just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Now mind you i have had many bagged rides in the past but this will be static dropped and be pulling a open car trailer a few times a year. I would like to be as low as possible and still drive on my rough Pennsylvania roads so i am thinking 4-6 drop what do you guys think? who is making quality drop kits? what do they consist of? how much of a pain in the ass is it? i am new to this body style :chevy:thats why a ask.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I am running the 2011 truck with a McGaughy's 4/6 drop and it works well. I had to do a little modification to my front fender liners to get a little more clearance, but with the 20" rims there is still clearance. I did upgrade the suspension by using a set of Belltech struts in the fron, vice using the factory strut tubes. This gave me a better adjsutment and control of the front setting. I also purchased an alignment kit from Belltech to get the front wheels adjusted to the right degree angle.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

what size tire? thanks for the response.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Talk to member leevon.
He's dropped a couple of these.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Congrats on the new ride... these trucks look good dropped. Take a look at McGaughys, as they have nice stuff and their drop spindle keeps the factory suspension geometry. There are a lot of good kits out there whichever you choose. Make sure to post some pictures up when you get it lowered.

Of course, let me know if you need a price as well.

http://www.mcgaughys.com/web%2012-08/comparison.gif

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Howdy! Thanks for the referral Keith. McGaughy's is the only way to go on the new trucks and I tried it all and combinations thereof. I recommend a combination of their 2" drop spindles and coil relocators for the best ride. The drop springs don't ride well in my opinion, and are known to sag. Belltech's struts aren't my favorite either for the same reasons, although it sounds like piecesparts is happy with them so they're not out of the question. The coil relocators literally just move the spring down 2" on the factory strut, retaining the stock ride, and are adjustable in small increments. That is important because you may need that adjustment either from side to side or just overall and you don't want anything that will sag, wear or compromise your alignment in the future. I haven't needed any special alignment cams or anything with the spindle/relocator combo, they come back to spec fine. Steer clear of the DJM control arms.

For the rear, McGaughy's flip kit is the way to go, better if combined with shock relocators to correct the angle and give you some more travel. Even better with their helper bag kit (pricey, not absolutely necessary but worth it if you haul or want to adjust your ride).

I've used every big name drop shock and they all suck. People seem to like Belltech's Street Performance shocks, I haven't tried the newest ones. The old ones were not good. I used Monroe's shock charts to cross reference a stock style shock from a light truck that fit. Picked up a set at the parts store for a good price and the ride was perfect. If you want the p/n's I'll have to dig them up just let me know.

If you have install questions just post 'em up!

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I am running 265/50/20 Nitto NT850 tires on my truck. The Mcguaghy's rear shocks did not last long. One shock had the end come off of it, so I am looking at Bilstein shocks for the rear.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I copied my own post from another forum;

So I checked out the specs on them and ordered Monroe p/n 911258:

http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPar...layPartDetails

These are a light suv shock with the right eye mounts, the only problem is that the bushing sleeves are 1/2" I.D. and the stock bolts are 14mm. I used my impact to run a spare 14mm bolt through each sleeve to make sure they would go (they're rolled from flat stock so there is a split in the sleeve allowing the expansion). It took a little force and once the threads grabbed, the stock bolts went through no problem. I wouldn't attempt this without an impact though!

So the ride is incredibly close to stock. No doubt the lower shock relocators help too but I give them 90% of the credit. I am so happy that I found these, I was starting to regret lowering this truck in a bad way. If you're at 4/6 or 4/7 on NNBS, with the addition of the relocators these are a great fit and awesome ride.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Thanks for all the info guys, this has helped me alot on my quest for a low driver. On a side note is anyone making a quality fiberglass roll pan for the newest bodystyle?

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Fiberglass pans for this model of truck is hard to find, especially a quality pan. I did some searching and ended up with a urethane pan from Street Scene. I also purchased their hidden hitch. Both of these items have not been installed by me, yet, due to the amount of time that I have had this year to get anything done.

The new body style has indentions on both sides of the bed where the bumper wraps around the sides. The urethane pan is made to attach into these indentions to make it more smoth.

Truckin magazine did a story on a roll pan install, such as this and they made it look easy.

http://www.truckinweb.com/tech/1203t...oth_rear_view/

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I bought a 09 GMC scswb it has the MaGaughy's 3/5 flip kit it looks great but it rides like a iorn wheel wagon. It maybe not installed right but there has to be a way to make a smoother ride. The part # 34025.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

What parts do you have? There are a couple of combinations for McGaughy's kits. Drop springs in the front can sag and ride rough. Rear shocks and shock angle have an effect. One often overlooked problem is over-torquing the rear leaf spring eye bolts. This can put the bushing in a bind and make it ride VERY rough (I made this mistake). They need to be properly torqued with the weight of the vehicle on the springs. Another problem is not enough caster when the rear is lower than the front...if they align you to the allowable max you can get soggy steering. When I had helper bags with an on board compressor, I could drive at full dump and the rear was rough and steering soggy. Full air and there was too much positive caster and the front steering was twitchy. Right in the middle was perfect. All that by raising and lowering the rear between 2-3".

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

DJM 4/7 with added struts and shackles. Sits at 5/8 with a touch of air in the helpers.

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/a...S/P1090050.jpg

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

When we first put the McGaughys kit on my 2011, the ride was harsh in the front end. We found that the bumps on the A arms were hitting on heavy street bumps. We did further trimming and then we installed the Belltech adjustable struts to get a better shock and more control over ride and height. I also put on the degree kit that Bell tech sells so that the front wheels were easy to align. The truck rides lke it did when I bought it, which was a firm ride in the first place, but the truck can take pretty good bumps and dips, now. I have the 4/6 kit and have put around 50,000 miles on the truck with it installed.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Thanks for the info guys, all I know is he used the kit 34025. I am new to this drop kit stuff but I will do some research on the advice you have given. Maybe I can get it to ride better. I have noticed that some days going 70mph that the front end will start shaking when I slow down to 60 it stops. What gets me is that its the same road I travel everyday, somedays shake some dont.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I have yet to experience any shaking from my truck. It rides pretty well, considering it is basically at the bottom end of the suspension travel. The extra items that I added to the basic kit has done nothing but improve over what McGaughys has already done. I just added a set of Bilstein shocks to the back to replace the shocks that McGaughys sent with their kit. The Bilsteins have more dampening in them and they are a lot smoother riding than the ones that we put on first. I drive my truck on Kansas highways and back country roads without any real issue. With the work that i have done on the tune, I now am able to go past the factory fuel cut off and the truck handles well at speeds well over the triple digit entry level.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I found out that my front end was bad out of line ( toe in ) I got it lined back up and now it rides like a champ, no more shaking I never thought misalignment would cause it to act like that.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

what's up LEEVON.. im ordering my MCG 4/6 kit tomorrow for my 08 NNBS Crew Cab, 2WD but now that im reading this, im not sure if im getting the right stuff.. here is what was suggested to me. the coil relocators were not mentioned.. but now that im looking at the invoice, neither were the drop coils..

5/7 Drop
spindles with extra caster
drop struts
flip kit w/ shock extenders
lift hangers and bump stops

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

i see this truck around town every now and again.very nice truck

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I think you'll be good, the new MCG drop struts are supposed to be pretty nice, I have no experience with them though.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I want to do th McG 3/5 - 4/6 drop... the website list miltiple kits with different variations of components and is somewhat confusing...

Right now my RCSB 2wd looks like a 4wd... There is a 1 inch block in the rear... I was going to remove that block and add a 2" drop shackle... thats about all I can afford to do now to level the truck...

Good info in this thread....

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

With my experience I recommend that you don't install the rear shock reloctors. The ride will be a little on the stiff side with them. If you go with the 7" rear drop get some Energy suspension 3/8" tall bump stops and drill/tap the frame, part number 9.9132G. It will give you a little extra clearance. The new struts ride great compared to factory struts/coil relocators. :metal:

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Thanks guys. What rear shocks do you recommend. I've read good things about the new MCG's.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

The new McGaughys ride great without the relocators.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Mcg's site is a bit confusing with all the different options. What's the PN to the new rear shocks.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I was looking at McG's site.. PN #34060 or #34070... The latter is less money and includes front and rear shocks....

These are the notes for #34060 that uses factory shocks...
Notes: 3/5 Drop Uses Factory Shocks, 4/6 Drop Requires Rear Shocks Part# 2050 or 3205 on Crew Cab Trucks, Fits All Cab Sizes, Fits 2wd & 4wd Trucks, 4/6 Not Recommended On 4wd Trucks Due To CV Axles Binding

34060

http://cdn1.bigcommerce.com/server40....1280.1280.jpg

Also, what about new front shocks? I have 127K+ miles on what I think are the original shocks. I found a M0nroe 39105 front shock as a replacement.... Any input on quality?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31gVHbOKQcL.jpg

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

maxh how is the djm any issues im shopping around and its my cheapest option right now so trying to research it out before pulling trigger in february truck is a 2010 silverado crew 2wd 5.3

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I put McGaughy's 5/7 kit on my 2011 and I have over 130,000 miles on it. I will tell you that I upgraded the shocks to Belltech sport suspension shocks (front and rear) and added the Belltech degree plates on the front to get the alignment right.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

What size tires do you have and do they scrub

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I have a 2011 and bought a 4 7 belltech kit.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Sorry 5 7

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I downsized from the factory tires 255/75/20s to Nitto 265/50/20s. That gave me a little more room under the fenders. Yes, the tires are real close to the top of the front fenderwells, so I cut out a 4" X 8" opening in the plastic fenderwell and riveted it up to the metal fender liner above it, that gained me another 1" to 1.5 inches of space. I then sealed all that with undercoating. I have over 140,000 miles on the drop and have not had to replace any of the fender liners and I do not drive carefully, so I do get some scuffing when I hit larger bumps. I also put on a set of Bell Tech degree cams to straighten up the front wheels, so that they do not run on the outer edges.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

I recently lowered my 2011 GMC RCSWB 6/5 using Belltech flip, spindles, coils, shocks, and camber adjusters....... I drive 800 miles to work. 2 weeks in, two out, on Northern Ontario roads, and it's a challenge with the stock 20's. The truck rides fine, but the front tires rub ALOT, even after cutting up the plastic inner fenders and massaging the steel wheel wells. I cannot say anything bad about the Belltech kit, lots of height options, but if you go as low as I did (max), you need the camber kit, and need to do as I did, make changes in the wheelhouse, and/or change the front tire size..... I'm going to go another inch lower in the back, but I'm going to pipe notch the frame first, and add helper bags so I can still tow 5000#, and make it over speed bumps.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

My truck is a 2011 GMC and I have it dropped using a McGaughy's 5/7 drop. I did have some issue with rubbing in the front and under heavy use it will still rub on the plastic liner. I have driven this truck over a 140,000 miles after the drop. I did downsize the tires to 265/50/20s and that gave me more room under the front fenders. I upgraded my struts and shocks to Belltech units for better dampening and used Belltech degree camber adjusters. In the winter months, I run stock factory steel rims, that have tires on them that are the same height as the 265/50/20s. I did change the liners, by cutting the top open and massaged them to fit up against the steel liners behind them, I also have a set of air load helper bags for the rear springs, so if I want to haul some weight, I have a way to balance the load. The majority of my driving is on Kansa highways and back roads. They are not oil field roads by any means, but are not the smoothest in the world.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

5" drop in the front is a good compromise if you want to keep the factory air dam... it will eventually be ground down to the perfect height for everyday use :metal:

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Piecesparts, you've built a beautiful truck, and it's sure to inspire others to build static dropped PU's along those same lines.... I too used the Belltech struts, fiddled with spacers until I had the rake I wanted..... the camber adjusters were an absolute necessity, as the truck wouldn't align properly without them, even with offset upper CA bushings. Pictured are some of the mods necessary to make the stock tires "somewhat" fit, once lowered. As you can see, most of the plastic liner was cut away from the back of the wheel well up towards the top..... The "brown" areas on the steel are where I heated and relieved the steel, and no longer rubs there..... the shiny spots are new contact areas, now that the old ones are gone. I just kept driving, hammering the high spots, repainting and driving until things got shiny again, repeat..... I'm at the limits for the stock wells now, as any more I would have to move the sh*t that is bolted to the tops of the wheel wells. Next up is a possible move to a narrower/shorter front tire, and some sheetmetal work, if that isn't enough!

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

So, I take it, that you are still using the taller tires.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Still using the tires that came on the truck new, 255/75r/20's IIRC, still under 20,000 miles on them....Truck has 30,000 miles, tires were switched out for snows by PO every winter...... the truck won't be seeing anymore snow and salt, as long as I own it. Ontario winters are brutal on equipment!

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

You are running a 35" diameter tire, that is what is killing your fender liners. I dropped down to a 265/50/20 tire for summer and a 245/70/17 tire for winter. Both of these tires are 30" in diameter. That would give you another 2.5" spacing between the tire and the fender.

Re: just bought a 08 crewcab 2wd and i'm dropping it. any sugestions?
 

Yep. Truck is put away for the winter, I will do the research to find a tire approx 2" shorter and 3/8 to 1/2 inch narrower for the front, before she hits the road again.