Looking for some rear lift expertise

[cvand789]

Hey guys,

as you can see the shocks that came with my BDS 4" (2011 silverado) have taken a beating from the harsh salt and whatever else Michigan puts on their roads in the winter….



Needless to say I'm in the market for some new shocks. This isn't my area of expertise and I'm probably making it more complicated than it really is so bear with me..

I was originally going to run the Bilstein 5100s all the way around that way I could bring my front end level with the rear but then through some research figured out that this wasn't an option for the front.

Long story short I'm going to purchase the 6" front struts from BDS which will be the equivalent to having their 6" kit up front. This will create a little unwanted cali lean as I am currently at 41.5ish in front and 43ish in the rear. The differences in the rear end from my 4" kit and the 6" kit are the longer shocks, AAL, and 5.5" blocks.

I plan on either using the 5.5" block that comes with the BDS 6" kit (instead of the 5" block that came with mine) to level it off, or keep my 5" block and put on the AAL that comes with the bds 6" kit.

So I guess my question is:

Can I still run Bilstein part no. 24-186636 (designed for 4" of lift), or will I run into rear end travel issues as this is .5" more ?
If I cannot run 24-186636, what are my other options? I've only been able to find one Bilstein shock designed for lifted trucks, and the above is it.

I'm not totally against making my rear end equivalent to the BDS 6" kit if it is the only way to make it work, but it would be much cheaper to simply get some bilsteins (or something similar) instead of having to buy new blocks, AAL, and longer shocks.

Thanks in advance.

Connor

 

[Tylers88]

out of curiosity could i see a pic of your current block setup, i thought BDS leveled it out not have almost stock rake

 

[cvand789]

It is kind of at a weird angle, but it is exactly 5".
I wish I sat level -- that would solve all of my problems.

In this picture you can sort of see the rake -- I will see if I can find some better ones.


This guy has a full 2" of rake, wish I had it this easy too.

My 4 inch BDS lift with pictures : Suspension

 

[Tylers88]

With almost 2" or rake I would say put the struts in see where it sits. If you have lean still then step up to a bigger block.

 

[fortplainman]

yeah my rear on the 6in kit when it settled was only about 1/2in taller than the front. i upgraded to their gas shocks for the back when i got mine in 2010, glad to see that i did.

 

[cvand789]

yeah my rear on the 6in kit when it settled was only about 1/2in taller than the front. i upgraded to their gas shocks for the back when i got mine in 2010, glad to see that i did.

Yeah I checked out your build earlier! Sweet looking ride man..love the red.
Am I accurate in saying that the only differences are the 5.5" block, AAL, and the longer shocks? I just compiled all of that from BDS's website.

 

[fortplainman]

im not totally sure if the front geometry is the same between the two kits or not. id say try doing the front first, take a measurement and see where you are at.

 

[cvand789]

im not totally sure if the front geometry is the same between the two kits or not. id say try doing the front first, take a measurement and see where you are at.

Sent BDS and email to make sure, guy named Ted….only difference up front is 6" struts. Good to know.

 

[Ginger]

most 4 and 6 kits are the same thing with just different torsion key or strut in the front and a AAL in the back.