I have a 2004 Dakota SXT 4x4. I was wondering if it could be lowered an inch or two (nothing drastic) while maintaining the stock tire size with out rubbing the wheel wells? I don't really need all the ground clearance as I don't do any offroading. I got the 4x4 mostly for New England snow. Would lowering it just an inch or so make a noticeable improvement in handling and be cost effective?

 

You don't say what size tires you have, but lowering the front will be easy by adjusting the torsion bars.
The rear is different. Because you have a 4x4, the rear axle is below the springs, so "lowering blocks" won't work.
I'm also looking into lowering my 4x4's rear about 1-2 inches just to level it out a bit, but haven't been able to find appropriate shackles.
Keep in mind, though, a 1" drop requires shackles 2" longer than stock, a 2" drop needs shackles 4" longer than stock. Check your clearances to be sure you can use the shackle length that'll give you the drop you want.

Do not remove a leaf from the spring pack. That will change your load capacity and ride characteristics.

 

The tires are the optional 265/70-16.

I know a 1" drop on a sedan can make a big difference in handling (less body roll, etc). Given that the Dakota is starting so much higher off the ground, would a 1" drop be worth the hassle and cost? Are there other options to reduce sway and roll that don't involve lowering? I'm just trying to compile all of my options. I had looked at SuperSprings add-a-leaf as another option. Aesthetically, it just seems like there's too much space in the wheel well for tires of that size which is why I started thinking about lowering.

 

a rear sway bar?

most trucks dont come with them

 

whatever you do DO NOT adjust torsion bars to lower - this throws the camber all out of whack and will give serious tire wear issues!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah, but a simple trip to the shop for an alignment, or buying the correct camber spacers, solves the problem.. Torsion bar drop is easy, and almost free. You can do it yourself, and only pay for alignment.

Me, I have a full Belltech drop kit. My truck is slammed.. The truck rides great, but the Belltech shocks are th worst quality I have ever encountered!! Gone through three sets since I had the truck.. Ride like absolute crap.. I put Bilstein Sports, and ohhhhhh what a difference. But I also have airride on the rear, to raise load capacity for the boat..

 

you are right about the alignment - that is just something people dont look at though - I live in southern AZ and around here we see a lot of trucks lifted by adjusting torsion bars and the alignment never corrected - its horrible the things people do to their vehicles out of pure ignorance - another consideration to torsion bar adjustments, however is it drastically changes the spring rate which could possibly cause handling problems, especially in turns

 

i lowered the rear end of my 2002 2 wheel drive sxt dak and it dident handel much beter but it did help so yeah it should i still have my stock tires on it so yeah

 

Another thing you could do if your Dakota came with a rear sway bar is swap in a rear bar off an R/T Dakota.