Looking for input before I lift

[Rammedout]

Hello all.
I'm a new user and have been cruising this forum for a few days before I joined. I just purchased a 2014 Ram 1500 crew cab dark cherry with 20" wheels. (2nd one this month fun story)
I have been looking at the rough country 4"&6" lift. Obviously I contacted them and they told me how great it was. They are very reasonably priced I'm not sure which one to go with. My plan is to lift the truck, purchase wheel spacers, and oversized tires to give it an aggressive look. I love the look of the factory 20's and don't want to purchase new wheels. I'm also installing a new muffler tinting the windows, window visors, and lettering the truck for work. Next will be a programmer if its worth it. Haven't looked yet. Anyone here have any input regarding the rough country lifts, installation, ride quality, and how much worse will fuel economy be. I appreciate any info.
Quick story. 3 weeks ago I purchased the same truck with 2 miles on it installed a fisher plow which the dealer said we could. Also fisher agreed. The plow frame hung real low and caught the street as I was pulling into a parking lot and twisted the entire frame. The new truck will now be receiving a plow. My new truck will be in Monday and I can't wait to tear into it.

 

[FancyStancy]

Be very careful when selecting your spacers. Big spacers = big problems down the road. No pun intended lol

 

[mcompany]

regardless of lift size its the tire size that matters most regarding mpg. I went from 33s to 37s and dropped 6 mpg from 14 n change to 8.5. The tuner will help a ton. I added a tuner vararam and 87 mm throttle body which got me back to 11.5-12 avg

 

[Rammedout]

FancyStancy
Are 1.5" to big? What are the problems with spacers?

 

[Rammedout]

MCompany that's a huge drop in mileage I'm wondering if I should just install a leveling kit and some spacers. I'm looking for an aggressive look but plan on driving this a lot. So mileage is somewhat important.

 

[mcompany]

35s won't make to much of a difference with a 4" kit. 37s are brutal to mpg


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[Rammedout]

Great thanks. I'm hoping someone with rough country knowledge chimes in. Not sure what else is out there for about that cost.

 

[mcompany]

Not much man. Bds fabtech and pro comp are much more expensive but amazing kits. My truck rides better than stock. But the 4" kit with 35s I'd say you'd only lose 2 to 3 mpg. Which could be rectified with a tuner and intake


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[FancyStancy]

FancyStancy
Are 1.5" to big? What are the problems with spacers?

1.5 would be too much for me. Spacers are not liked by most because of the amount of stress it is going to put on your hubs and your bearings. I heard this analogy about spacers once that really explained it well. Imagine holding 2 milk jugs by your hips with your arms extended down. No big deal, you could do it all day. Then imagine holding 2 milk jugs with your arms fully extended. You would get tired real fast lol. If you are gonna have the vehicle like really short term, you should be fine. But if your gonna drive this truck for a couple years or more, I know you don't wanna hear it, but wheels with better offset would be the safest option.

 

[R.L.K.]

( 1.5" Wheel Spacers . ) .
I really like the look of stock wheels with spacers ! 1.5" will give you a nice aggressive stance .
If you read around you will find horror stories on wheel spacers , don't let these stories scare you away from spacers . The most important thing to do is to Torque check them regularly until the torque has stabilized !!!!!! Install the spacers as directed by the manufacture to max torque . If the manufactures instructions do not mention torque checks do this : after the first couple tanks of gas remove your wheels and Tq. Check at the same value you installed them , do not go over 1000 miles initially with out a Tq. Check !
Now go another couple tanks of gas and continue to Tq check at the same (max Tq.value ) as original install , continue until the Tq HAS COMPLETELY STABILIZED !!! This may take 4-6 times until completely. stabilized !
I know a guy that put 50+K miles on spacers installing them this similar way .
Most who've had problems with spacers just never went through the Tq.checking until Completely STABILIZED !!
Also each time you rotate your tires Tq check them again .
Most importantly if you feel any change in vibrations Tq check them as soon as possible !
You can spend $120 -$150 on good spacers and deal with a few Tq checks or spend $1200 -$1500.00 on 12" wide wheels ?? I went with 1.5" spacers !
Hope this helps ...



I SHOT IT WITH MY P.S.E. EVO MAX !!!!

 

[FancyStancy]

Everything R.L.K. said is true. There are many successful spacer stories and many bad ones. If you really want to do them correctly install them yourself and do many torque checks. I just think that it's one of those things where buying new rims and selling the old ones is the best way to go, but it's your truck. And trust me, I don't just throw money around. I spend when necessary. Spend some extra cash when it comes to your spacers. You get what you pay for. You would hate for your "good deal" spacers end up costing you a couple grand in damage..

 

[Rammedout]

Thanks all for the info

 

[arjan]

You have to choose the proper type of spacers. If the wheels are hubcentric you'll need a spacer with a hubring:

Some older vehicles have wheels that a lug centric (lugs nuts centre the wheel)
Then you need to use spacers without the hubring:

A lot of ebay sellers sell the lug centric spacers (cheaper and easier to make) and sell them for vehicles that need hubcentric spacers. Major vibrations will be the result because the wheels are not centred properly.

 

[Rammedout]

So it looks like they are using the lug nut seats to center the wheel. I can see how this could cause future problems. Thanks for the great info.