First time lift kit choices?

[Stutterstavi]

this is the first time I am jumping into the lifted truck world myself and not sure what I need to what brands to go with. I am currently thinking Rough Country (I know it’s not the best quality but my buddies have had great experience with them) or Zone Off-road and as far as the lift kit size it will either be a 4 inch or 6 inch. Not sure what would look/work the best for my truck.

I have a 2” level on the front already. I do light off-roading, or used to until I went with 35’s and rub now.

For those that have experience with Zone, which I am STRONGLY considering, what do I do about the shocks? And if I need new rear and front what would be yalls suggestions.

Thank you all for your help and glad to join the community.

 

[KYPOTLICKER]

Find quickshifter on this forum. He is the suspension GURU. Hard to beat Bilstein or Fox for shock choices. Based on what I have read, Zone is the way to go .

 

[Quick_Shifter]

this is the first time I am jumping into the lifted truck world myself and not sure what I need to what brands to go with. I am currently thinking Rough Country (I know it’s not the best quality but my buddies have had great experience with them) or Zone Off-road and as far as the lift kit size it will either be a 4 inch or 6 inch. Not sure what would look/work the best for my truck.

I have a 2” level on the front already. I do light off-roading, or used to until I went with 35’s and rub now.

For those that have experience with Zone, which I am STRONGLY considering, what do I do about the shocks? And if I need new rear and front what would be yalls suggestions.

Thank you all for your help and glad to join the community.

We have done every variation of front struts Fox full length 2.5 coil overs, dirt king full length or billstein 5100 series or 6112’s with spacers. The Fox 2.0 shocks work the best with all of them. In a lifted application

 

[Stutterstavi]

We have done every variation of front struts Fox full length 2.5 coil overs, dirt king full length or billstein 5100 series or 6112’s with spacers. The Fox 2.0 shocks work the best with all of them. In a lifted application

With me never doing this before I am kind of lost on what do about the zone off-road for the front. I’m not trying to spend TOO much money, Do I need to get new struts or will it mount up and use factory parts?

This was the main reason I was looking at the Rough Country Lift and getting their upgraded Monotube Shocks and Struts but still nervous about that.

Also still trying to figure out whether I go 4” or 6”. Not sure what will look better with my current build.

 

[olyelr]

And you should be nervous about rough country lol.

Scour the net for pics of 4” and 6” lifted rams, that will give you an idea of what look you are after. That custom offsets site has tons of pics that you can dial in your search for.

 

[Quick_Shifter]

With me never doing this before I am kind of lost on what do about the zone off-road for the front. I’m not trying to spend TOO much money, Do I need to get new struts or will it mount up and use factory parts?

This was the main reason I was looking at the Rough Country Lift and getting their upgraded Monotube Shocks and Struts but still nervous about that.

Also still trying to figure out whether I go 4” or 6”. Not sure what will look better with my current build.

Our 4th Gens need the 6” lift don’t bother with the 4. My best recommendation that I give is this forum has preferred Vendors that specialize in Rams which takes all the guess work out of ordering parts. For your truck I would reach out to @Nick@GotExhaust and ask for a zone 6” lift with the low rear option. This will allow you to do the 5” front 3” rear lift that the 4th gens love. If you do decide to spend the extra money on a full length set of coilovers for the front and drastically better the ride then you will want the high rear option which Nick will go over with you. He will be happy to quote everything you need taking the guess work out of it.
Fair warning Rough Country is a marketing company not a suspension company. They have the worst parts, and ride due to bad geometry for our trucks. Stay far away from their shiny advertising

 

[Daw14]

If you can not afford good quality products, consider saving for a few more months, you will be much happier when it’s done. And won’t be kicking yourself , because it’s just not right and needs to be redone .

 

[Scottly]

And you should be nervous about rough country lol.

Rough Country makes great under seat storage bins, great tonneau covers, great dashboard covers, great seat covers and great toilet paper, to wipe your hands when they deliver the ***** they call lift kits. Don't do it. If your buddies jumped off a cliff, would you follow them?

 

[KYPOTLICKER]

^^^^Could not agree more, save a little more, do it once, and be HAPPY!!!!!!

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

Do NOT do ROUGH country. Zone has been a proven great kit for the RAMs. As far as struts and shocks lets discuss how you use the truck. If you off road a lot or want the best ride we have options for that. If you are mostly street driving it and have a tight budget I say go with 5100's and do the Fox Adventure series in the rear.

Message me and we can put a package together for you that will fit your needs and your budget.

 

[Stutterstavi]

Do NOT do ROUGH country. Zone has been a proven great kit for the RAMs. As far as struts and shocks lets discuss how you use the truck. If you off road a lot or want the best ride we have options for that. If you are mostly street driving it and have a tight budget I say go with 5100's and do the Fox Adventure series in the rear.

Message me and we can put a package together for you that will fit your needs and your budget.

Appreciate the help very much! I will reach out in a bit I have to go into work and will follow up soon. Thank you!

 

[ram1500rsm]

I'll give you a different perspective as you mention light offroading and i do light to moderate offroading with the truck. We go offroad, a lot, and i have modded to suite certain needs, I also have a Jeep for more aggressive wheeling but for a space of 3 years when i didn't have the Jeep, the truck was the to go rig to go out remotely with the family and as a matter of fact it continues to have that task. Never seen a 6" lift in my horizon because things like towing or hauling could become a little more challenging but honestly for me i've never had the need to go that high, I know somehow truck fellas seem more attracted to a big gap between their tires and fenders For me i've been more interested to have enough lift to clear my tires. I've been offroading for years and none of my trucks have never been lifted more than 2.5-3" and i've been places with them on 33's/35's. One of the big pluses with the 4th gen RAM 1500 is that you don't even need much of a lift to run 35's. Some other applications require you to cut a 2-3" piece of metal and weld a cover for the hole. Running 35's with the RAM is simple, and even with a little massage in key areas you could run 37's without having to resort to a 6" lift.

I'm already using a small ladder to reach inside the engine bay when i change the oil, or deal with the spark plugs etc, and i'm only lifted 2.5-2.75" in the front depending on how i measure. The rear is lifted 2" and there are times i wish it was a little lower but that's only when i have to reach deep into the cab bed to load/unload things as i use a step to get inside the bed. I'm 6ft tall and given the way the truck sits at i'm comfortable lifting 5 MTB's in the rear for example. Not sure that will be an easy thing with the truck lifted more.

2023-06-25_11-39-23 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


If you have issues with rubbing at the back of the fender you could raise the caster with a set of performance UCA's that have a built-in offset so your alignment shop can add a little more caster than stock which would move the wheels away from the back of the fenders wells, ideally 4.8-5* will do the trick perfectly well and make the truck track even better.

This was back when i was running KO2's 37x12.5x17 ,in here i wanted to test for rubbing at the back of the fender wells. No issues for me at 5* caster with these tires. and i tried with the front sway bar disconnected as well to see if the tire came too close to touch the fenders at all. Zero issues in that regards. If anything there is a piece of plastic you can also remove from back there to give you a tiny bit more room. My wheels are 17x9 with a -12mm offset or 4.5" backspace.

Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

37 KO2's side by side with a HD RAM with stock tires
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Another area to keep in mind is parts longevity, truck has almost 138k miles now and i haven't touched the cv axels or hubs or front lower control arms or tierods. They're bone stock and have had zero issues with those so far. Talking about investment with good parts, most of the good mods i did to the truck were done between 2019 and 2021 when the truck had 40-50k miles, haven't changed a peep since then so a testament of the aftermarket reliability when it comes to the good stuff with Icon UCAs, Clayton offroad control arms and trackbar and King 2.5 coilover and shocks. I have rebuilt the Kings twice now, but overall the truck don't have it easy when she goes into dirt roads. It's just too much fun to give the rig some throttle especially with the Hemi.. Geometry wise you keep your front IFS cycling where it should without overextending anything and caster where it should so your front end will will last for a very good while and track as it should without any issues.

20191231_125053 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

with the 37's I hammered the front fender lips towards the inside of the fenders, this is how they'll look normally, didn't have any issues after all but i did it for the just in case with the 37's
Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

35's will have plenty more space and will have zero issues with the fenders whether you're offroading and going fast or not with a similar setup. The tires are not even close to the fenders at full tuck, but King coilovers have extended travel and their assembly is not only a little longer than stock but even fully compressed they will be perfect for 35's to keep the tires away from the fenders even if you're giving the truck hell on washes and whoops. You don't have to go with King CO btw if you like something else, any extended travel CO for the RAM will work here with the 35's They key is "extended" travel and "go fast". Standard travel won't cut it on it's own here. If you have standard travel assemblies you could add little 1/2 top spacers to those to give you a little cushion in the fenders, don't know if it'll work as good but at least would be better than nothing, ramming your tires against the bottom portion of the fenders is not fun and in some cases it might do some damage if you don't slow down. Do not add those spacers if you have an extended travel assembly. Do not.

2020-09-05_05-47-52 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

2020-09-20_06-10-24 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

20210822_141250 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

20210822_144824 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


20240625_165603 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

20240203_154819 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

20240203_154744 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

20240203_121806 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


Have fun.

 

[Daw14]

I'll give you a different perspective as you mention light offroading and i do light to moderate offroading with the truck. We go offroad, a lot, and i have modded to suite certain needs, I also have a Jeep for more aggressive wheeling but for a space of 3 years when i didn't have the Jeep, the truck was the to go rig to go out remotely with the family and as a matter of fact it continues to have that task. Never seen a 6" lift in my horizon because things like towing or hauling could become a little more challenging but honestly for me i've never had the need to go that high, I know somehow truck fellas seem more attracted to a big gap between their tires and fenders For me i've been more interested to have enough lift to clear my tires. I've been offroading for years and none of my trucks have never been lifted more than 2.5-3" and i've been places with them on 33's/35's. One of the big pluses with the 4th gen RAM 1500 is that you don't even need much of a lift to run 35's. Some other applications require you to cut a 2-3" piece of metal and weld a cover for the hole. Running 35's with the RAM is simple, and even with a little massage in key areas you could run 37's without having to resort to a 6" lift.

I'm already using a small ladder to reach inside the engine bay when i change the oil, or deal with the spark plugs etc, and i'm only lifted 2.5-2.75" in the front depending on how i measure. The rear is lifted 2" and there are times i wish it was a little lower but that's only when i have to reach deep into the cab bed to load/unload things as i use a step to get inside the bed. I'm 6ft tall and it give the way the truck sits i'm comfortable lifting 5 MTB's in the rear for example. Not sure that will be an easy thing with the truck lifted more

View attachment 5474172023-06-25_11-39-23 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


If you have issues with rubbing at the back of the fender you could raise the caster with a set of performance UCA's that have a built-in offset so your alignment shop can add a little more caster than stock which would move the wheels away from the back of the fenders wells, ideally 4.8-5* will do the trick perfectly well and make the truck track even better.

This was back when i was running KO2's 37x12.5x17 ,in here i wanted to test for rubbing at the back of the fender wells. No issues for me at 5* caster with these tires. and i tried with the front sway bar disconnected as well to see if the tire came too close to touch the fenders at all. Zero issues in that regards. If anything there is a piece of plastic you can also remove from back there to give a tiny bit more room. My wheels are 17x9 with a -12mm offset or 4.5" backspace.

View attachment 547418Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

37 KO2's side by side with a HD RAM with stock tires
View attachment 547419Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Another area to keep in mind is parts longevity, truck has almost 138k miles now and i haven't touched the cv axels or hubs or front lower control arms or tierods. They're bone stock and have had zero issues with those so far. Talking about investment with good parts, most of the good mods i did to the truck were done between 2019 and 2021 when the truck had 40-50k miles, haven't changed a peep since then so a testament of the aftermarket reliability when it comes to the good stuff with Icon UCAs, Clayton offroad control arms and trackbar, and King 2.5 coilover and shocks. I have rebuilt the Kings twice now, but overall the truck don't have it easy when she goes into dirt roads.It's just too much fun to give the rig some throttle especially with the Hemi.. Geometry wise you keep your front IFS cycling where it should without overextending anything and caster where it should so your front end will will last for a very good while and track as it should without any issues.

View attachment 54742020191231_125053 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


View attachment 547421Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

with the 37's I hammered the front fender lips towards the inside of the fenders, this is how they'll look normally, didn't have any issues after all but i did it for the just in case with the 37's
View attachment 547422Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

35's will have plenty more space and will have zero issues with the fenders fast or not with a similar setup. The tires are not even close to the fenders at full tuck, but King coilovers have extended travel and their assembly is not only a little longer than stock but fully compressed will be perfect for 35's to keep the tires away from the fenders even if you're giving the truck hell on washes and whoops.
View attachment 5474232020-09-05_05-47-52 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 5474242020-09-20_06-10-24 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742520210822_141250 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742620210822_144824 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


View attachment 54742720240625_165603 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742820240203_154819 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742920240203_154744 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54743020240203_121806 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


Have fun.

Lots of good info here ^^^^^^^^^

I switched to the Clayton off-road rear control arms based off of ram1500s extensive testing that he posted a while back and it was a great upgrade in the handling of the truck.

 

[Adamcr68]

I'll give you a different perspective as you mention light offroading and i do light to moderate offroading with the truck. We go offroad, a lot, and i have modded to suite certain needs, I also have a Jeep for more aggressive wheeling but for a space of 3 years when i didn't have the Jeep, the truck was the to go rig to go out remotely with the family and as a matter of fact it continues to have that task. Never seen a 6" lift in my horizon because things like towing or hauling could become a little more challenging but honestly for me i've never had the need to go that high, I know somehow truck fellas seem more attracted to a big gap between their tires and fenders For me i've been more interested to have enough lift to clear my tires. I've been offroading for years and none of my trucks have never been lifted more than 2.5-3" and i've been places with them on 33's/35's. One of the big pluses with the 4th gen RAM 1500 is that you don't even need much of a lift to run 35's. Some other applications require you to cut a 2-3" piece of metal and weld a cover for the hole. Running 35's with the RAM is simple, and even with a little massage in key areas you could run 37's without having to resort to a 6" lift.

I'm already using a small ladder to reach inside the engine bay when i change the oil, or deal with the spark plugs etc, and i'm only lifted 2.5-2.75" in the front depending on how i measure. The rear is lifted 2" and there are times i wish it was a little lower but that's only when i have to reach deep into the cab bed to load/unload things as i use a step to get inside the bed. I'm 6ft tall and it give the way the truck sits i'm comfortable lifting 5 MTB's in the rear for example. Not sure that will be an easy thing with the truck lifted more

View attachment 5474172023-06-25_11-39-23 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


If you have issues with rubbing at the back of the fender you could raise the caster with a set of performance UCA's that have a built-in offset so your alignment shop can add a little more caster than stock which would move the wheels away from the back of the fenders wells, ideally 4.8-5* will do the trick perfectly well and make the truck track even better.

This was back when i was running KO2's 37x12.5x17 ,in here i wanted to test for rubbing at the back of the fender wells. No issues for me at 5* caster with these tires. and i tried with the front sway bar disconnected as well to see if the tire came too close to touch the fenders at all. Zero issues in that regards. If anything there is a piece of plastic you can also remove from back there to give a tiny bit more room. My wheels are 17x9 with a -12mm offset or 4.5" backspace.

View attachment 547418Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

37 KO2's side by side with a HD RAM with stock tires
View attachment 547419Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

Another area to keep in mind is parts longevity, truck has almost 138k miles now and i haven't touched the cv axels or hubs or front lower control arms or tierods. They're bone stock and have had zero issues with those so far. Talking about investment with good parts, most of the good mods i did to the truck were done between 2019 and 2021 when the truck had 40-50k miles, haven't changed a peep since then so a testament of the aftermarket reliability when it comes to the good stuff with Icon UCAs, Clayton offroad control arms and trackbar, and King 2.5 coilover and shocks. I have rebuilt the Kings twice now, but overall the truck don't have it easy when she goes into dirt roads.It's just too much fun to give the rig some throttle especially with the Hemi.. Geometry wise you keep your front IFS cycling where it should without overextending anything and caster where it should so your front end will will last for a very good while and track as it should without any issues.

View attachment 54742020191231_125053 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


View attachment 547421Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

with the 37's I hammered the front fender lips towards the inside of the fenders, this is how they'll look normally, didn't have any issues after all but i did it for the just in case with the 37's
View attachment 547422Untitled by RAM RSM, on Flickr

35's will have plenty more space and will have zero issues with the fenders fast or not with a similar setup. The tires are not even close to the fenders at full tuck, but King coilovers have extended travel and their assembly is not only a little longer than stock but fully compressed will be perfect for 35's to keep the tires away from the fenders even if you're giving the truck hell on washes and whoops.
View attachment 5474232020-09-05_05-47-52 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 5474242020-09-20_06-10-24 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742520210822_141250 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742620210822_144824 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


View attachment 54742720240625_165603 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742820240203_154819 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54742920240203_154744 by RAM RSM, on Flickr

View attachment 54743020240203_121806 by RAM RSM, on Flickr


Have fun.

One of my favorite trucks on this forum! Great advice & your detailed informative post’s, made from trying different set-ups & testing them, is why I always learn & enjoy your post.

 

[RJL1]

Quick pic of my truck with the Zone 6" lift set to 5" in front and 3" in the rear on stock tires and rims. Particulars and add ons listed in my signature.

Purchased from @Nick@GotExhaust and installed by @Quick_Shifter.

Could not be happier with the purchase, install and most importantly the ride quality.

My red neck Cadillac. The biggest and only problem I have is my wife taking it all the time.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

Lots of options. You just need to figure out a realistic budget and what is more important. We can set you up for better off road capability but keep in mind that will need a larger budget. If you off road fairly often and want to push it harder off road it might make sense to spend more and at least do a better set up for the front like 6112's or Fox 2.0 coil overs.

 

[Adamcr68]

Quick pic of my truck with the Zone 6" lift set to 5" in front and 3" in the rear on stock tires and rims. Particulars and add ons listed in my signature.

Purchased from @Nick@GotExhaust and installed by @Quick_Shifter.

Could not be happier with the purchase, install and most importantly the ride quality.

My red neck Cadillac. The biggest and only problem I have is my wife taking it all the time.

Stance is perfect! I really love the look with the factory wheels.

 

[RJL1]

Stance is perfect! I really love the look with the factory wheels.

Thank you!

I really like the factory rims too. I'm flip flopping whether I'm gonna keep them once I get new tires in the fall. I'm pretty sure the chrome ones that I have are 9" wide. If that's the case for certain I'll get bigger tires with some spacers and keep these.

 

[Ram831]

I originally went with a 4 inch ready lift and was not satisfied and switched to a 6 inch bds lift with coil overs. Honestly, you get what you pay for in quality. Would recommend saving and getting a quality lift.

 

[Stutterstavi]

Thank you everyone for the reply’s. I pulled the trigger today and got myself a 4” zone lift, new tie rods, and new upper control arms. Can’t wait to get this build really going now. Hopefully I can be helpful to the community in the future.