Okay, i don't know pretty much anything about cars, trucks, or any kind of autos at that. But just bought a 98 ram, 2wd, everything is stock. I want to put probably 37" or 38" tires on it. I was wondering what kinda of lift kit i would need to do this. I was looking at some suspension lift kits. Do they all run $1000+? Also, would I need a body lift? What is the difference between a body lift and suspension lift? Thanks in advance guys!

 

you need at least a 7 or 8 inch lift to clear 38's. a 5inch suspension lift will set you back about a grand, 3 inch body lift about 200. also, with big tires like that you will need to change your gear ratio, and there is a much larger chance of you destroying or wearing out parts like wheel bearings and such.

a suspension lift actually boosts your whole truck up by putting spacers or bigger springs in place of the smaller stock springs.
a body lift is actually a set a hard spacers that lifts your body off of the frame.

you can add a 3" suspension lift for less than $200, and you can clear 33" tires easy. 35's may fit and rub...any bigger than that and you need some serious mods.

 

Putting in 38's sound way too advanced for me then, especially if it will increase the chance of wearing down parts--like you said. Conisdering I don't know much about auto parts, i don't think i would be up for constantly repairing worn parts. I was thinkin perhaps of going with 35's then like you mentioned. You recommended a 3 inch supsension lift, what else should I do to keep the 35's from rubbing though? I figure the noise will bug me. Thanks! Would i be able to put a 3' suspension lift along with a 1' or 2' body lift to aqcuire a 4'-5' lift?

 

yeah.. you can get a 3 inch rough country lift from www.topguncustomz.com for pretty cheap.. around 220ish.. you can fit 35's with them but may rub.. so i recomend getting a 2 or 3 inch body lift also if you want to run 35's comfortabley.. atleast a 4 inch lift for 35's.. so people say that 35's rub on the control arms.. or w/e those 2 bars are called that go from the frame to the front axle.. but getting offseted rims ( the rims that stick out further then stock) it shouldnt rub

 

Did you say 2WD or is that a typo? There are only a few that make a kit for a 2WD... 38's?????

 

for a 3" lift kit should be about the same for 2WD and 4WD... the front still has coil springs (spacers) and the rear still has a 9.25 (lift blocks)

another way to combat rub is your backspacing on your wheels...are you staying with the stock rims or going aftermarket rims? if you do go aftermarket you could drop off a 1/2 or 1 inch of backspacing and sticl the tires out of the truck more to help with rubbing...NOT recomended since it adds stress on your hub bearins... but 1 or 1/2 inch less backspacing wont be as terrible as say 4" loss of BS

 

I will be purchasing aftermarket rims. So, as far as I understand. If I put in a 3" suspension lift and 3" body lift I can fit 35's on the truck with no rubbing? or are there other mods i need to make? The truck is a 2wd, not a typo... if I understand correctly, shott8283, you are saying that a 3" suspension lift will pretty much fit a 2wd or a 4wd with no trouble? Thanks for all the help guys!

 

2wd rams sit very low.. a 3 inch lift would put you a little higher then a stock ram 4x4.. so a 5 inch would make you alittle bit higher then a 4x4 offroad or 2500.. so 5-6 inch on a 2wd will clear 35's when you figure that a 4x4 offroad can get 315's on it

 

Im not even going to touch this one

 

I'm with you on this one...