Wheels, tires and lifts for the new guy

[efg2Dmax]

hey fellas...
Just bought my first diesel and very, very happy with it. I've been an offroader for years and the ol' Rover finally bit the dust. She was a great rig while she lasted...the repair bills were brutal.

So now what? It's a 2009 Silverado 2500 HD, 6.6L rig with a crew cab, standard bed.

It was tough and it cost a bit more, but I opted to go for a full-size diesel pickup this time. And I'm really enjoying it already.

Typical front rake I'd like to be rid of and I'd like to level it off.

Questions:
1. torsion bar leveling kits (i.e. ReadyLift SST) - will it affect the quality of the ride? They say it doesn't..but you can't always believe what you read, right? Ya, I know...and here I am posting something on a forum. But it's a Duramax forum!
2. I have standard issue wheels and tires. I want to purchase some aftermarket wheels and a more aggressive, taller, wider tire that is capable offroad. The key: I do NOT want to have wheel rub, weird handling challenges, alignment issues, etc. Been there. No thanks. I also don't want a street machine. I want to be able to drive around town fine, be able to drive offroad fine.

I'm really trying to get the rig to where it's supposed to be: one mean machine that can be capable of hauling my toys to wherever I want to go and have it look like a truck.

Thanks and sorry to be rookie...but figured I'd ask guys who know.

efg

[cookwa]

I did the Cognito leveling kit and really like it. I would highly recommend it. However, on the new body style, the leveling kit does not really allow you to go with much bigger tires than stock.

[HumboldtDmax]

Get a Cognito lift, they make the best lifts and leveling kits

Readylift style leveling kits suck