Hey people, just starting the project in a few weeks here. I got a 03 Chevy Duramax Crewcabbage. Gonna throw down a 9-11 inch CST LIFT. My performance shop buddy who is installing it with me wants to put the whole 11 inches in. What do y'all think? I am going to throw down 20 inch rims with  38" Toyo MT's. Thoughts and/or comments? Should this heavy ass diesel be a tipsy mother effa? Go with the 9 and a half inch or go straight to 11? Opinions and knowledge pllleeease. Later!  

She gonna be a street queen, why bother with the m/t's? Show truck?  

Ya she'll be a streety but a sweety! I'll only take it out chewing in mud every so often probably.  

Opinions?

How about looking into some smaller wheels to put big tires on? A lot of nice heavy duty offroad tires are made for the 16.5" rim diameter. You might save a lot of money buying tires for 16.5" rims than the 20 inchers.

Also I've heard generally speaking, the larger the rim diameter, for the same overall tire size your whole wheel and tire combo goes up in weight. So 38 inch tall tires mounted on 16.5" rims might be a fair bit lighter freeing up more horsepower and braking power.

Just my 2 cents...

If it's a street queen you're probably going to be looking for some decent on-road handling, and I would be seriously worried about the handling on such a high lift.  I don't know exactly how it would handle, but I would definetely look into that, and if the kit won't provide good handling, maybe look into upgrades or possibly a custom setup.  However, it's your truck, not mine, it may not be a concern for you.

It will handle like a truck with 9-11"s of lift, not a sprots car, but not all that bad. Some big ole sway bars could make a world of difference though.  

Well yes I knew you wouldn't be looking for sports car handling but an 11" lift designed for high articulation would probably be scary as hell on the highway, to put it bluntly, especially once you add a high sidewall tire.  You really just need to make sure you can actually control the thing.  Sway bars definetely would help a lot though.

CST lifts are not built for "high articulation", no factory length a-arm ifs lift is! He is thinking about putting a big wheel on the truck, lessening the sidewall and squirm associated with that.  

Sorry, you will have fill me in on what exactly is meant by CST then.  I was under the assumption it was a brand name, and  assumed that it was an off-road designed suspension, just that in this case it wasn't going to see off-road use.  This is why one should never assume, it tends to make an ass of you.

Ever thought of putting a straight axle under the front end. The duramax, and allison are a great combo. The ifs is known for blowing it self up under heavy loads. 38s will put a lot of strain on the ifs system. I'm sure a lot of engine mods are on you'r list next. Add more horse power, and that ifs will break if you plan on playing in the mud, or flouring it in 4x4.    

CST is an "off road" lift company. However, as i stated, no factory length a-arm ifs kit will EVER give you "high articulation". I would have suggested a straight axle too but its just gonna be a street queen anyway, and the more people throw 60's under trucks that dont need it, the harder it is for me to find a decent price on one.  

i dont know about the 16.5 rim diameter its been rough here lately to find a good tire in that diameter here in indiana. Ive have to order every one at a higher cost. but i can get 17's in any variety for the same price or less...  

I have a 03 duramaxcrewcab with a 9-11 cst lift 17in rims 40in goodyear mtr.The truck rides great!