Wanting to lower a 14 RAM RCSB

Gary's Hemi said:

Gotta love somebody that just has joined w/ in the last 7 days & has 5 post & starts being a smart ass in someone else's thread.

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I know how you feel! It's pretty annoying at times.

Gary's Hemi said:

Never understood why people have this thought & then feel the need to make a smart comment about it. You are turning your truck into nothing more than the same truck it was before, just a tad lower. People still pull their campers & haul items after lowered. You are a guy that likes lifted trucks huh?

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There is actually a point to lifting a truck. Higher ground clearence, meaner stance. Lowering just looks silly. Just go buy a car.

Gary's Hemi said:

Gotta love somebody that just has joined w/ in the last 7 days & has 5 post & starts being a smart ass in someone else's thread.

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Oh sorry I didn't realize there was a time frame before posting.... lol

2012Lamarie said:

There is actually a point to lifting a truck. Higher ground clearence, meaner stance. Lowering just looks silly. Just go buy a car.

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Never understood that mind set...why not go ahead and buy a duece & a half instead of lifting a half ton. Higher ground clearance, meaner stance and can ACTUALLY haul more. Lifting just ****** people off b/c nobody reaims their headlights after jacking them way up.

Gary's Hemi said:

Never understood why people have this thought & then feel the need to make a smart comment about it. You are turning your truck into nothing more than the same truck it was before, just a tad lower. People still pull their campers & haul items after lowered. You are a guy that likes lifted trucks huh?

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There is actually a point to lifting a truck. Higher ground clearence, meaner stance. Lowering just looks silly. Just go buy a car.

Gary's Hemi said:

Never understood that mind set...why not go ahead and buy a duece & a half instead of lifting a half ton. Higher ground clearance, meaner stance and can ACTUALLY haul more. Lifting just ****** people off b/c nobody reaims their headlights after jacking them way up.

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A duece and half?? LOL I think you are exaggerating a bit. It gets about 3 miles to the gallon, top speed of about 45mph too... I just like to be able to drive over a 6 inch speed bump without grinding the bottom of my truck. Or you know actually go off the pavement.

2012Lamarie said:

There is actually a point to lifting a truck. Higher ground clearence, meaner stance. Lowering just looks silly. Just go buy a car.

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Why buy a truck if you think you need that much ground clearance, buy a Jeep

2012Lamarie said:

A duece and half?? LOL I think you are exaggerating a bit. It gets about 3 miles to the gallon, top speed of about 45mph too... I just like to be able to drive over a 6 inch speed bump without grinding the bottom of my truck. Or you know actually go off the pavement.

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So why not buy a Jeep if you really think that you need to go off the pavement?

2012Lamarie said:

A duece and half?? LOL I think you are exaggerating a bit. It gets about 3 miles to the gallon, top speed of about 45mph too... I just like to be able to drive over a 6 inch speed bump without grinding the bottom of my truck. Or you know actually go off the pavement.

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Okay here's the deal, you do your thing and I'll do mine. If you want to lift your truck. Do it. I don't give a ****. I'm gonna lower mine no matter what your opinion is. If you don't like it, get the **** out!

Brody57 said:

Hey guys, Im wanting to lower my 2014 RCSB. Ive read so many threads that my head hurts. Im just wanting an aggressive stance without getting too crazy with the suspension. Im looking at the 2/4 drop kits and was curious which would be best and any issues I would have. Ive heard of some guys having problems with the driveshaft and was curious if this was an actual problem or just a case by case kinda basis. Any help would be appreciated!

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Go w/ the Belltech kit. I had tons of issues w/ rear swar w/ the Mcgaughys kit even WITH a Hellwig rear sway bar. I have a 2016 R/T w/ 27,000 miles, had 15,000 when originally kit installed. I never could sort it out. Here was all the issues w/ the Mcgaughys kit that I had w/ ride quality & sway.

1st the sway bar endlinks supplied are 2.5" too short to make the rear sway bar level. The sway was cocked upwards too much. Installed the Hellwig rear adjustable links to get the sway back level w/ the frame. That helped but didnt solve.

2nd the kit uses the stock shocks. Installed the Belltech Street Performers. No luck, same problem. Rides much better but same problem.

3rd the Mcgaughys panhard bracket is 1" too long resulting in the panhard being unlevel. I installed the Belltech bracket. The Belltech bracket is 4" center to center where as the Mcgaughys is 5". Again that helped but didnt solve.

4th I cut a coil off the springs to help level the truck & the panhard a lil more. The truck sat 2" higher in the back than the front w/ the untouched Mcgaughys springs. That leveled the truck better & got the panhard completely level but the sway was much worse. The rear of the truck felt very unstable & like it was on ice skates.

So now I have givin up on the Mcgaughys rear kit completely. I ordered the rear Belltech kit from Summit for $140. The Mcgaughys kit isnt built right. The springs only lower a reg cab 3" instead of 4" the panhard bracket & end links wouldnt line the suspension up right until the truck is at a 5"+ rear drop. So w/ that being said nothing in the rear kit lines up w/ each other to correct the geomatry.

Also note worthy all bolts torqued to spec. No loose bolts or loose jam nuts on Spohn panhard bar.

The truck w/ the Belltech rear kit rides much better. No rear sway so far(has been installed for about 500 miles so far) alot less body roll, panhard is level & the truck is almost level. Much better.

We will see how the Belltech kit compares over time & on the track. I have heard of several people who have swapped who are very happy. I couldnt even make a full 1/4 mile pass w/ the Mcgaughys kit on my truck.. At 90 mph & above it was scary.

QA1 TS-905 shocks are supposed to help w/ the problem but $350 for 2 shocks is a hard pill to swallow.

The driveshaft issue is just the reg cab 8 speeds. They are failing due to reaching critical speed, not due to poor alignment. They reach critical rpm at 5350 rpm which is reached at 130 mph on factory tires & 110 mph on short track tires. Just dont get up to 130 mph & you should be good. There is a fix that Matt from Moes is working at the moment w/ a driveshaft shop.

Gary's Hemi said:

Why buy a truck if you think you need that much ground clearance, buy a Jeep

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That literally makes no sense. A jeep doesn't have a bed, and is not a truck.

Gary's Hemi said:

So why not buy a Jeep if you really think that you need to go off the pavement?

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Again literally makes no sense. You with a slammed truck , that you have to slide into like a car, cannot get off the pavement at all. A jeep and a truck are totally different but have similar traits in that they are meant to be able to go off road. But trucks have more capabilities in towing and storage etc.

Brody57 said:

Okay here's the deal, you do your thing and I'll do mine. If you want to lift your truck. Do it. I don't give a ****. I'm gonna lower mine no matter what your opinion is. If you don't like it, get the **** out!

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Oh you misunderstood my original post. I couldn't care less if you want to turn your truck into a car with a bed. I was just trying to get feedback on why. Other than it might turn better due to a lower center of gravity, I see no point.

2012Lamarie said:

Again literally makes no sense. You with a slammed truck , that you have to slide into like a car, cannot get off the pavement at all. A jeep and a truck are totally different but have similar traits in that they are meant to be able to go off road. But trucks have more capabilities in towing and storage etc.

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Makes all the sense, Jeeps have the cargo space in the back, roof rack for extra cargo, can lift them for clearance & can tow a small load.

Was looking at my truck the other day next to a early 2000's stock height GM 1500, mine w/ a 2/4 lowering kit sits the same exact height as the GM did on stock suspension. Top of the cabs & top of beds were same height. So no, dont have to slide into it like a lil car, nice try, nice fail, try again....

2012Lamarie said:

Oh you misunderstood my original post. I couldn't care less if you want to turn your truck into a car with a bed. I was just trying to get feedback on why. Other than it might turn better due to a lower center of gravity, I see no point.

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Better handling, easier for wife & kids to get in & out, sportier feel, easier to load/unload items in bed, looks better to some people

Gary's Hemi said:

Makes all the sense, Jeeps have the cargo space in the back, roof rack for extra cargo, can lift them for clearance & can tow a small load.

Was looking at my truck the other day next to a early 2000's stock height GM 1500, mine w/ a 2/4 lowering kit sits the same exact height as the GM did on stock suspension. Top of the cabs & top of beds were same height. So no, dont have to slide into it like a lil car, nice try, nice fail, try again....

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LOL yeah, then you either didn't do an actual lowering on it or you are just flat out lying. If the truck in your profile pic is yours, than yeah you are just lying. But like I said, if you want a car with a bed thats fine. And you hit the jeep dead on, tow a little big, store a little bit. lol Not a truck. Now go put your flat brim hat on sideways and walk away.

Gary's Hemi said:

Better handling, easier for wife & kids to get in & out, sportier feel, easier to load/unload items in bed, looks better to some people

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You know it's funny how people go into threads that they have no interest in just to stir the pot... it's also funny how people take the bait. I mean really!! If you have no valuable info to add to any thread why even bother... must be me but I rather spend my time productively...

Now to get back on track...

I personally like to use the Belltech 2/4 springs only and purchased the QA1 shocks all around. I've also had the McGaughys deluxe kit, didn't like the fact that it made the front wheels stick out more than the back.

I appreciate everyone help in here! I think I'm gonna go with the Belltech 2/4 with a Hellwig rear sway bar and the Ford F-150 Front sway bar links. Are there any modifications on those sway bar links to make them work or do they fit perfect? Now my last question is about the illicit brackets to center the rear axle. Are those actually needed with the hellwig rear sway?

Brody57 said:

I appreciate everyone help in here! I think I'm gonna go with the Belltech 2/4 with a Hellwig rear sway bar and the Ford F-150 Front sway bar links. Are there any modifications on those sway bar links to make them work or do they fit perfect? Now my last question is about the illicit brackets to center the rear axle. Are those actually needed with the hellwig rear sway?

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The illicit brackets help center and put the pinion angle back to spec. the sway bar helps with handling. they both serve their purpose. Make sure you get the adjustable panhard bar and install the panhard bar relocation bracket (included with Belltech springs)