ok, i want someone to explain something here. everyone talks about doing the "green keys" lift but i think everyone is being fooled here. is there really a difference between installing the different keys and just cranking your tbars? think about it this way - the amount of lift achieved is based on how much twist is applied to the bar, which then exerts the force on the a-arm up front. by installing the different keys, all you are doing is preloading the bars more than normal. the bolt may have more threads showing but the actual force and amount the tbar is twisted will be the same to get the same amount of lift. what is the point of the "green keys" then? maybe theres something i am missing but its just been bugging me ever since i started looking for my 2500HD and found this forum. i dont mean to piss off anyone who has done this, i just want to clear things up here. thanks!

your absolutly right and its been disscussed about a million times. all the green keys do is allow for more adjustment or lift to be cranked in to the torsion bars. do a seach and you can read for days about this topic.

No green here.


Raised the front 1.5" (level) with the stock keys. Still have threads and could go higher, but don't need/want too.

Ask Hoot ,he's the Green key Expurt here.





Mac http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley17.gif

If you can't get enough adjustment out of the stock ones, you have to
shift to something else, like the green keys. Other than that,
there really isn't any real reason to do it. Some claim to be
able to feel a difference. I say if you can feel that, you got
one sensitive butt.



Dennis

The difference between the stock keys and the green keys is degrees of angle of inclination. Geometry stuff... When you start out with stock keys there are only so many degrees the key arm will go up to allow more lift, when you add the green keys you are starting at about 12 degrees more than stock and allowing the arm to travel further than that point. *You have to think relative here, being a point in space to another point*.... So if you start out with more of an angle of inclination than you have more room for the arm to travel... Make sense? Ok then....http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley2.gif

However there is only so much adjustment you can get before your ride sucks your cvs are running steep angles and you run out of alignment adjustment. I dont see the point in changing out your keys the keys can only do so much and the stock ones can handle it, unless they some how made it easier to adjust for those of us who are running them up and down for racing, pulling, etc. are you talking about the angle of the key itself or the angle of the lower a-arm cause the lower a-arm angle is what you are adjusting in reality and thats what you should be talking about. I am just a long time chevy cv snaping owner probaly replaced 25 or so even with gutless trucks, the worse the angle the more breakage.

ok then, just making sure. i understand that it allows for more adjustment, but before you maxed out the stock ones, you would have a sh!tty ride and bad angles for your cvs so why would you want to go more? i feel better now knowing that everyone isnt under the assumption its a magical, cheap lift kit! http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley32.gif

actually my stock keys were maxed out and my ride was nearly unchanged, so i went with the green keys to get another inch, ride is much better than stock now. i also feel much better about having all of the suspension load on just the top half of the adjuster bolt, as opposed to having all of the load on the entire length of the bolt if it were maxed out. as for bad angles on the cv's iv had 2 lifted trucks, one i put 50k on with much worse cv angles than you could ever achive with green keys (within reason) with out one single problem. (tie-rods are another story) mabey im lucky but iv never had an issue with cv's nor have seen or heard of, in person, others with cv breakage problems. also it technicaly is a 'cheap' very cheap way to lift the front of the truck, but 'magical', no.

With the green keys and the right shocks your ride will be fine. As long as you have the front end aligned and your shock height is right, you ride will be great if not better than stock from people I have talked too....

Just a little warning here... I've had the green keys for a while now... The truck did get additional lift with the green keys... With the bolts screwed in the same same amount (measuring thanks to rust marks) it gave an additional 1.5 inches of lift... The real catch is you can't lower them down enough to race with the green keys.. You lower the torsion bars all the way down and the truck won't launch straight anymore.. It launches like a stock truck with the torsion bars up.. Really sucks.. I tried strapping the front end down, and it slows the truck over .2 tenths in the quarter with much less consistancy.. If you're going for looks only, the green keys is a great 50 dollar lift.. If you're planning on racing, don't do it..