First truck - Nees advice on lift performance

[Jwilzz]

Hello everyone my 2012 Ram 1500 Sport 5.7 Hemi is my first truck I've ever owned. And I'm certainly no mechanic.

I want to lift or level my truck but I want to still have quality off road performance and I'm confused on what parts to get. Would a Bilistein level kit increase performance? Or do I need to get something like performance coilovers??

Also what other parts should be changed out when getting a lift or level kit? I've read things about upper control arms needing changed?

Thanks for the help!

 

[kurek]

Hello everyone my 2012 Ram 1500 Sport 5.7 Hemi is my first truck I've ever owned. And I'm certainly no mechanic.

I want to lift or level my truck but I want to still have quality off road performance and I'm confused on what parts to get. Would a Bilistein level kit increase performance? Or do I need to get something like performance coilovers??

Also what other parts should be changed out when getting a lift or level kit? I've read things about upper control arms needing changed?

Thanks for the help!

First thing to confirm is if you've got a 4wd or 2wd because lifting the front is different depending which you have.

Assuming 4wd, the most popular budget lift option is probably the cheapest... spacers that go on top of the struts. You don't want that. Not just because you get what you pay for... spacers on top of stock length struts introduce some compromises, can lead to real damage, don't actually improve performance other than just ground clearance.. doesn't sound like it's what you want.

Probably the second most popular budget option is lift struts - like the Bilstein 5100's but also Eibach and Rancho and ProComp and a few others make relatively inexpensive lift struts, like $250-500/pair or so for the front and while people will argue I think it's safe to say all of them will improve performance somewhat over stock. Bilstein 5100's have a somewhat firmer ride character that some people like and others don't.. ProComp Prorunners have a softer ride character.. I don't have first hand experience with the others on the market in this application.

Whatever lift struts you choose, as long as you stick to about 2" or less lift and don't add any spacers in front you can keep your stock upper control arms. The alignment cams that shops use to correctly align your steering have a very limited range of adjustment so if you go much bigger than 2" lift it gets harder to get a perfect alignment with the stock upper control arms, and that is when it starts being a great idea to get lift-specific upper control arms. Lots of brands here too, I have the Readylift ones and am happy with their quality and performance.

I hate to be vague here but there are probably a thousand combinations that work and everyone has their favorite. For an easy answer, Bilstein 5100's with stock springs, 2.1" lift setting and Readylift upper control arms are a sure thing.

For the rear it's advisable to use the same shocks as you have up front - simple reason, vehicles just plain feel weird when the front half rides differently from the rear half. If you have firm or digressive shocks and soft shocks in back the truck is always going to settle weird when you come to a stop or come over a hill fast enough to feel light in your seat. So budget for the same brand & model (not specific model NUMBER, obviously...) in the back. If you tend to load heavy (big dirt bikes, long bumpy roads to the trailhead, big trailer on long dirt roads.. etc) you'll want a healthy shock back there... like the remote reservoir bilsteins or a 2.5" body shock that can handle the heat you'll be making. Regular 2" body monotubes are fine if you don't load heavy on a regular basis.

Rear lift is easier, if you want more than just a level in front - you can use spacers in back and there is seriously no problem at all from that. Eibach, Bilstein, Icon, Superlift and others make rear lift springs if you don't want to use spacers but there is no reliability or functional problem with modestly sized rear coil spring spacers that fit on the top or bottom of the coil. Don't get any kind of spacer that twists between the coils...

That's all the simple and low cost stuff that will improve performance off road vs. stock. Not desert race truck performance.. just a little boost in clearance and handling.

-----------------------------------------

If you want to go bigger, if the budget's there you can get serious suspension systems like from ICON, Fox, Kings, or the Bilstein 6112 struts - they will tolerate faster driving with greater comfort and longer life spans. Within the first 1-3 inches the same rules apply as up there ^ - if you want more than about 2.75 inches of lift you'll need to get a "Full" lift kit that includes outer knuckles, front differential drop, bunch of other parts. I'm guessing that's not the kind of lift you were asking about.

 

[Jwilzz]

First thing to confirm is if you've got a 4wd or 2wd because lifting the front is different depending which you have.

Assuming 4wd, the most popular budget lift option is probably the cheapest... spacers that go on top of the struts. You don't want that. Not just because you get what you pay for... spacers on top of stock length struts introduce some compromises, can lead to real damage, don't actually improve performance other than just ground clearance.. doesn't sound like it's what you want.

Probably the second most popular budget option is lift struts - like the Bilstein 5100's but also Eibach and Rancho and ProComp and a few others make relatively inexpensive lift struts, like $250-500/pair or so for the front and while people will argue I think it's safe to say all of them will improve performance somewhat over stock. Bilstein 5100's have a somewhat firmer ride character that some people like and others don't.. ProComp Prorunners have a softer ride character.. I don't have first hand experience with the others on the market in this application.

Whatever lift struts you choose, as long as you stick to about 2" or less lift and don't add any spacers in front you can keep your stock upper control arms. The alignment cams that shops use to correctly align your steering have a very limited range of adjustment so if you go much bigger than 2" lift it gets harder to get a perfect alignment with the stock upper control arms, and that is when it starts being a great idea to get lift-specific upper control arms. Lots of brands here too, I have the Readylift ones and am happy with their quality and performance.

I hate to be vague here but there are probably a thousand combinations that work and everyone has their favorite. For an easy answer, Bilstein 5100's with stock springs, 2.1" lift setting and Readylift upper control arms are a sure thing.

For the rear it's advisable to use the same shocks as you have up front - simple reason, vehicles just plain feel weird when the front half rides differently from the rear half. If you have firm or digressive shocks and soft shocks in back the truck is always going to settle weird when you come to a stop or come over a hill fast enough to feel light in your seat. So budget for the same brand & model (not specific model NUMBER, obviously...) in the back. If you tend to load heavy (big dirt bikes, long bumpy roads to the trailhead, big trailer on long dirt roads.. etc) you'll want a healthy shock back there... like the remote reservoir bilsteins or a 2.5" body shock that can handle the heat you'll be making. Regular 2" body monotubes are fine if you don't load heavy on a regular basis.

Rear lift is easier, if you want more than just a level in front - you can use spacers in back and there is seriously no problem at all from that. Eibach, Bilstein, Icon, Superlift and others make rear lift springs if you don't want to use spacers but there is no reliability or functional problem with modestly sized rear coil spring spacers that fit on the top or bottom of the coil. Don't get any kind of spacer that twists between the coils...

That's all the simple and low cost stuff that will improve performance off road vs. stock. Not desert race truck performance.. just a little boost in clearance and handling.

-----------------------------------------

If you want to go bigger, if the budget's there you can get serious suspension systems like from ICON, Fox, Kings, or the Bilstein 6112 struts - they will tolerate faster driving with greater comfort and longer life spans. Within the first 1-3 inches the same rules apply as up there ^ - if you want more than about 2.75 inches of lift you'll need to get a "Full" lift kit that includes outer knuckles, front differential drop, bunch of other parts. I'm guessing that's not the kind of lift you were asking about.

So would I go for 2 of these?

Bilstein 24-187367 5100 Series Front Shock for Dodge Ram 1500 09,Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WO15F...abc_353G55J61BZ658ZQ2BT8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Or should I get this set?

Bilstein 5100 Series Shock Kit for Dodge Ram 1500 4WD 2009-14 - Includes Front Ride Height Adjustable Shocks # 24-187367 & Rear Shocks # 24-187374 by Bilstein https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LRJ855...abc_9X1JSD38HSF9AXF1V5GW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I'll probably stick to just leveling it for now.

 

[kurek]

I think if you get only the front 2 you'll wish you had got all 4.

If you plan to do the install yourself you will need either a 21mm crowsfoot wrench or this tool for your rear shocks, impossible to get a regular wrench or socket over the top inner nut.

Also if you plan to do the install yourself it's easiest to remove the two bolts that hold the lower control arm to the frame, vs trying to get the struts in and out by separating ball joints. You'll need a decent coil spring compressor, the one for rent at autozone isn't really up to the task. This kind works pretty well but don't use it with impact tools, hand turn it only.

 

[Jwilzz]

I think if you get only the front 2 you'll wish you had got all 4.

If you plan to do the install yourself you will need either a 21mm crowsfoot wrench or this tool for your rear shocks, impossible to get a regular wrench or socket over the top inner nut.

Also if you plan to do the install yourself it's easiest to remove the two bolts that hold the lower control arm to the frame, vs trying to get the struts in and out by separating ball joints. You'll need a decent coil spring compressor, the one for rent at autozone isn't really up to the task. This kind works pretty well but don't use it with impact tools, hand turn it only.

Ok Sweet. Is there anything wrong with getting just the front for now and then the back later on so I don't have to spend as much money at once? Like will it cause any problems with the truck or increase wear on it?

 

[kurek]

No problems, just going to ride a little weird.

 

[Jwilzz]

No problems, just going to ride a little weird.

Awese thank you so much for your help!

One more question, I'm going to make a separate forum post for this as it's a different topic but am really having trouble finding help.

I recently went to hook up an aftermarket LED strip for the bottom of my tailgate as a brake,reverse,turn signal light and it caused my driver side running lights to stop working. Bulbs are all fine, and all the fuses seem to be fine as well (I'm about to just replace every single fuse in there).

Do you have any clue what this could be? I've read it could be a faulty TIPM but I literally just replaced my TIPM cause my shut off relay kept coming loose causing my truck to shut down while driving. I guess that doesn't matter a whole lot and it very well could be.

But since it happened in reaction to something I did it makes me think the TIPM isn't faulty and it cause a short or something to happen. I do have my old TIPM still which completely works minus that one relay coming loose occasionally so I could switch it out to test it.

 

[kurek]

I haven't got a clue on the light strip thing... when I tapped into the lighting circuit for my topper shell's 3rd brake light I used the trailer harness.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

I haven't got a clue on the light strip thing... when I tapped into the lighting circuit for my topper shell's 3rd brake light I used the trailer harness.

There is a wire from the factory (small loop next to the spare tire) that is for adding caps / toppers