So here's a not-so intuitive question...

I purchased a set of Green keys to install and am curious what size spacers I'll need for the rear coil springs to match the ride height. I'm fairly certain all the 09' Lux editions came stock with air in the rear (correct me if I'm wrong) so the previous owner must have removed and replaced them with coils as that's what resides in their place now. My intent in to fit 37's/38's and prefer the truck to be lever and eliminate the rake. The obvious answer is to install the keys, tork them to the desired height and take a measurement of the rear. However I'm trying to order all the parts needed for a very long drive and have them delivered to the vehicles location for me to install in the next few weeks. Since the existing rear springs appear to be a modified part I don't have a knowledgeable baseline to start from. It has 35's now with a slight rake which leads me to believe it is close to if not right at stock height.

To complicate matters, I'm not in country at the moment so request for measurements would require asking the old man to crawl on an ice cold shop floor...


Thanks!

CaboDave

 

i think you might need 2" spacers with the green torsion keys. but maybe some one can chime in.

 

Are there any real world experiences here with this steering kit?

https://kryptoniteproducts.com/colle...e-2002-2009-h2

CaboDave

 

Its been a while since I installed the leveling kit on mine, I used the Supreme Suspension kit which allowed for 1" to 3" of lift on the front with I believe where 2" rear spring spacers.
If you stay with the OEM upper control arms you are limited to the amount of lift on the front that you can crank into the keys, I would guess around 1" to 1.5" max and this is due to the upper stops and the design of the OEM UCA's (the arms hit the stops due to travel from pot holes, RR tracks). I ended up installing the Cognito UCA's which due to their design allow for more space between the UCA and the stop. I pulled the 2" spring spacers and replaced them with 1.5" spacers to reduce the rake but still feel I need to drop another .25 to .5" to get the level look I want, I've been slowly cranking the keys up to see where I end up with the UCA stops. The only way I know to get a true height measurement that can be used between trucks is to get the Z-height and D-height. GM spec for the Z/D height depends if the truck has the ZM6 (off road package). The ZM6 package reduced the rake front to back by around .4" front and .7" back so would need to know if your truck came with the ZM6 package, I haven't looked to see if mine has it.

I'm running true 37" tires for now,

to your air suspension delima for your truck, there would have been sensors and a compressor mounted to the frame of your truck if it came with the air suspension so if someone did remove the air springs it would still have the mounts for the needed parts and from memory there was a air connection in the rear compartment of the truck for an aux hose connection (I've not looked at a 09 but have seen a couple earlier models with air ride).

On my truck I can place a level on the side step bars and they are level but the top of the cab is not level (rake to the front), so it depends on your eye and what you consider level. My fender front to rear measurements are around 1" difference with the front at 45" and the rear at 44" and for me I think I need to have around 1.5 to 1.75" difference to look level. Going forward for me I'm going to drop the rear another .25 to .5" and adjust the front to get the final look I want.

To the front suspension parts your looking at the HD truck guys like those parts but I have no first hand knowledge of them so can't help there. I'll soon be replacing all the front end parts on mine so will start my research to see what has good ratings.

This isn't the definitive answers your looking for but hopefully they will help,

Neal

 

Thanks Neil.

I've installed the 2" rear spacers and cranked on the green keys to get it close to level, the way it sits now the spacers are a just little too much of a lift. I have a set of Kryptonite UCA's ordered so I'll see if there is more adjustments available on the keys once installed. If not I'll probably just mill down the aluminum spacers to achieve a level stance.

I have the compressor mounted under the cargo area which is what led me to believe there used to be an air suspension. I'm a little disappointed to see the PO did the conversion as I would have preferred to repair and maintain the original equipment rather than have the springs, but I'm not loosing any sleep over the matter. Now I need to figure out why I'm unable to engage the compressor, I still want OBA.

From what I was able to find the Kryptonite stuff seemed to have great reviews so I went ahead and pulled the trigger. I started another build thread that ill keep updated as progress continues.

CaboDave

 

You will be VERY happy with your kryptonite kit. The last piece of the puzzle is to get a steering box from redhead. It's so much tighter than factory. With all of this, it'll steer like a brand new vehicle. Keep in mind though that when you lift or level the front and change the angle of the tie rods in relation to the upper/lower control arms you'll have a noticeable increase in bump steer.