Lowered/dropped front bump stops

[62Blazer]

2016 PW with Thuren 1.5" front coils and 37x13.50R17 tires. I have bad rubbing of the front tires against the back lower edge of the inner fenderwells (typical location) when turned and flexed out. I've trimmed and bent that area as much as possible without doing serious bodywork, including cutting off the plastic fender liner in that area and cutting and bending the sheetmetal lip flat. I found several options for lowering the front bump stops with the idea of keeping the tires from jamming into the body....I don't mind a little bit of rub but don't want to tear up the tires or actual jam it against the fender. I have seen vehicles either get stuck or break something because the tire is locked up against the body.

Anybody use these or have any suggestions? These are all 2" drops. Do need to double-check measurements, but think 2" would be enough.

These would be my first choice, but may take several weeks to get. Kryptonite 2" extended bump stops for $40. Just replaces the factory bumps.
https://kryptoniteproducts.com/products/kryptonite-ram-front-bump-stop-pair

Metalcloak bump stop spacers. Basically a metal spacer for $120 or so that bolts on and the factory bumps go back in.
https://metalcloak.com/ram-front-bump-stop-2in-extensions.html

Synergy has basically the same thing at Metalcloak
https://www.synergymfg.com/dodge-ram-2014-2500-3500/synergy-03-ram-truck-front-bump-stop-drops.html

 

[olyelr]

2” seems a bit excessive, no ?

 

[62Blazer]

2” seems a bit excessive, no ?

Well, it's got 1.5" lift springs on it already so on paper that is only 1/2" more than stock???? Will admit I need to do some more measuring to verify.

 

[mtnrider]

What wheel offset are you running? While it may be an expensive solution, getting the optimal offset might be the solution?

.

 

[62Blazer]

What wheel offset are you running? While it may be an expensive solution, getting the optimal offset might be the solution?

.

My wheels are basically zero offset, so definitely not the optimum setup for tire rub. However I'm not going to spend over $1,200 on new wheels. Places like CJC state the "optimal" offset/backspace and sell special wheels with that...but the cheapest one they offer is almost $300/wheel and haven't really found any other options for cheaper. Around the zero offset is by far the most common wheel out there. If I actually wheeled the truck more and had this issue on a regular basis it would be different, but 99% of the time I'm not in a situation where it's an issue. When I'm ready for new tires I would consider going from the 13.5" wide down to a 12.5" wide which should help also. I tire that tends to run a little on the small side would make a difference. Currently had Ridge Grapplers which appear to run a little on the "big" side. From what I have read something like a BFG AT 37x12.50R17 would probably make a big difference as it sounds like they run a little on the shorter side and obviously not as wide.

 

[danoday]

I don’t think you can make it work with your current setup and 13.5 and not cutting some metal. I would go with a 37x12.5 and you should be good

 

[62Blazer]

I don’t think you can make it work with your current setup and 13.5 and not cutting some metal. I would go with a 37x12.5 and you should be good

I have cut and folded metal. Next step would be to actually section the firewall to get anymore clearance. Regarding the tires, same comment as the wheels. I'm sure going to a 12.5" wide tire would help but not spending $2k on tires. I would be curious if either wheels with a better offset/BS would help more or a narrower tire....but won't be finding out anytime soon. Don't put that many miles on the truck so will be awhile before it actually needs new tires. Only gets about 6k-7k miles per year as it's not my daily driver (drive a car to work that gets 3 times the MPG!). The tire rub issue is something that only happens periodically, and I can usually avoid getting in that situation. Only when turned and flexed out, and pretty hard to get it flexed out enough with the swaybar connected to rub but easy to get that far with the swaybar disconnected.

 

[62Blazer]

Just a little update on this.........there is no update! Did a bunch of research on the options. There are both brackets that drop the factory bumpstop down, or a longer bumpstop that replaces the factory version.
Metalcloak and Carli both other 2" drop spacers for $120-$185 that re-use the factory poly/rubber bump stop piece.
Kryptonite offers a complete poly bumpstop that is 2" longer than factory for my model year truck, but they state up to an 8 week lead time. Several other companies offer extended bump stops but don't state specifically for my year, usually only slightly older models. However they are still 4th gens and all look the same, and there is no consistency in what year ranges they offer these. The Kryptonite version says for 2003-2023 so according to that they are all the same.
Ordered a pair of extended bumpstops from a company called Protune that said they were in stock. Placed the order online and received multiple e-mails stating the order was processed and shipped, including getting a tracking number for USPS. A day later pulled up the tracking number on the USPS site and it said the shipping label had been cancelled by Protune...after they said it had shipped and gave me the tracking number to begin with. Sent them an e-mail asking what is up and haven't received a response. Will give them another day or two to respond before cancelling the order through PayPal.

 

[62Blazer]

Well, the bump stops showed up yesterday. USPS tracking still showed "cancelled", but oh well. Got them installed but haven't fully tested them out. My flex testing spot wasn't available. The end of my street used to dead end to a field with a nice ditch that I used, but they are now building a house. Thinking the 2" lower bumps probably won't be enough to prevent tire rub based on the partial amount of flex I could do. The tires weren't rubbing yet but getting close, but still a good bit if distance until the bumps hit.

 

[zrock]

if your going to do it do it right... Bumpstops is just a band aid only way to cure the issue is the comments above

 

[olyelr]

if your going to do it do it right... Bumpstops is just a band aid only way to cure the issue is the comments above

I wouldnt say its a bandaid necessarily. It will indeed help with rubbing for sure…just at the cost of suspension travel.

 

[62Blazer]

I wouldnt say its a bandaid necessarily. It will indeed help with rubbing for sure…just at the cost of suspension travel.

I understand both sides of the argument. I have an off-road truck that runs 40" tires on minimal lift and extra flex with massively trimmed and re-shaped fenders. Just not ready to go that extreme on this truck as it spends more time on the street and towing than off-roading. To be clear, I have "cut metal" on the PW as the the vertical seam that is the first place of contact has been cut and re-shaped. The plastic inners are also cut, re-shaped with heat, and pulled/held back.
Losing up travel is a concern, but the goal is is to not use the the tires wedging against the inner fenders as the bump stops. There is no clearance issue with the tires straight, only when turned. That means that you can get by with more uptravel when going straight and doing something like hitting whoops straight on at higher speeds. However with my location in the midwest you have to look really hard to find a wide open space where your only concern is straight line suspension travel. Almost all of the reasons tire clearance is a concern is in low speed flexing and twisting up.
Completely agree that changing to a 12.50 wide tire and wheels with "better" backspace would make a difference. But again, not willing to spend $3,000+ to solve an issue that occurs every once in awhile, and only if I purposely put the truck in that position.