How do I improve the stance of my 1997 Chevy Silverado Z71

[GMRedline]

So...from the factory. These trucks are typically higher in the front? I never took a level to my burb. I heard people saying to lift the rear 2" and lift the front 1.5".

Or does lifting the rear more then the front increase the rake which provides a more appealing looking?

If I look at my truck from the front, it looks like the rear is sagging. If I look at it from the rear, it looks like the front is lower.

 

[RynoHarris]

Just letting you know all of your questions are definitely valid questions. I know quite a bit about my truck but when it comes to tires, wheels, offset, what stance I want, how it affects the suspension.... And so on. I don't get any of it. Subscribed for good information

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[gordinho80]

Can anyone provide U-bolt details (width? length? etc?) if wanting to run a 2" block on the rear? I know I can go out and measure... but weather here right now is not great. Maybe someone has this info handy?

 

[96k1500]

The rear factory is higher unless leaf springs are saggings, if you want to have it almost completely level you can do a 1" block and crank it 1.5", that should get you about a 1/2" difference, or you can just crank the front to level if you don't want it lifted which would be about an inch, lift blocks will usually come with the u - bolts

 

[oohunter04oo]

The 2" blocks i have are from a 99-07 nbs truck. the 4x4's came from the factory with them. Stay away from the aluminum blocks from auto zone… I've had them fail on me. Rough country sells good ones. Also be prepared to buy new shocks, it will ride bad when you crank it up and leave the factory shocks.




This thread may help you...




Here is a good offset, backspacing chart.

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and here is a pic of my 94 back when i had it cranked 3"… Don't go that high, it was nothing but problems… I had my 16x8 MT Classic Locks with 4.5 backspacing with 305/70r16 MTR's. It rubbed a little, so stick with 285/75R16's

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[yamaha450guy]

I have 15 inch aftermarket wheels instead of the standard 16 inch. With the 15 inch you have a slightly better array of off road tires you can buy, at least where I live. Everyone has 15 inch rim sized tires for sale. There are still PLENTY to buy that are 16 inch, but just giving my two cents. If you want your truck to have a wider stance without modifying any major suspension components, you can buy aftermarket wheels with back spacing or buy bolt on wheel spacers. I have never run wheel spacers because I don't trust them, but just presenting them as an option for you.

 

[jperala]

Stock -90 4x4 HD leafsprings, tires 265/70/16

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[Scrufdog]

To get the back wheels out further to match the front wheels, you know, the width, I installed wheel spacers on my 97 K2500HD about 8 years ago. Never had a problem, and I do a little mild offroading and used to tow a 10000lb trailer across the country on a regular basis for work. Definately makes the truck look better having the front and rear wheels stick out evenly.

 

[Mud96]

Here's my 96 Sierra with 2" blocks, crank and 31" tires on stock wheels.

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[TomCoppola]

Heres my truck, cranked the bars to a little over level so it has a slight slight pre-runner stance and 16x8 285/75r16s

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