Guide to Leveling & Wheel and Tire Sizing for 06+ 4wd Ram 1500's

[R.L.K.]

I have been doing a lot of research and I believe that the setup I want will work but I'm looking for some reassurance. I have a 2015 Express 1500 4x4, was going to use a moto fab leveling spacer kit 3" front 2" rear. 17x9 -12mm 4.5bs wheels with 35x12.50 grabber at2 tires. Will I have any rubbing or fitment issues? Also are there any long term side effects with this setup? I rarely go off pavement. Thanks in advance for any impute and advice!

Fitment , should work.
Rubbing , should not .
Long term issues , likely ...ie UCA Ball joints & with high angle stub Shaft spline wear & vibes .

Issues may take longer with zero offroad use ; however, the high angle on the splines that will be created by a 3" spacer sometimes causes vibrations right away.

The above is just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions

I suggest reading here ...a lot of fantastic info . If you've read this already , I suggest reading it again .

Start at post #1 and follow any suggestions mentioned by the OP (Brandonjanson) , again this is my opinion...

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?p=1087055

 

[345Hemi]

Fitment , should work.
Rubbing , should not .
Long term issues , likely ...ie UCA Ball joints & with high angle stub Shaft spline wear & vibes .

Issues may take longer with zero offroad use ; however, the high angle on the splines that will be created by a 3" spacer sometimes causes vibrations right away.

The above is just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions

I suggest reading here ...a lot of fantastic info . If you've read this already , I suggest reading it again .

Start at post #1 and follow any suggestions mentioned by the OP (Brandonjanson) , again this is my opinion...

Guide to Leveling & Wheel and Tire Sizing for 06+ 4wd Ram 1500's - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums

Thank you, and yes I know what they say about about opinions haha but in this case opinions is what I was looking for! I have read this thread from #1 to #140 and the more I read the more I'm thinking about the benefits of the bills...I don't want to shoot myself in the foot so to speak of doing things half ass and hurting me later. All I want to do is level the truck, and run 35x12.50 tires with no rub or damaging effects.

 

[R.L.K.]

Lots of folks do run spacers without issues , I'm just the type to air on the side of caution

 

[345Hemi]

Should I go with bilsteins in the rear that add 1" also or will a spacer be ok? I measured my truck and it is exactly 2" of rake but I'd like to lift the front no less than 2" and still keep around 1" of rake.

 

[R.L.K.]

Should I go with bilsteins in the rear that add 1" also or will a spacer be ok? I measured my truck and it is exactly 2" of rake but I'd like to lift the front no less than 2" and still keep around 1" of rake.

Bils don't add height to the rear , options are coil spacers or new coils .

 

[R.L.K.]

I went bilsteins 5100s @ +2.8 in the front and 1.5" TGC spacers above the coils in the rear. I have about 1" rake and that's what I was after for towing my boat .
I've had the bils up front for over 25,000 miles and zero issues .
This is the best option to run 35 x12.5 s imo.

Fwiw , here's my install post with the bils .

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?p=1206420

Hope this helps!

 

[345Hemi]

I went bilsteins 5100s @ +2.8 in the front and 1.5" TGC spacers above the coils in the rear. I have about 1" rake and that's what I was after for towing my boat .
I've had the bils up front for over 25,000 miles and zero issues .
This is the best option to run 35 x12.5 s imo.

Fwiw , here's my install post with the bils .

Alright guys.. BILSTEINS post your pics!!! - Page 3 - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums

Hope this helps!

That helps a lot! Thank you very much! So you have only spacers in the rear then right or did you add the longer shocks as well?

 

[brandonjansen]

RLK pretty much covered everything already but just to confirm...

I would not at all recommend installing 3" spacers on a 2013+ truck. 2.5" is the max spacer size you want to run on any 06+ 1500. But on a 2013+ truck spacers are very prone to giving issues with ball joints. I would expect you to have issues with them right off the get go which would require new upper A-arms. Spacers are also known to decrease ride quality where Bilsteins will increase ride quality over stock.

For your setup I would recommend a set of Bilstein 5100's set at 2.8" on the front end. On the rear I'd go with a 0.75" poly spacer from Top Gun Customz to retain the 1" of rake that you're looking for. Your stock shocks will work fine with that setup unless you'd like to replace them with the Bilstein 5100's on the rear as well for the ride quality benefits.

Wheel/tire wise there's no issues with what you're looking at.

 

[345Hemi]

RLK pretty much covered everything already but just to confirm...

I would not at all recommend installing 3" spacers on a 2013+ truck. 2.5" is the max spacer size you want to run on any 06+ 1500. But on a 2013+ truck spacers are very prone to giving issues with ball joints. I would expect you to have issues with them right off the get go which would require new upper A-arms. Spacers are also known to decrease ride quality where Bilsteins will increase ride quality over stock.

For your setup I would recommend a set of Bilstein 5100's set at 2.8" on the front end. On the rear I'd go with a 0.75" poly spacer from Top Gun Customz to retain the 1" of rake that you're looking for. Your stock shocks will work fine with that setup unless you'd like to replace them with the Bilstein 5100's on the rear as well for the ride quality benefits.

Wheel/tire wise there's no issues with what you're looking at.

Thank you guys for clearing everything up for me! I will definitely be going with the 5100's instead of spacers up front! This project will be done after tax return I will be sure to post pics then.

 

[R.L.K.]

I agree 100% with what Brandonjanson posted above !

 

[quietpeen]

Ok what about bilsteins set at 2.1 with 20x10 wheels at -24mm offset. Will 295/60/20 fit without rubbing? My truck is 4x4. If that doesn't fit would the same size tire work with a 20x9 wheel with 4.5" back spacing?

 

[brandonjansen]

Ok what about bilsteins set at 2.1 with 20x10 wheels at -24mm offset. Will 295/60/20 fit without rubbing? My truck is 4x4. If that doesn't fit would the same size tire work with a 20x9 wheel with 4.5" back spacing?

With Bilsteins only a 2.1" I would recommend sticking with a 20x10 -12 offset. That will give you the same amount of lip on the wheel but slightly less poke to reduce the rubbing. I'd expect you'd still have to trim a slight amount of plastic with that setup.
If you go to a 20x9 -12 offset you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[R.L.K.]

To add to what Brandonjanson said above , if you went +2.8" on the bills and do the 10" wide wheels for the lip and only a -12 mm offset you likely would have zero plastic trimming required and no rubbing at full lock .

 

[quietpeen]

Thanks guys. You pretty much confirmed what I thought

 

[bflo1419]

Any considerations for a stock 20x8 wheel? I've seen a lot of info for aftermarket and the stock 20x9s but, alas, I'm running 20x8s on my 2014 Outdoorsman. I have 4 corner bilsteins that I need to put on but need to be sure about my tires before I order them. Was looking to do 295/65/20 Ridge Grapplers. Trying to get as close to a 35x12.5 as I can without having rubbing issues but don't mind a 11.5 width either to be safe. Should I just shoot for 35x12.5 with 1/4 spacers? Thanks for the help!

 

[R.L.K.]

I've heard some good & bad about the Ridge Grapplers. .. I think the bad was noise? Not sure .

If you keep the 20x8s I personally would run the 11.5s max .
If you desire the wider stance then run the 10 mm spacers .... or a 1.5" to 1.75" quality hub & oem wheel centric spacer keep in mind a Quality wheel spacer is not cheep $$ , but installed and maintained properly is very safe and looks killer ....

 

[Srsheets86]

Thanks for this. Very informative. Is anyone running 35x12.5x20 open country on stock wheels? I am curious if the 1/4" spacers are enough.

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Yes. I have no spacers, and I rub when the steering wheel is fully locked to one side in reverse. Other than that no problem. I run them with a 2" leveling kit also.


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[Brando94]

09 dodge ram trx4 leveling

Needing help figuring out wat I should do as in leveling my 09 dodge ram 1500 trx4? I've seen were it says to go with the bilstein 5100. Were should I get them from or order and getting the right one without paying out alot?

 

[HeyHeyHemi]

Needing help figuring out wat I should do as in leveling my 09 dodge ram 1500 trx4? I've seen were it says to go with the bilstein 5100. Were should I get them from or order and getting the right one without paying out alot?

Find your part number for your truck on Bilstein's website. Most likely they are 24-187367. I ordered mine for my 2017 on Amazon for $95 a piece without tax and they came in 2 days (non-prime)

 

[RamHemi2500]

Thank you


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