Hey there folks. I'm a newbie to the dodge and diesel family and proud to be a part of it. I've done a lot of research on the performance mods i've made on my truck and i have to say i am very glad with the results. However i live in Northern Arizona and do alot of stuff wich involves me going offroad. I have been considering putting a 4 inch suspension lift on my truck for quite some time now. I've been looking at the Kore chase series very seriously. Basically i was wondering if any of you have had any experience with Kore. I've also heard alot of stories about people putting a lift on there truck and completely destroying the thing. I would appriciate any insight you guys could give this newbie.

 

Speaking from a little experience here......

How much do you off-road the truck?

Is is getting bottomed out?

Do you NEED to lift it?

The reasons I ask these questions is this. Driving a big, lifted truck is a whole lotta fun............at first. Destroying it is a matter of use, but the engineers who design these things have taken a lot of time to get them right, for the most part. And once you lift it, you are setting a few things off balance. Anyways, enough of my mumbling.

I would do this first, BEFORE I lifted a truck again that was gonna be my daily driver.

1 - Bigger, more aggressive tire. As big as STOCK will allow, within reason. 99% of off-roaders can EASILY get away with a good set of AT's. MT's just eat up mileage and increase wear.

2 - Traction adders. i.e. lockers and LSD's. I ran ARB's in the front and rear of my SD and, without a doubt, this was THE best mod I did to it. Nothing more useful to a daily driver / occassional off-roader than selectable lockers, especially in the front. With the front of these trucks alwasy turning this makes a selectable up there even more important.

3 - Mild lift! Sky high just looks cool, but be realistic.

Not trying to deter you, but those would be the order I would do it if I were to do it again.

Just an example, but this is what my last truck looked like. Believe me, I'm speaking from experience on this one.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gall...?userid=251885

Rich

 

Thanks for the advice. As far as going off raod,I do quite a bit. I'm part of a 4 wheel drive club here at my college. I also do alot of camping ( not the 4 star hotel trails leading to a nice fire ring.) I don't want to go huge. I've still considered doing a 2 inch leveling kit but i don't want to do that and want to go bigger in the future. The tallest i've considered is a 4 inch. Have any of you ran into major problems with a 4 inch lift. Any advice would be great!

 

I too would really like to hear more on the Kore suspension Chase kit. Isn't it like $1200 or something. If i could get it for under $1000 i would probably do it. Any info would be great!!

 

Wastiod... I put a 4 inch Skyjacker on my '06 longbed, and couldn't be happier. I picked that kit because they do NOT use a doughnut to space up the front coils, instead they supply new coils. They also add another set of shocks on the front, which is always a plus 4-wheeling. Then on the rear they also give you a whole new set of leaf springs, with the axle mount angled so the diff angle is correct with the increased drop from the xfer case. And then, they offer as an option which I took, blocks under the carrier bearing so to get it at the right height so you're not stressing the bearing or driveshaft unduly.
There's a lot of kits out there that use shortcuts - I think that is where you will end up seeing your investment screwed up - so if you're bound to do it, spend the money to get a good kit that is on a par with the rest of the truck.
I haven't had any adverse affects from the lift, and with 35's on it, feel very secure. I didn't pick up any additional vibration in two or four wheel drive, and perhaps my only complaint is the women in my life can't get into the dang thing now. (or maybe that's a good thing?)
Cumminalong is right though, the engineers designed all the pieces to integrate properly - change any part of it and there's always a risk something isn't going to act right thereafter. And the dealers can use the lift to null warranty claims on anything that the lift "touches" - which can be interpreted a lot of different ways...
Good luck - and post a picture along with an assessment of how it behaves, once you do it.

 

Hey thanks for all the input everybody. I got a long road of descisions ahead of me. Any other comments would be great.

 

Wastetoidinaz....
Check out the thread "Kore suspension" also checkout Kore Performnce website alot interesting reading including suspension systems vs lift kits and the differences in "new school" and "old school" shock systems. I too on my last truck went with a "lift kit" looked good.... but realistically did nothing for handling. The Chase system includes a new progressive spring (no blocks) which lifts the front 3-3.5 inches, at the rear they pull the bottom most leaf and replace it with a leaf "pack" that lifts the rear 1-1.5 inches. I talked to my dealers' service manager about instaling the system and my concerns about warranty issues. Since the "Power Wagon" has virtually the same system installed minus the "Fox" shocks, he said there was no problem having it on my 3500.
As it would be enhancing the suspension and best of all as he said "most trucks sold go to people who are more likely to spend 95% or more of their time driving on pavement where the factory suspension is more then adequate". This kit will also allow you to run 33" tires with no rub and even 35" tires (but with some rub... only when in full right turn wheel lock) Also with the Chase system you do not lose any of the trucks' load capacity.

 

Wastetoidinaz....
Check out the thread "Kore suspension" also checkout Kore Performnce website alot interesting reading including suspension systems vs lift kits and the differences in "new school" and "old school" shock systems. I too on my last truck went with a "lift kit" looked good.... but realistically did nothing for handling. The Chase system includes a new progressive spring (no blocks) which lifts the front 3-3.5 inches, at the rear they pull the bottom most leaf and replace it with a leaf "pack" that lifts the rear 1-1.5 inches. I talked to my dealers' service manager about instaling the system and my concerns about warranty issues. Since the "Power Wagon" has virtually the same system installed minus the "Fox" shocks, he said there was no problem having it on my 3500.
As it would be enhancing the suspension and best of all as he said "most trucks sold go to people who are more likely to spend 95% or more of their time driving on pavement where the factory suspension is more then adequate". This kit will also allow you to run 33" tires with no rub and even 35" tires (but with some rub... only when in full right turn wheel lock) Also with the Chase system you do not lose any of the trucks' load capacity.

 

Ya, i've done alot of research on the Kore systems. I have to say i'm very impressed. Of coarse we all wish we could afford the ultimate system and wish we wouldn't lose any tow capacity, however 99.9% of us know its not practical. However the chase system looks very interesting. I haven't made my mind up about anything just yet. There are alot of things i still have to consider. Anyways i'll keep everybody posted. Thanx alot for all the advice everybody

 

The Kore Chase system is great. I just got it and the variable rate springs rear mini-pack really lighten the setup off road and allow the shocks to actually absorb the impact. Their kits aren't about lift but function. I wanted a taller truck, but needed more articulation on the trails. If you are worried about damage to the vehicle, I would sugguest Kore. The only downside is the tire size limits since it only raises the front about 3 inches. I'm looking into the DRC fiberglass fenders this fall/winter so I can run 37's w/o rubbing.
DRC is probably the closest dealer for you in Arizona.