Hey guys, this is my first post on here, I have been viewing this forum since I got my truck and would like to start off by thanking you all for a ton of great information on here. I am going for a pre runner type look with my truck and am trying to plan everything out %100 before I begin to order parts etc. My budget is limited and I wont actually be jumping this truck, just some mild mud/trail. I have an 08 Ram qc 4x4, and have been looking at going with a 4" rough country susp combined with the bilsteins to crank it up to 5" ( as the 4 and 6" rough countrys both use the 4" drop brackets and I dont want to put too much angle on my CVs by going with the 6") and am also going to get the fiberglass pre runner front fenders, and a prerunner style bumper. My question is this; I have been looking into going with a Procomp 17x9 wheel with 2.5" backspacing ( -63 offset) for a really wide track stance, I am going to use 35x12.5 General Grabbers, I am wondering if this kind of offset is hazardous on these IFS trucks, and if I will encounter and issues with a tire eating a fender or anything while turning. I apologize if this is a dumb question, but my resources are very limited in terms of people I know to talk to about this, and I am fairly new to the whole lifting trucks process. thanks for reading this rediculously long post and I look forward to any advice.

 

It's not going to be the strongest setup. The level kit actually puts more stress on the CVs than the suspension lift will. Heavy tires cause more wear on ball joints and tie rods and more stress on the CVs the more you extend them out.

But the look IS going to be great!

The strongest setup is going to be the 4" suspension lift with a body lift, although I'm not aware of any body lifts available for 3rd Gen Rams that are not 3", so your going to be up 7". Believer it or not, it will be easier on the front end despite the extra height, although you'd clear 37s at this height, I'd stick to 35s because the strength you gain with the body lift as opposed to the level, you'd give right back and I think it'd be a disaster waiting to happen putting 37s on a 2.5" backspaced wheel.

If you can live with or find a little less aggressive wheel but enough to clear the tire width and still chuck them out from under the wells, I'd consider them.

If the 7" is too high, go for the 6" suspension lift alone, it's still gonna be stronger than a 4" susp. + level combo. The drop bracketry with a good 6" kit will keep the CVs somewhat near stock angles. Hell, a LOT of guys who just use a level by itself on the coil-over front 1500s experience BAD vibrations from it.

I know you're not going to jump your truck, but for much more than just medium trail driving, I'd not consider a level kit as an option in any combination...

 

Thanks for your insight, I have read some of your replys to other posts and was hoping you would be one of the ones to reply. I have contacted several lift manufacturers and the best lift I can find is the 6" fabtech but their techs say it uses a 5" crossmember, so it would be like putting a 1" spacer in a stock truck. I am considering maybe just using the 4" rough country with some good offroad struts, im just concerned because it gives a max tire size of 35" with very specific backspacing for the wheels, im concerned if there is any give/take with the backspacing. I know if it suggests 4.5" that 5" backspacing will not work, I just dont know if theres such a thing as too little backspacing and maybe having the tire out so far it eats the fender if the wheel happens to be turned while the suspension is clost to bottomed out. Im not sure if the 4" alone will proviede the needed clearance, as the 6" fabtech is over double the price, and a 4" susp + 3" body may be a little too high for the look/ stability i want to achieve with the wide stance on 35's. Basically I want the " ramrunner" look, mild offroad capability, decent road handling, at an affordable price. Alot to ask I know lol but I believe it can be done if I do enough research on all aspects before I decide to order.

 

I generally don't hear a lot of bad about the Fabtech IFS kits for coil over trucks, BUT their kits for the '02-'05 torsion front 4x4s are horrid! First of all, unless you crank the key bolts (essentially adding a level) their 6" kit measures only 4.5" and they leave the CVs at terrible angles. A lot of guys go through CVs with this kit. The other thing scary about Fabtech is that their parent company (who also owns Superlift) has filed for bankruptcy protection, so future repair parts may be a problem.

You can get into trouble with less backspacing than is spec'd as the may now come in contact with the edge of the wheel well or bumper where it's curved on the front/side of the truck. Of course unlike the opposite where it'd hit suspension/steering components, these issues can be cured with some simple trimming.

Unless you are going to get yourself into situations off-road where you'll be airborne or need a ton of wheel travel, the 4" of lift by itself with 35s will be plenty. I am off-road a good bit, I like to hunt/fish where next to nobody can get to or at least is willing to go to, no high speed, crazy sh*t, just a lot of slow crawling through some pretty unfriendly terrain and I have plenty of clearance with my 4" Rancho kit and 35s.

You are gonna get what you pay for in the end and the issue with going too cheap is that the IFS requires a sub-frame (or at least a crossmember - which is NOT as strong) to build off of, so suspension lifts are gonna be pricey, especially those that replace the relatively weak stock parts with larger/beefier ones. The coil over front 1500s also seem to be a good bit pickier about lifting the front ends up than the torsion fronts were, so unwanted vibration is a concern when using "budget" lifts.

"Affordable" is do-able, but "cheap" will cause you problems.


Now this is my truck with 4" of lift and as you can see, there is PLENTY of room for travel with my 35" tires. Just remember though, my 4" kit MEASURES 4", some kits do not. I'm actually sitting closer to about 3 1/2" in the front in this pic which is fairly recent. Almost 6 years of having over 200 lbs. of winch, mount, grill guard, etc. has sagged the front a tad, I just have to get the jack and jack stands out one of these days and crank my keys a hair to adjust it back up to level...

 

I love the look of your truck with that setup. And I know what you mean with the 6" kits only measuring 4.5" without the keys, thats the issue with the rough country lifts, the 6" uses all the same components as the 4" except for it uses a 6" spacer on top of the strut instead of 4, so its stretching the cv angles as far as putting a 2" level in. With your advice I think I have decided to just go 4" with some real decent offroad struts. I like the way yours sits and I imagine the 4" lift is way more driveable everyday than the 6". Once I get to ordering the stuff and slappin it all together Ill be sure to post pics of the process of making the pre runner that beer built lol