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Looking for a leveling kit (maybe?)

9K views 82 replies 13 participants last post by  countryboyloaded 
#1 ·
So I just got a 2013 Ram 1500 Tradesman/Express 4x4 crew cab (5'7" bed) and I LOVE it. Holy crap, I drove it about 100 feet before I knew it was mine...seriously and upgrading from a 2003 Dakota 4x4 it's a LOT bigger too. (Love that as well).

The only thing I've noticed about it is that the front end clearance is about 8.5"... The big thing is that stupid air dam they stick under the front bumper, I know it helps with fuel economy and such but I've read somewhere that it also helps a good deal with truck stability.

Has anyone just straight up removed the air dam? I'm kind of tempted to...I occasionally have to visit construction sites for work, and while I try to avoid doing stupid stuff with my truck it's kinda scary to see me clear a curb by less than 2 inches (some curb is 8" so it's even worse).

I'll be honest I'm not crazy about the way the truck LOOKS even with the air dam, I feel like the older models had the air dam too, but it was much smaller...somewhere around 2" instead of 6" and I'd be OK swapping one of those onto my truck if it could be adapted.

The above being said, I'm leaning towards a 2.5" leveling kit for the front that will lift the front even with the rear if I'm not mistaken. I've been told (by the Chrysler salesman that I bought the vehicle from) that most leveling kits do not void the warranty (I'm under the assumption this is correct since it came from the dealer) as long as they are not TOO high, and that whatever mechanic I had do it would be able to tell me if it did. I'm NOT doing it at the dealer as they wanted $800 to do so...within a week of me buying a brand new truck from them...no thanks. I'd do it myself, but I don't really have the tools or access to a shop, I have some of the know-how, but would just as soon have it done at one of the offroad shops in the area. I figure it's gonna run me about ~$350-$400 all said and done.

I have a BUNCH of questions...

Does this change how the vehicle rides significantly? I'd like to hear from someone who has one and didn't have the leveling kit to start.

Does it butcher fuel efficiency? (If I was going for fuel efficient I wouldn't have bought a truck, but if all of a sudden I'm getting 5mpg the wife's gonna kill me).

Is there something other than a leveling kit (cheaper but still reliable) that I can do to increase ground clearance in the front?

If I remove the air dam will that also cause my belt to slip in rain? It appears as though it may cover against water splashing up and under...so I'm not sure.

Was wondering if anyone else had the same problem with the low ground clearance on the 2013 Ram (or any from 2009-2013 really) and what they did about it. I figure this is an offroad topic cause it kinda fits the bill, but I'm also gonna post something like this in general 2013 Ram forum as well.
 
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#67 · (Edited)
JD,

Look up all threads started by me, as I installed my Bilsteins myself at the military base auto hobby shop here in Portsmouth, VA. I learned a few things doing it, so if you decide to roll the dice and have a friend help you, by all means PM me and I'll give any and all advice I can. I have mine set at 2.1, so it sits about an inch lower than the rear. I didn't see if anyone answered you about what size tires you can squeeze with a leveling kit, in case they haven't, 35's would be the biggest you would want to go. Good luck in your decision making.

As for the shocks, I found mine on Amazon, and had Autoanything beat the price by 1 dollar each. That was before Bully's was here. I paid right around 200 for both fronts shipped to my front door. Bully's maybe able to do the same thing for you, just check the part numbers on amazon.
 
#68 ·
Thanks, will do.

As an update I've run over the finances and I'm just gonna have to wait a bit on purchasing anything. I DID just buy a truck : / but GOD do I want to mod it now :). I imagine I will start the process around December if I do. For now, however, I may just remove the air dam to give myself a little extra clearance.
 
#69 · (Edited)
So I decided to take the air dam off for now, I might cut it up a little and put it back on as previously mentioned, but for now I'm just gonna do some driving with it off and see what my gas mileage is.

Here's a link with before and after pics

http://imgur.com/a/5i3ke

The dam came off no prob, took me maybe 15 minutes because the bolts on the end weren't easy to get at. My ground clearance went from 8.5" to 13" like that. I still have to watch out for the skid plate which has ~8.5" clearance but I figure that shouldn't be too hard.

Also, I had to take my dad to the dealer this week to pick up his car as he had some warranty work done on it. I was eyeing the Rams they had there and wanted to check something out. The model Ram I wanted was the "Express" model which in 2013 was kind of combined with the "Tradesman" model. Well, the express has more of the "sport" bumper. This is the "Express."

http://i.imgur.com/hBC8bJ4.jpg

I kept bugging the guy I got the truck from for pics of the vehicle and he never got me any till the day I went to pick it up. I would have told him I was after the other one but I figured I could just mod this one the way I wanted it. Well I saw the Express Rams at the dealer and went with my tape to check their front end clearance...a 2WD 2013 Ram 1500 Express had 11" ground clearance where my 4WD Tradesman had 8.5"...the bumpers are just different, and one bumper sits a little higher on the Express. Not a huge deal I just thought people may want to know if they're in the market for a new Ram.

Not sure what the best way to link images is but I tend to use imgur.com since it's free and stupid easy. Thanks for all the tips everybody.

I think it looks A LOT better sans the air dam.
 
#71 ·
thanx for this thread.....it's answering a lot of questions with a lot of good solid answers :)

i had another, but dammit after all the reading/learning i forget what it was
 
#72 ·
still can't remember my question, but i've ordered the 5100s anyway..

hanging out here is gonna be the death of my financial fluidity
 
#73 ·
Nice! You definitely won't be disappointed with the Bilsteins. They're one of the best mods you can do to a truck to improve ride quality and appearance at the same time. Be sure to post some pictures once you get them installed :smileup:

And yes, this forum will definitely make you spend more money on your truck than you ever would have thought. :LOL:
 
#74 ·
i have the 3 inch front spacers front HBS, and have had no problems from them so far :)
 
#75 ·
k, remembered my question :)

for you guys running the over sized shoes, how are you adapting for the larger o.d. on your speedo? do you have to make a trip to the dealer for a change in the flash or are you running a tuner that allows a manual input?

also,....shyt almost forgot one again.....headlight re-aim?? qiuck and easy?? is there a diy kicking around anywhere?

my set should be shipping out mid-next week

thanx!!!
 
#76 ·
I had a Bully Dog tuner on my truck that I used to recalibrate my speedo/odometer. When it comes to big tires like that you will have to use an aftermarket tuner or speedo calibrator (hypertech makes one) as the dealership can not accommodate tires that big. I'm not sure what the number is that they can go up to....

Headlight re-aim is definitely easy. There's two holes on your fender with arrows pointing at them where the headlight adjustment screws are. Check out this link (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html). It will tell you basic instructions on how to aim your lights. Again, very straight forward you just need a flat place near a wall to do it. I ended up backing my truck in to a warehouse at work which worked very nicely.
 
#77 ·
shweet, thanx!!!

sorry if it looks like i'm stealing your thread JD, but you won't have too far to look when you're ready to jump on doing the mod. I'm pretty sure it's all questions you'll have yourself :)
 
#78 ·
sooooo...me again :)

if i wanted to go the full 2.8 available on the Bilsteins, what would i need for the rear coils to add the .7 (+/-) to keep it levelled out?

again, much thanx guys!!!
 
#80 ·
lol... i had a feeling you'd be lurking on here still
PM sent

hope i won't look like too much a tool running the stock rims/rubber for a few months
the way i'm going i won't have new bigguns til spring
 
#81 ·
Yup, I catch up on the forum as much as possible. Sent you back a PM already.

Shouldn't look too bad. I ran my stock tires (31.5") on my 1500 when it was leveled for 6 months. Ya they looked a little small but it was still better than a stock truck with rake.
 
#82 ·
My rig - 2011 CC 4X4 with ST trim, 4.7 with 3.55 gears. I have the Readylift 2.5" spacers on mine and can fit 385/70/17's (about 34") on stock rims with no rubbing at all. If I did it over again, I'd go with the Bilsteins.

 
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