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Torsion bars SILVERADO trucks

LB247XS

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Hello inmates got a question have any of you guys who have Silverado trucks four wheel drives cranked up your torsion bars and what kind of results or any issues have you guys had.

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LB247XS

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Makes it ride like shit
Yeah I'm finding that out a buddy of mine cranked up the torsions on my truck for me for a short time thought it was cool and now feels like I'm driving down a gravel road even on smooth roads my tires are all screwed up now so cranking it back down and taking it to the front end shop have it realigned

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Chili Palmer

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It all depends oh how much they are cranked up, Mine are only cranked up about 1-1/2" to clear the larger tires and it didn't make a difference, it still rides like a 3/4 ton truck. From the factory there should be about 3" of adjustment (to allow for snow plow installations).
 

sintax

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It all depends oh how much they are cranked up, Mine are only cranked up about 1-1/2" to clear the larger tires and it didn't make a difference, it still rides like a 3/4 ton truck. From the factory there should be about 3" of adjustment (to allow for snow plow installations).

This is what i've found too, to an extent.

I have a 2007 classic 3/4 ton duramax that i've had since new, when I first got it I noticed that the front end really wallowed like an old 50's Cadillac when brand new. Around 10k miles I cranked up the front just to "level it out", maybe 1-1.5" max!

I found that it drastically improved the ride, and made it more planted. I'd mainly notice the wallowing when i'd hit a bit expansion joint on a freeway over pass or something. It used to bounce 4-5 times and even out, after the crank it would only do 2-3 and even out. Thats a win in my book.
 

LargeOrangeFont

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Yeah I'm finding that out a buddy of mine cranked up the torsions on my truck for me for a short time thought it was cool and now feels like I'm driving down a gravel road even on smooth roads my tires are all screwed up now so cranking it back down and taking it to the front end shop have it realigned

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You have no down travel now, that is why it rides like crap, the truck is falling into every hole and rut, instead of the suspension falling into the holes and ruts.
 

JDizel

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You have no down travel now, that is why it rides like crap, the truck is falling into every hole and rut, instead of the suspension falling into the holes and ruts.
Hit the nail on the head! These trucks need a minimum of 3-inches of droop travel to ride decent.
 

575cat

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Still throwing the geometry outa whack , no more ride in , camber out of spec and on and on .
 

parker guy

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I have on order Cognito leveling kit with upper arms, new Fox shocks and lowering shackles lowering the back 1” with 295/60/20 tires...they are 34‘s. Key’s will be only turned up a little with lowering the back.
 

Sharpy

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I did leveling keys on my ‘17 3500. What I found was the leveling keys still pushed the upper control past its max and the truck rebounded really bad going over speed bumps. I ordered new uppers with more clearance and it’s way better, but you can definitely still feel how wound up it is compared to the stock keys.
 

Riverbound

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I did the suspension max leveling kit on mine. It’s a great kit for sure. It clears my tires (35.5”) but it’s maxed out around 4” of lift. It has no down travel (like1”). I’m going to changing the setup for a 4” lift kit. So I have more travel.

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steamin rice

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I used to have a 2001 GMC 2500HD with the torsions cranked up. The ride was terrible and I had multiple front end issues. I don't know how things are on the newer ones, but based on my experience I wouldn't raise the torsion bars and would just use a leveling kit or lift.
 

DoughBallin14

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Yep same as most have said. Cranked up you lose all your droop travel so it just bounces on the drop bump stop for the upper control arm. Best way but more expensive is 4inch lift kit or bigger. Set the ride even on travel up and down with good shocks and she rides nice.
i know some friends who cut the upper bump stop off or put on control arms that allow for more drop travel and they ended up just going the tie rods because they we taking all the force of being dropped so far. Suspension geometry is Real haha.

As for 2wd easy money! Lift spindles and new control arms and call it a day 😂
 

Flying_Lavey

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As others have said, it depends on where the arms are at at normal load. I have found if you can fit a finger between the upper arm and limiting stop, you are usually good. My wife's old '05 Yukon was dropped down so far on the keys when we got it that it rode like shit. It was on the bump stops for ever little bump and imperfection. I leveled it off with the keys and had it re-aligned and it rode 1000x better because the arms were in the middle of their cycle instead of one extreme or another.

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BLOWN HOWARD

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Anybody ditched the torsions and run an after market coil over shock set up?
 

77charger

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I did leveling keys on my ‘17 3500. What I found was the leveling keys still pushed the upper control past its max and the truck rebounded really bad going over speed bumps. I ordered new uppers with more clearance and it’s way better, but you can definitely still feel how wound up it is compared to the stock keys.
I never got the idea of the leveling keys. The torsions need twist to raise the front. IMO think the keys just have a different position for torsions to sit in but the twist is built in.
 

spark2678

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'17 GMC 2500 and I did a 2.5" leveling kit with Cognito upper control arms and kryptonite upper and lower ball joints. Rides great but not as good as stock.
 

Sharp Shooter

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The keys do the same thing as "cranking up" the torsion bars. I switched my upper control arms to Moog problem solvers which gives 2 degrees of additional camber. It took the ride from terrible to tolerable.
 

shippingguy

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I have on order Cognito leveling kit with upper arms, new Fox shocks and lowering shackles lowering the back 1” with 295/60/20 tires...they are 34‘s. Key’s will be only turned up a little with lowering the back.

I had this exact set up minus the lowering shackles(was not needed). Truck rode ok! Ended up getting rid of it and do the CST(STL) 4-6” kit set at 5” with Fox 2.0 Res all around with 37’s and now the truck rides AMAZING! For what you are gonna spend on that level kit I would look at this CST kit. Not much more at all, but night and day difference in ride quality!


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