2013 Ram Lift Guidance

[2013RamCJ]

Hello all, hopefully you all aren't tired about answering lift questions. If you aren't here is another! I have a 2013 Ram Express which is my daily driver. I don't go off-road really with it. Its mostly used on the highway. I want it to look good though doing it. I definitely want to get rid of the rake so I know like a 2.5 front and 2 inch leveling kit will work. My main question is though can I make it higher or am I stuck at just that. I also don't want to decrease ride quality or risk further suspension problems being it is a daily on-road driver. I hear people I know tell me Dodge is terrible with suspension once you mess with lifts and that you need new brake cables after 4 inch lift. I am not looking at spending tons on this, but do want a decent lift without worrying about ride quality or risking faster damage to other suspension components.

 

[Snowhack]

Check out YouTube for some ideas. Search a little through here as well. I'd stay away from the puck/spacer only lifts as they tax the snot out of your ball joints and they don't add any performance to the truck, only height. I had 2.5" rough country spacer/leveler lift on an 08 Jeep Commander. No more rake and little height made it look sweet! But one of the ball joints failed turning in a bank drive through. Flat bed trucks don't really fit in a drive through very well so the embarrassment was a drawn out. I later had the front end aligned and that took a little stress off the joints but it was still borderline. If I had done any kind of trail riding they would have failed again I'm sure.

You don't have to go with full 4-6" redneck lift. A 2-3" lift is surprisingly high and mean looking. Taking away the rake and leveling it off makes a huge aesthetic difference. You can also get away with keeping the stock tire size without making your rig look like it skipped leg day. Gas mileage isn't vastly affected either. 6" lifts and 44" tires will get you 10 MPG on a good day. You can Google images of 2-3" lifts and see what I mean.

You want to go with a kit that includes upper control arms that counter the angle created by the lift and/ or a spindle that corrects the angle created by the lift. The only thing a puck lift does is stretch out your suspension to it's most extended limits. Doing this takes bump steer, camber, toe and scrub issues that otherwise only happen when your suspension unloads and makes them the constant state of your suspension. There are some decent well made kits out there which include these things and are not crazy expensive. Buy from a reputable manufacturer. Rough country is budget and their stuff reflects that. Readylift and Skyjacker are 2 decent manufacturers. Read the reviews and stay away from stuff known to fail. I was lucky to have a failure in a drive through versus at speed on the I90. You can get a very well made 2-3" kit for well under $1000 if you shop around. $40 puck lifts on eBay are tempting but they will cost you down the road...dearly.

Also Google article like this. You can never do enough research on things.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/suspension-brakes/1508-tips-for-buying-your-first-lift-kit/

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

4” lift and 35’s is a nice combo IMO, and I didn’t need new brake lines.

Still fits in the garage and w/3.92’s she turns the 35’s with no problem.

If you’re worrried about ride quality, that’s a whole ‘nuther can of worms. Lift itself won’t mess up the ride and much as aggressive tires with stiff sidewalls do. You can do leveling kits but again, you want a really nice ride it’s not what I consider inexpensive.

How much you’re looking to spend will pretty much dictate what your stance and ride quality will be.

The suspension set up on these trucks is nice for ride quality and they do ride nice BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, the P-rated tires from the factory play a BIG part of the ride quality.