2026 GMC Sierra HD: Stock VS 2" VS 4" Suspension Comparison!

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:01]What's up, guys? I have my lifted AT4X here today, and I'm going to be comparing it with the AT4X with just the standard lift. And I decided to throw a regular AT4 in the mix just kind of give you some perspective with this setup.

[00:00:19]Now, I have to give Jerry Siner a shout out because they did supply these two trucks here. So, they are in South Jordan and they're both available. Be sure to text Frank if you are interested in getting pricing from them. Let's go ahead and go back out front. I want to show you guys the main reason why I decided to lift my truck. I did a video comparing the AT4 with this X and I discussed a few things that I learned along the way. I did a video similar to this probably 3 years ago. And so there are some things that are clearly different between these two trucks. But one of the biggest questions I got when I picked up this truck almost 3 years ago, which is crazy by the way, was how is the ride? Most guys buying this X all noticed that this truck rode very stiff.

[00:01:14]And this being a 3/4 ton, it actually rides stiffer compared to the AT4. Now, remember, this has more sidewall for the tire because you have 18s versus 20s, and you run the tire pressure at 55 PSI on the door compared to 60 out front and 80 PSI on that one ton 3500. Now, if you're looking at a HT4 2500, the tire pressure is like I think 65 out back and then maybe 60 in front. I can't remember. But you can go back and watch some of my videos. I always show those numbers in the door. So, you'll see that. But regardless of it, the main reason why this truck rides stiff is because of what's underneath. And I'm going to show you guys really quickly.

[00:02:01]Here's a comparison. I'm going to show you the X versus the AT4 versus mine.

[00:02:07]So right here you guys will notice the angles, right? So you guys see the CV axle, right? There's a little angle to it and to the tie rod angle as well.

[00:02:22]So they did change the diff mounts to lower it down for this truck. But even still, there's still some angle because again, I'm going to keep saying this because I learned this and it's just something that you have to understand.

[00:02:38]GM leveled this truck. They did not change anything structurally on the framing to allow for that lower arm to come down some and then therefore giving it more of a diff drop on this truck to really get those angles perfect. But when you look at the AT4, no matter how you slice it, this truck one ton that is rides slightly better because you see those angles there.

[00:03:09]Those angles are a lot straighter compared to the regular ATRX. Now, I have to talk about this really quickly.

[00:03:19]There's a misconception that independent front suspension trucks suck.

[00:03:25]And I think I know why. If you're planning to level this regular AT4 by just getting a different torsion key, different upper arm, all that good stuff. And then of course cranking it up. You're going to get pretty aggressive angles on the suspension.

[00:03:43]Therefore, it's going to ride stiff. I want to show you guys some footage I got here at this dealership. They do lift some trucks and they added a 3-in leveling kit to a AT4. I drove the truck and it rode really stiff and that's simply because they did not do this. So, anytime you are looking to lift these trucks, this is how you have to do it.

[00:04:09]So, right out of the gate, you guys can see they did change the front and rear crossmember for the suspension because they dropped down from here to here, which is basically 4 in, right? So, because they dropped this down and of course they redesigned the steer knuckle, I also got their upgraded upper arm. They were able to get the suspension geometry better than stock.

[00:04:38]So, one more time, here is my truck versus AT4X.

[00:04:49]Do you see those angles?

[00:04:52]Look how aggressive they are compared to my truck. One more time. So, you guys see the tie rod right there? This is the tie rod right there. and that CV axle compared to my what is a 4 in lift.

[00:05:14]Okay. And just so you guys can see the difference. Now just remember I do have 38 by 13 1/2 tires. So you can see the height difference. Oh my goodness. That is a big tire. Oh wow.

[00:05:32]So yeah, now when you have a AT4X or ZR2 truck, remember this.

[00:05:42]This 4-in Magoy kit is basically a 2-in kit because you already get 2-in lift on these trucks from the factory. So if you're getting a regular AT4, that would give you a total of 4 in not including your tire. So, if you go with a 37, 38 like I did, then you're going to get even more lift with the truck. So, hopefully guys can see the difference.

[00:06:04]Look how much more aggressive my truck looks with this lift. Now, I will say my bumper too makes a little bit more aggressive, but yeah, you do get better ground clearance. But something that you have to understand is this.

[00:06:17]This factory AT4X has 2 in of droop.

[00:06:27]And also on the AT4, it has about 3 in of droop travel. With my Magoy kit, I have 4 in of droop travel. So, I do increase it even better than what you saw on this truck. Now, you might be wondering, well, does that really matter? So, whenever you crank up the torsion keys, right, you're lifting the front end and then those angles go even more aggressive. So, I'm going to show you one more time that leveled AT4. Do you see the angles on this suspension?

[00:07:01]When you lift up the front end of this truck, you're decreasing the suspension travel that you have, which means when you go over imperfections in the road, the suspension doesn't have enough travel to actually soak up those bumps in the road, basically. So, that is the main reason why I got this lift kit because you get more droop travel, which means the truck's going to ride a lot better compared to this one and slightly better than this one over here.

[00:07:32]And because I got this upper arm, this does help again with the overall geometry of the suspension. I highly recommend if you're thinking about lifting your truck, add this to your build sheet simply because of the downward angle of how they designed where the ball joint is. It just makes it ride so much better. Now, out back you guys will see my truck does sit a little bit higher than this one again simply because of the tires. Now, I did a video I actually dropped it today actually. I compared my truck with a AEV edition that had 37 by 13 and a halfs. And actually what's funny is that truck sat slightly higher right here.

[00:08:16]So at this point that truck was slightly higher simply because of the rake.

[00:08:22]Because you guys know this truck has rake. My truck is actually more level.

[00:08:26]There's a slight rake in my truck. Just a slight but not a lot. It's mostly level. So when there there is rake out back, it does make the bed sit higher.

[00:08:36]So you guys can see there's a huge difference. Well, not a huge difference.

[00:08:39]There's probably that's probably about an inch to 2 in in between. An inch and a half, I would say. And then on this side with this regular AT4, you'll see it's even worse because this truck has 34.1 in. It doesn't have a block in the rear.

[00:08:57]So this truck does sit even lower. But yeah, look at the difference between these two trucks. It's amazing what happens when you lift the truck 4 in.

[00:09:06]And remember, if you want that look of my truck on this one, that is available.

[00:09:11]And this is a long bed. This will look even better lifted with a long bed. I would love to see one of these trucks lifted with a Mccoy kit. So, let's go ahead and check out the AT4 outback.

[00:09:22]So, you guys will see there's no block in the rear, right? No block.

[00:09:32]And then let's go over to this truck here, which is mine. So I have a inch and 3/4 block here. Okay. Inch and 3/4 versus inch and a half.

[00:09:50]So that's the factory block. I took that one out of my truck. And if you want, let's just say you want a little bit more rake to your truck because some people do like the look of rake, they do have shims available for this lift kit, too. So, if you want to add those shims in there and just get a little bit more height in the back, that is a possibility with McGoys, too. Now, I don't want to beat up on GM too much, but remember this. These trucks got redesigned back in 2020. They got new frames, pretty much an entirely different truck. And then in 2024, they did a refresh and that's when they introduced the AT4X.

[00:10:32]So GM did their best to make this truck more cost effective. So they did not change the frame specifically for the X to get the extra lift. That's why they only took the upper and lower control arms, stiff mount, torsion key, and made those different because those are cheaper suspension parts. Therefore, they were able to give you this really nice inch and a half taller height with the 35s, the electron locker, the really nice interior, which is only available for this truck. You cannot get this black interior with anything else in the segment, which I think is kind of highway robbery for the AT4. But regardless of it, this is takes that suspension to the next level. They're basically fixing all the issues that GM could not to make this truck cost effective. And remember this, I've noted that my steering feel is a lot better. I'm not fighting the steering as much, like especially when there's imperfections in the road. That was probably one of my biggest like improvements was the ride, but obviously just the steer feel. It's so much smoother and I feel like I have more control overall with this truck. So, in closing, I'm doing this for someone.

[00:11:37]Hopefully, they'll say something in the comment section. They wanted to hear my truck with my exhaust on it compared to one without. So, let's go ahead and do that and then I'll pretty much end off the video.

[00:12:03]Heat.

[00:12:22]Heat.

[00:12:27]Heat. Heat. Heat.

[00:13:02]Hey,