Guide to Leveling & Wheel and Tire Sizing for 06+ 4wd Ram 1500's

ram1500rsm · Aug 4, 2019

78Staff said:
I'm running Zone UCA's, although I don't know if they would allow that much adjustment - they are designed for 2-3" lift and use a factory style Ball Joint, not a Uni-bail type.

They will. I have Zone UCA's, main reason to use aftermarket UCA's with an offset is to use that offset to your advantage.
Find any competent alignment shop and ask them to set your aligment to this specs.

2019-04-13_01-21-06 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

78Staff · Aug 6, 2019

ram1500rsm said:
They will. I have Zone UCA's, main reason to use aftermarket UCA's with an offset is to use that offset to your advantage.
Find any competent alignment shop and ask them to set your aligment to this specs.
2019-04-13_01-21-06 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Great, thanks - I will get into it

.

Gary2 · Aug 20, 2019

Randy Oglesby said:
Hey, I have a question pertaining to the Bilstein B8 5100 adjustable struts. I understand how they work but wouldn't they compromise the overall ride quality of the truck by compressing the spring more than factory and cause a stiffer ride?

Some seem to say no but I personally have changed my setting a few times on the same truck and it got softer with less lift which means the suspension began to absorb the bumps instead of the whole truck feeling the bump as it did at the higher settings. Got to be some reason the coil spring compressor gets harder to tighten the more you compress the spring. The effect is no different mounted on the truck .

brandonjansen · Aug 21, 2019

Gary2 said:
Some seem to say no but I personally have changed my setting a few times on the same truck and it got softer with less lift which means the suspension began to absorb the bumps instead of the whole truck feeling the bump as it did at the higher settings. Got to be some reason the coil spring compressor gets harder to tighten the more you compress the spring. The effect is no different mounted on the truck .

The reason for that is at the lower setting your control arms are closer to level which allows them to absorb the bump rather transferring some of the force up through the control arm into the frame of the truck as it does when they're at a steeper angle. Changing the preload itself is not what's causing the change in ride. The springs are a consistent rate throughout the travel. Adding preload simply changes ride height.

Gary2 · Aug 22, 2019

brandonjansen said:
The reason for that is at the lower setting your control arms are closer to level which allows them to absorb the bump rather transferring some of the force up through the control arm into the frame of the truck as it does when they're at a steeper angle. Changing the preload itself is not what's causing the change in ride. The springs are a consistent rate throughout the travel. Adding preload simply changes ride height.

Ive seen that control arm angle argument go back and forth for 20 years on Jeep Forum and the more experienced ones are the ones saying it has no effect for the little bit of difference. I always felt it did but the experts say no , I still disagree with them . That still don't explain why it requires so much more force to crank down on a spring compressor when going from .7 to 2.8 than it does to go from .7-1.4 on a set of Bilsteins .

brandonjansen · Aug 22, 2019

Gary2 said:
Ive seen that control arm angle argument go back and forth for 20 years on Jeep Forum and the more experienced ones are the ones saying it has no effect for the little bit of difference. I always felt it did but the experts say no , I still disagree with them . That still don't explain why it requires so much more force to crank down on a spring compressor when going from .7 to 2.8 than it does to go from .7-1.4 on a set of Bilsteins .

Control arm angle most definitely does have an effect on the ride. On the HD trucks (or any solid axle vehicle for that matter) that is one of the main reasons why the larger lifts go to long arm kits. The ride quality difference between a 6" short arm kit and 6" long arm kit is very noticeable.

Gary2 · Aug 22, 2019

I feel the same way thats why I had Clayton Long arms on my last TJ . I have no rocks to get hung up on around here.

zacbar · Oct 22, 2019

Excuse my ignorance, but I park in a low clearance parking garage at work, so need to confirm this before I pull the trigger. I want to install Bilstein 5100's probably at the 2.1 setting to level out my truck. It won't raise the overall height of my truck, correct? As in, the highest part of my roof right now will remain the same, assuming I don't change the rear shocks or the tire/wheel size?

Neumie · Oct 22, 2019

zacbar said:
Excuse my ignorance, but I park in a low clearance parking garage at work, so need to confirm this before I pull the trigger. I want to install Bilstein 5100's probably at the 2.1 setting to level out my truck. It won't raise the overall height of my truck, correct? As in, the highest part of my roof right now will remain the same, assuming I don't change the rear shocks or the tire/wheel size?

No, your roof will go up about 1 to 2 inches in my opinion.

sawz · Oct 22, 2019

Your roof will definitely go up.

If you raise the front of the truck 3 inches the halfway point between the front and back axles will raise about 1/2 of that, around 1.5 inches.

bucsfan8582 · Nov 3, 2019

I am new to leveling and lifting trucks, and so please pardon my lack of knowledge. I am interested in upgrading my tires and so i figured i would either level or lift my 2017 1500 at the same time. If i am reading this info correctly, in order to put a 35X12.5X20 tire on a stock rim, i will have to install spacers as well as some form of leveling or lift kit. I was looking into the Bilstein 5100 height adjusting shock absorber or B8 6112 Suspension Kit. Will either of these products work for what i am looking for??? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

78Staff · Nov 3, 2019

ram1500rsm said:
They will. I have Zone UCA's, main reason to use aftermarket UCA's with an offset is to use that offset to your advantage.
Find any competent alignment shop and ask them to set your aligment to this specs.
2019-04-13_01-21-06 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

So I finally had this done - they couldn't quite get to 5* as my eccentrics were close to being maxed out on the lowers so it would have thrown those out of whack... at least that's what they told me. But did get to 3.8 which was enough to clear the minor rub on the liner :waytogo:

- thanks!

78Staff · Nov 3, 2019

bucsfan8582 said:
I am new to leveling and lifting trucks, and so please pardon my lack of knowledge. I am interested in upgrading my tires and so i figured i would either level or lift my 2017 1500 at the same time. If i am reading this info correctly, in order to put a 35X12.5X20 tire on a stock rim, i will have to install spacers as well as some form of leveling or lift kit. I was looking into the Bilstein 5100 height adjusting shock absorber or B8 6112 Suspension Kit. Will either of these products work for what i am looking for??? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Bils would do it at 2.7" on stock rims with 35x11.5's or metric equivalents...possibly event set at 2.1. 12.5's or if you go to aftermarket rims you may need spacers depending on offset. I ran 35x11.50's Terra Grapplers on stock rims for a while with no issues before upgrading to 35x12.5R20 BFG's on aftermarket rims getting a tiny bit of rub, so had UCA's adjusted as noted in post above to clear up a minor rub.

bucsfan8582 · Nov 4, 2019

78Staff said:
Bils would do it at 2.7" on stock rims with 35x11.5's or metric equivalents...possibly event set at 2.1. 12.5's or if you go to aftermarket rims you may need spacers depending on offset. I ran 35x11.50's Terra Grapplers on stock rims for a while with no issues before upgrading to 35x12.5R20 BFG's on aftermarket rims getting a tiny bit of rub, so had UCA's adjusted as noted in post above to clear up a minor rub.

I was going to stay with stock 20" rims and wrap them with BFG KM3 35X12.5. but i was concerned with rubbing. that is why i was inquiring about the UCA's. I have seen that a few have gone with the Zone and Bilstein combo. but i wasn't sure about the spacers or even if the stock 20" rim will hold a 12.5" tire like the BFG KM3..

ram1500rsm · Nov 4, 2019

78Staff said:
So I finally had this done - they couldn't quite get to 5* as my eccentrics were close to being maxed out on the lowers so it would have thrown those out of whack... at least that's what they told me. But did get to 3.8 which was enough to clear the minor rub on the liner - thanks!

Lazy phockers is what they are

I got mine aligned again couple of days ago. Watched the dude literally do everything in about 15 min, 4.5* driver, 5.0* passenger caster, 0* camber, 0.05* toe on both sides. Found out I need at least 4.7* on the driver side for the 37’s not to rub. I have a very mild rubbing now going in reverse turning. Something I didn’t t have with 4.7 caster on that side. I’ll get fixed next time. I go through alignments like oil changes haha.

bucsfan8582 · Nov 7, 2019

brandonjansen said:
Yes that is correct. I recommend 10mm hub centric spacers from Motorsport Tech if you want to run 35x12.5's on stock wheels.

To add on to the question... If I dont want to worry about rubbing at all, should i go with bit wider spacer, up to 1"?

bucsfan8582 · Nov 7, 2019

So here is the set up i was thinking. Brandon, or anyone else, if you could confirm this will work and fit with no rubbing... Bilstein B100 adjustable shocks up front with a 2.8in lift. BFG KM3 35X12.5 on stock 20" wheels with +19 offset. Using Motorsport Tech 10mm hub centric spacers to keep from rubbing. Also, to keep business in the forum, is there a vendor here to shop from that you would recommend. Thanks

Xyleff · Nov 9, 2019

How are these compared to oem as far as durability?

14rambighorn4x4 · Nov 10, 2019

Thank you for the information, I have been looking high and low for the correct level and tires. I have the 20x9 sport wheels, and after I get the bilstein level, I am wanting to continue to run the stock wheels, I have a friend with stock wheels and either 285 or 295s. Look great and will perform. Again thanks.

jon316 · Nov 10, 2019

Bilsteins set at 2.8, 1/4” rough country spacers. 35x12.50r20. Zero rubbing!

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Guide to Leveling & Wheel and Tire Sizing for 06+ 4wd Ram 1500's

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