leveling

First of all I have a 2000 silverado 2500 LT extended cab 4x4 with 6.0 liter V8. It has 165,000 miles on it. Never had the front end leveled since it was bought new.

I have decided to level the front and install a larger more aggressive tires on the vehicle. I understand that alignment will be needed, and i intend to do so anyways, i will also be replacing all the tie rod ends and upper and lower ball joints due to current wear in them anyways. Therefore i was thinking since im redoing everything, why not raise it a little, i dont want a huge difference. I replaced the shocks about 2 months ago.

:confused: Mainly I was wondering what everyones opinions are of the aftermarket torsion bar keys in comparison to factory to perform this and which manufacturers you all have used and how they are holding up, i need to lift the front approximatly 1.5 inches to level the front and rear. I have read that it is possible to fit 33 inch tires according to some aftermarket manufacturers like Skyjacker for one. I was wondering if anyone here had attempted to install 33" tires and what the outcome truly was. I mostly see people stating 285 is what they had under the truck, what is the comparison of a 285 in inches to letsa say a 33 inch tire? i dont want rubbing issues. thanks in advanced....

You may be able to get the 1.5 inches without keys. I would give it a shot first. But if you cant, aftermarket keys have been used for quite a while with no real ill effects. Be cautious though, some aftermarket keys can allow too much crank and cause CV and upper Ball Joint problems. Best to keep it under 2 inches.

I fit a 32" tire without a crank on 8.5 inch wide wheels (little over 5in. backspacing). I only needed to trim off about half inch of front valence. If you are running a factory wheel, you should be able to get a 33" in there pretty easy!