Still running the originals on my ‘07 XL Denali with 230k on the clock. Best bang for the buck for the front end, in my opinion, is in the control arms (new bushings and ball joints) and sway bar links. It rides and drives like new now, and the wheel arches sit the same distance above the tires as they do on my 2012.
You are correct; however, new springs do make quite a difference as well, but GM has discontinued a lot of the part numbers. New springs raised the front of my 2008 3/4" and my old 2012 a full inch. It was very noticeable how much the original springs had sagged after I lowered with 2" knuckles and the ride height looked goody. Aftermarket "replacement" springs usually feel like crap in my opinion, but many people here disagree with me vehemently. I would recommend getting some quality aftermarket 1" drop springs since the OEM springs are discontinued. I'm not sure what Max Track offers for a lesser drop but I'm using their 4" rear springs and am
very happy with the feel of them. The Belltech springs suck but I think they may work better with regular shocks.
As an aside, I was able to order brand new front GM springs for my father-in-law's 2008 Sierra Denali (which are different part number than either of my Escalades call for), but I've been wanting to compare the Bilstein 5100 shocks to the Auto Ride on my 2008 so I ordered another set for me. I've got an OE set of non-auto/mag ride front assemblies I'm going to take apart for the other little pieces and the upper mount. I'm wondering if the length of the spring might be slightly different for the non-mag ride due to the strut mount being different but I'm sure the spring rate is different which is the main reason I wanted to use them with the Bilsteins.
