Truck Lift Kits and Leveling Kits: A Buyer's Guide

Start with the thing most lift buyers get wrong. A lift kit is not a performance part.

Every active suspension row in this catalog carries the same power figure, which is none at all. The rows are marked N/A or NONE PUBLISHED, and that is not a hole in our research. It is the honest answer. Suspension changes ride height and damping, not engine output. Nobody has tested a lift kit for horsepower because there is nothing to test. If a listing promises power from a lift, distrust the listing.

What a lift does change is expensive and easy to miss. It changes which wheels will bolt back on, which tires will clear, and how many other parts you have to buy before the truck drives straight again.

Leveling kit, lift kit, or full system

A leveling kit raises the front only. Trucks leave the factory nose down so they sit level when loaded. A leveling kit takes that rake out. Most are a spacer on top of the factory strut, or a re-indexed torsion key on trucks that use them. You keep your factory struts and shocks.

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Rough Country lists this as 2 inches on the 2023-2026 Colorado, install difficulty 2 out of 5. Read the exclusion before anything else: Rough Country states it does not fit ZR2 or AT4X. On this truck that rules out the trims most likely to be shopping.

ReadyLift's 1.5 inch strut spacer for the 2019-2024 Silverado 1500 is the same idea, difficulty 3, 2 to 3 hours. It does not fit Adaptive Ride Control, Trail Boss, AT4, ZR2, or the 2019 old-body 1500 LD. Because you keep the factory struts, it does nothing for worn dampers and will not free up room for a much bigger tire.

A lift kit raises both ends. It is aiming at tire clearance and ground clearance, not stance, and it usually replaces or relocates real structure.

A full suspension system replaces springs and dampers together, tuned as a set. It costs the most, and it is the only one of the three that can make the truck ride better rather than worse.

Carli publishes 2.5 inches of front lift and 0 inches rear on this Ram 2500 system. It replaces the springs and valves the shocks to match instead of spacing up the factory parts. Difficulty 4, roughly 4 to 6 hours, alignment after. Two catches: Ram 2500 4x4 diesel only, because the 3500 uses a leaf-sprung rear and needs a different system, and the listed price is Carli's "from" figure that moves with your configuration.

The part people forget: shocks

A spacer lift raises the truck but leaves your factory shock working outside the range it was valved for. The front end goes floaty over dips. The fix is a damper built for the new height.

This Bilstein 5100 is valved specifically for 2 to 2.5 inches of front lift on the 2017-2026 F-250/F-350. Difficulty 2, about 1 to 1.5 hours for the pair. Two things to know: it is sold one shock at a time, so budget for two, and on a stock height truck it is the wrong part entirely.

The alternative is buying the height and the damper together.

The Bilstein 6112 is adjustable from 0 to 2.25 inches, so you set the height rather than accept one. Difficulty 4, around 4 hours, professional install recommended. Eibach's Stage 1 includes four shocks and two front springs at roughly 2 to 2.75 inches of front leveling, difficulty 3, and Eibach says outright that max tow package trucks will not sit level on the bottom clip setting. Both exclude trucks with the CCD electronic suspension.

What a lift forces you to buy

This is the section worth your time.

Wheels first. A lift changes what fits, and the good manufacturers publish real numbers.

BDS requires at least an 18 inch wheel with this 6 inch F-150 kit, with 5 to 5.5 inches of backspacing on an 18, the 5.5 specifically for tire to frame crash bar clearance. Stock 20s can be reused with up to a 305/60R20 tire.

ReadyLift tested their 6 inch Big Lift on a 20x9 wheel at 0 offset. That clears the 295/65R20 they recommend, and is what they used to test fit a 37, with trimming possible at that size.

Cognito's uniball upper control arm needs at least 5.75 inches of backspacing on a 9 inch wheel, with a tire no larger than 35x12.5.

Kryptonite states their dual steering stabilizer brackets will not clear stock wheels at all, with 5.5 inches maximum backspacing for 285 wide tires. The shocks are not included either, so budget for a pair on top.

Where a manufacturer has not published a clean number, we do not invent one.

The only source found for this kit's wheel requirement had offset and backspacing labeled inconsistently, so there is no figure on the row. Confirm with Superlift before you order wheels for it.

Next, geometry parts. Past roughly 1.5 inches of front lift on a solid axle truck the axle shifts sideways and the tire stops sitting centered in the fender opening.

Adjustable track bar, rated for 1.5 to 8 inches of lift, difficulty 2, about 1 to 1.5 hours. Rough Country states plainly that it does not fit stock height trucks. That cuts both ways. It is a required part on a lifted truck and a wasted purchase on a stock one.

Then tools and shop time.

ReadyLift's torsion key leveling kit for the 2020-2026 Silverado and Sierra HD requires their unloading tool PN 66-7822B, sold separately, and does not fit AT4X or ZR2.

ICON's Stage 1 for the 2019-2026 Silverado 1500 requires driver assist camera and sensor recalibration after install, which is a shop or dealer visit stacked on top of the alignment. ICON also states this kit is not compatible with 4-cylinder engines, so 2.7L Turbo owners need a different system, and Trail Boss and AT4 trucks get less than the full lift range.

Last, alignment. Assume one. Nearly every leveling and lift row here either requires or recommends it, and the rows that publish install times exclude it from the estimate.

Driveway job or shop job

Every row carries an install difficulty from 1 to 5.

• Difficulty 2 to 3 is realistically a driveway job with hand tools and a jack. Spacer leveling kits, shock swaps, track bars, steering stabilizers.
• Difficulty 4 means a spring compressor, a torque wrench you trust, and an alignment booked in advance. Coilover conversions and most full systems land here.
• Difficulty 5 is a shop job. The 6 inch kits in this catalog carry 8 to 10 hour or 10 plus hour estimates with shop install recommended, and several do not publish a verified install time at all.

Fabtech's 6 inch kit is difficulty 5 at 10 plus hours. Fitment is narrow: 4WD only, crew cab with the 5.80 foot short box only, no Trail Boss. Factor shop labor into the price before you compare it to anything.

What to skip

Skip the lift if what you actually have is worn shocks. If the truck sits fine and rides badly, a lift will not fix it.

That is a stock height replacement set. No visual change, difficulty 2, about 2 hours.

Skip the leveling kit if your problem is sag under load. A leveling kit lifts the front. Squat under a trailer or a slide-in camper is a rear problem, and rear air springs are the part that addresses it.

Skip any kit that excludes your truck. Nearly every restriction quoted in this guide came from the manufacturer's own page: no Tremor, no ZR2, no AT4X, no CCD, 4WD only, crew cab only, diesel only, standard output only. Check yours before you order, not after.

Legality, warranty and emissions

Nothing here is legal advice. Maximum legal vehicle height, bumper height and headlight height are set by state law, vary widely, and some states inspect for them. A lift can also affect your factory powertrain or suspension warranty, and changing ride height can interact with driver assist systems calibrated at stock height. None of the suspension parts in this catalog touch emissions equipment, and the rows say so directly. Check your state's rules and your warranty terms before you buy.