Basic lift / leveling questions

[mh3c]

Hey guys. So im on my fourth Ram and now have a 2015 Laramie Crew. The thing about these trucks is the incredibly plush and quiet ride. So typically the only thing Ive ever done is switch out to a more rugged All season tire to replace those crappy stock offerings. I did, however, rip out the old struts on my 2008 Quad cab and replace with new ones that ended up giving it a slight lift in front. But that's it. I'm not a fan of the 4 " "lifted" look on my trucks. To each his own.

Anyway, I do like the look of a level, but I've also seen some bad ones where the rear end appears to be lower than the front. Also, once the truck is loaded with any payload, the sag gets amplified. So, here are my questions:

1. What consists of a good level kit? What would it run me?
2. Does this affect the ride quality/comfort in any manner?
3. What about MPG?
4. Is an airbag setup the way to go to avid sag with payload?
5. Looks like a level puts 1.5 in on the front. What about the back?
6. If I level this off, should i stick with the 275/60/20 size or what other recommendations would you make to work on the stock Laramie rim? Also anyone know the width of teh stock laramie rims? 9"?

Thanks for help on leveling 101!

 

[BoldAdventure]

1. What consists of a good level kit? What would it run me?
2. Does this affect the ride quality/comfort in any manner?
3. What about MPG?
4. Is an airbag setup the way to go to avid sag with payload?
5. Looks like a level puts 1.5 in on the front. What about the back?
6. If I level this off, should i stick with the 275/60/20 size or what other recommendations would you make to work on the stock Laramie rim? Also anyone know the width of teh stock laramie rims? 9"?

Thanks for help on leveling 101!

1 & 2 .) Avoid Spacers, they ride the worst, IMO. I just replaced my Hellbent Steel 2.5 spacers with Bilstein 5100's which ride amazingly well over stock. Nice smooth ride, and set to 2.8 inches. I also upgraded the rear shocks with Bilstein 5100's which from Moe's ran me exactly $179.98 - I forget what I paid for the fronts since I ordered them two months ago. But total is just under $300.00

3.) Duh, why do people even ask this? Not trying to be a jerk, but DUH. You're altering the ride height, MPG goes down. Period, end of debate.

4.) Depends on the load. For some yes, for others mhem. I just ordered Tufftruck springs, which should show up today whenever the UPS guy gets around to it.

5.) The back sits higher than the front, so when you level, you're only leveling the front (generally speaking) So the truck sits level. That's the point of a "LEVEL". If you want rake, you can do things like springs or rear coil spacers. That wouldn't be a level though by definition.

6.) Stock Laramie Rims are 9 inches wide. I am installing 275/65R20 General Grabber AT/II's tomorrow on mine. It's about 1 inch taller and an E-rated tire. About the same width section as stock.

 

[mh3c]

So these Bilsteins are strut assemblies, right? Requires removing the A arm from the vehicle to give enough clearance to install? Are they adjustable or set at 2.8"? is a standard level 1.5?

 

[BigDaddyRam]

1. What consists of a good level kit? What would it run me?--I went with a Daystar 2.5" level. The spacers are poly, not metal. I paid $117 delivered from Amazon
2. Does this affect the ride quality/comfort in any manner?No. My truck rides just as well as it did before. My wife pointed out that it rode just as well, and she would be the toughest critic of any money spent on my truck...
3. What about MPG?I haven't noticed any difference in MPGs.
4. Is an airbag setup the way to go to avid sag with payload?Not sure. I would think so.
5. Looks like a level puts 1.5 in on the front. What about the back?The back won't change unless you use a kit designed to lift the rear. I wanted a level so I did not use anything on the rear. The kit I used lifted the front about 1.5 inches, the alignment brought it up to the full 2."'
6. If I level this off, should i stick with the 275/60/20 size or what other recommendations would you make to work on the stock Laramie rim? Also anyone know the width of teh stock laramie rims? 9"? Tires are your preference. I plan on going a little bigger, not much, and ATs, but I'm not switching until the OEM junk tires are worn out. They do the job for me.

 

[BoldAdventure]

So these Bilsteins are strut assemblies, right? Requires removing the A arm from the vehicle to give enough clearance to install? Are they adjustable or set at 2.8"? is a standard level 1.5?

I didn't remove the upper a-arm. They are not assembles, they are just the shock that goes inside the assembly.

They are fully adjustable with 4 positions I believe. 2.8 is the highest. This will explain all to you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBpLKyaG9BE

 

[mh3c]

Thanks for that vid. That is useful.

WRT to new rear coils, which one did you go with? I see some that add 25% and some that add 50%. Have you found a how to on replacing those?

 

[BoldAdventure]

Thanks for that vid. That is useful.

WRT to new rear coils, which one did you go with? I see some that add 25% and some that add 50%. Have you found a how to on replacing those?

Yeah it's all based on needs. I have 50%'s that are non-progressive. A lot like the 35% TTC-1223V but it doesn't lift the rear.

I just installed mine last night.

Basically...

1.) Break Rear Tire lugs loose,
2.) Jack up truck from axle way up in the air
3.) Place jack stands under frame
4.) Lower unto jacks, but keep supporting axle with jack
5.) Remove tires
6.) Remove lower bolt on both of the shock mounts, passenger and driver
7.) Remove the top bolt from both sides of the sway bar end links, where they mount to frame.
8.) Remove top bolt from pan hard bar.
9.) Slowly lower the axle until the springs fall out or are loose enough to pull out. Pay attention to the brake lines, and do not stretch to much. Still supporting with jack.

Install in reverse order.

It's a 30 min job.

 

[mh3c]

Hey thanks for this. Looks like I'll be placing an order for some 1223Vs and doing it myself. Not sure I want to do the work on the Bilsteins for the front by myself. Might see if I can find a place to do that work for me, then I'll get it aligned and put new rubber on the stock Laramie wheels. Did you run stock rubber size or change it up?

You said above you did a 2.5 inch lift up front? I've seen 1.5 and coupled with the rak of the truck, that usually brings it to 39 to wheel well up front and 39.5 out back. With the new coils in the back at stock height, what does this look like on yours? Your signature picture is too small to see, even on my 27 inch Cinema display.

 

[Klaus96]

BigDaddyRam My wife pointed out that it rode just as well, and she would be the toughest critic of any money spent on my truck...

That's funny....Describes my wife to a tee...haha

 

[Klaus96]

Yeah it's all based on needs. I have 50%'s that are non-progressive. A lot like the 35% TTC-1223V but it doesn't lift the rear.

I just installed mine last night.

Basically...

1.) Break Rear Tire lugs loose,
2.) Jack up truck from axle way up in the air
3.) Place jack stands under frame
4.) Lower unto jacks, but keep supporting axle with jack
5.) Remove tires
6.) Remove lower bolt on both of the shock mounts, passenger and driver
7.) Remove the top bolt from both sides of the sway bar end links, where they mount to frame.
8.) Remove top bolt from pan hard bar.
9.) Slowly lower the axle until the springs fall out or are loose enough to pull out. Pay attention to the brake lines, and do not stretch to much. Still supporting with jack.

Install in reverse order.

It's a 30 min job.

Good info,
1. So the 1223 didn't raise your rear?

2. Where on the axle did you place the jack?

 

[BoldAdventure]

Hey thanks for this. Looks like I'll be placing an order for some 1223Vs and doing it myself. Not sure I want to do the work on the Bilsteins for the front by myself. Might see if I can find a place to do that work for me, then I'll get it aligned and put new rubber on the stock Laramie wheels. Did you run stock rubber size or change it up?

You said above you did a 2.5 inch lift up front? I've seen 1.5 and coupled with the rak of the truck, that usually brings it to 39 to wheel well up front and 39.5 out back. With the new coils in the back at stock height, what does this look like on yours? Your signature picture is too small to see, even on my 27 inch Cinema display.

Good info,
1. So the 1223 didn't raise your rear?

2. Where on the axle did you place the jack?

I had a Hellbent Steel 2.5 spacer first. I have since removed it, and did the Bilsteins last Sunday set at 2.8.

To be honest, the hardest part of the front end job has got to be compressing the springs. My air wrench only helped to a point and then the rest was by hand. I'd be curious to know how much it costs to do the fronts to see what my time would of been worth.

The 1223 did raise my rear. The truck shop that did my tires were joking that "she had her ass in the air" today.

My Signature picture is only with the HBS level.

This is a picture from today. I have upgraded the tires to 275/65R20 which is 1 inch larger than stock, E-rated tire.



Jack went here:


New rear springs:



Fronts at 2.8


I haven't taken measurements yet, but I should. I'll have to post them up for reference.



Hope this information is useful to someone.

I'm 5'8 and the wife took this photo last night, and this is before the tires today.

 

[Klaus96]

It would be nice to know how much the springs raised the ass...haha....I'd rather not get bags. Right now I have 3" factory rake and my boat squashes it down to level.

I was considering ordering the Max Trac 2 piece level spacers. They split the difference and it supposedly alleviates the ball joint problem. Would really like that extra .5" as I heard the Bils at 2.8 were iffy

 

[BoldAdventure]

She is ass up.

Front is 39 even and the rear is 43 1/2 inches.

 

[cgeorgemo]

2" drop springs in back and viola, you're level.

 

[tripower]

If you want to have a good looking, leveled stance and still have it look right when you're hauling/towing, air bags are the typical solution. Icon also makes a dual rate spring that only lifts the rear 1.5", but I haven't seen what they look like with a load on. My 27' boats compresses the rear of the truck about 3" with the stock springs, so the truck looks a little nose high when I trailer.

If you can handle the cost/installation of Bilsteins, they're the way to go to level the front for reasons that we've already beat to death around here. 2.8" here with 1" rear spacers, and I couldn't be happier.

 

[mh3c]

She is ass up.

Front is 39 even and the rear is 43 1/2 inches.

You installed the 1223 or the 1223V? The V isnt supposed to raise the ass end at all.

Im thinking I may stay at the stock tire size or 285/60/20 to add a bit of width.

 

[mh3c]

I was considering ordering the Max Trac 2 piece level spacers. They split the difference and it supposedly alleviates the ball joint problem. Would really like that extra .5" as I heard the Bils at 2.8 were iffy

Stupid question... why would you LOWER the ass end rather than lift the front?

 

[EagleChief]

Stupid question... why would you LOWER the ass end rather than lift the front?

I have no idea, but maybe to level it without raising it? Maybe he wanted a lower stance instead of a higher one?

To each their own, I know, and I'm not going to knock what people do. But, I don't understand buying a truck, especially 4x4, then lowering it. Just doesn't make sense to me. I thought low-rider trucks went away during the 90's.

And, for the record, mine is still stock height. Sorry, none of that was on topic. My future plans are Bilstein's at 2.1 to level the front.

 

[14hemiexpress]

I have no idea, but maybe to level it without raising it? Maybe he wanted a lower stance instead of a higher one?

To each their own, I know, and I'm not going to knock what people do. But, I don't understand buying a truck, especially 4x4, then lowering it. Just doesn't make sense to me. I thought low-rider trucks went away during the 90's.

And, for the record, mine is still stock height. Sorry, none of that was on topic. My future plans are Bilstein's at 2.1 to level the front.

Farther you go north people want street trucks but like the use of 4wd under bad weather conditions and can't afford to have both.

 

[BoldAdventure]

You installed the 1223 or the 1223V? The V isnt supposed to raise the ass end at all.

Im thinking I may stay at the stock tire size or 285/60/20 to add a bit of width.

I installed the non-variable springs, 1223