It's true, newer trucks are becoming harder to slam to the ground. As of late, all automakers are seeking to create the best products ever by utilizing the most advanced research and development possible. This means that there has been more focus than ever on delivering the best ride out of your truck's modern factory suspension. As the mechanics of a truck get more sophisticated, more work is involved to lay it out with airbags.
Since you can't simply add a set of airbags to a new Chevy or GMC fullsize without seeing some front alignment issues, the crew at Ekstensive Metalworks has designed a kit to make it possible. The kit basically raises the factory upper control arms for camber and then uses a drop-down steering spacer to keep the toe correct and minimize bumpsteer. Installing this kit does take more skill than what was needed to airbag previous GM trucks because you have to strip the upper portion of the front frame and weld on the upper control arm/airbag-mounting bracket. Though this takes some more work, the kit takes the guess work out of aligning the bracket because it lines up with two points present on the factory frame.
With big wheel openings on the fenders of these new trucks, the Ekstensive kit was designed for folks who want to the lay out their Silverado or Sierra on big wheels ranging up to 28 inches with a 33-inch-tall tire. If you want to install this kit with wheels bigger than 22s, you will have to cut all the trucks inner fenders and firewall, relocate the fuse box and battery, and get rid of the emergency brake system. Yes, this is a lot of work for something that wasn't so hard to accomplish on an older truck, but these new trucks sure do look good flat on the pavement.
What's in the box?
For $850, you get a front suspension kit complete with mounting brackets, Heim joints, steering spacers, shocks, hardware pack, and lower control arms with ball joints already pressed in.
Since Ekstensive Metalworks was also installing its rear suspension kit while we were at the shop, we thought we would show you it as well. This kit goes for $650, comes with a two-link, Panhard bar, airbag mounts, step notch with bridge and shock mounts, hardware pack, U-bolts, mounting brackets, and saddles.
 |  |  1.To start off, the crew puts...  1.To start off, the crew puts the truck on the lift, removes the wheels and bed. Since the rearend will be disconnected, the truck could fall forward off the lift from unbalanced weight. Since the frame on this truck is fully boxed, Ryan "I wish I was famous" Hartman welds a bracket to it and clamps it to the lift arms. You could also place extra stands under the front, but you will then be unable to lift and lower the truck during the install. |
 2a.Next, the rearend is put...  2a.Next, the rearend is put on stands and the entire suspension is removed. |  2b.On the driver side, the...  2b.On the driver side, the gas tank will need to be temporarily moved to gain access to the front bolt on the leaf spring. With everything out of the way, Ryan used a torch to remove the shock mounts and leaf spring saddles. Then, he used an electric grinder to clean off the rest of the excess steel. |  3.One of the most overlooked...  3.One of the most overlooked steps is the act of supporting the frame when a step notch is installed. If you do not secure it, the frame will sag and the bed will mount crooked. You can either use stands or spot weld on a spare piece of steel like Derek did in this photo. |
 4a.Before the step notch can...  4a.Before the step notch can be welded on, the frame's undercoat will need to be removed. With the notch centered to the bumpstops and clamped on, it can then be welded in place. |  4b.Then the frame section...  4b.Then the frame section between the notches is torched off and filler plates are welded to make the notches solid. |  5a.At this point, the two-link...  5a.At this point, the two-link can be attached with the truck's factory hardware. Then a set of saddles, U-bolts, and mounting brackets can be used to secure the two-link to the rearend. |
 5b.Once the pinion angle (typically...  5b.Once the pinion angle (typically 3 degrees) is adjusted correctly, the nuts can be tightened, and the saddles welded to the rearend. |  6a.Now that the two-link is...  6a.Now that the two-link is in, placement of the upper airbag mounts can be figured out. |  6b.Then, they are welded on...  6b.Then, they are welded on and the airbags are secured to them. |
 7.For the Panhard bar, the...  7.For the Panhard bar, the straight end of it is bolted to a mount on the step notch. Then, the end link is bolted on and welded to the center of the axlehousing after it is raised all the way. |  8.The factory shocks can be...  8.The factory shocks can be reused on the rear, however the lower bushings will need to be grinded down to fit in the mounts on the two-link. |  |
 9.Because the driveshaft hit...  9.Because the driveshaft hit the gas tank crossmember, it prevented the truck from laying out completely. It was then cut and notched with a shaped piece of 1/4-inch steel. |  10.Another thing that hit...  10.Another thing that hit the driveshaft was the vapor box for the fuel system. Luckily it could be moved out of the way by simply prying it up a little bit. |  11.The rear suspension after...  11.The rear suspension after it was completed. All the welded areas were cleaned up and painted black to prevent rust and to improve looks. |
 12.Before the bed can be set...  12.Before the bed can be set back on the frame, it has to be cut for the notch/bridge and wheels. The fatory sheetmetal was cut out with a grinder. To make the job nice, Derek welded in a set of trailer fenders and a custom notch cover. To prevent warping the sheetmetal Derek welded the parts in sections instead of in one single pass. |  |  1.Since the rear two-link...  1.Since the rear two-link is pretty stiff for cornering, you can get away with not running a front sway bar. So, here it is unbolted and removed. |
 2.Then, the brake pistons...  2.Then, the brake pistons are removed and secured before the spindle is unbolted. The factory spindles will be reused, however the holes for the steering will need to be drilled with 3/4-inch bit to accept the bolts for the new spacers. Also the lower ball joint mounting holes will need to be tapered to fit the new ball joints. Moving forward, the front struts and control arms are removed. |  3.With all the front suspension...  3.With all the front suspension components removed, Eric torched off the spring perch and the upper control arm mounts. Then, he used a grinder to remove the excess material from the frame. |  4.The cool thing about the...  4.The cool thing about the mounting brackets of the kit is that there is no guesswork in mounting them. They are simply bolted to these factory tabs and clamped on to the frame so they can be welded in place. |
 5.Then the new lower control...  5.Then the new lower control arms can be attached to the factory location and the uppers can be bolted to the new tabs on the mounts. |  6.Once the spindle is bolted...  6.Once the spindle is bolted to the control arms, the steering linkage can be attached. To do this, the tie rods are removed and a half-inch of material is cut off of the rods exiting the steering rack. Then the Heim joints can be attached with the provided hardware. To fasten it to the spindle the provided bolt is dropped in place while a tapered spacer is placed on it, then the Heim joint can be attached to it. |  7.Using the mounts on the...  7.Using the mounts on the bracket and the lower control arm, the shocks and Firestone 2,600lb airbags can be easily mounted in place. |
 8.With all the bolts secured,...  8.With all the bolts secured, the brake pistons can be reinstalled completing the front suspension. The truck will need to be aligned by a professional, but to get you by you can just eyeball it until then. |  1.If you plan on going with...  1.If you plan on going with a wheel-and-tire combo with an OD over 26-inches and want to lay out your truck, you will have to trim and relocate some stuff on the front. To gain access on the front, the hood, grille, inner plastic fenders, and outer steel fenders are removed. Here's another case where GM has made things more complicated. In order to remove the fenders, the headlights have to be removed. And to get the headlights out, the bumper caps need to taken off. |  2a.The firewall is one of...  2a.The firewall is one of the things that needs modification, and it is trimmed with a cut-off wheel. On the passenger side, the A/C box is unbolted and moved slightly out of the way. On the driver side, the parking brake assembly is completely in the way and is removed. Also, the main wire harness and hood release cable will need to be moved out of the way. |
2b. |  3.Once the proper room is...  3.Once the proper room is made for the wheels, the firewall is tubbed with a few pieces of sheetmetal and the seams are coated with a liquid nail compound. |  4.The inner parts of the front...  4.The inner parts of the front fenders will also have to be cut to allow for the wheels to travel upward. Here, Ryan cut this section out with a cut-off wheel and then tossed it out. Notice that the hood hinge spring will have to be removed too. It's another piece that has to be sacrificed in order to go low on these trucks. |
 5.With the fenders cut and...  5.With the fenders cut and placed back on, the wheels were bolted on and the truck was laid out on milk crates to show how much it tucks with a 24-inch wheel mounted. | | |
The Final Word
After two days of shooting for this tech article at Ekstensive Metalworks, I had to fly back to Southern California for work and was unable to get photos on the relocation of the battery and main fuse box or plumbing of the air system. However, after reading this, you should have a good understanding of how to airbag the suspension of one of these new trucks with this kit.