leveling kit question

[texasfan88]

Over the past couple of days, I've been looking at leveling kits for my 2018 Ram 1500. I know that with anything, especially things that alter your suspension, you get what you pay for. So I was wondering, those of you who have the basic 2 inch spacer leveling kit that you can find for under $100 at most places, who can give me a long-term review on what it's like? How is the ride quality and more importantly, are any suspension components like the upper control arms, ball joints, etc. compromised or show signs of premature wear due to the level? I've heard mixed reviews about just going with spacers and the last thing I want to do is to cheap out and end up with more problems down the road.

 

[Ohio5pt7]

I have a motofab 3" front 2" rear 30k mi + on it on my 18 no issues. I put RC ucas on as well

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[texasfan88]

Thanks! Do you mind posting some pics of your setup for me to look at? I assume that with the additional upper control arms, it corrected the geometry to factory specs?

 

[Ohio5pt7]

Thanks! Do you mind posting some pics of your setup for me to look at? I assume that with the additional upper control arms, it corrected the geometry to factory specs?

I'll get some when my wife gets home with it she took it to work today.

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[RobertusvT]

I would definitely recommend Bilsteins 5100s at 2.1. They are more expensive than spacers, but are worth it in my opinion. Use them myself on my truck and have no complaints.

 

[texasfan88]

I would definitely recommend Bilsteins 5100s at 2.1. They are more expensive than spacers, but are worth it in my opinion. Use them myself on my truck and have no complaints.

Thanks. My main concern, which is understandable I think, is I don't want to run into a safety issue with suspension components wearing out too quickly due to the suspension geometry being out of whack because even a slight difference in ride height can cause this. If I do decide to do this, I think it's much better to invest in a good quality system that addresses of all my concerns and pay more upfront, rather than pay for repairs later on down the road.

 

[RobertusvT]

Thanks. My main concern, which is understandable I think, is I don't want to run into a safety issue with suspension components wearing out too quickly due to the suspension geometry being out of whack because even a slight difference in ride height can cause this. If I do decide to do this, I think it's much better to invest in a good quality system that addresses of all my concerns and pay more upfront, rather than pay for repairs later on down the road.

That was exactly what I thought as well with my current set up so I also installed some Zone Upper Control Arms when I did the job to correct the geometry. Those were more expensive than the struts themselves but were crucial to the lift in my opinion. I know there are some cheaper UCAs that you can use such as Pro Comp and I see no problem with those. I ended up not using the rear Bilstein shocks that I got since I lifted the front so much so let me know if youre interested in them as were both in Texas. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[texasfan88]

I'll get some when my wife gets home with it she took it to work today.

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Ok great. Thanks!

 

[Bluestreak4thgen]

Ok great. Thanks!

Not who you were originally talking to but I also have the 3" front/2" rear spacer kit.

Here's a pic: https://imgur.com/a/ql7BaVU

However, spend more and get bilsteins or an actual lift. The CV angle with these is not great to say the least and they don't ride well. I've also been running into a squeaking issue that I believe is the top hat rubbing against the spacer or something. I'm currently waiting on my bonus so I can swap out to a full icon setup and ditch these spacers.

 

[kurek]

Thanks. My main concern, which is understandable I think, is I don't want to run into a safety issue with suspension components wearing out too quickly due to the suspension geometry being out of whack because even a slight difference in ride height can cause this.

Two potential gotcha's with the spacers that go on top of struts.

First is the ones with a ~2" hole in the middle do not support the upper strut bushing properly and after a while the bushing degrades and starts chewing away at the spacer, you end up with an inch or two of uncontrolled suspension movement because the shaft of your strut has nothing to push against.

Second gotcha is that you're lengthening the overall strut assembly which allows the wheels to drop farther than the stock suspension is built for. This takes your CV axles out of the range of movement they're built for and it does the same to your ball joints & steering tie rods. You can get away with it for a while of course, people do. But they're all going to wear faster like that. Using lift struts like Bilstein you're changing the ride height but not the overall extended length of the strut assembly so none of those parts are taken out of their factory range of motion. Your CV axles might still see slightly more wear due to being at a small angle 100% of the time but they never get pulled past the max. angle they were engineered to work in.

Easy choice if you ask me, it's not like the Bilsteins are $$$$$ in the first place.

 

[texasfan88]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I’m going to hold off and wait until I can afford to invest in something that gets it done correctly and the safest way possible at the beginning, instead of cheaping out and living with the consequences later.

 

[texasfan88]

This is one that I found on American trucks.com. I assume that because it includes the UCAs, that it helps resolve suspensions geometry issues? Or, would it be best to use leveling coil springs, instead of the spacers, as well as new UCAs?

https://www.americantrucks.com/readylift-25in-level-w-uca-4wd-no-air-0617-ram.html

 

[Bluestreak4thgen]

This is one that I found on American trucks.com. I assume that because it includes the UCAs, that it helps resolve suspensions geometry issues? Or, would it be best to use leveling coil springs, instead of the spacers, as well as new UCAs?

https://www.americantrucks.com/readylift-25in-level-w-uca-4wd-no-air-0617-ram.html

That kit is better than just spacers for sure. But you still run into the potential issue of the top bushing housing of the strut moving around in there. It still also lengthens the overall length of the strut which is going to lead to over extension of the strut which could cause the upper ball joint to pop out, lower ball joint to go bad, and issues with the cv's

 

[Puba08]

If your gonna spend over $500, just buy bilsteins for the front. And add a spacer for the rear. Save up for UCAs. If your hell bent on spacer leveling kits, the Zone adventure series 2.5” is my suggestion. If you just want the 2.5” lift with out the UCA’s send me a PM. I have the spacers band new from a kit I got. I just kept the UCA’s.


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[PapaCap]

Check my Rough Country post below.

 

[texasfan88]

If your gonna spend over $500, just buy bilsteins for the front. And add a spacer for the rear. Save up for UCAs. If your hell bent on spacer leveling kits, the Zone adventure series 2.5” is my suggestion. If you just want the 2.5” lift with out the UCA’s send me a PM. I have the spacers band new from a kit I got. I just kept the UCA’s.


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To be honest, I’m still very undecided on this topic. The problem is that I’ve heard very mixed reviews on the spacers for leveling. Some people say they’re great, others say they’re terrible. From what I’ve heard, however, I don’t know if anyone who’s had a bad experience with the Bilsteins so that might be the better option. Just trying to get as much knowledge about this as I can for now.

 

[texasfan88]

Check my Rough Country post below.

I don’t see it.

 

[Bluestreak4thgen]

To be honest, I’m still very undecided on this topic. The problem is that I’ve heard very mixed reviews on the spacers for leveling. Some people say they’re great, others say they’re terrible. From what I’ve heard, however, I don’t know if anyone who’s had a bad experience with the Bilsteins so that might be the better option. Just trying to get as much knowledge about this as I can for now.

See a lot of the reviews you see for the spacer lifts are from guys who just got them installed. Yes they are happy because the truck rides great but never come back and update the review when their suspension goes to ****

 

[PapaCap]

I don’t see it.

In the “lifted” category a few below this string

 

[texasfan88]

In the “lifted” category a few below this string

Thanks, I found it. Certainly seems to have great reviews but as Bluestreak just mentioned, there's the big question as to how it holds up in the long run, given it just uses spacers to level everything out.