Ready Lift 3.5" lift review

[Kevin C]

Well, I finally got my lift installed. First off, the pics don't do it justice in my opinion. The truck looks significantly beefy now, even with the 295/60R20s (rather than the 35's some people are going with). I could fit a little more tire in there, but the proportions are pretty spot on for me (still allowing a little wheel well to show, rather than being completely full with 35's).

I love the look.

The one downside is that the ride is noticeably stiffer than stock. Not crazy stiff, but noticeably stiffer. I can feel more bumps, and it doesn't seem as glued to the road as stock (or even with the 2" leveling spacer I took off to have this installed). Time will tell if this is a big deal to me or not (I've driven maybe 40 miles since picking up the truck earlier today). I've said repeatedly that I love the refinement of the Gen5's. My initial feelings is that this takes away a little of the refinement.

I don't want to overstate it - it still rides 100 times better than my Gen3 does. But it is not as smooth as it was before the lift was installed.

By the way - also installed the Mopar power steps. LOVE THEM!

 

[ksn240]

Looks good. I'm still debating if I'm going to upgrade from my leveling kit to the 3.5" or not. Got some time to decide because I'm doing my exhaust next. The ride quality was my biggest concern, seeing as I'll never be taking this truck offroad.

 

[DRkNESS]

Which exhaust will you be going with ? Op that was also my concern as far as how my ride would be affected going bigger. My oem Mopar lift is nothing compared to what you have, but it’s enough to make me feel like I’m in a truck lol. As far as the powersteps, did you ha e the oem ones on before this ?

 

[ksn240]

I'm going with the Carven cat back system with the Competitor muffler. I believe it is available for order now and releases in 2-3 weeks.

 

[DRkNESS]

I think I did see a posting from Nick about that as well as another catback .

I just went to Readylifts site to check on what exactly they suggest wheel width and tire size and it’s a good one. Not necessarily what most of us would use as most when putting new wheels on, go a little bit wider.

 

[John813]

Looks good.

 

[DRkNESS]

Op are you the only one that rides in this truck ?

 

[Kevin C]

Op are you the only one that rides in this truck ?

No, it's actually my wife's daily driver. She prefers trucks (she's a keeper!). She actually uses the truck (has a horse, so regularly hausl hay, etc). She doesn't notice much of a difference in the ride with the lift ("a little I guess - it's definitely taller").
I drove it about 200 miles yesterday round trip, and it did great. I tend to notice all of the differences no matter how slight, which is where my review above came from.

It still drives like an absolute dream. But it isn't the same as stock.

 

[Kevin C]

As far as the powersteps, did you ha e the oem ones on before this ?

No, I didn't have any steps before on this truck. It would be tough to get in and out of the truck with the new lift without the steps.

 

[DRkNESS]

Oh I see well based upon what you’re saying it doesn’t seem like that much of a trade off. Since she’s towing and putting hay in, did she really want it higher ? Yes she definitely sounds like a keeper.

 

[Kevin C]

Oh I see well based upon what you’re saying it doesn’t seem like that much of a trade off. Since she’s towing and putting hay in, did she really want it higher ? Yes she definitely sounds like a keeper.

She might have left it stock haha.

There is something about trucks that just beg to be modified. She did request that it not be "too high" (I might have held out for a 6" lift with 37's, but that would start getting too hard for her to actually use). She does like the way it looks now. When stock, she feels it barely looks like a 4x4. Her favorite truck we had was an '05 Ram 2500 with the Cummins motor - it had a Carli Suspension and 35" Toyo M/T's. Awesome truck. If the new body style was out in the HD's, I would have opted for a 2500 again. But her truck had 230K+ miles on it, and I didn't want to put off a new purchase any longer. Couldn't see buying the last year of a Gen4 which would look outdated within a couple years.

 

[DRkNESS]

Can not fault you there as I’ve never owned a “ stock “ vehicle. I just didn’t want to ruin this ride by adding a lift that I would never benefit from. Also agree most 1500 4x4 don’t look as much when stock. To me add a 2” level in the front with some beefier tires, and you’ve got the start of a date night ha ha ha.

 

[Jrod]

The one downside is that the ride is noticeably stiffer than stock.

Great looking truck!

From personal experience, I found most of the stiffness is produced by the tire and not the lift. Factory 1500 tires are light load capacity vs. bigger tires with high load capacity. 34"+ and/or wider tires are manufactured with double and sometimes triple the amount of ply's to withstand heavier loads. In retrospect, this accounts for a stiffer rougher ride. I love the higher bigger look, but I prefer a smoother ride for myself. Therefore I now only do a small lift and upgrade to factory size AT's to keep that Cadillac feel lol.

 

[Kevin C]

Great looking truck!

From personal experience, I found most of the stiffness is produced by the tire and not the lift. Factory 1500 tires are light load capacity vs. bigger tires with high load capacity. 34"+ and/or wider tires are manufactured with double and sometimes triple the amount of ply's to withstand heavier loads. In retrospect, this accounts for a stiffer rougher ride. I love the higher bigger look, but I prefer a smoother ride for myself. Therefore I now only do a small lift and upgrade to factory size AT's to keep that Cadillac feel lol.

Thanks, and I agree that much of what people experience in stiffer ride is from their tires.

BUT, I've been running these tires for a couple months already with the leveling kit I installed. This review was from when I had the lift installed, and comparing it to the ride before. My tires weren't changed. And again, it is not a drastic difference. My wife is the primary driver of the truck and she doesn't even really notice the difference. I do.

 

[DRkNESS]

If the wife is happy..... [emoji2] [emoji2]

 

[Jrod]

Thanks, and I agree that much of what people experience in stiffer ride is from their tires.

BUT, I've been running these tires for a couple months already with the leveling kit I installed. This review was from when I had the lift installed, and comparing it to the ride before. My tires weren't changed. And again, it is not a drastic difference. My wife is the primary driver of the truck and she doesn't even really notice the difference. I do.

Right on, I must have missed that part of the thread. We modify our trucks to our liking, and I really like that look!


Happy wife happy life right? lol


My dealer has about a dozen 2018 1500's lifted on 37's and man they look good!

 

[GreyBeard19]

Looks GREAT.

Im thinking about doing the same. However, with the readylift SST, does anyone know if it's possible to add additional struts/shocks to smooth out the ride and/or increase off road ability? I like the idea of the mopar 2" with fox shocks, but just not sure 2" is enough lift...

 

[Scott J Mirabella]

Looks great!!! I have the ready lift 3.5 in my garage waiting. Trying to figure out if I want t o upgrade to Bilsteins at the same time. Leaning towards the 35's, with new rims.
The steps are awesome very clean look.
I went with the Borla S Type catback system. And it is loud. I'm good with it, but sounds like a Hemi Cuda!!

 

[zeb handeland]

When you all tow or haul hay, does it squat at all or did you all have to put in any sort of Timbren/Airbag setups?

 

[zeb handeland]

Looks great!!! I have the ready lift 3.5 in my garage waiting. Trying to figure out if I want t o upgrade to Bilsteins at the same time. Leaning towards the 35's, with new rims.
The steps are awesome very clean look.
I went with the Borla S Type catback system. And it is loud. I'm good with it, but sounds like a Hemi Cuda!!

I just added a Borla S type catback on my '19! It was super loud and nice sounding, however added the resonator and it is perfect. By when you get on it, oh my that sound......