spring packs. Or at least go try another set from the junkyard. Sounds like such would be better than what you've got.

 

[onemanarmy]

larger tires.

 

[rossvtaylor]

Like everyone said... larger tires. To add a bit of clarification, a lift does have its place in the plan. But it's only to create enough clearance for those larger tires, if cutting won't do it. Properly done, a lift could also add room for suspension travel and it does improve the approach and departure angles. These come at the cost of raising your center of gravity, though. So, lift... but only enough to stuff bigger tires in there.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

You can run a 235/85r16 tire on factory 16's with zero rub and gain about an inch of clearance under the differentials/trans crossmember over your original tire size. Tons of other info here https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=2001+silverado+larger+tire+size

 

[calicamper]

Pack less stuff ;-)

 

[kojackJKU]

the official answer is bigger tires, but to fit bigger tires you need some lift. I would pop on some indexing keys and higher springs in the rear.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

but to fit bigger tires you need some lift.

Not always. OP can probably add 1.5" of ground clearance with careful tire selection on stock suspension. That is a 3" taller tire. I went up about 5"+ in tire diameter on my K1500 with no suspension changes, but i needed wheels with a little more offset. Used stock GMC wheels from a different truck, found them on Craigslist.

 

[kojackJKU]

what wheels did you use?

 

[Martinjmpr]

IMO there are two good reasons for putting a suspension lift on a vehicle: To allow room for bigger tires (giving you more ground clearance) and also to replace worn out (and often cheaply sourced) stock suspension parts.
.
Speaking of which...I got my lift keys and bilsteins in the mail yesterday, as soon as I get my rear springs and sway bar links I'll be ready to get lifted. :wings:

 

[Ducky's Dad]

what wheels did you use?

My Z71 originally came with 16" factory alloys and 265 or 275 BFGs. My first tire upgrade was to 295s on those same wheels. When those wore out, I put 315 BFGs on a set of 16" American Racing alloys that I bought used. When those wore out, I got a set of factory 17" wheels off a newer truck, probably another Z71, 6-bolt. I think I picked up 1/2" in rim width and about 1/4" in offset, which was just enough to fit 35x12.50s with no suspension mods. Later on, when the front end needed shocks and ball joints, we cranked up the torsion rods a bit, just because. When those 35s wore out, I went back to BFG 33s because I had a fresh set from my then-new Power Wagon. The Z71 is now running Nitto Terra Grapplers in 285-70-17 (about 33") because I got them at a very good price and they are Load Range E (I haul a lot in this truck). The 33" Nittos are probably the best tires I have had on this truck, and seem much better than the BFG ATs and AT/KOs. The two sets of 35s (probably about 65,000 miles) were a "snug" fit on this truck, but they worked and gave me the load capacity and ground clearance that I needed. Now that I'm not using that truck as my primary offroad vehicle, I'm happy with 33s on it.

GM changes wheel designs with regularity, so find the specs on your current wheels and then compare to what's available in the used market. Look at rim width, offset, and backspacing, and consider the tire you want to use before you plunk down cash on wheels. You will have better/cheaper tire selections in 17 than in 18. I like OEM wheels because they are good quality forgings and look good on the truck without being blingy. The casual observer will never notice that you have changed wheels. If you find a set of GMC wheels that are right for your Chevy, just spray the GM center caps silver or black and no one will notice.

 

[Regcabguy]

IMO there are two good reasons for putting a suspension lift on a vehicle: To allow room for bigger tires (giving you more ground clearance) and also to replace worn out (and often cheaply sourced) stock suspension parts.
.
Speaking of which...I got my lift keys and bilsteins in the mail yesterday, as soon as I get my rear springs and sway bar links I'll be ready to get lifted. :wings:

You guys have some beefy tre's offered too.