Lift or Level?

[rduchateau2954]

Was planning on rancho quick lift, new 17s, and 35s.

However, when talking to a buddy about finally being able to button up my old truck and sell it, he starts in on me about lifting the ram but still running 35s.

Couple things,

- I don't want to go bigger than 35x12.5
- I'm not regearing (3.92 in it now)
- Gotta do it in the driveway with a buddy, beer, and air tools.

I'm worried that if I go with the 6" and 35s I'll want 37s. There is a chance that leveled will fit in the garage, but no way lifted will.

I think both options look amazing, and my buddy is a bad influence. What do y'all think?

 

[AirborneRGR]

You'll level it then wish you would have lifted it. 6" and 35's look the best IMO.

 

[brandonjansen]

Exactly what he said ^^. If you're already thinking about a lift then you'll never be satisfied with just a level. Definitely go for the full lift.

 

[Klaus96]

I see a Ram everyday at work that is leveled with aftermarket rims and tires. It looks really good, but its like "it would look even better lifted"...haha

 

[jadocs]

It's a cycle. You'll lift it then you will wish you went bigger. Once it's as big as your willing to go you will love it. Heads will turn and it will be great. Eventually you will start having problems and you will get tired of chasing issues. It won't be fun anymore and you will eventually wished you didn't lift it. LOL

 

[robbob]

If you go with the bils or the Rancho QL you can use them with the lift later to get level. My rancho QL with a Zone 6" kit and 5 inch rear springs sits about 3/4" rake to the front.

 

[rduchateau2954]

If you go with the bils or the Rancho QL you can use them with the lift later to get level. My rancho QL with a Zone 6" kit and 5 inch rear springs sits about 3/4" rake to the front.

I did not realize that the rancho ql could be used with a lift. I know that most use bl to level after lifting.

If I go with the 6" I'm confident I won't want bigger. I've driven enough monster trucks to know that while ba, they lose their daily driver appeal pretty quick. Then like Jadocs says, everything starts getting sloppy and your giant truck stops being so awesome.

35s are my max on a dd. Bigger without being too big. A good compromise size.

Part of me doesn't want to spend the cash on a pavement queen while I rent, but the other part of me says "it's gonna be mortgage payments and saving for repairs soon enough, do something dumb one last time"

My friends agree with irresponsible me.

 

[rduchateau2954]

Lemme ask y'all this: if I just want to run 35s does it make more sense to go with a 4" and save a few bucks?

 

[xrsman]

Lemme ask y'all this: if I just want to run 35s does it make more sense to go with a 4" and save a few bucks?

You'll save maybe $100 over a 6" lift

 

[rduchateau2954]

Does anybody have a compete list of lift brands to save me some time?

 

[Klaus96]

I don't have any of these, but I've been researching the dog**** out of em for the last 3 months...

Fox owns BDS and Zone...probable the most popular and liked it seems...6" BDS is around $2300 and BDS 4" is around $2100

Zone 6" is around $1500 and Zone 4" is around $1400

Then there is Superlift @ $1900 (with Bils) and RCX...not sure of pricing

Mopar lift is a re-branded uber expensive Superlift

Like xrsman said, diff between 4 and 6 is tiny

Also, BDS/Zone and Superlift come with a supplemental powertrain warranty to 100,000 miles to cover what your dealer may deny due to lift.

 

[badvik]

just to mention the difference between 4" and 6" is not the 100 $$ only but, actually, the most people get rid of the rake and it automatically means you get ca. 6" front with 4" lift and ca. 8" front with 6"...
Also I not recommend to use Rancho QLL since it has preloaded height, and in case of lift (you WILL want it, beleive me) you will have to choose the rear options, to level the front or not etc. from this point of view I'd recoomend any height adjustable front shocks - BLs, or struts complete - like ICON, Fox.

 

[rduchateau2954]

Klaus, why no rough country? $1500 for a 6" and a lifetime warranty. Superlift has a note on their lifts staying they will not work on a regular cab did to driveshaft issues.

Badvik, I was only planning on ql to level. If I lift I'd go bils.

 

[Klaus96]

Klaus, why no rough country? $1500 for a 6" and a lifetime warranty. Superlift has a note on their lifts staying they will not work on a regular cab did to driveshaft issues.

Badvik, I was only planning on ql to level. If I lift I'd go bils.

I think the lifetime your referring to is for suspension lift parts only, I am referring to drivetrain, engine warranty from dealer. BDS/Zone/Superlift offer coverage to fix those if your dealer says they won't cover due to the lift.

Pretty much all of them have lifetime suspension part warranties.

 

[Klaus96]

If your going suspension I'd probably stick to BDS/Zone/Superlift. If I was buying one of those it would be Zone.

Now me, I'm going body lift cuz I have no plans to go offroad with my 50K truck. I don't need the extra ground clearance or the future headaches of dealer warranty problems as I am most likely gonna buy the Lifetime bumper to bumper from Mopar Protection. Not to mention the body lift and gap guards are only $450. Money is not a problem for me if it comes down to it, but I have a lot of other "irons in the fire" so saving some cash works for me right now...plus xrsman's truck is pretty tough just having level and body lift.

 

[Klaus96]

just to mention the difference between 4" and 6" is not the 100 $$ only but, actually, the most people get rid of the rake and it automatically means you get ca. 6" front with 4" lift and ca. 8" front with 6"...
Also I not recommend to use Rancho QLL since it has preloaded height, and in case of lift (you WILL want it, beleive me) you will have to choose the rear options, to level the front or not etc. from this point of view I'd recoomend any height adjustable front shocks - BLs, or struts complete - like ICON, Fox.

I think my situation is gonna work with Rancho QLL because I have 3" of factory rake and Rancho with only 2" setting should be OK. What do you think?

 

[brandonjansen]

It's a cycle. You'll lift it then you will wish you went bigger. Once it's as big as your willing to go you will love it. Heads will turn and it will be great. Eventually you will start having problems and you will get tired of chasing issues. It won't be fun anymore and you will eventually wished you didn't lift it. LOL

Funny... I don't have that issue. I'm at 9" of lift on a daily driven 3500 right now and I still want ti go higher
I definitely do get what you're saying though. But if a lift is done right it shouldn't give you any issues and therefore no regrets.

Lemme ask y'all this: if I just want to run 35s does it make more sense to go with a 4" and save a few bucks?

Completely depends on your preference. IMO 35's look great on a 6" lift but some people don't like the look as the tire doesn't fill up the wheel well as much. I'd recommend looking at a bunch of pictures of 4" and 6" lifts running 35's. The website Custom Offsets is a good place to look through different setups. Otherwise the forum is also great as well

I don't have any of these, but I've been researching the dog**** out of em for the last 3 months...

Fox owns BDS and Zone...probable the most popular and liked it seems...6" BDS is around $2300 and BDS 4" is around $2100

Zone 6" is around $1500 and Zone 4" is around $1400

Then there is Superlift @ $1900 (with Bils) and RCX...not sure of pricing

Mopar lift is a re-branded uber expensive Superlift

Like xrsman said, diff between 4 and 6 is tiny

Also, BDS/Zone and Superlift come with a supplemental powertrain warranty to 100,000 miles to cover what your dealer may deny due to lift.

For the record Fox doesn't own BDS and Zone. BDS and Zone are owned by the same company and partnered with Fox for their line of shocks.

And the difference between a 4" and 6" lift is generally 1.5". Most 4" kits do actually provide 4" of lift while most 6" kits actually provide 5.5" of lift. Obviously adding Bilsteins or coilovers changes that...

Klaus, why no rough country? $1500 for a 6" and a lifetime warranty. Superlift has a note on their lifts staying they will not work on a regular cab did to driveshaft issues.

Badvik, I was only planning on ql to level. If I lift I'd go bils.

Stay away from Rough Country. About 1.5 years ago they changed their lift so that they only provide rear coil spacers with the lift rather than full replacement lift coils. Not the way you want to lift your truck.... Plus they don't powdercoat the steering knuckles so if you don't paint or powdercoat them they will be rusted in no time and look terrible.

The best "bang for your buck" kit is Zone. Gives you everything you need, good quality, good warranty, etc. BDS would be the next step up from that.

I think my situation is gonna work with Rancho QLL because I have 3" of factory rake and Rancho with only 2" setting should be OK. What do you think?

You're using the Rancho's just to level the truck correct? I think badvik was referring to using them with a lift kit which is not ideal.

 

[Selcher]

So the BDS 6" Coil Over kit is really 5.5 inches where as the Superlift 4" kit with Bils is a full 4" kit?

 

[rduchateau2954]

I've been stalking the forums on this for a bit. Problem is I think 35s look awesome on leveled, 4", and 6" trucks. That and I've never really planned out a lift on a pavement pounder. In the past I've been all about tucked and stuffed on 15s.

Looking at the zone 6" and the 4", I see they remind me that being a trk/outdoorsman it will be an inch higher than a standard ram. I also see that you can customize your rear lift options.

What would y'all think about a zone 6" but instead of the 5" rear springs, running their 3" in the rear instead? I haven't taken any measurements but I would bet a paycheck it's at least 2" of rake. Would this avoid any potential 4wd wobble that could be caused by the bils?

My big fear here is with it being an outdoorsman would be to get too much lift and have the tires look too small. I give way too much **** to the Chevy guys about their stupid square wheel wells and tiny tires to let that happen.

 

[brandonjansen]

So the BDS 6" Coil Over kit is really 5.5 inches where as the Superlift 4" kit with Bils is a full 4" kit?

A coilover kit is different as you can crank the coilovers up. So yes, if you had them adjusted down then it would be around 5.5" of lift. But almost all guys who run coil overs will be cranking them up to level out the truck with the lift.

I've been stalking the forums on this for a bit. Problem is I think 35s look awesome on leveled, 4", and 6" trucks. That and I've never really planned out a lift on a pavement pounder. In the past I've been all about tucked and stuffed on 15s.

Looking at the zone 6" and the 4", I see they remind me that being a trk/outdoorsman it will be an inch higher than a standard ram. I also see that you can customize your rear lift options.

What would y'all think about a zone 6" but instead of the 5" rear springs, running their 3" in the rear instead? I haven't taken any measurements but I would bet a paycheck it's at least 2" of rake. Would this avoid any potential 4wd wobble that could be caused by the bils?

My big fear here is with it being an outdoorsman would be to get too much lift and have the tires look too small. I give way too much **** to the Chevy guys about their stupid square wheel wells and tiny tires to let that happen.

All the new Outdoorsman models aren't actually 1" higher from the factory like most believe. I've had guys take measurements of brand new trucks, one being an Outdoorsman and one not and they're almost identical. Plus, removing the OEM struts and installing Bilsteins would eliminate that difference anyway.

You can definitely go for the Zone 6" kit and 3" rear coils. That will get rid of around 2.5" of rake from the truck which will put most guys looking very close to level.
But as I mentioned above, an Outdoorsman with a Zone 6" lift, 5" rear, and Bilsteins at 2.1" will look exactly the same as any other truck you've seen running that setup. Won't be any higher.