McGaughys 7-Inch Lift Kit - Lifetime Lift
If you have been, or ever were, into the custom truck scene, the chances are you have seen the McGaughys name a lot. This company builds some of the nicest truck lowering kits you can find. When asked, no one seems to know why the company hasn't sold lift kits all these years, but the void has been filled.
| After
The 7-inch lift kit from McGaughys really makes this Chevy look like a serious truck.
Steve McGaughys explained to 8-Lug that the company was going to add lift kits to its extensive catalog, but not before they were perfected and tested. The time is here. We trucked ourselves up to Fresno, California, to Bad Habit Customs (559/276-5026) to watch a 7-inch lift go under an '09 GMC Sierra 2500HD. Bad Habit's Brian Massey installed the kit while owner Jeremy Thornton coordinated (and got his hands dirty a few times for sure).
All of McGaughys' kits come in a brilliant, gloss-metallic, silver powdercoat for durability and good looks. While it's tempting to say the HD kit is a complete bolt-on, there's a few holes that need to be drilled and one bolt that must be sawed off shorter...but it's almost a 100-percent bolt-on kit. The biggest bonus is you don't have to trim any of the differential case as some kits require.
McGaughys sales guy Brandt Hemphill pointed out that the shocks are progressive and come with the bushings already pushed in-a real time-saver. And he jumped in to help out with the installation of the kit, which goes to show you why the company is so successful-everyone knows the product and has turned a wrench. That way, when you call them with a question you will get an informed answer.
| Before
This '09 Chevy is a shop truck-it definitely needs something to get the style going.
We were happy to note that the exhaust did not need to be rerouted, and that McGaughys offers a lifetime warranty against manufacturer's defects on the spindles. Said spindles are CAD-designed for a perfect fit and to maintain the stock alignment specifications. The lift kit includes the lower A-frame support rods to prevent the bending of A-frames. The lower A-frame support rods and compression struts add extra support to prevent the front and rear crossmembers from flexing.
The bottom line is that while McGaughys may be new to lift kits, it is certainly not new to truck suspensions and the company knows what it is doing.
