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Lifting 2wd truck?

17K views 64 replies 15 participants last post by  tinniste 079 
#1 ·
I am considering lifting my 05 1500 3-6 inches any suggestions on brands of shocks and tires? I am wanting to keep my stock 20 in rims. Some of my buddies at work have lifted their dodges and it looks pretty good. It will mainly be for show and riding around in the dunes. So any help pros cons of lifting would be appreciated. Thanks
 
#2 ·
While I don't know how well a 2WD will do in the dunes, there's lots you can do to lift it. There's a big difference to what needs to happen between a 3" and a 6" lift. If you do a 3" suspension lift with a 3" body lift you'll have the room for big rubber but won't have the issues of a big suspension lift, it's also less expensive for a 3/3 lift.
 
#4 ·
The only problem you will have is that the 2wd trucks sit naturally lower than the 4x4s. If you do a 6" lift that is like a 4x4 doin a 3-4" lift. For you to fit like 35" tires you will have to do a 6" lift at least. Lifting a 2wd truck is much more work since you have to go higher and more expensive. I would also do what Cdnoil has mentioned, doing a 3" suspension and 3" body, if you are dead set on lifting.

I know it looks good being raised but a lot of the 2wd trucks go lower. I agree with you and think lifting a truck looks cool but lowering does look sweet as well!
 
#7 ·
Well... the 6" inch lift to fit 35's comment may be true for a chevy but you can fit 35's on rams at a stock height believe it or not. I have a 2wd 08 ram 1500 at stock height and I run 35 12.5 20 mudgrapplers on liquid metal wingman wheels. I didn't trim anything or do any other modifications except mounting and balancing the tires on the truck. Granted the offset of the wheels may be the reason for them fitting so with a stock 20" wheel you may need to run a spacer. But on the 06-08 body style you can fit up to 35 12.5's at a stock height even on a 2wd, bwy: no rubbing even at a full turn in reverse
 
#5 ·
That is totally inaccurate. While 2wd dodge's sit lower than the 4wd's they are much cheaper to lift & a 2wd truck will go just about anywhere in the dunes. Trophy trucks that win the baja races are 2wd drive. It is much simpler to lift a 2wd since you don't have a half diff and half shafs in these ifs torsion bar trucks of the same year. Check out CST suspension. They make a bad ass kit at the fraction of the price of comparable 4wd lift kits.
 
#12 ·
Sorry I did not know that. I heard other wise from someone else. I guess I was missinformed.

I am really sorry for giving inaccurate information, I feel like an idiot haha.


Well I will be talking to that person tomorrow and I will let them know they made me look stupid. I might have to give him a smack on the back of the head
 
G
#8 ·
Well, back to the questions at hand.

Suspension: I like the Rough Country kits because they are complete and pretty well made for a competitive price.

Tires: I like the Toyo AT's myself.

There are a lot of kits and tires out there. I spent hours and days and weeks looking at both as part of my upgrade planning for my '99 and was amazed at the choices available.

What helped me was to focus on specifics. I searched for a 4" suspension lift for my truck each time I did some research. I searched for a specific size tire for my truck each time I did some research. That way I didn't have to wade through a bunch of info to eventually get to what I was looking for.
 
#9 ·
Thanks alot. I'm not really set on a tire yet but looking at aggressive a/ts because they won't wear down as fast compared to a mud tire which the rubber isn't as hard. I've looked a nitto Terra grapplers and pro comp extreme all terrains. Nor am I set on a desired lift height. I am wanting to fit 35s on my truck and be level all around. Is a leveling kit needed or just shocks? Really just what do I need to go with to fit the 35s and not go too far over 1500$
 
#10 ·
Rumble Bee I highly suggest you take a look at cst suspension. They offer an awesome kit up to seven inches. 4" comes from lift spindles the rest in the form of a coil spring spacer (for hemi's, 5.9's and 4.7's received full coil springs). They have a trick set of upper control arms with replaceable ball joints (you have to buy new factory arms with the stock set up if yours go bad) they replace it with a more strudy chevy style ball joint. The complete kit is under 1500$. You wont find a better kit for your truck and hard earned money. As far as tires go if you're leaning towards a/t's check out the terra grappler and pro comp extreme a/t's both of those tires are amazing. I have a buddy who I helped install one of those cst kits and his 03 hemi turned out great. You can even combine the cst suspension kit with a set of rough country coil's (just the coils) and longer shocks to go up about another 2" for a total of 9" over stock. This will be as tall as a 4wd with a 6" suspension lift. JMHO
 
#13 ·
BTW Any one with an 02-05 2wd or 4wd can benefit from a set of cst suspension upper control arms. They are listed only for the 2wd but I've installed a set on a 4wd and they work (2WD & 4WD UCA's are the same). when installed with a leveling kit they take stress of upper ball joints and help align more accurately allowing you to crank just a tad bit more without sacrificing ride quality. You'll need to buy longer shocks and bump stops so you don't bottom out. These arms are a great addition to any lift like fabtech, rough country, pro comp etc. Def. Worth the money.
 
#15 ·
Also would I need a leveling kit first then new shocks? Or do I have to get new springs and all that jazz? also would a spacer be needed if I am using stock 20s to not rub any? I maily just want to raise the front to match the back and mabey lift the whole truck 3in. Anyone know what size tires I could fit then? And how expensive is it to get tires to fit the 20s.
 
#16 ·
Fitting 35s doesnt just go off of height. Alot of fitting a bigger tire is the width of the tires also. I know I have read about stock dodges running 35 12.50s. But most of the time this isnt the case. Now after saying that i will just put in my two cents about the whole thing. I see you have a supercharged truck? What kind of supercharger is it? If i had a supercharged 2WD id be going down and making it fast through the corners and alot more fun at a track and even get better mileage. I am just a huge fan of lowered 2WD pickups and lifted 4x4s. But if you go the lifted route im sure one of these guys will stear you in the right direction, your in good hands here.
 
#17 ·
Rumble Bee, You can start by just adding the 7" CST Lift for 2wd 02-05 hemi's which will include 4" spindles, a 3" coil spring spacer and a block and you bolt kit for the rear. Later on you can upgrade the upper control arms. After getting the arms if you would like then you can add the larger rough country springs (the arms are necessary to run these if you decide to lift it higher). CST has part numbers for shocks for their 7" kit. You will need to run longer shocks (than the ones cst has part numbers for) if you do the bigger springs. The base 7" kit is only $1200
 
#65 ·
this man knows his shit! i havent heard anything about a trophy truck or prerunner on this site once... at least one person is on my page haha.. but cst is a sweet lift i havent driven on it yet but it looks well made and i paid 500 bucks for a 7 inch kit. but you can cler 35s on a 4 inch spindal with fiberglass fenders easy
 
#19 ·
Hornyhemi, I have no clue what brand it is. When I bought the truck it was already installed. There are no markings on it so I can't tell what it is. I considered lowering it at one point but I go hunting and fishing in this truck as well as pulling trailers of all kinds so lowering is out of the question.
 
#20 ·
Rumble Bee, If all you are looking to do is level the truck then all you need is a set of CST's Lift spindles. You do not need longer shocks to run just the spindles. The UCA's still remain optional. I would start with the spindles. Get your tires. You can hold off on shocks and UCA's until you need them. Just the spindles installed will be less than $1000
 
#22 ·
A I saw the spindles on their website last night. They said they were like over $800. I found them on another site for about $500. And I think I'm going to go with 33in Terra grapplers. Anyone know how much they are to wrap a 20in rim? My Internet is down at the house so I can't check.
 
#23 ·
I have a 2000 dodge ram 2WD V6 With a 2" Rough Country lift in the front and in the back i have a 2" add-a-leaf they call it and a 1.5 inch pro comp lift Block...and ProComp ES3000 Shocks..the reason why its so high in the back is because the front was higher..and I wasnt a big fan of that so I bought a lift block......but i got 265/75/R16 FireStone Destination Tires And I put them next to 33" BF GoodWrench All Trails and My tires are slightly bigger...and I have Alot more room for BIGGER tires...
IDK if the photo posted...IM new to this form so i gotta get the hang of it LOL..Sorry:doh:
 
#24 ·
Yea. I think the 4in spindle lift and a 1 or 1.5 in block in the back would make my truck look really good. I want to go with 33s all around so it dosent look to much like a mud truck. Does anyone know of another company that makes 3 or 4 in spindle lifts for a 05 ram 1500?
 
#31 ·
Yea I saw that the 3in suspension/leveling kit was only like 299$. That's a amazing deal. Are they quality products? How long have you had yours? And how much are those lights? I was considering getting some myself. Are they wired into the headlight switch or a seperate switch?
 
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