Anyone with Maxtrac 2" rear leveling kit installed?

[momofx]

I just ordered their 2" rear leveling kit for my ESV with rear air / mag ride. I was originally going to use Crown Suspensions but their service was VERY BAD from beginning to end. (Took one week to ship, no invoice, no emails, box arrived busted with hardware missing, owner was very arrogant!).

Soooo, guys with Maxtrac rear leveling, what do you think of your kit?

BTW, Maxtrac order shipped the same day and I got an invoice as well.

 

[djamac]

No complaints with mine.

 

[THarber]

I had no issues with mine at all. Ride is nice it sits perfect. It was a quick install too.

 

[twister]

I just ordered mine as well, should be here in a couple of days. I did the Maxtrac based on others here who used it, including THarbers in the post above mine. Seems like the drop is more consistent from one vehicle to the next, and people like the ride. I’m planning to add pictures here and on the lowering thread when I get them installed.

 

[momofx]

Great! I'm installing mine this week and will update on my experience as well

 

[momofx]

Well I received the kit and everything was very well packed and came with great instructions as well UNLIKE the Crown Suspension stuff - no instructions, poor packaging, etc.

Now here's what caught my eye - the springs from the Crown kit and Maxtrac kit are IDENTICAL with the same color, same part no. on them... wow. The shock extenders look the same but different color (black vs gray) and the installation bolts are a little different. So basically you are paying more from Crown for the same thing??!

 

[twister]

I got mine late yesterday as well. I’m planning to install them this weekend. Like yours, mine were well-packed and have everything needed. I thought it was a nice touch that there are overall instructions plus separate ones for each component (leveling rods and shock brackets).

 

[twister]

Got mine installed last night, and drove around today to see if they would settle. The install took me about 70 minutes from start to finish, and it was very straightforward. The only tip I have beyond the instructions is to make plenty of slack in the ABS lines for dropping the axle by releasing both clips on each side.
Mine did not settle at all today, but I will keep an eye on them. My rear drop was 2 1/8” on each side, and the front actually went up 1/8” (which makes sense when you think about how the front and rear affect each other). The end result is that the rear is about 1/8” lower than the front, which isn’t really what I wanted, but it looks fine (looks like djamac’s white Tahoe up above). The ride is unchanged, and I’ll be towing a small trailer this weekend (~4000#) and see how it does. If I end up wanting a slight rake toward the front, I’ll probably drop the front an inch with lowering struts.

 

[djamac]

Got mine installed last night, and drove around today to see if they would settle. The install took me about 70 minutes from start to finish, and it was very straightforward. The only tip I have beyond the instructions is to make plenty of slack in the ABS lines for dropping the axle by releasing both clips on each side.
Mine did not settle at all today, but I will keep an eye on them. My rear drop was 2 1/8” on each side, and the front actually went up 1/8” (which makes sense when you think about how the front and rear affect each other). The end result is that the rear is about 1/8” lower than the front, which isn’t really what I wanted, but it looks fine (looks like djamac’s white Tahoe up above). The ride is unchanged, and I’ll be towing a small trailer this weekend (~4000#) and see how it does. If I end up wanting a slight rake toward the front, I’ll probably drop the front an inch with lowering struts.

Yeah, I like to deny that the front is a little up. And maybe it's just me, but I feel like that small drop has made a difference in how stable it feels in some tight interstate exits.

 

[twister]

I guess I should clarify my finished measurements. Measured at the fender lip, the rear is about 1/8” lower than the front. But measured at the bottom of the running board (which is the true measure of level for a vehicle), the rear is actually 1/8” higher than the front. Short version: it’s lower in the front, even though it looks lower in the rear.
Regardless, I will be lowering the front an inch to achieve less fender gap in the front to give it a better visual stance.

 

[twister]

Update after towing this weekend- the rear settled another 1/8”, which now makes it definitely look lower than the front. I have a pair of front lowering struts coming this week so I can lower the front whatever amount I need to regain the rake I want. More importantly, the Maxtrac instructions for the sensor rods say to make them 2 15/16” center to center, and that’s not nearly long enough. When hitched up to our trailer (600# tongue weight), the rear sagged about 1.5”, and the air system only raised it back up 1/4”. Before you take off your OEM rods, accurately mark where your sensor levers are positioned, and make the new rods the correct length to match that. I didn’t do that initially because I mistakenly trusted the figures in the instructions, and I had to go back afterwards to do it.

 

[djamac]

Update after towing this weekend- the rear settled another 1/8”, which now makes it definitely look lower than the front. I have a pair of front lowering struts coming this week so I can lower the front whatever amount I need to regain the rake I want. More importantly, the Maxtrac instructions for the sensor rods say to make them 2 15/16” center to center, and that’s not nearly long enough. When hitched up to our trailer (600# tongue weight), the rear sagged about 1.5”, and the air system only raised it back up 1/4”. Before you take off your OEM rods, accurately mark where your sensor levers are positioned, and make the new rods the correct length to match that. I didn’t do that initially because I mistakenly trusted the figures in the instructions, and I had to go back afterwards to do it.

You'll have to post pictures after the strut change, I am interested in the same. Are you running upgraded sway bars, or plan too?

 

[THarber]

I think its an optical illusion. If you look at the bottom of the truck, not the top, it should be level.

I thought the same things.

 

[twister]

Nope, not an optical illusion in this case. When I first installed the springs, the rear looked a bit lower, but the measurement at the bottom of the body showed that it was actually 1/8” higher in the rear, so I was fine with that. Now they have settled a bit, and the rear is just a hair lower than the front when measured at the bottom, which makes it look that much lower when looking at the truck.
I could have either raised the rear with a spacer or lowered the front, but I like the height of the rear, so I went with lowering struts. I installed them late last night, and I’ll finish up with the alignment and such tonight. Pictures coming.

 

[twister]

You'll have to post pictures after the strut change, I am interested in the same. Are you running upgraded sway bars, or plan too?

I’ll finish up tonight and plan to take a couple of pictures. After the install last night, the 1” setting dropped the front 1/2”, but that’s before any settling or an alignment. I don’t have any plans to upgrade the sway bars. We use the truck as my wife’s daily driver and to tow a ~4,000# trailer about once a month, and it does both of those things just fine with stock bars.

 

[twister]

I finally took a photo, but it’s a bit deceiving because the street is sloped (you can tell the photo is level based on the house in the background). After giving the front time to settle through the day, they really haven’t changed any since install last night. The front drop with the struts on the 1” location was around 11/16”, which is a little disappointing that it’s not the full inch. So my end result is that the front is now 1/2” lower than the rear, which honestly looks fine. It’s just enough that you can tell there’s a rake, and it eliminates the droopy-ass look that’s caused by the roof being lower in the rear. I do still hope the front drops just a bit over time, and I will report what happens.

 

[twister]

Went out tonight, so I took another photo. If you pardon this idiot’s shadow, I think you can clearly see that there is a noticeable difference in wheelwell gap between front and rear.

 

[djamac]

Went out tonight, so I took another photo. If you pardon this idiot’s shadow, I think you can clearly see that there is a noticeable difference in wheelwell gap between front and rear.

Looks good, I hate taking pictures, the only reason I have one, is the window tint company took it.

 

[momofx]

The rear on mine was sitting very slightly higher and according to maxtrac it needs "broke in" for a while before it finally settles to the true height. They told me if that does not help, to grind / take one thread off the leveling sensor rods on each end. Overall I'm happy with it.

 

[46Aerocoupe]

No complaints with mine.View attachment 397497

what is this kit please. I think this is just right.