35's on 3 inch Suspension?
RE: 35's on 3 inch Suspension?
I was gonna stay out of this...but since I have a tad bit of experience with lifts, what the heck.
First of all, if you move the tires out towards the outer fender, you will increase something called "scrub radius". Rather than try to explain it all here, there's a lot of good links online descibing this cause/effect. Bascily increasing the scrub radius by using positive offset or deep dish rims will cause more fender well contact. Moving the wheel inside the well by using negative offset does the opposite to the scrub radius.
Second, when you lift a 2nd gen Ram or any vehicle with a coil spring four link suspension, you change the radius on which the axle travels up and down. In the case of this Ram, you have shortened the radius, and by using longer control arms, you will move the axle forward so the factory travel radius is maintained. I believe 5 inch arms a bit extreme, but Tuff Country and Rough Country both make longer arms that will work on a 3 to5 inch lift.
Lastly, you can also increase your wheel travel by making sure the axle is centered under the truck from side to side. That's the function of the track bar. If you've installed a lift and your getting contact on one side but not the other, your axle is probably not centered.
BTW, a 2500 Ram sits almost 2 inches higher than a 1500 due to spring tension. Higher spring rates prevent compression without resorting to taller springs. Using a 16x10 inch rim with negative offset (or nearlycentered)would probably get a 35 inch tire in there.
First of all, if you move the tires out towards the outer fender, you will increase something called "scrub radius". Rather than try to explain it all here, there's a lot of good links online descibing this cause/effect. Bascily increasing the scrub radius by using positive offset or deep dish rims will cause more fender well contact. Moving the wheel inside the well by using negative offset does the opposite to the scrub radius.
Second, when you lift a 2nd gen Ram or any vehicle with a coil spring four link suspension, you change the radius on which the axle travels up and down. In the case of this Ram, you have shortened the radius, and by using longer control arms, you will move the axle forward so the factory travel radius is maintained. I believe 5 inch arms a bit extreme, but Tuff Country and Rough Country both make longer arms that will work on a 3 to5 inch lift.
Lastly, you can also increase your wheel travel by making sure the axle is centered under the truck from side to side. That's the function of the track bar. If you've installed a lift and your getting contact on one side but not the other, your axle is probably not centered.
BTW, a 2500 Ram sits almost 2 inches higher than a 1500 due to spring tension. Higher spring rates prevent compression without resorting to taller springs. Using a 16x10 inch rim with negative offset (or nearlycentered)would probably get a 35 inch tire in there.
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RE: 35's on 3 inch Suspension?
You can try, but when i went to my local Trucker's World. They explained it to me, sayin the arms are meant to go up not foward. I have an adjustable lower control arm and it did nothing for cleareance, in fact it just made my axle go back a little bit.I am no expert in it, but i am just going by experience.
Joined: Dec 2006
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RE: 35's on 3 inch Suspension?
Thank you dsertdog56 Your explanation makes very much sense to me and yes I do only get the rub on one side. My wheels do also stick out a good bit, but I bought the truck used and am not buying more wheels when I know long arm suspensions ride better too. Thank you, and utwreckin81, if they are all four adjustable, they are adjusted incorrectly if it pulls it closer to the cab. You should adjust to get them centered in the wheel well, the correct caster, and the correct pinion angle. Thanks for the info on Tuff Country and Rough Country.