Time to start my own lift thread

[tRidiot]

Ok, so here is my truck, a 2004 Tahoe LT 2WD with 238k on it.



I've had it for 6 years or so. I like it, but I have decided I want to go from a more "street" look with the chrome wheels (I just replaced those) and such to a slightly more aggressive look with a small lift, some bigger tires, etc.

I have a friend who is going to help me with the conversion, and he's fabbing me a pair of tube steel sliders to replace my running boards. I think I'll probably be adding a Ranch Hand grille guard, as well.

I'm looking probably to put in 3" spindles up front, and maybe just some spring spacers in theback, 1" or 2". I'll also be replacing my shocks, as the stock ones are feeling pretty squirrelly right now. The consensus seems to be the Bilstein 5100s, so I am just going with those.

I am running into some issues trying to decide on components. I have read many comments about spindles, they are reputed to keep the suspension more like normal and not affect the ride as much as keys. However, there are a ton of companies making them, but they are a cast component, pretty strong, hard to break, and I am not going to be off-roading - it's a 2WD, anyways. So I'm thinking (and have read) that the brand is not all THAT important. Any that are decently made should work ok.

I am looking at something like this set:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291263137805?_trksid=p2380057.m570.l5999&_trkparms=gh1g=I291263137805.N36.S2.R2.TR2

3" lift spindles and 2" rear coil spacers.

My new wheels are 20x9" with +18 offset. A calculator I found online says that my wheels have 5.71" of backspacing... but the spindles are supposed to have a MAX of 4.625" of backspacing. So this tells me I am not going to be able to fit my wheels without spacers if I go the spindle route, right? FYI, all the 3" lift spindles I have found have similar verbage about max backspacing in this range.

But if I buy spacers, this will move my wheels out some (which is fine with me), but then I will probably run into rubbing issues, as if I had bought negative-offset wheels, right? Especially if I go with a beefier, more "offroad" style tire, right? Rightnow I have 285/50/20s, but they need replacement soon.

God what a PITA. So would it be better to just use keys for my front lift? I understand this can and likely will affect my ride quality - I drive 3 hours round-trip to work every day, mostly highway speeds. I really don't want a crappy ride.

And then I have to figure out which shocks... in terms of length, I mean. I guess I need to get measurements, figure out OEM lengths, then add the amount of my lift to that and buy appropriate-length 5100 shocks? This is all new to me, please bear with me. I think I'm keeping the factory rear springs for now, I don't see any reason to replace them, they are working fine and I'm not looking for a lot of rear lift.

Comments, suggestions?

 

[tRidiot]

The other question is brake lines... I've read I most probably could get by with my stock brake lines with the 3" lift spindles, but... if I have to put spacers on because of my wheel offset, that shouldn't affect the brake lines in an adverse way any more than without the spacers, right?

In addition, the spacers moving the wheels out a bit more will increase my chances of rubbing, won't they? Any idea what size tires I could run with 20x9 wheels, +18 offset, 2" spacers and 3" lift spindles? I'd really rather avoid the key lift if possible due to the possibility of it affecting the ride in something I spend so much time on the highway commuting...


I've done a lot of reading and research, but it seems I just get left with more and more questions. lol

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Sub'd.

In my research, the keys vs spindle debate is totally based on how high you REALLY want to go. 3" seems to be the magic number where the keys become borderline in terms of angles and ride quality. Also, it seems like keeping the jounce in contact is key. Some guys report everything turned out fine, some have found otherwise..

Fwiw, I think I'm just going to go 2-2.5 up front with keys and spacers in back to level. New shocks, of course. The 5100s are adjustable for 0-3" of lift.

 

[tRidiot]

Yeah, I can't see myself going over 3" ever, honestly. I could be wrong, and if I change my mind later, if I do spindles now, it'll leave plenty of room to do key lift later. Just that I drive a ton and between ride quality and gas mileage, it might be problematic. I already spend $400-600 a month in gas, I am sure that will go up with a lift, but I'd like to minimize the negative factors as much as possible. I'd rather not have to cut or trim for clearance for tires, either.