Levelling or 3” lift that rides as close to stock as possible

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Michael

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So it’s been just over 1 month since the Readylift 4” SST lift kit install, and new wheels on 35” 12.5 tires and so far it’s been great. No creaking, noises, not super harsh ride, pretty close to stock I’d say, the rear Bilstein shocks seem to handle large dips and bumps well, more so at higher speeds (roads an highways) and around town isn’t much different than stock, maybe as many have said it feels more ‘planted’ or solid and assured feeling now.

Only issue I’ve had is that they installed the rear shock top mount extension pieces on the outside of the frame area instead of inside as they were supposed to be. I swapped them out to the correct side of the frame myself, easy enough to do in about 15 mins myself.

Over all I am very happy with this lift, I know a lot of people will say “should have done this - should have gone with that” blah blah blah, but are they actually PAYING for it? Paying for the kit or the labor? No, so in the end it comes down to what you want vs what you can afford vs what is available at the time (back orders, delays due to Covid etc.) and it’s YOUR truck, you do what you’re comfortable with. Sure single dudes can afford to go get Fox shocks, 8” lift with full diff drop brackets etc. etc. but I have bills, 3 kids to feed, other things in life to take care of so the SST 4” Readylift kit fit perfect for what I was looking for, and I’m 100% happy with it.
Do you have before and after pics of it?
 
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El_Lobo_Gris1500C

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deciding on 2.5 or 2.8 would depends on how your truck sits now. I measured all four wheel wells and decided to go with 2.8. Here is a pic of my truck at 2.8 with the stock 17“ wheels and tires to show what it looks like. I’m giving a before and then after pics.
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The 5100’s gave it a firmer, not harsher, ride that I like over the oem units. Then when I went from the passenger tires that came on it to truck tires the ride got firmer again because the sidewalls of the tires have less flex in them, but can handle loads much better.
That’s what I noticed, firmer not harsh. Feels solid now, more capable. I was going to go with the Bilstein front adjustable shocks to get it levelled or a slight ‘lift’ by almost 3” but then for a similar cost and after seeing the Readylift 4” truck photos with the 20x9 +1 wheels I really liked that look more. So I went with the 4” lift, max I could do with the truck if I wanted it to still fit in our garage.
 
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El_Lobo_Gris1500C

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Zcar

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This topic describes what I hope to accomplish perfectly. I want to keep my stock 20x8 wheels and ideally run a 295/65/20 tire. What I am considering doing is a 1.5" body lift and 5100's. Looking for feedback for flaws in my plan.
 
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El_Lobo_Gris1500C

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This topic describes what I hope to accomplish perfectly. I want to keep my stock 20x8 wheels and ideally run a 295/65/20 tire. What I am considering doing is a 1.5" body lift and 5100's. Looking for feedback for flaws in my plan.
From what I understand, body lifts are a pain in the &$$ and not great, better and less intrusive to do a level or level/lift to 3-4” than mess with all that goes into a body lift. But, it’s your truck, your decision in the end.
 

Zcar

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Thanks for the reply. On such an old thread I didn't know what to expect. Granted body lifts aren't for everybody but I had a combo body/spacer lift on a Frontier I had and never had an issue. With 5100's @ 2.1 and a 1.5 - 2 inch body lift I get approximately 4 inches of lift for around $500 without compromising the suspension geometry and stay on budget.
 

healthyrx

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This topic describes what I hope to accomplish perfectly. I want to keep my stock 20x8 wheels and ideally run a 295/65/20 tire. What I am considering doing is a 1.5" body lift and 5100's. Looking for feedback for flaws in my plan.
For a few months I was running almost what you describe wanting. I had the eibach pro truck lift (front and rear) along with a 1.5" body lift. The eibach pro shocks are basically 5100s but the kit comes with lifted springs as well for a little bit more lift. I had it cranked higher than that 2.1 mark so I needed UCAs as well but I can't imagine that you would if you stay at 2.1.
Overall I was completely happy with my setup and only just recently switch the front to icon coilovers- but that was because I wanted to, there was nothing wrong with the truck at all before the icons either. So you should be happy with your setup. Only thing I would consider would be changing your rear shocks to bilsteins at the same time you install your fronts.
 

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I raised the back of my truck with TGC 1” spacer, and a 1211 rear spring. It raised the back about 2 inches and a nice ride. If you wanted 3” I’d put a 2” spacer with the 1211 springs
 

gdieball

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@El_Lobo_Gris1500C , I have been lurking for about a week, researching and talking to the people at the local shop. In the end, I made my appointment for Monday to have almost the same setup as you. I am also choosing the ReadyLift 4" kit, but this kit comes with Falcon shocks. I have a 2016 Sport 4x4 in Stinger Yellow. I'll post pictures when it is done.

You mentioned they installed the rear top shock mount wrong. Is that just something specific to the Bilsteins? When I look at the install video I don't see what you mean. The only thing I see for the rear is the difficult bolt near the gas tank. I want to make sure I inspect that it is done correctly before I take it home.

Also, did you do anything in terms of speedometer to make sure it was still accurate? Did you do anything regarding steering dampening or steering stabilizer? Thanks in advance.
 

RayGar

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Hello all,

I’ve seen a lot of posts that hit on this topic but often don’t 100% apply to what I’m looking for here, or go off onto a tangent that is completely off the trail of the info I’m looking for, so I’ll try to be as accurate and detailed in my question as I can be to avoid confusion or having this too closely related to previous posts.

I’m looking into a levelling kit or small 3” lift kit for my Ram 1500 Classic - 4x4 5.7L gas - crew cab 5’6” regular bed - stock 20” wheels with stock tire size.

After a level or small lift I MIGHT use some 1.5” to 2” max wheel spacers to get the wheels a little further out and aggressive looking, of course with quality hub-centric parts.

Specifically I want it to have as close to factory ride quality as possible, not rough, no issues over bumps on the highway/freeway etc. and I want to avoid ‘pucks” above the strut and more specifically, avoid the pre tension spacers that go between the spring and strut hat.

I’ve read good and terrible reviews of the Rough Country N3 drop in strut assembly with spring units and 3” lift kit (their sku #31231) and I’ve heard good things about the Bilstein 5100 and even better, 6112 complete strut assemblies. I’m not rich so I don’t want recommendations of $4000+ suspension kits, but I also know that you get what you pay for, and cheap kits or components often lack quality and result in a harsh ride, components failing and disappointment in the end.

Also I will be using changed out UCA’s (upper control arms with angle correct ball joints) whether with a kit or separately like the ‘Zone’ UCA’s for example.

So I’m curious who has used which kit or components together to achieve a levelled ride height, or even up to a 3” lift and level ride height (within 1/2” front to back - like 3” front and 1” rear lift) and which parts ride the smoothest and closest to factory feel when driving.

I absolutely do NOT want to end up with a harsh ride, noises, creaking or clicking, sketchy behaviour when hitting dips, bumps, uneven roads etc. if that’s the trade off, I won’t do anything at all and leave the truck stock, not worth all those issues for a better ‘look’ and slightly taller ride height.

(PS I cannot go any higher than a 3” lift or the truck won’t fit in my garage, which is a necessity for me/us since our outdoor parking spot is flanked by an old guy who cannot park straight or between two painted lines to save his life, and a big dually tow truck that hugs the line on the other side of our spot. That’s why our 2008 Dodge caravan is parked there lol, at least we can still get in and out no matter how the neighbours park, and I don’t care if their door hits the van lol!!!)

Thanks for any info, tips, reviews and pointing me in the right direction ahead of time.

Cheers all!
I put a Rough Country 2.5” leveling kit on my 2018. It rides exactly like stock, has the perfect stance that I was looking for. It’s about an inch taller in the rear, which is great for towing. It allowed me to fit 33” tires with no rubbing. I love it!
 

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El_Lobo_Gris1500C

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@El_Lobo_Gris1500C , I have been lurking for about a week, researching and talking to the people at the local shop. In the end, I made my appointment for Monday to have almost the same setup as you. I am also choosing the ReadyLift 4" kit, but this kit comes with Falcon shocks. I have a 2016 Sport 4x4 in Stinger Yellow. I'll post pictures when it is done.

You mentioned they installed the rear top shock mount wrong. Is that just something specific to the Bilsteins? When I look at the install video I don't see what you mean. The only thing I see for the rear is the difficult bolt near the gas tank. I want to make sure I inspect that it is done correctly before I take it home.

Also, did you do anything in terms of speedometer to make sure it was still accurate? Did you do anything regarding steering dampening or steering stabilizer? Thanks in advance.
Hey, that kit should be pretty sweet with the Falcon shocks upgrade.

I didn’t do anything as far as steering dampers etc. and I’ve had zero issues with the steering, no death wobble, no issues at highway speeds or anything.

I also didn’t recalibrate the speedo, it’s not that far off really, I am at maybe 1km/hr faster than the dash says up to 40-60km/hr and at highway speed (100km/hr here) I’m around 3 or 4km/hr off what the dash says. The truck drives and shifts perfectly fine, no issues at all, I just have to remember that I’m going a tiny bit faster than my gauges say I am going. That’s only caused by going from stock 33” tires to the Toyo Open Country AT3 in 35” x 12.5” size.

The upper shock mounts were put on the outside of the frame vs the inside where they should be. Not the end of the world or anything dangerous but, not 100% correct which bothered me, so I corrected it myself, pretty simple to do.

See the attached screen shot of the Readylift installation instructions to see what I’m talking about.

Funny enough, if you Google the Readylift 4” SST Ram kit and scroll down to the reviews, my truck is the first/newest review and photos you’ll see lol!! I’m famous now haha!
 

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El_Lobo_Gris1500C

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I put a Rough Country 2.5” leveling kit on my 2018. It rides exactly like stock, has the perfect stance that I was looking for. It’s about an inch taller in the rear, which is great for towing. It allowed me to fit 33” tires with no rubbing. I love it!
Looks good! I’m sure you could fit 35”s with that lift also, our trucks typically come with 20” wheels and 33” tires from the factory, maybe the width would be an issue though if you went pay the stock 275/60 though?
 

gdieball

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@El_Lobo_Gris1500C

Ahh, the sway bar mounts. In the video they mentioned that and it would bug me too even though it's probably just aesthetic. Good to know on the other stuff. Thanks for the details.

I actually found brand new 35" BFG KO2's on Facebook and just picked them up 30 minutes ago. The guy just bought them but then was changing vehicles and couldn't use them. Still have the stickers on them and they were manufactured in the 41st week of 2021 so they are in beautiful shape. Got them for $1000 for the set

Here's the before pic. I'll update on Wednesday-ish when I get it back.
 

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El_Lobo_Gris1500C

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@El_Lobo_Gris1500C

Ahh, the sway bar mounts. In the video they mentioned that and it would bug me too even though it's probably just aesthetic. Good to know on the other stuff. Thanks for the details.

I actually found brand new 35" BFG KO2's on Facebook and just picked them up 30 minutes ago. The guy just bought them but then was changing vehicles and couldn't use them. Still have the stickers on them and they were manufactured in the 41st week of 2021 so they are in beautiful shape. Got them for $1000 for the set

Here's the before pic. I'll update on Wednesday-ish when I get it back.
Aww crap, yes not upper shock mounts but the away bar mounts/brackets lol … brain slip there …
 

csm64

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Man it sure would be nice if Mopar sold manufacturer-endorsed lifts that took all the internet second-guessing out of the equation :dogpile:
Sarcasm? However good luck getting one for a 1500 classic... backordered. I would have better luck getting baby formula.
 

csm64

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Once you level you’re 100% going to want a bigger tire. The trick is you have your wife pick out the wheels ;) then I’ll help you dial in the offset and size. Smoother softer ride we drop down to an 18” wheel. Your wife will love picking out the wheels too.
Learned a lot from this thread, thanks for the info.
 

Wirerat

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I used rc 3" struts + upc and 1.5" rear spacers. I had the alignment done after a week of driving.

Front measures 40" ground to fender and rear 40.5“.

I don't off road. It's just my DD. No squeaks or issues after a few months. Happy with the way it rides now.
 

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gdieball

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So, after having 3 months with this lifted now, here are my thoughts in no particular order

1) it looks way cool
2) the height is perfect. Less wouldn't be that noticeable and more would have been annoying
3) wow... gas mileage really did take a beating I lost about 2.5 mpg and rarely in eco mode now above 70mph
4) no need for steering damper yet, not sloppy
5) tires not too loud so far
6) at 80mph speedo is off by about 4mph (spot on with what everyone else has said)
7) Would I do it again? Was it worth it? ehhhhh. We do have my wife's escalade if we want to haul the family or want something smoother and quieter, so I would say yes. However, if this was my daily driver, I'd have second thoughts. But man... it sure does look cool.
8) Total cost for readylift kit, falcon shocks, 35" BFG, new rims -- $4400. The BFG's I got on facebook from a dude that had bought them and didn't use them (the stickers were still on and the DOT numbers indicate they weren't even a year old yet) and I was able to snag those at $250/tire. Then the truck shop didn't charge me for the front shocks even though they replaced those ones as well.
 
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