Another from my phone camera.

 

Can any of the old timers vouch for this on the 4x4's? Especially the TRX4's. It definitely seems like a cheap way to get a roughly 3" lift. Stuart how much was the actual install and alignment roughly?

 

Looks great, the perfect height if you ask me. Are those 17 or 20" wheels, cant tell from the pics

 

My wheels are the Mopar polished forged aluminum 20". They don't look that much different from the stock Laramie chrome clad wheels I had, but I like 'em a LOT better.

The install of all 4 shocks, the TGC spacers, and an alignment totalled out to $421. Basically, they charged me 1 hour labor per wheel for the shocks/spacers install, and then approximately $70 for the alignment. I might have gone ahead and done it myself, but I'm heading out of town tomorrow for a long weekend and I wanted to get it done sooner, rather than having to wait another week or more before I would have time to do it myself.

And I think they might have gotten it done quicker and, thus, charged me less time for labor, if they had not screwed up and started also installing the TGC front spacers that happened to be in my truck. In the end, they spent way more than 4 hours working on my truck, but there was no real way to say how much it *would* have been if they had done it right the first time. So, we had to fall back on what he quoted me up front, before he ever even saw the truck, which was, "about an hour per wheel."

 

As for the ride, I drove roughly 10 miles to work this morning, pretty much all city. It does feel more firm, but still compliant. I could feel it a little more going over recessed manhole covers, for example. But it doesn't feel harsh.

Overall, I think the ride is an improvement. It doesn't feel as soft and wallowy as the stock suspension did. More of a taut feeling. I like it that way, but I tend to drive fast, go around corners fast, etc.. Others, who drive with a somewhat more relaxed foot, might prefer the more Caddy-like ride of the originals.

Either way, the difference is not very big.

 

I'd agree a little firmer would be preferred. Of road when you hit the "whoop dee doos", that the other vehicles created causes the truck to bounce nearly out of control.

I wonder if the change in height will effect highway MPG much, due to possible loss of aerodynamics. I gather that may be way trucks are raked forward these days.

 

BILSTEIN 5100 link
Increase overall wheel travel, maintain full stock suspension up-travel, prevent component damage from over-extension. Designed to optimize available suspension travel, .5” longer than OE shocks. Lifetime warranty, less than $200 shipped. Matched rears available (F813).
Snap ring grooves on shock body allow 5 settings: stock - TRX .7" - 1.4" - 2.1" - 2.8"
mounting instructions

 

it should work fine, the shocks are adjustble to make up for the extra 3/4". The front might ride softer than the rear but hey, thats how trucks are supposed to ride

 

Just to be clear, in the Bilstein literature about the 5100 leveling shocks for 09-10 Ram 1500s, it talks about how the shock is adjustable for 5 different settings of lift: 0", .7", 1.4", 2.1", or 2.8".

It also says that 0" is the same as stock for non-TRX models, and the .7" setting is the same as stock for a TRX. So, these shocks, on a TRX are only going to give it 2.1" of lift in the front, compared to the stock TRX setup.

But, as far as I know, the TRX rear is the same as the non-TRX rear. So, a TRX with the same setup I put on my truck, should look exactly the same as my truck (all other factors being equal, of course), even though mine is a Sport, not a TRX.

 

Looks good! I need to do this to my sport as soon as it's time for new tires. Have you noticed the 4x4 shake when in 4 wheel drive? The guys using the leveling pucks have had problems with the shimmys when in 4x4. I really want the mopar lift but, don't want to go that high. I'd be happy clearing 35's. The stock good for a years suck off road. I dunno why they offer a 4x4 with street tires.
--Hop