How much front lift to level z55?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

m1dn

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2022
Posts
178
Reaction score
316
Hey, wondering if anyone knows or has done that in past.
Looking to level my 2008 Yukon XL Denali with Z55.

Was wondering how much lift i need for the front to level it with airbags taking ass up.
Is it 1.5 or 2 or none of these and truck would have its front up and ass down if lifted to air suspension in the back doing finniky auto leveling?

I found this piece for 1.5 with bracket to make sure the automatic dumpening up front still works - https://suspensionmaxx.com/product/SMX-GM715M
 
Joined
Apr 11, 2018
Posts
7,124
Reaction score
14,364
Location
St. Louis
A few months back I put in a 2" and it actually made the front look higher than the back, but measuring from the ground to the fender at the center of each wheel all 4 corners measured the same (37" +/- 0.25"). Installation was a pain due to the front CV shaft being in the way of getting the 1 bolt in so you have to disconnect the tie rod and upper ball joint from the knuckle so you can swivel it out of the way enough to get the bolt in.

When I recently replaced my upper and lower control arms due to ball joints being bad, I decided to go a bit different route. Since I was removing the struts anyway to access the upper control arm bolts, I wanted to used a spacer at the top of the strut, but those usually require cutting the 3 strut bolts a bit shorter so they fit into the spacer. I didn't want to do that, and the Z55 electrical connector on the top of the strut wouldn't be able to be connected due to it being ~1" lower in the mount.

What I finally came up with was a thinner spacer for both the top and bottom of the strut that uses the existing mounting bolts/studs. Both spacers are about 3/8" thick and it puts the front measurement at 36.75" and the back still at 37".

Also, those little brackets that extend the Z55 level sensor rods in the front aren't needed if you have a Tech2, or know someone who does (or even at a dealership) and you just do a "ALC Reset" and it will baseline the front sensor readings.

These are the spacers I used. They both say 1/2" lift, but using them both gave me 1.5"


 
OP
OP
M

m1dn

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2022
Posts
178
Reaction score
316
A few months back I put in a 2" and it actually made the front look higher than the back, but measuring from the ground to the fender at the center of each wheel all 4 corners measured the same (37" +/- 0.25"). Installation was a pain due to the front CV shaft being in the way of getting the 1 bolt in so you have to disconnect the tie rod and upper ball joint from the knuckle so you can swivel it out of the way enough to get the bolt in.

When I recently replaced my upper and lower control arms due to ball joints being bad, I decided to go a bit different route. Since I was removing the struts anyway to access the upper control arm bolts, I wanted to used a spacer at the top of the strut, but those usually require cutting the 3 strut bolts a bit shorter so they fit into the spacer. I didn't want to do that, and the Z55 electrical connector on the top of the strut wouldn't be able to be connected due to it being ~1" lower in the mount.

What I finally came up with was a thinner spacer for both the top and bottom of the strut that uses the existing mounting bolts/studs. Both spacers are about 3/8" thick and it puts the front measurement at 36.75" and the back still at 37".

Also, those little brackets that extend the Z55 level sensor rods in the front aren't needed if you have a Tech2, or know someone who does (or even at a dealership) and you just do a "ALC Reset" and it will baseline the front sensor readings.

These are the spacers I used. They both say 1/2" lift, but using them both gave me 1.5"


Thanks! Will take a look at going down that route, looks like 1.5 would be the best route
 

5StarCustmSolutns

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2022
Posts
183
Reaction score
275
Location
Almost Heaven, WV
Thanks! Will take a look at going down that route, looks like 1.5 would be the best route

I've probably spent way too many hours on this subject....but the general consensus I've received has been: Anything taller than 2 inches "under the shock" causes the front axle angles to exceed design specs of CV's and significantly increases the amount of friction heat wear etc. I was on a pretty tight budget back when I did this and went with some $30 1.75" blocks under the shocks. But, if I'm being honest, the way described above by @gooffeyguy with a little bit below and a little bit above the shock sounds like the smarter route
 

Forum statistics

Threads
132,087
Posts
1,862,135
Members
96,554
Latest member
eod_tech

Latest posts

Top