Ground force 2/3 or belltech 2/4?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

1SloRam

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Posts
542
Reaction score
576
Location
Ms
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi 5.7
Everything here in Alberta is pretty well a Sport or higher trim level truck,very few tradesmens or slt trucks. R/T's are very rare in Canada,as you can hardly give a 2X4 truck away up here. When i bought my truck,i actaully wanted a R/T ,and had the dealer do a Canada wide search for one,there wasn't one available at any dealer in Canada at that point in time,now i'm glad there wasn't,as that was before the driveshaft issue the 2 wheel regular cab shortbox 8 speed trucks have, had become common knowledge
Yeah the 6spd R/T’s didn’t have that issue, had one of those before the one I have now. Got totaled. I’d like to have 8spd but my 6spd hasn’t let me down yet. Just waiting for a new cam atm.
 
OP
OP
Midnight Storm

Midnight Storm

One Badass Ram
Joined
Apr 27, 2019
Posts
1,184
Reaction score
1,247
Location
Victoria, B.C Canada
Ram Year
2016
Engine
Hemi 5.7
There are maybe two sports here, all 4 doors. Only one R/T in town, rest are tradesmen.

I monitored my gauges for a week after the swap and didn’t see any real difference.
I’ve debated swapping back when I repaint the truck and ditch the chrome.
Love the red rig you got!

plasti dipping the slats make a big change. I’m the only one in town that I have seen. Looks stealth!
2859F827-9F8E-469A-BC03-D19AFA413435.jpeg C10169EF-274A-43AA-87B8-014C997B9543.jpeg
 

spymac

Junior Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2011
Posts
19
Reaction score
7
Ram Year
2011 Express
Engine
Hemi 5.7 - 390HP
Does your kit include the brackets to relocate the rear locating arms,if not,they're worth having.The rear suspension geometery really goes out of whack when you lower a 4th gen. I'm running the older Illicit brackets,but the Inez brackets do the same thing .You can see where the arms sit with the brackets in these pics

View attachment 231823

View attachment 231824

What lowering kit do you have installed? Love the look! I had a belltech kit but removed it because I couldn't stand the ride. But I miss being lowered and am hoping there are some better options now than there were years ago.
 

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
13,723
Reaction score
23,393
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
What lowering kit do you have installed? Love the look! I had a belltech kit but removed it because I couldn't stand the ride. But I miss being lowered and am hoping there are some better options now than there were years ago.

I'm running narrowed drop spindles on the front and cut down factory R/T springs,truck rides better then my wifes Challenger does. Spindles have been narrowed roughly 5/8" on each side ,to bring the front wheels back in,as the spindles move the wheels out roughly 3/8" on each side.
 

Mike Thacker

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Posts
3
Reaction score
2
Location
Houston
Ram Year
2011 RCSB
Engine
HEMI 5.7
I'm running narrowed drop spindles on the front and cut down factory R/T springs,truck rides better then my wifes Challenger does. Spindles have been narrowed roughly 5/8" on each side ,to bring the front wheels back in,as the spindles move the wheels out roughly 3/8" on each side.
What size tires do you have?
I went out and found some Sport wheels. Probably will do 305/50/20 rear and 275/55/20 front.
 
Last edited:

Jessica Smith

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Posts
501
Reaction score
608
Location
Houston
Ram Year
2009
Engine
Hemi 5.7
I'm running narrowed drop spindles on the front and cut down factory R/T springs,truck rides better then my wifes Challenger does. Spindles have been narrowed roughly 5/8" on each side ,to bring the front wheels back in,as the spindles move the wheels out roughly 3/8" on each side.
I'm surprised, so when you say rides better, do you mean better handling or from a stiffness point of view?

I understood that when you cut down a spring, it increases the spring rate, so would make the ride harsher. I'm trying to investigate if lowering springs are available that can preserve a cushy ride, or if that's asking too much.
 

1SloRam

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Posts
542
Reaction score
576
Location
Ms
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi 5.7
I'm surprised, so when you say rides better, do you mean better handling or from a stiffness point of view?

I understood that when you cut down a spring, it increases the spring rate, so would make the ride harsher. I'm trying to investigate if lowering springs are available that can preserve a cushy ride, or if that's asking too much.
My belltech 2/4 with relocation brackets rode like stock, if not a bit better cause you get less body roll but doesn’t beat you to death like some lowered trucks I’ve been in. I didn’t upgrade shocks either, but Viking adjustables seem to be the best option. QA1’s supposed to be good too.
 

Wild one

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
13,723
Reaction score
23,393
Ram Year
14 Sport
Engine
5.7
I'm surprised, so when you say rides better, do you mean better handling or from a stiffness point of view?

I understood that when you cut down a spring, it increases the spring rate, so would make the ride harsher. I'm trying to investigate if lowering springs are available that can preserve a cushy ride, or if that's asking too much.

R/T springs are progressively wound on the top end of the coil,that's why they have a lower payload then a normal regular cab shortbox has.You can cut a fair bit off their springs before they start to get stiffer and the ride gets rougher. I don't run front swaybars on any of my toys,including the truck and the wifes 1320 Challenger,they still go around corners pretty decent.And i live where you can really push things in a corner if that's what you want,lol

IMG_4147.JPG
 

1SloRam

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Posts
542
Reaction score
576
Location
Ms
Ram Year
2013
Engine
Hemi 5.7
R/T springs are progressively wound on the top end of the coil,that's why they have a lower payload then a normal regular cab shortbox has.You can cut a fair bit off their springs before they start to get stiffer and the ride gets rougher. I don't run front swaybars on any of my toys,including the truck and the wifes 1320 Challenger,they still go around corners pretty decent.And i live where you can really push things in a corner if that's what you want,lol

View attachment 243692
You don’t run sway bars cause you bout that fast life, haha. Track habits die hard huh.
 

Mike Thacker

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Posts
3
Reaction score
2
Location
Houston
Ram Year
2011 RCSB
Engine
HEMI 5.7
With the adjustable Core4X4 arms, I was going to see if it will be OK without the brackets. If not I will probably have a shop fab some custom brackets on the axle. The relocation brackets look thin compared to the factory metal and I may have a custom rear bag mount made at the same time.
MCM, did you use the Core adjustable arms? Did you have some brackets fabricated or use the stock location
 

MCMLXIX

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2020
Posts
254
Reaction score
224
Location
Las Vegas
Ram Year
2017
Engine
5.7 HEMI R/T
MCM, did you use the Core adjustable arms? Did you have some brackets fabricated or use the stock location

Hey Mike.. I'm still waiting for my custom front adjustable upper control arms from Michigan Metal … so nothing has been installed yet as I want to do it all at once.... I did reach out to Moe's Performance and have the CORE4X4 Tier 3 adjustable rear arms and the Tier 3 adjustable panhard bar waiting it go on the truck...

RAM 2.jpg
 
Top