Hey, I'm new to the forum and truck mods in general. I have had my Dodge Ram 1500 for a year now and I want to get more done to it. So far I have upgraded the air intake and exhaust, but I want to do a little more offroading. I plan on leveling my truck with the stock torsion key bolts, and as I have been browsing the forums, I have noticed I should get new shocks as well.

I would love some help finding new shocks that are appropriate to fit my truck once it has been leveled. I'm going for 35" tires, which is what is said to fit when leveled.

My truck is a 2002 dodge ram 1500 regular cab 4wd. It has the 4.7.

Thanks in advance! I hope I can become a better part of this great forum community, it looks very helpful.

 

SC Flashpaq...best bang for the buck...

 

If you plan to go off-road I would advice against a level and 35" tire combination. The 35s will fit with 2" of level, but fit and being functional off-road are two different things. You want some room for articulation and I find that 35s on a level just doesn't give enough even for mild off-roading. You also limit the amount you can put in the bed or tow as you won't have much room for the bed to go down before contacting the top of the tires. For looks, it's fine - for functionality you just need more room.

If you're dead set on 35s AND want to use your truck as a truck, then either think a modest true suspension lift or a level/body lift combination. Otherwise 33s will benefit you better.

Another thing to think about is that 35s are HEAVY and although the 4.7 is fairly stout, if you have 3.55 gearing then it's gonna bog. If thinking 35s and you have stock 3.92 gears you'll be ok, if not, seriously consider upgrading to 4.10 or even 4.56 gears with those big meats...

 

Thanks for the reply....

I was just looking at 35"s because that is what it said it can fit....I plan on using my truck as a truck, or at least towing at least a small boat from now to then. I would like to at least get it leveled somehow, and it sounds like the level with shocks is good for that. I can't afford the full lift. The tires are going to come when these run out in a year or so. Until then I would like to do the level.

So what size tires would be good for what I am doing? I would like them to be larger than what I have, on stock rims, and with aggressive tread.....size doesn't matter as long as they are bigger. Also, what shock setup should I do?

Thanks!

 

Also, I have been browsing for shocks that look like they work, and I found these:
http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts/tu...465_4294859467
It looks like i can get fronts and backs for the same price and they are rated for a 0 to 2 inch lift, which is what I will have with the level. Am I correct on this, and will they work?

 

Well the stock rims are gonna also be a hindrance with 35s, since most 35" tires are 12.5" wide and the backspacing of the stock wheels won't get the tire out from under the truck enough not to rub.

Do your level (t-bar crank) and limit it to 2" or you will start to get the CV joints at poor angles and weaken them considerably. At that height I'd probably go with a tire somewhere between 33" and 33 3/4" with a width of no more than about 11 1/2" so as not to rub. You really need a wheel with 4 3/4" of backspacing or less to clear a 12 1/2" wide tire.

Dunno if you have stock 17" or 20" wheels, hopefully 17s since they perform better off-road and are considerably lighter than the 20s and take a good bit of load of the engine when going to larger tires. In a 17" tire look something in a 285/70/17, 285/75/17 or 295/70/17. In a 20" tire then look about a 285/60/20 or 295/60/20.
Brand is pretty much up to you but if the truck is a daily driver I'd look at some of the better All Terrain tires like the Nitto Terra Grappler, Nitto Trail Grappler, Cooper AT3, Mickey Thompson ATZ or STZ, Toyo Open Country AT, etc.

As far as shocks go I have a shock fitment guide for various amounts of lift in the FAQ section:

shock-part-numbers-for-leveled-lifted-rams

 

Nice thanks for all this info...

I plan on sticking with my 20 inch stock rims, dont have the money to swap them out. I wasn't planning on going with a huge aggressive tire, just something like you said like some all terrains, similar to what your truck has (the red one in the picture). As for the level, yes, I only need 1.75 inches to be level, so I should be ok. Do I really need more backspacing if I stick with stock 20 inch rims with maybe some 32s or 33s on it? Or should I be ok?

 

Also, my idea of offroad is most likely different from yours. My idea includes sometimes a foot of snow, beach/dune trailer trips (not there to drive the car, is what I mean), and mostly just very rocky/unkept roads. Nothing like crawling, or anything that has a chance at scraping the diff boxes.

 

It's not the height but the width where your stock 20" wheels will be the problem. As long as you stick to a tire that is no more than about 11 3/4" wide you will be fine. A 33" x 11.5" tire would be about perfect with a level...

 

Sweet.....and 11.5" is a 60, right? Sorry, I'm just learning tire measurements and such.....Also, found a body lift kit on 4wheelparts for 350ish and was wondering if that was a decent kit? I don't know the difference between lift kits and body lifts kits....


( Last questions, I promise =) )