There has been a lot of discussion and arguing lately about suspensions, so i wanted to create a thread where we can go down this path in detail without ruining a thread of someone who just had a simple question. Basically, i'm tired of the squabbling in every lift/suspension thread that comes up. This is the place to talk about what works, what doesn't and why. Buy vs build suspensions. Spacers vs coils vs coilovers vs ???. 2wd vs 4wd. Body lifts. Desires versus budgets. Etc...

Lets hash it out here. Then, this will be a great thread to point people to who post the same old "how do I level/lift my truck" post. This is for all you who have used various suspensions and know what worked for you and what didn't and why. For all you who are in the industry and race, build, and/or repair for a living or a hobby. For all of you who just have questions about what would work best for your situation.

I'll start with a few thoughts after seeing hundreds of suspension related threads come across the board here.

I think the first question that needs to be answered by anyone considering modifiying their stock suspension is:
How do you plan to use your truck
Do you want to rock crawl, mud bog, desert race, scenic trail runs, or just drive around town in a lifted rig. All require different considerations. The same lift you would use in a daily driver that sees only city streets is not the same you will need to climb boulders. This might seem obvious, but when people post that they tried to go wheeling and they broke something or they rub like crazy, it's because they didn't really answer this first question correctly, so they built something that doesn't work for how they actually (or sometimes occasionally) use their truck.

Question number two that you need to be honest with yourself about is:
What is your budget
Be realistic. Suspension lifts can range from cheap to thousands, and require more then just lift springs and shocks. You need tires, sometimes different rims, gears, and more. If your going to do it, do it right. I can't tell you how many times I see threads about people with big lifted trucks wondering why they get 8 mpg and can't beat a school bus off the line.

 

You're riight Silver, there are so many ways of doing a suspension lift, or is that many ways but only a few ways of doing it right.
No matter how the truck is lifted two parameters hould be considered. One, That performance in not only be improved on by lifting the truck, but that any limitations should be adhered to. Two; That one shouln't modify his/her vehicle out side of the laws or statues affected by state or federal governments. I use plural because we have members from other countries here.

Lifts that are built and sold as a package are designed by thier respective makers to not only lift your vehicle in an effective manner, but to meet legislative and as importantly liabilty demands as dictated by law. So whether your lift costs you several thousands of dollars or several hundreds, the design and craftsmanship of it is pretty similar. However I also believe the adage "you get what you pay for" runs true.

As SilverDodge suggests, you should consider what you really will use your truck for. I believe it would not be in your or your trucks best interest to buy a cheaper lift for a truck you are sure will see big air jumping over dunes, conversely, one doesn't need the budget of an emerging nation to put a functional lift on one's truck that will give the proper tire clearance, allow the front end to aligned to factory specs, allow you to re use your sway bar(s) for street performance and safe handling and let you do things most you will never do with your truck off road.

Lastly, while I'm certainly not on the caliber of HankL, I have taken the time to research several facets of suspension construction over the years. SO for those considering just going to a wrecking yard and buying some 2500 cummins coils to slap under your truck, you should at least attempt to understand what your doing.
Not saying you have to become an engineer, but if you get at least a working knowledge of what happens when you change the angles of your stock control arms...and how spring tension works. Second is scrub steer, or why your big tires hit your fender even with a lft. Third, Caster, camber and toe in.
And then there's gearing, wheel size/backspacing, brakes, handling.

Finally, heres a hard and fast rule I've often mentioned during posting. When you add any lift to the front of a Dodge ram 4x4*, you will relocate your axle. The hard and fast rule is....3/4 inch per 2 inches of lift. That means without other mods, you will move your axle back 3/4 inch and uncenter it iunder the frame an equal amount. This is due to the triangulation geometry of the Rams front end. You also increase the angle of the control arms (which affects ride), change your caster, throw off your toe in, and moving the axle to the left affects your tracking.

I look forward to engaging exchange of information, not a bunch of finger pointing and name calling.

*Intentionaly I have left out 4x2 vehicles. I havn't really researched them. I welcome well written postings from those who have.

 

ok,, here is a lift question,,, ive noticed that people are saying that you could put 2500 or 3500 coils in the front of a 1500 to give it 2-3inches... but everything i read when looking up 2500 coils are that they only fit 2500 or 3500... is this because of the length?? are they bigger around than 1500 springs??

 

They fit right in there. Spring pockets are the same size. Most guides are saying they only fit the 3/4 and 1 tons, because they are taller. (and meaner springs.....)

 

ok thats what i figured,,, thank you

 

Ya, they are designed to support the weight of those heavy *** diesel and v10 engines, and to a lesser degree the overall loads put on 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.

That's one of the concerns I think people should think about when looking to use these for lift. Those springs are designed to compress at a certain rate under a certain load. When you remove that expected weight and load, and replace it with the much lighter 5.2 for example, the springs are no longer doing the job they where intended to do. This puts stress on other components (frame, hubs, ball joints, spring buckets, etc...) when you are needing the springs to compress, but they don't because you don't have enough weight there to do it. That weight is still pushing down, but the spring is not absorbing it, so something has to absorb it (besides your teeth cause I bet they ride like a stagecoach).

 

Well a little info for us 2wd trucks

FRONT
Probrably the best way to lift our trucks is with spindles in the front, All of them require aftermarket rims or spacers(eventhough this may not be mentioned), and a couple of them require 17+ rims. This keeps the rest of your suspension the same as stock and will not affect your alignment or shock length. The bad about spindles is you can only go up 3.5" with spindles by them selves.


Next best is coils, you can find them all the way up to 3.5" over stock, up to 2.5" you can run them with stock upper control arms, 3"+ require aftermarket tubed upper control arms. Problem with coils is it will change the ride and geometry of suspension, correctly chosen coils can make for a better ride for the use of the truck and they will require longer shocks over 2". Alignment needed after install

Also spacers are available in up to 2.5", they are cheap and an effective way to clear a little larger tire, easy to install and most are a urethane material that holds up well in climates. Spacers will stiffen up the ride a little and you lose some articulation. Require longer shocks over 2". Alignment needed after install

Now back a couple years ago there was a couple companies that made a sub frame drops for our trucks, they are no longer in production but you may be able to find one on a shelf, they were expensive and labor intensive and probrably why they stopped making them

If your looking for more than 3.5" inches a combination spindles and coils/spacers, can net you more lift and still be able to align without problems. Also the year breaks are 94-99 and 00-01

REAR
Pretty much the same as a 4x4 only difference is that we start out with no blocks.


A couple companies to look at for lifting your 2wd
-Doetsch
-Fabtech
-Canuck motorsports
-Daystar

 

I'll jump in on this thread. I have a little bit of rubbing on the rear part of the front fender.
Stock truck running 285's. What leveling kit should I get to bring it up ever so slightly to avoid the rubbing? I don't want to overall lift but I think about and inch or so would probably level it out and fix the rub! By the way, I basically haul wood and that's about it with this truck! thanks,

 

How many miles on the truck? Just replacing your springs with new, stock ones, might be adequate to the task......

 

So, Im sure this gets asked alot... But If thread is to be stickied I guess this will answer all future questions like this (wishful thinking?)

Whats are the different types of lifts and who are they available to?

I know of 3.

1. Body lift, when the cab is lifted via pegs from the frame, mostly used for looks or tire clearence

Generally costs 100-300 Dollars

2. Suspention lift, lifts entire frame and cab from axels via springs and shocks

Generally costs 500-3500 dollars

3. Leveling kit, Lifts the front of the truck to be level with the rear of the truck witch is higher in stock form to compensate for heavey loads.

Generally costs 50 to 250 dollars



What are some of the other lifts/ techniqes that are not so obvious and how do they work?