I have a 1999 chevy z71 and wanted to put a 2" to 3" lift under it to help clear some larger tires.  I was thinking about getting torsion keys for the front and blocks for the back.  Any ideas?  

perfect. of a body lift would do the trick  

i would go with keys front and a add-a-leaf back with daystar lift shackles if you want minimum body roll but if you want to come out cheaper a body lift  

Keys are a bad move yet many push them. They throw suspension geometry out of whack and also place suspension at or very near the upward limit of travel and place more strain on CV's.(CV's are strongest straight and weakest when bent) The only PROPER way lift that IFS is with a kit the relocates diff and uses new knuckles. Many like to take shortcuts though.  

didnt't think of the added strain on the cv's but snoman is right  

for that little of a lift i know a guy who just bought new shocks and it lifted him up 2" it was a pretty easy/cheap job.
 

will shocks really do the trick?  and the add a leaf way -- will this give me a higher carrying load for the bed?  

also, i am not planning on doing any serious offroading.  i want it to clear larger more aggressive tires for the trips tot the duck swamp, deer stands, and around the farm.  with this said, will my CV joints really be a jeopardy with torsion keys?  

yes, add-a-leafs will add tow capacity and to my opinion for that little use i would not think keys would hurt but i would get a second opinion on that  

alright, but i have a friend that has torsion keys for his 03 2500.  will these fit my 99 1500?  

SuperSonoma:
yes, add-a-leafs will add tow capacity and to my opinion for that little use i would not think keys would hurt but i would get a second opinion on that

Actually for down on the farm I would avoid keys even more because pulling it in 4x4 with keys will shorten CV life and their boots too as well as they are weaker too bent.(the nature of a CV and ilder joint would suffer quicker)) This is why to always see IFS and front wheel drives set to about level axle shaft for maximum torque capacity and long life. One more thing, with you lift a truck and put bigger rubber on it you REDUCE towing capacity for a few reason. First, bigger tires cut into pulling power and add strain to tranny because it raises effective gear ratio for less peak power is transferred to ground.(regearing axles can help this a lot) Second when lift it you change load center relative to hitch and frame and the longer offset needed has increased leverage against hitch receiver and frame which means it actual reduces ball capacity (they never bother to tell you that though)  

i mean i am going to get a small lift it is just the best way of doing it.  i understand that every way is going to have certain quirks in it but i just want to know the best setup.  

Honestly, if you plan to put the thing to "work" you want to leave fairly stock. I have been plowing snow for over 20 years and plowing is harder on a truck than off-roading and such and I leave all my trucks stock (no lift or over-sized tires) and I have yet to have my first engine, tranny, tcase, front or rear drive axle failure too.  

I understand, but it is going up. i just want to know the best setup  

The best setup to raise a IFS truck is a proper kit the replaces knuckles,lowers diff to keep axle CV joints in proper alignment and also keeps suspension properly centered in its range of travel. A "key" does none of this. The "nice" thing about IFS is that it can articulate wheels independently with proper caster and camber angles and travel for proper handling but "keys" negate all of because the limit travel by topping out suspension this and throw geometry out of whack too. Many are disillusioned though into believing the keys are a proper way to do this but they are not. Keys are an example of the aftermarket creating something for profit that people want to believe will work best when it does not. Kinda like magic air filters and such that are supposed to be silver bullets that cure power issues from lift and big tires with stock gears because they are too lazy or cheap to do that right too (regear axles) Then when trannies fail it is always because it is a "cheap tranny" not because of what they did to increase the strain on it.