2018 wrote I really dont know which one to start looking at.

Title says it all. Give me yalls opinion.

It really depends on what type of vehicle.

If you have a 4 door truck then lift it.

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But if you have a Miata, slam it to the ground.

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It all really depends on the vehicle. If you would like to know my opinion or others, then please state what vehicle you are talking about. But please keep in mind that at the end of the day, the vehicle is yours, and your opinion should be the only opinion that matters.

I'm assuming this is about his 2011 Sierra.

What is your main purpose for adjusting the height of the truck? If you're doing it for looks then don't do a leveling kit because you barely notice them lol.

Here's the issue with lift kits though. You'll probably do a standard 6" lift and run either 35" or 37" tires. Those tires are heavy and you are on an independent front suspension. On my '97 F-150 I did a 5" lift on 35's and I was doing wheel bearings and CV axles about every 6-8 months. The larger tires kill your front suspension

Now with a leveling kit it will allow you to raise the front end too high and put the CV axles at a TERRIBLE angle and you will be replacing those often.

Now if you build your trucks suspension to haul a heavy load you will inadvertently lift your truck in a safe way. I put a 1 ton block in the rear and heavy duty coils in the front and that safely lifted my truck about 2". I am on a solid axle though so my truck is a pretty good base to be lifted on.


Honestly every high school kid with a truck lifts it, lifts just aren't too cool anymore. If you're dead set on dumping some cash, look into other things like aftermarket bumpers / winch, windshield guard, or throw a cam in it. The 5.3 sounds mean with a cam.

Honestly, I see lifted trucks all day everyday and you we be shocked with all the issues they have. 002 pointed them out as well, I wouldn't do either man. Focus on bigger things.

002 wrote I'm assuming this is about his 2011 Sierra.

What is your main purpose for adjusting the height of the truck? If you're doing it for looks then don't do a leveling kit because you barely notice them lol.

Here's the issue with lift kits though. You'll probably do a standard 6" lift and run either 35" or 37" tires. Those tires are heavy and you are on an independent front suspension. On my '97 F-150 I did a 5" lift on 35's and I was doing wheel bearings and CV axles about every 6-8 months. The larger tires kill your front suspension

Now with a leveling kit it will allow you to raise the front end too high and put the CV axles at a TERRIBLE angle and you will be replacing those often.

Now if you build your trucks suspension to haul a heavy load you will inadvertently lift your truck in a safe way. I put a 1 ton block in the rear and heavy duty coils in the front and that safely lifted my truck about 2". I am on a solid axle though so my truck is a pretty good base to be lifted on.


Honestly every high school kid with a truck lifts it, lifts just aren't too cool anymore. If you're dead set on dumping some cash, look into other things like aftermarket bumpers / winch, windshield guard, or throw a cam in it. The 5.3 sounds mean with a cam.

I have been thinking about a cam but I have no clue yet what im going to do. I wasnt thinking about putting a expensive 6 inch or any higher lift kit into it. I was thinking about a 3.25-3.50 inch lift with some bigger tires. I dont know what kind of tires to get either. I was thinking a leveling kit because it would bring up the front and look a litte better not much because as you said. You can barely see a difference. The only hauling I would do is a boat. (fishing)

Continuous wrote

2018 wrote I really dont know which one to start looking at.

Title says it all. Give me yalls opinion.

It really depends on what type of vehicle.

If you have a 4 door truck then lift it.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

But if you have a Miata, slam it to the ground.

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

It all really depends on the vehicle. If you would like to know my opinion or others, then please state what vehicle you are talking about. But please keep in mind that at the end of the day, the vehicle is yours, and your opinion should be the only opinion that matters.

I am talking about my 2011 Sierra (truck)

I have another post in the vehicle discussion if you would like to go look at it!!

A leveling kit will put terrible angles on the CV's so I personally wouldn't go with that.

Since you want a smaller lift an won't be doing any heavy hauling, a 3" body lift might be your best bet. It keeps your suspension 100% stock, all it does is place little hockey pucks between the body and frame.

As for tires, what area do you live in? Mud tires look good, however they ride and wear like crap, not to mention they are loud. I love the BFG KO2 for my truck. They look good and have awesome traction in any situation. Another great option is the Goodyear Duratrac. They also look good and have awesome traction but they are a little more pricey than the BFG.

Before you buy new tires though, I would urge you to buy a used set of 35's (if you already have 33's and want bigger tires after the lift), then decide if you want to buy new 35's or 33's.

002 wrote A leveling kit will put terrible angles on the CV's so I personally wouldn't go with that.

Since you want a smaller lift an won't be doing any heavy hauling, a 3" body lift might be your best bet. It keeps your suspension 100% stock, all it does is place little hockey pucks between the body and frame.

As for tires, what area do you live in? Mud tires look good, however they ride and wear like crap, not to mention they are loud. I love the BFG KO2 for my truck. They look good and have awesome traction in any situation. Another great option is the Goodyear Duratrac. They also look good and have awesome traction but they are a little more pricey than the BFG.

Before you buy new tires though, I would urge you to buy a used set of 35's (if you already have 33's and want bigger tires after the lift), then decide if you want to buy new 35's or 33's.

I think I will end up putting a 3" on it. I have no clue what brand, do you suggest any? I was thinking rough country. I will look into those tires you suggested as well. I think I will get brand new 33s and used 35s later down the road. Would that be a good idea?

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I believe I told you about my truck but I'll go into detail about mine. I got the same truck as you and I have a rough country spacer on the bottom and top of the strut. It might be about a 3in lift with a block in the back to make it level. I have 315/70-17 nitto trail grapplers. The tires still have plenty of tread life left. I believe I have about 30,000 left in them.

I have about 25,000-30,000 miles on the tires and lift and I have no problems at all. I tow all the time. I'm a landscaper and when the 2500hd is being serviced or bed is full of yard debris, then I tow a 20x8.5 cargo trailer. I also pull a dump trailer too.

I do have bad angles but I haven't had a problem yet. I'm going to fix it this year with a differential drop to help with the angles. Usually when someone has wheel bearing problems is when you have negative offset rims. Which will put a lot of wear on bearings.

Just remember you got to pay to play.

002 wrote A leveling kit will put terrible angles on the CV's so I personally wouldn't go with that.

Are you talking about raising the front or lowering the rear? I looked on ebay and all I seen was front a front lift kit that lifts 2 - 2.5 inches. I guess that would level the truck. But raising the front seems stupid to me. Especially because as you stated, you would mess with the angles of the cv axles.

What I did to my 2004 ext cab silverado was drop the rear to match the front. It seems much easier than raising the front to match the rear. Personally I like the way the rear drop looks.

I went to my local parts store and found a rear lowering shackle kit and threw it on the truck. The kit allows a 1 or 2 inch drop, I chose the 2 inch drop. The truck sits pretty level, maybe still a little high in the rear, but much better. The box said to install a rear axle wedge to adjust the pinion angle but I never did that.

Here is the latest picture I have of the truck...
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And here is the truck before lowering it...
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You may not be able to tell in the picture, but it is a big difference. You can especially fell it in the rear seat. The seats used to lean whoever would sit in them forward, now it is much more level.

2018 wrote I think I will end up putting a 3" on it. I have no clue what brand, do you suggest any? I was thinking rough country. I will look into those tires you suggested as well. I think I will get brand new 33s and used 35s later down the road. Would that be a good idea?

I found the picture of your truck, and it looks like you got the Z71 package so I assume that you probably like the truck sitting higher? If that is the case then raise it. Personally I like the dropped look. I can still load the truck full of stuff and not have to worry about the tires rubbing or anything like that. And since the rear is lower, it is a little bit easier to load. When you raise your truck keep in mind how you would like to load the truck. You are going to have to work harder to get stuff in and out of the bed.