augiedoggy
Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2021
- Posts
- 92
- Reaction score
- 45
- Location
- western NY
- Ram Year
- 2015
- Engine
- 3.0 Ecodiesel
So I figured Id share my recent experience for better or worse with a 2015 tradesman ecodiesel crew with 6.4 bed 4x4 I bought a few months back.
First off, When I bought the truck the small used car dealership said nothing about it being deleted, tuned or lowered... I discovered it had a lot of mods along the way. One thing which looked odd to me was that it had a 2wd stance with 31.5" nitto all terrains on it which seemed odd on such a long truck. it also rode pretty rough. the tires were 4 ply G2s and the truck got amazing fuel mileage. I averaged 24mpg around the city and 34mpg on a 2 hr mainly highway round trip to my camp and back.
After going back and forth and looking more closely at what I had I discovered someone had put adjustable lowering struts on the front to drop it 2 inched and it had a 4" drop kit in the rear making both the front and rear fenders sit about 34.5" off the ground.
I decided I wanted to change the suspension as I didnt care for the rough ride and one of the red airlift bags had a large rupture in the rear.
So I installed bilstein 5100 struts and shocks using the original springs in the front but superlift 2" lift variable springs in the rear with new air bags in the springs. I also had to replace the rear link bars and remove a relocation bracket.
I then purchased some used 34" AT tires (10 ply) to see how the change effected mileage and such. I reprogrammed the tire size with alpha obd, had an alignment done. and the new tires are on 18" rims.
The truck looks completely different. while im NOT impressed with the 10 ply tires, the 5100 struts and shocks give a much better overall ride. The fuel mileage went dramatically down. I now get like 17mpg in the city and 23 on the highway. I have ordered some 4 or 6 ply nitto G2 34" tires which are only 51lbs each vs 69bls as my current tires are which I hope will help. I also hope the tire vibration/road feel will be smoother as it was with the 31" g2s im hoping the transmission will hold gear better without downshifting at it does now although I realize some of that is due to the taller tire changing my final gear ratio and load on drivetrain.
At the end of the day If I had to do it again I likely would have just looked for some better struts and shocks and more attractive larger diameter rims to make the lowered look work for me. I love the look of the 3-2" lifted truck which is actually like 5" higher in the front and 6-7" in the rear from where it was. But I am at the point after having multiple lifter offroad capable 4x4s where I care more about the creature comforts such as mileage and ride quality on road trips pulling my popup and such.... Sucks getting old.
First off, When I bought the truck the small used car dealership said nothing about it being deleted, tuned or lowered... I discovered it had a lot of mods along the way. One thing which looked odd to me was that it had a 2wd stance with 31.5" nitto all terrains on it which seemed odd on such a long truck. it also rode pretty rough. the tires were 4 ply G2s and the truck got amazing fuel mileage. I averaged 24mpg around the city and 34mpg on a 2 hr mainly highway round trip to my camp and back.
After going back and forth and looking more closely at what I had I discovered someone had put adjustable lowering struts on the front to drop it 2 inched and it had a 4" drop kit in the rear making both the front and rear fenders sit about 34.5" off the ground.
I decided I wanted to change the suspension as I didnt care for the rough ride and one of the red airlift bags had a large rupture in the rear.
So I installed bilstein 5100 struts and shocks using the original springs in the front but superlift 2" lift variable springs in the rear with new air bags in the springs. I also had to replace the rear link bars and remove a relocation bracket.
I then purchased some used 34" AT tires (10 ply) to see how the change effected mileage and such. I reprogrammed the tire size with alpha obd, had an alignment done. and the new tires are on 18" rims.
The truck looks completely different. while im NOT impressed with the 10 ply tires, the 5100 struts and shocks give a much better overall ride. The fuel mileage went dramatically down. I now get like 17mpg in the city and 23 on the highway. I have ordered some 4 or 6 ply nitto G2 34" tires which are only 51lbs each vs 69bls as my current tires are which I hope will help. I also hope the tire vibration/road feel will be smoother as it was with the 31" g2s im hoping the transmission will hold gear better without downshifting at it does now although I realize some of that is due to the taller tire changing my final gear ratio and load on drivetrain.
At the end of the day If I had to do it again I likely would have just looked for some better struts and shocks and more attractive larger diameter rims to make the lowered look work for me. I love the look of the 3-2" lifted truck which is actually like 5" higher in the front and 6-7" in the rear from where it was. But I am at the point after having multiple lifter offroad capable 4x4s where I care more about the creature comforts such as mileage and ride quality on road trips pulling my popup and such.... Sucks getting old.