As I mentioned before, its all in personal preference.. As you can see from my pictures, I don't lower my trucks all the way down as low as they can go. Whether its 2wd or 4wd, lowering these trucks into the basement destroys the ride in my opinion. The factory never intended for a 4WD truck to be lowered, as a result the suspension geometry can only be modified so much before ride quality and other characteristics (like bump steer) start to get compromised.

If you intend to drop a truck more than the 2-3" that drop spindles and cranking the torsion bars down can give you, then it can get dicey in a hurry.

At that point you're cutting bump stops, and really pushing the bounds of the factory geometry & components, adding in components that change the geometry like drop spindles, torsion bar keys, etc. really changes the game. If you're going that low I have no recommendation for you.

I prefer to have stock ride, and steering response with upgraded handling. My Avalanche can really crank through the corners, it's surprised many of my friends, it's biggest issue is weight 6000#'s can really punish the 305/50/20's on it as hard as that may be to believe.

I can't stand the 'raked' look these trucks leave the factory with so my goals have always been to lower the front a reasonable amount and level it out. The Avy can be cranked down a lot more, but then it will hit the bump stops and go back to the raked look.

The only real benefit I can see with the BT spindles the CV shaft center point is higher in the casting than the McG's, maybe for a mega drop this is better. For a 'reasonable' drop I'd choose the McG's all day long to avoid the bumpsteer issues and the other issues related to the taller spindle.

 

The McGaughy 17"+ spindle and Belltech 2508 are IDENTICAL height.

 

My major complaint with my McGaughys is the turning radius lost. I put belltechs on my friend's truck a little over a year ago and they were much better IMO. If i was to do it over again I would definitely get belltech spindles. I dont know if there is any truth to them having to change back to the old design but it would be a shame if they did.

 

hey you're still alive! I thought you gave up all your worldly possessions and went and got lost on an island somewhere, lol

 

Haha still lost out here for another year. Dreaming of the day I get to go back to civilization and tinker in the garage again.

 

Just looking to do a mild 2/4 drop on my 00 RCSB 4x4. I used Belltech spindles on a previous 2wd Silverado and didn't like the change in steering radius. What are the pro's/con's with keys vs. spindles on a 4x4?

 

I'd like to open up this thread again too. The front has been debated quite a bit. I'm still confused though. I just installed Belltech 2508's along with their offset bushings. I also decranked the stock keys a little. I only want to go ~1/2" below where the drop spindles put me, will aftermarket keys help the ride at all?

Also for the rear: Belltech drop leafs, flip kit, or hangers? I have hangers on the shop floor that I was going to install this weekend but if the drop leafs or flip kit is a better option I will hold out and do it properly.

 

For you guys wanted a better ride and handling, I highly recommend taking a look at coilovers (see the links in my sig). They are by far the best way to go lower and get better ride and handling qualities out of your truck. They will also work just fine with lowering spindles.

 

Atomic, as soon as I save up an extra $700.- + I'll be going with the coil over conversion up front. But for now I'll just run keys!

 

Okay, just installed Belltech 1-3" drop keys on my 99 RCSB 4x4 yesterday. Didn't take much to pre-load the bar to get the bolt/plate back in. And once the bolt/plate was back in and key tension tool was removed, the bar and key could be moved around. Not much pressure on the new keys. Installed the adjust bolt and cranked them to cross member level on both sides. Needless to say, I'm not impressed with the amount of drop. I'm sure once the bars/keys settle I'll be able to back off on the adjust bolt some.
Question is, with keys alone what are people seeing for ground to fender or hub to fender measurements?

Thanks!