Bils & Zone UCA's

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BackCountryAK

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Getting ready to do my suspension upgrades which includes Bilstein 5100's for the front and rear, Zone UCA's, and Tuftruck 1211 springs. Currently all I tow is a 3 place snowmachine trailer, but the wife keeps trying to convince me that we so need a travel trailer. Guess I'm leaning that way since I purchased the heavier springs. With that in mind I'm now torn between the 1.4 and 2.1 setting for the front shocks. I want some rake but guess I won't entirely know until I replace the rear springs. With that in mind, would there be any issues using the Zones with the 1.4" setting besides being way overkill? I know on their website they say for 2 -3" of lift. I did reach out to Zone, but their reply was "we have not tested our UCA with those shocks".
 

G-Ride990

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I just did zones and bills at 2.8 last week.

The uca's can easily handle more lift than that. Even the CV angles look great still.

I would recommend setting the bils at 2.8. I added a rear 1.5in spacer too. But I would only add a 1in rear spacer is I were to do it again. Currently I have the stock rake with my setup.

Amazing combination of parts! Can't believe how much better my truck rides. Only one problem... It made me want to buy the 6in right after I did it lol.

There will be zero issues running the zones at 1.4. but why would you?

Post up pics when you do the install! In the zone instructions it states that you must torque the arms at ride height... I just used a bottle Jack to load the suspension while the truck was on jacks.
 
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BackCountryAK

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There will be zero issues running the zones at 1.4. but why would you?
.

I just really want the truck to look more level and not be nose high when towing. I'm not really interested in having 35's, but could see going to 34's when the stock tires need to be replaced. Right now I have a shell on the truck and both rear measurements (ground to top of the wheel well) sit at 39". Left front is at 36-5/8" and right front is 37". I'm assuming when I add the Tuftruck springs the rear will gain another half inch due to the new springs handling the weight of the shell. If my assumption is correct, the 1.4" setting would still give me around an inch or so of rake which I hope will work with towing. Also, I would rather avoid adding the spacer in the rear but may have to do that in the end if the truck becomes nose high when towing.

Thanks for the tip with the bottle jack to load up the suspension. I was wondering how I was going to get a torque wrench in there with the tire in the way lol.
 

G-Ride990

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I just really want the truck to look more level and not be nose high when towing. I'm not really interested in having 35's, but could see going to 34's when the stock tires need to be replaced. Right now I have a shell on the truck and both rear measurements (ground to top of the wheel well) sit at 39". Left front is at 36-5/8" and right front is 37". I'm assuming when I add the Tuftruck springs the rear will gain another half inch due to the new springs handling the weight of the shell. If my assumption is correct, the 1.4" setting would still give me around an inch or so of rake which I hope will work with towing. Also, I would rather avoid adding the spacer in the rear but may have to do that in the end if the truck becomes nose high when towing.

Thanks for the tip with the bottle jack to load up the suspension. I was wondering how I was going to get a torque wrench in there with the tire in the way lol.


Ah, that makes sense. Adding a spacer to the rear to get the rake back if you need it is much easier than pulling the struts back out and adjusting them... Plus another alignment.

I was wondering how to torque the control arms down too with the wheels on. It seems okay, they want to stay where they are at just like the stock ones do when the knuckle is off.

Have you gotten the new control arms yet? I almost had to call zone to double check which one is driver side and passenger side. I am surprised the part number doesn't specify. But the instructions say that the zone control arms offset the ball joint to the rear. So, before you remove the factory control arm hold the zone up to it and compare. The wrong side puts the ball joint forward.
 

Addicted2fishing

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I just did zones and bills at 2.8 last week.

The uca's can easily handle more lift than that. Even the CV angles look great still.

I would recommend setting the bils at 2.8. I added a rear 1.5in spacer too. But I would only add a 1in rear spacer is I were to do it again. Currently I have the stock rake with my setup.

Amazing combination of parts! Can't believe how much better my truck rides. Only one problem... It made me want to buy the 6in right after I did it lol.

There will be zero issues running the zones at 1.4. but why would you?

Post up pics when you do the install! In the zone instructions it states that you must torque the arms at ride height... I just used a bottle Jack to load the suspension while the truck was on jacks.

Hey G-ride I’m going to be doing 2.8 and Zone UCA with 1.5” next year this time and wondering why you would have gone with 1” instead.


Mods: EGR matte black bug deflector, Westin HDX drop steps, rough county bull bar with 20” LED, custom made NW seat covers in real tree camo, husky liner mats, husky liner mud guards, undercover LUX tonneau cover, Tailgate assist, flowmaster super 40 with resonators, tinted 15% front, LED C shaped tail lights. Line-X 5.7’ box
 

yortnodnarb

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Hey G-ride I’m going to be doing 2.8 and Zone UCA with 1.5” next year this time and wondering why you would have gone with 1” instead.


Mods: EGR matte black bug deflector, Westin HDX drop steps, rough county bull bar with 20” LED, custom made NW seat covers in real tree camo, husky liner mats, husky liner mud guards, undercover LUX tonneau cover, Tailgate assist, flowmaster super 40 with resonators, tinted 15% front, LED C shaped tail lights. Line-X 5.7’ box


Depending on the factory rake of the truck, a 1.5" in the rear puts too much rake back into the truck after leveling the front. I was torn between the 1 & 1.5 also, since I tow a boat in the summer, and am completely glad I went 1". The 1.5" would have been too much for my liking.
 

JB1

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I know you won’t have an issue at 2.1” setting, not sure about the 1.4

I saved this pic of a members truck because the Zone UCA’s actually ended up at a strange angle (fox didn’t give him much lift), you definitely don’t want this imo

FB1F1F18-08CF-4AED-837C-623187E84A64.jpeg


Here’s a member with Bilstein 6112 at 1.3” and he wishes he would have went taller, still has rake

http://www.ramforum.com/threads/bilstein-6112s-1-3-and-fox-2-0s-installed.108971/
 

G-Ride990

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Hey G-ride I’m going to be doing 2.8 and Zone UCA with 1.5” next year this time and wondering why you would have gone with 1” instead.


Mods: EGR matte black bug deflector, Westin HDX drop steps, rough county bull bar with 20” LED, custom made NW seat covers in real tree camo, husky liner mats, husky liner mud guards, undercover LUX tonneau cover, Tailgate assist, flowmaster super 40 with resonators, tinted 15% front, LED C shaped tail lights. Line-X 5.7’ box


Exactly as yort stated. Too much rake. It left me with the same rake as I had before. I don't mind a little bit of rake but the amount I have now is a bit much.

Don't do it though! You'll just start staring at zones and BDS website looking and drooling. I have been looking at their website non stop since I did this. Trying to be responsible and not buy a lift.

Thanks for that info JB1. Never thought that the UCA angle could go that way. That ball joint looks like its about to bind just sitting there. Edit: Does that have anything to do with his lift kit? Can't tell if thats a four or a six inch lift.
 
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BackCountryAK

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I know you won’t have an issue at 2.1” setting, not sure about the 1.4

I saved this pic of a members truck because the Zone UCA’s actually ended up at a strange angle (fox didn’t give him much lift), you definitely don’t want this imo

View attachment 127301


Here’s a member with Bilstein 6112 at 1.3” and he wishes he would have went taller, still has rake

http://www.ramforum.com/threads/bilstein-6112s-1-3-and-fox-2-0s-installed.108971/


Thanks for sharing the photo. That says it all right there. I've made up my mind to go with the 2.1" setting and will add a 3/4" spacer if needed. According to UPS, my UCA's should be delivered sometime today. I plan on getting this all done in the next couple of weeks when the wife and kids are out of town. I'll be a bachelor again for a few weeks and can do what I want when I want lol.
 

JB1

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I plan on getting this all done in the next couple of weeks when the wife and kids are out of town. I'll be a bachelor again for a few weeks and can do what I want when I want lol.

I saved that pic and knew it would come in handy some time. I do the same thing while mine are gone, but I normally only get a weekend so the mods are not that intense lol
 

Pull Ya

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You might also think about some Airlift 1000 bags for the rear if you tow often and you want to eliminate the "squat".
Jay
 
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BackCountryAK

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You might also think about some Airlift 1000 bags for the rear if you tow often and you want to eliminate the "squat".
Jay

I had air bags on my 2010 and they were great when I was hauling water (200 gallon tank) but they eventually started a slow leak that I could never find (probably due to our wonderful arctic winters) and I found myself always adding air. I'm hoping the new springs will eliminate the need for bags. I'm positive they'll work great for the three place trailer.... we'll just have to see about that travel trailer.
 

Pull Ya

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Slow air leaks can be a PITA to locate sometimes.
Jay
 

gofishn

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There will be zero issues running the zones at 1.4. but why would you?
.

It is my understanding the Zone UCA's require bilsteins to be set to 2.1, minimum, on the ram.

OP, may want verify with Zone.
 

jdavila99999

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Depending on the factory rake of the truck, a 1.5" in the rear puts too much rake back into the truck after leveling the front. I was torn between the 1 & 1.5 also, since I tow a boat in the summer, and am completely glad I went 1". The 1.5" would have been too much for my liking.

Even with the boat towing?
What was your rake with the boat hooked up and the rear under load?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

yortnodnarb

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Even with the boat towing?
What was your rake with the boat hooked up and the rear under load?


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My truck empty has about 7/8" of rake empty and when I hook the boat up it sits about level to maybe a touch low in the rear. I can deal with that the handful of times a summer I tow it, opposed to being ass high year round with the 1.5" spacer. I planned on adding bags if the squat was too bad, but turns out I don't need them.
 

Ravjay12

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5941B4BE-316D-468E-B559-2775B63219A0.jpeg 36986305-54B8-48D8-BF72-3C6CA16B1A10.jpeg I have Zone UCA’s and Bilsteins set to 2.8. I also have the Icon rear 1.5” and it has about a 1” lean after it all settled. Looks pretty level when I towed a trailer.
 

jdavila99999

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Thanks


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BackCountryAK

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Well I finally got it all done over the weekend. Installed new Bil 5100's in the rear along with Tuftruck 1211 springs and the Core 4x4 lower control arms. The rear install went pretty well as I also bought the Thuren rear shock nut set which made the upper rear shock nut a piece of cake to remove and install. I should mention that their kit includes nylock nuts, but I didn't use them since most of the nylock material is destroyed during the welding process. One thing that did surprise me was how much shorter the 1211 springs are. I mean I knew they were going to be shorter than OEM, but man they were almost a solid 2" shorter than stock. I also kind of expected them to raise the rear up more to a normal unloaded ride height since my shell is around 180 lbs. I think the new springs netted me around 1/8" of lift depending on how you wanted to look at the tape. Thought I read elsewhere on the forums that folks were getting closer to 1/2" of lift when compared to the stock springs with a shell.

I did install the front 5100's to the 2.1" setting since I had purchased the Zone UCA's too (just before they jacked the price to $499 lol). The UCA's may be overkill for my setup since I'm not a off roader, but we do have plenty of scarcely maintained and unmaintained gravel roads with large potholes that can sneak up on you. Still need to get the alignment done and now have some noticeable positive camber. Hope the shop doesn't have any issues with the alignment. They are experienced with lift installs so theoretically they should know what to do as many members seem to have this exact combination.

I'm happy with the new set up as it does feel firmer than stock and actually tracks well considering no alignment. In the end the truck is damn near level. Passenger side front turned out a 1/4' higher than the rear and the driver side front is 1/4" lower than the rear. I did end up ordering a 3/4" TGC poly spacer to get a bit of rake back for towing.

2.1 Bils.JPG

1211.JPG
 

JB1

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Looks good, nice work

You changed the lower control arms too?....got a link?
 

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