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3.5in rough country lift

9K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  wyman1jt 
#1 ·
So I just got my 3.5in rough country lift installed on my 2012 Chevy 2500HD. I know this is a cheap lift and isn’t the best ride quality but my question is how can I make it a little bit smoother? Some people say they love the lift and it rides so good and mine just isn’t that it’s extremely rough on bumps and really bouncy almost to the point where I don’t want to drive it. Does it need time to break in or could I have done something wrong? I’m new to the truck scene any help would be appreciated.
 
#2 ·
3.5" of "lift" this kit claims with the parts that are offered will do nothing but make you feel like you're riding a mule. Unfortunately that's just part of sticking to the cheaper option of "lifting" the truck that is basically a glorified leveling kit. Your best bet for what you have now is to remove the rear blocks the kit came with and lower the front end by backing out the bolt on the keys. That's about as good as you're going to get besides maybe front diff spacers that prolly wont make too much of a difference. If you're concerned about ride quality your best bet is to either use a drop shackle in the rear to level and keep the front end as close to stock as possible or buy a true 4-6" lift kit and de-crank it and don't use the rear blocks if you want the height of the rough country kit. What tire size/wheel offset are you running?
 
#3 ·
Totally understand that it’s a cheap way to lift the truck but I’ve had trucks just leveled on some bigger blocks and rode wayyy smoother than this. If I got better shock absorbers would that help? And I have 20in fuel Mavericks with 35’s 12in wide
 
#8 ·
Had the same Tuff Country 3.5“ kit on my 2019 High Country with 35’s for about six months. Hated it. Horribly stiff ride, was hell on my tie rods (due to steep angles), hard on my lower ball joints (steep angles), hard on my CV joints (steep angles but I did the diff drop spacers to slightly reduce the angles), put in Bilstein shocks, even lost an upper ball joint within a few months that Tuff Country replaced. Did everything I could to try and make that kit work. Finally took it out and put a FabTech 4 inch suspension lift in. What a difference. My truck actually rides better than stock. Sorry to share my experience with the same kit. My advise, put in a true suspension lift kit.
 
#9 ·
Obviously late to this post. I just bought this lift, with Rancho Rs9000xl adjustable shocks. I am wanting to just level the truck for the most part, so likely won't block the back or use the full 3 1/2 inches. really wanting to maintain my factory smooth ride. 2015.5 chevy 3500 long bed. Thoughts? will this maintain a comfortable ride/
 
#10 ·
I completely disagree. I have the 3.5” lift with there resivor shocks and my ride is smooth. How much did you crank the torsion keys up? Did you mark the bolts before you put the new ones in so you know how deep to put them back? I personally would not calll this a lift but more of a leveling kit. It aloud my wife to run here 33’s she wanted. Wheels are not factory they are 22x12 black rhino forged. She didn’t want to have to trim the front bumper.
 
#11 ·
Want to follow this discussion as I have the same "lift" and currently looking for a front diff drop bracket ILO the aluminum spacers that Rough Country sell you with this kit. It's a "claimed" 3.5" lift and they send you 1/2" spacers to drop the differential - that never made sense to me. So here I am not trying to find a different option to replace the spacers that offers more "drop" to reduce the steep angles on the CV, Tie-rods, etc. - also Rough Country told me that the MAX distance from center of HUB to the fender (measure plumb or perfectly vertical) should be no more than 27.5" to reduce stress on the knuckled components. I had my torsion keys cranked more and my distance was just over 28", but I need that to clear the 295/65's when turning (especially when you hit a pothole/bump mid-turn).

That said - any manufactures out there making a better diff bracket for this lift??? Praying their is a better option, I am okay with the ride and doesn't really bother me, just want to "try" and avoid premature failure on certain parts if possible.
 
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