thinking of lifting my 2012 1500 chevy crew

[av8er]

http://www.roughcountry.com/gm-suspension-lift-kit-236.html

I'm currently running a 2.5" leveling kit with 34.1" Toyo AT2's -275/65/r20 and they rub slightly. that's what I get for taking Les Schwab's advice .i have the 5.3L and only getting about 13.5 Mpg. curious about ride quality, cab height- garage door is 7'0". thinking bout lifting this 1 or selling and buying a 2014 with 6.2L either Denali or LTZ. thinking I can't get much worse gas mileage with the 6.2L which is a wicked beast and I love HP. I've only had 1 lifted pickeup before it was an 1999 with 6" Super lift, 3" body lift with 35's. it was all of 7-7'1" tall. Thank u for the feedback

 

[IDspud]

Buy the 14, then lift it.

My wife's burb has a 4.5" lift which is awesome but still fits in the garage. Can go up to a 6", but set low rides amazing. The faster you run in the mtns the better it rides. Talking cow trails, not pavement. The kit has reset spindles so the front drivelines aren't tweaked to extremes.

 

[gonehuntnpowder]

IMO buy the 14. I had a 13 with the fabtech budget 4 inch. Traded it for a 14 LTZ 6.2. I love this truck. Much better.

 

[milehighassassin]

Apples to apples with wheels and lift, etc, the 2014 will get better fuel economy than the 2013. Big changes in terms of aerodynamics and motor for fuel economy. 2014, all motors are direct injected. You will lose some of the aero changes by lifting but they 2014 is a lot quieter, smoother ride, far better interior and much more space. You can also get a standard box in 2014.

 

[av8er]

I should clarify

if I buy a 2014 with a 6.2L, i will lift it 6" also, unless i can find 1 already lifted.
I just want the big motor.

 

[dragonflats]

Better yet find one with Max tow package 373 rear ends great fuel mileage with 33 inch tires my experience

 

[dragonflats]

You used to be able to get 6.2 liter with LT or sle packages now it takes LTZ and SLT at a minimum and after the 14 model year I don't think you can get the 373 gearing anymore either

 

[dragonflats]

My wife's 2013 avalanche with leveling lift 33 inch tires gets 13 to 14 miles to the gallon my 2012 GMC Sierra and now my 2014 Silverado 1500 both of which had 6.2 with 3:73 gearing basically same lift and 33 inch tires consistently get 15 to 16 and on extended highway miles will push 18 at 60 to 65 miles an hour

 

[gonehuntnpowder]

In 14 all max tow 6.2's had 3.73 gears. Rest had 3.42. In 15 the 6.2 max tow has 3.42 and the 8 speed auto.

 

[av8er]

do the 3.73's get better gas mileage

than the 3.42's, also is the new 8 speed tranny, a big plus.

 

[SRXSRULE]

Question..... Whats the driving factor in lifting a truck and putting on big tires? Ive installed several of them over the years on customers vehicles and always wonder why they want to spend 4-5,000 between wheels, tires, lift kit and labor on a daily driver that spends over 95% of its time on the hwy.
Its hard on the drive line, brakes, suspension, tire wear sucks, fuel mileage goes down and resale becomes an issue. Eric

 

[Mafesto]

Question..... Whats the driving factor in lifting a truck and putting on big tires? Ive installed several of them over the years on customers vehicles and always wonder why they want to spend 4-5,000 between wheels, tires, lift kit and labor on a daily driver that spends over 95% of its time on the hwy.
Its hard on the drive line, brakes, suspension, tire wear sucks, fuel mileage goes down and resale becomes an issue. Eric

I have also wondered the same thing.
Especially when taken to the extreme, it looks gayer than hell.

 

[av8er]

I like the profile better

mine looks like this- on the left- want it to look like this- on the right though the lifted pic has a 7.5" lift on it. which won't fit in my garage door.

 

[tdbaugha]

than the 3.42's, also is the new 8 speed tranny, a big plus.

You'd be super lucky to find a 14 Max Trailering 6.2l... I tried for 2 months looking all over the country.

What I recommend is a 15 Max Trailering.... Gives you the increased GVWR and legally be able to put a sled deck on it. (2200lb +/- payload).

 

[milehighassassin]

As a dealer I just did a search for a 2014 6.2l with Max trailering for a 2500 miles radius.

Turner GMC in Montrose Colorado has a SLT Crew cab, short box, Bronze Alloy Metalic, Black interior, $53,290 MSRP. (Contact me if you want to buy this truck, I'll get you a hell of a deal!) (it appears this truck has aftermarket on it. Probably a lift, wheel and tire package, it was installed by an authorized GMC upfitter and then sold back to the dealer).



Chevy has two in the entire country left.

Pinkerton Chevy in Lynchburg Virginia has an LTZ Double cab, Black on black, $50,360 MSRP.

Sid Dillon Chevrolet in Sidney Nebraska has a double cab as well. Ruby Red, black interior, $51,055 MSRP

 

[Mafesto]

I am curious as to why the lots are full of 5.3's ?
As a dealer, why would you not keep a mix of 6.2's on the ground?

 

[polarisfornow]

Or you could go the easy route. Buy a dodge. 2 inch level and run 35's as long as you dont run a crazy offset. I ran that on my 12 ram and still got 20mpg hiway.

 

[SRXSRULE]

I am curious as to why the lots are full of 5.3's ?
As a dealer, why would you not keep a mix of 6.2's on the ground?

Good question. When I bought my 14 6.2 a year ago it was damn hard to find what I wanted. Very few dealers in a 500 mile radius even had a 6.2 and I wanted a crew cab with standard box so that even made it harder.
Last year GM required the trucks to be almost fully loaded to get the 6.2 option and that put MSRP in the mid to high 50K range. I thinking dealers feel this makes them harder to sell? Eric

 

[gonehuntnpowder]

6.2 is only available with LTZ/SLT. On constraint all the time. Have to limit the quantity because of corporate gas mileage regs. Bunch of crap. There is a few on just about everyone's lot. Go to chevy.com and you can search dealers inventory on your area with the options you want.

 

[milehighassassin]

I am curious as to why the lots are full of 5.3's ?
As a dealer, why would you not keep a mix of 6.2's on the ground?

Allotment from GM doesn't allow you to load up on them. Currently the 6.2 production is maxed out.
6.2 = Denali, Escalade, Corvette, New Camaro (current Camaro is using the old 6.2), Sierra, Silverado.


Sure the car motors are different (mostly top end and cams), but we had every Denali available sold before they were getting here. You can actually see one on a lot now, but for a while supply couldn't keep up.



There are not many 2014's left, 2015 will be much better. For most people the 5.3l is plenty of truck. The majority of truck buyers don't really need or use a truck. I sell so many to people without trailers or with a trailer that weighs < 5,000 lbs.