ALL BETTER

A 3.5-inch suspension lift and 33s was just what this Sierra needed

- Verne Simons

4 Derik chose wheels that were to his liking and a set of 285/70R17LT BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2s. We loaded the Skyjacker lift kit into his truck and had him drive around to our shop.

When our buddy Derik got a new-to-him ’14 GMC Sierra 1500 Z71 and complained that it looked like a grandpa’s truck, we knew just what to do. We talked to our friends at Skyjacker Suspensions for the perfect setup to make the truck look way better and increase clearance for a larger-than-stock all-terrain tire. Derik uses his truck on the weekends to go hunting. That means he uses it on rough backroads, sometimes towing a toy hauler, a UTV, or a camper.

First, we suggested a leveling kit, but Derik really wanted a full lift kit and some 33-inch tires. With that info, Skyjacker suggested a 3.5-inch upper control arm lift kit with Black MAX rear shocks for trucks with cast-steel control arms. Upfront, the lift kit spaces the factory front strut down with a spacer, drops the differential a touch, and includes a new differential skidplate. New tubular upper control arms with new frame side bushings and new, beefier ball joints allow more droop from the suspension by repositioning the upper ball joints. The rear is lifted with blocks and longer Black MAX shocks from Skyjacker.

1 Here’s Derik’s crew cab Sierra in stock form. It had the cast-steel control arms. Sierras with cast-aluminum control arms, or with the Denali package, may require different suspension lift kits to work with their different suspension and possibly full-time 4WD.