hey i got a 98 dodge ram 1500 4wd with a 5 speed manual and a 5.2l 318.

i am getting a rough country suspension lift and me and my dad keep arguing over what i should get. he says 3in, which will look good and ride good, but to me it will just look like a 2500 going down the road... now me being a kid want the thing to stick out, without completely compromising how the truck drives. I was thinking a 5 in lift would be perfect but i have 5.2l 318, which isnt the most powerful motor, so it may have a hard time luggin around, and the 5 in might make it a little squirrelly on the suspension and steering ?????

So will the motor handle it, and will it still drive alright? thanks

 

Well if you wanna lift 5" you'll want to put some larger tires on there to fill in some of the void, which depending on what gear ratio you got could be bad news for the transmission.

Provided it's running right the 318 should handle a 5" lift fine, as for ride, just depends on the quality of the parts and installation.

 

well its a rough country lift, with all new coils, shocks, sway bar bushings, upper lower control arms, rear blocks, single steering stabilizer. and i was thinking 285 75r 16 hankook muds, and will be installed by my dad and i who have experience with this area, just not bigger lifts before.

 

If your gonna run 285's I wouldn't go over 3 inches or its just not going to look right

 

285s fit on my truck with no lift. Even with 3 or 5 inches of lift it would look plain goofy.

 

If your doing a 5 inch, you need at least 35s to make it look right

 

Yea anything less than 35s on 5 inches of lift will not look right

 

If he has stock 3.55 gears and his best size in tires are the 285, then it is a better choice function-wise with a 5" lift. You guys shouldn't bust him up too hard.

Sure it will look a little high water-ish, but at least he won't be posting up right afterwards about mpg and grunt....

 

Lift it once and that would be 5" if you put in the 3" you will just want to go bigger later on in time. I like the 5" lift with the 33" tires. This is mine back when it had just that set up.

 

Also, if you have 3.55 gears you won't want anything over 285s. I would re gear it first if you have 3.55 then get the lift. That's what im doin