22 Laramie ED Night Edition Pondering

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BryanRunsTrains

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Fair warning, a lot of this is new for me so I'm trying to educate myself...I also think I'm just typing this to 'think out loud' after starting down a rabbit hole but certainly welcome comments or suggestions.

Bought a 22 Laramie EcoDiesel Night Edition CC 4x4 22" rims (285/45/22 tires) a few months ago...was planning on a 4" lift, found most of the big box companies have warnings not to use their kits on the EcoDiesel. I believe it has something to do with the driveshaft vs the Hemi model trucks. Anyways, scrapped that idea due to rapidly inflating costs. RC was the only one that didn't have the warning, but I really didn't want anything RC. Originally, I was hoping to be around a 4" lift vs stock. Truck is my DD and is a full pavement princess.

Switched gears, started looking at the RL SST kit 3.5"F / 2"R (Superlift and RC have similar products). Spent countless hours searching the interwebs, forums, and FB. Quite a few people seem to do ok with the kit but most posts raise concerns about the CV angles. I stopped at two local RL dealers near me to ask questions and both of them would not recommend the SST kit citing improper angles and premature wear. I appreciate their honesty, and I don't want to be swapping parts in a few months just for looks.

Now for the rabbit hole....

One shop recommended going with 2" leveling spacer, 295x50x22 Ridge Grapplers and calling it a day. Estimated $2,900 OTD. I presume this included alignment but did not include speedo calibration.

Second shop recommended no spacers, but the Eibach Pro Truck adjustable kit with RC UCA's. They said it's comparable to the Bilstein 5100 kit, just more readily available. I did not have an issue locating the Eibach kit online or in-store, the 5100's are harder to source. Think they estimated around $1,900 OTD without the tires.

I'm not trying to break the bank here, but I'm also wanting to do it right the first time around.

I researched the Eibach, which lead me to looking at the Bilstein 6112's for a couple hundred more.

Digging into the adjustable kits, I found a LOT of people putting spacers on the adjustable coilovers...I believe the term for this was 'stacking'. I also believe the general rule of thumb is not to stack? I'm sort of lumping this option in with the RL SST kit, bad angles, and premature wear. Both shops also did not recommend this either.

I want to do something right the first time around so at this point, I'm pretty sure going with the Eibach or 6112 kits instead of the spacers would be the way to go. I'm not super impressed with the Cadillac-type ride of the stock Laramie, it feels like it needs to be a little more firm but I don't want to hate driving it either. Leveling with the kits and going with either a 285/55 or 295/55 would ultimately achieve, I guess a 3" lift front, and 1" lift rear versus stock.

Sorry for the novel. Again, thinking out loud helps me work through things better. All of this stuff has made my head spin. LOL
 

Quick_Shifter

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Fair warning, a lot of this is new for me so I'm trying to educate myself...I also think I'm just typing this to 'think out loud' after starting down a rabbit hole but certainly welcome comments or suggestions.

Bought a 22 Laramie EcoDiesel Night Edition CC 4x4 22" rims (285/45/22 tires) a few months ago...was planning on a 4" lift, found most of the big box companies have warnings not to use their kits on the EcoDiesel. I believe it has something to do with the driveshaft vs the Hemi model trucks. Anyways, scrapped that idea due to rapidly inflating costs. RC was the only one that didn't have the warning, but I really didn't want anything RC. Originally, I was hoping to be around a 4" lift vs stock. Truck is my DD and is a full pavement princess.

Switched gears, started looking at the RL SST kit 3.5"F / 2"R (Superlift and RC have similar products). Spent countless hours searching the interwebs, forums, and FB. Quite a few people seem to do ok with the kit but most posts raise concerns about the CV angles. I stopped at two local RL dealers near me to ask questions and both of them would not recommend the SST kit citing improper angles and premature wear. I appreciate their honesty, and I don't want to be swapping parts in a few months just for looks.

Now for the rabbit hole....

One shop recommended going with 2" leveling spacer, 295x50x22 Ridge Grapplers and calling it a day. Estimated $2,900 OTD. I presume this included alignment but did not include speedo calibration.

Second shop recommended no spacers, but the Eibach Pro Truck adjustable kit with RC UCA's. They said it's comparable to the Bilstein 5100 kit, just more readily available. I did not have an issue locating the Eibach kit online or in-store, the 5100's are harder to source. Think they estimated around $1,900 OTD without the tires.

I'm not trying to break the bank here, but I'm also wanting to do it right the first time around.

I researched the Eibach, which lead me to looking at the Bilstein 6112's for a couple hundred more.

Digging into the adjustable kits, I found a LOT of people putting spacers on the adjustable coilovers...I believe the term for this was 'stacking'. I also believe the general rule of thumb is not to stack? I'm sort of lumping this option in with the RL SST kit, bad angles, and premature wear. Both shops also did not recommend this either.

I want to do something right the first time around so at this point, I'm pretty sure going with the Eibach or 6112 kits instead of the spacers would be the way to go. I'm not super impressed with the Cadillac-type ride of the stock Laramie, it feels like it needs to be a little more firm but I don't want to hate driving it either. Leveling with the kits and going with either a 285/55 or 295/55 would ultimately achieve, I guess a 3" lift front, and 1" lift rear versus stock.

Sorry for the novel. Again, thinking out loud helps me work through things better. All of this stuff has made my head spin. LOL
You’re pretty spot on with your assessments. Although the eibach is comparable to the Bilstein 5100’s not the 6112’s
My recommendation is reaching out to @Nick@GotExhaust for other options as the diesel is an odd market only guys like Nick know and not the tire slinger down the road. Any shop that recommended a puck style spacer looses all respect in my book
 

Nick@GotExhaust

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You’re pretty spot on with your assessments. Although the eibach is comparable to the Bilstein 5100’s not the 6112’s
My recommendation is reaching out to @Nick@GotExhaust for other options as the diesel is an odd market only guys like Nick know and not the tire slinger down the road. Any shop that recommended a puck style spacer looses all respect in my book
I totally agree. Once a shop recommends spacers or Rough Country they proved they do not care about providing a quality product for their customer and just want to make quick easy money. Message me and we can discuss options and pricing. Please be sure to let me know how you intend to use the truck as well so I can better recommend options. Like if its street use only or if there is off roading and what type. Also it helps to know if you have a budget you want to stay with in. With all this info I can better recommend some options that fit your needs and wallet.
 
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