Installing Hotchkis Performance Suspension On A Gen II Lightning Pickup - Hunkered Down

We had to remove the bracket on the back of the stock leaf spring and swap it over to the new Hotchkis springs. It's a single bolt and is easy to change.

The new Hotchkis rear springs use fewer leaves that are thicker and stiffer than the many thin layers used in the stock spring. After bolting the new spring in place, the rear end has a centering pin that will drop down into a hole in the face of the leaf.

Compress the new Hotchkis Bilstein shock and slip the top stud into the cast iron mounting bracket on the frame, then bolt the bottom of the shock onto the rearend.

Hotchkis supplies new rear sway bar end links that are significantly more rugged than the stock pieces. They're also shorter, to compensate for the reduced ride height.

Here we're greasing the urethane rear sway bar bushings with the supplied lube. Make sure not to use some of that old white lithium shop grease you have laying around, as it will degrade the integrity of the urethane.

The rear sway bar bolts onto the rearend with included U-bolts, and onto the frame with the previously mentioned end links. Thicker diameter and modified geometry help reduce body roll, eliminate "plow" and improve the way the truck rotates during hard cornering.

It's very important to align your truck after performing suspension work. The Hotchkis Installation Center has a Hunter Laser alignment machine, so Corey dialed the truck in with a tiny bit of negative camber.

The before shot was taken first thing in the morning; the after shot was taken that same afternoon.

After about five hours of work, you can see the Lightning's drastically-improved look, as the "stinkbug" stance is gone and it looks hunkered down and ready to strike. Overall ride height was dropped 1-1/16" in front and 2-7/16" in back.