looking for a little help here. I have a 2009 crew cab STL with the hemi, 2 wheel drive. wanting to level the truck and with that lift it slightly. i bought a 3 inch fron and 1.5 inch rear leveling kit. when i took it to get installed, i was told to ask around from people who may have done this before, cause the kit would cause my truck to drive like a tank. i want the look, but i want to keep about the same ride... will this kit really destroy how my truck rides?

 

I installed a 3 inch leveling kit on my 2011 crew cab Laramie 4wd. It did not change the ride at all, but it did stiffen up the side to side roll you get while taking the curves. I found it much better to drive.

The ride was affected with the tire swap however. I jumped up to 315/70/17 (35) BFG all terrain ta's on 9" gear alloys. They are a 8 ply tire so the ride became a little stiffer than stock.

Good luck with the lift!

 

Ok cool, thanks for the info. I had a friend on mine do the exact same lift to his 4x4 and the ride was excellent. However I took mine to the same guy and he said the 2 wheel drives are effected a lot more than the 4x4. I honestly don't see how it makes any difference. Guess we will see lol.

 

Well, 3" spacer i would NOT reccomend on a 4wd. Too many issues while in 4wd and puts the CV shafts at a steep angle.
Even the 2wd's a 3" spacer is asking alot. You really have to squeeze it in there as it's not meant for it. The 2wd is less effected than 4wd as far as driveability. Sure it could be slightly stiffer due to less weight, but ehhh...
Either way, you really need new shocks. You'll be "topping" the stock shocks out. They arent meant to travel at a 3" lift. You'll basically be running them within a 2" window of travel and anything outside that will beat them up and blow out the seals.
Same with the rear, but the rear will probably last longer since they are only stretched out 1.5"

So, lets be generous and say the Rams have a total of 6" of suspension travel 3" up and 3" down. When you throw 3" spacers in there you are limiting your travel to 0" up and 6" down on the stock shocks. Just so you understand what I am referring to.

Good luck.

 

I agree with Rich here...your going to need to put new shocks/stuts in. I'd go w/ Bilstein 5100's for the rear they can accommodate up to 1" more clearance in the back. As for the front, I'd look for bilsteins as well w/ more travel.

To bad you have a 2wd truck, otherwise I'd direct you into the Bilstein 5100 height adjustable struts like I have set at the 2.8" setting. I like the looks of it, I do have a slight wobble in 4wd and the ride is just a tad stiffer than stock which I really like. I personally wouldn't go w/ a three inch spacer. If you don't want to go true lift...go w/ a 2" spacer and a 1 or 1/5" body lift. just some options.

 

I put a 3" level on my 2wd, I wasnt able to find a new shock that would work so i used the stock shock but mounted it in the top side of the lower control arm. I had to oval out the hole plus grind a little off of the shock mount ears. It works fine. But i do want better shocks then OEM. Fat Bobs Garage should have the part #'s for the new shocks needed.

 

I used the Daystar 2.5" and haven't had a single issue. I also put a set of firestone airbags on the rear but unless I have th PSI in the bags jacked up I didn't have hardly any change other than a slight diff in the roll pushing into corners.