Craig Perronne
Brand Manager, Dirt Sports & Off Road
When GM's HD pickups came out last year, fans of the General had good reason to rejoice. Two monster engines-an 8.1L gas V-8 with enough power to push your eyeballs into the back of your skull, and a 6.6L turbodiesel V-8 with enough torque to relocate your neighbor's house into the next county-were just two of the reasons why Chevy fans were rushing to their local dealers. Of course an Allison transmission bolted to those two engines, and a ton of hauling and towing capability, didn't hurt, either.
A drawback of the new HD line, though, is that lifting its independent front suspension is a bit more complicated than lifting a truck with a solid front axle. So at first, there weren't too many lift kits to be found for these popular trucks. However, all that has changed. Now there is a wealth of offerings from many manufacturers on the market.
One of the newest ones, and one that caught our eye, is from Fabtech suspension. Why did it pique our interest? First, it allows for 8 inches of lift while providing plenty of strength through its stout construction. Other nice features include the fact that no driveshaft modifications are necessary as long as you have the Allison transmission, and no steering centerlink changes are required. We looked in as Fabtech installed its 8-inch kit on a four-wheel-drive 2500HD Crew Cab. If 8 inches of lift is too much, Fabtech also sells a 6-inch kit. And if blue is not your color, black also is available. Follow along as we look at the highlights of the install and the results.
The Results
On the street, the Fabtech-equipped HD rode quite firmly, but this was more due to the triple-shock setup, which definitely was overkill for the pavement. The Fabtech suspension uses the stock torsion bars, so a close-to-factory ride should be possible using just a single shock. If this was our truck, that's what we'd do.
On the trail, having 8 inches of lift and 37-inch tires really helped the approach and departure angles of the big Crew Cab HD. The ride was still quite firm though, as the triple shocks were just too much except for the biggest of impacts. We think a single shock on each front wheel would be a better deal.
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