Guide to Leveling & Wheel and Tire Sizing for 06+ 4wd Ram 1500's
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I have a 2013 sport with 2" ready lift and want to put 35's on. We tried AMP 35x12.5x20 and only had aprox 1 8th space between the side wall and the upper controll arm. Would this be ok ?
My tire guy says that it will rub when the tire flexs going over bumps and turning. Is anyone else running a tire that is that close to the upper control arm and if so does it rub?
He says to run a 295x65x20 instead which is 35x11.75x20 instead.
My tire guy says that it will rub when the tire flexs going over bumps and turning. Is anyone else running a tire that is that close to the upper control arm and if so does it rub?
He says to run a 295x65x20 instead which is 35x11.75x20 instead.
I have wider offset wheels so I don't have the clearance issue. I'll reinforce what your tire guy says though, a tire does flex under cornering and you likely would get a groove in the sidewall of the tire the first time you took a corner at speed.
Searching the internet (for all of 5 seconds, admittedly), this is the best picture I could find showing what I'm talking about. You can see how the tread of the tire get's pushed to the side under cornering load. Imagine that transferring all the way around the rim to the upper part and you can imagine it will potentially touch that control arm.
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Great pic and thanks, the only thing I am having trouble with is how that would cause the tire to flex at the top unless it just doesn't have the time needed to go back to the static shape of the tire when at rest. Looking like I'm going to end up with the 295x65x20 at least I'll still end up with a 35" tall tire.
The whole tire is designed to work as a system, if the bottom is getting pulled so is the top. It helps distribute the load.
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2017 ram 1500 tire sizing
I have 2017 ram 1500 4x4 275 x 9 r20 stock Chrome clad rims that I'm planning on keeping. I got a 2.5 inch front and 1.5 rear leaving kit installed (spacers). Would 35 x 12.5 x20 fit without rubbing? If not what do you recommend?
Joe
I have 2017 ram 1500 4x4 275 x 9 r20 stock Chrome clad rims that I'm planning on keeping. I got a 2.5 inch front and 1.5 rear leaving kit installed (spacers). Would 35 x 12.5 x20 fit without rubbing? If not what do you recommend?
Joe
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mbood82 pretty much answered it all for you but essentially no, 1/8" space isn't enough clearance between the tire and the UCA. Running 295 wide tires will fix that issue or there's the option of wheel spacers or different wheels with the correct offset.
Not without spacers. Do run full 35x12.5's on the stock wheels you'll want a set of 10mm hub centric spacers from Motorsport Tech. The other option is to run a 295 wide tire or buy different wheels with the correct offset.
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Excellent OP. Very handy for reference.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Well I went with my gut feeling and had them put the 35x12.5x20 AMP's on anyway. They look great and do not rub on the upper control arm at all. The only place that they will rub is on the sway bar when turned to full lock but as long as you are aware of this it's not a problem, ive only had them rub a cpl times. I will try and get some pic's and post them for you guys.
This is kind of an interesting picture:
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Specifically it makes it appear that the Bilstein is significantly longer at extension than the stock strut with a preload spacer on top of its spring.
The actual extended length of this Bilstein strut is 21.4" while the extended length of a Monroe 72292 stock replacement strut is 21.625", the extended length of a Gabriel G51856 or SenSen 32140152 stock replacement strut is 21.18" and the extended length of a KYB 340121 or 340028 stock replacement strut is 21.06" .
So the Bilstein is actually shorter than the Monroe and essentially indistinct from the extended length of some other common stock replacement units.
There is about a 150% relationship between strut length and actual wheel position so that means the Monroe extends 0.33" farther at the wheel, full extension than Bilstein. Total stroke length for Bilstein is 6.2" while total stroke length for the Monroe is 6.187" which means you get a whopping 0.0195" greater wheel travel from a Bilstein 5100 lift strut than a Monroe stock replacement strut.
I'm not saying Bilsteins suck, I have them on every vehicle in my household and they're excellent quality products. But the travel illustration used to advertise them turns out to be kind of crap.
Also noteworthy, setting the front struts for 2.8" of lift leaves the front suspension with less than 2.5" of remaining downtravel (at the wheels) as I was able to measure. I measured this by inflating my front tires to the maximum pressure on the sidewall (80psi) to minimize the effect of the tires unloading, then measuring the exact height of my front diff skid plate between the wheels, then lifting the vehicle with a floor jack until the tires just unloaded from the ground.
I'm beginning to think that the ideal front leveling solution might be to combine 1.5" or 2" of strut spacer lift with the 0.7" height notch on Bilstein lift struts. Or something like that, maybe even a 0.5" spacer and the 2.1" setting on Bilsteins would make a bit more difference.
I know that strays from the dogma of using Bilsteins alone but that was borne of an assumption that Bilsteins are longer than OEM type shocks and the numbers don't support that conclusion. Bilstein 5100 lift struts are materially the same length, if even a fraction shorter than aftermarket struts.
Sorry to muddy the waters here.
Specifically it makes it appear that the Bilstein is significantly longer at extension than the stock strut with a preload spacer on top of its spring.
The actual extended length of this Bilstein strut is 21.4" while the extended length of a Monroe 72292 stock replacement strut is 21.625", the extended length of a Gabriel G51856 or SenSen 32140152 stock replacement strut is 21.18" and the extended length of a KYB 340121 or 340028 stock replacement strut is 21.06" .
So the Bilstein is actually shorter than the Monroe and essentially indistinct from the extended length of some other common stock replacement units.
There is about a 150% relationship between strut length and actual wheel position so that means the Monroe extends 0.33" farther at the wheel, full extension than Bilstein. Total stroke length for Bilstein is 6.2" while total stroke length for the Monroe is 6.187" which means you get a whopping 0.0195" greater wheel travel from a Bilstein 5100 lift strut than a Monroe stock replacement strut.
I'm not saying Bilsteins suck, I have them on every vehicle in my household and they're excellent quality products. But the travel illustration used to advertise them turns out to be kind of crap.
Also noteworthy, setting the front struts for 2.8" of lift leaves the front suspension with less than 2.5" of remaining downtravel (at the wheels) as I was able to measure. I measured this by inflating my front tires to the maximum pressure on the sidewall (80psi) to minimize the effect of the tires unloading, then measuring the exact height of my front diff skid plate between the wheels, then lifting the vehicle with a floor jack until the tires just unloaded from the ground.
I'm beginning to think that the ideal front leveling solution might be to combine 1.5" or 2" of strut spacer lift with the 0.7" height notch on Bilstein lift struts. Or something like that, maybe even a 0.5" spacer and the 2.1" setting on Bilsteins would make a bit more difference.
I know that strays from the dogma of using Bilsteins alone but that was borne of an assumption that Bilsteins are longer than OEM type shocks and the numbers don't support that conclusion. Bilstein 5100 lift struts are materially the same length, if even a fraction shorter than aftermarket struts.
Sorry to muddy the waters here.
How so? Bilstein's marketing materials claim they are longer than a stock strut with a preload spacer.
The actual numbers don't bear this claim - they're the same length as (and actually shorter than at least one) any stock replacement strut with a preload spacer.
In the context of lift and suspension travel there is no difference of any importance between a Bilstein strut and a regular strut with a preload spacer.
opc1:
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In the above picture Bilsein is not making the claim their strut is longer. They are making the claim that they acheive more travel than the others. Watch the video.This is kind of an interesting picture:
![]()
Specifically it makes it appear that the Bilstein is significantly longer at extension than the stock strut with a preload spacer on top of its spring.
The actual extended length of this Bilstein strut is 21.4" while the extended length of a Monroe 72292 stock replacement strut is 21.625", the extended length of a Gabriel G51856 or SenSen 32140152 stock replacement strut is 21.18" and the extended length of a KYB 340121 or 340028 stock replacement strut is 21.06" .
So the Bilstein is actually shorter than the Monroe and essentially indistinct from the extended length of some other common stock replacement units.
There is about a 150% relationship between strut length and actual wheel position so that means the Monroe extends 0.33" farther at the wheel, full extension than Bilstein. Total stroke length for Bilstein is 6.2" while total stroke length for the Monroe is 6.187" which means you get a whopping 0.0195" greater wheel travel from a Bilstein 5100 lift strut than a Monroe stock replacement strut.
I'm not saying Bilsteins suck, I have them on every vehicle in my household and they're excellent quality products. But the travel illustration used to advertise them turns out to be kind of crap.
Also noteworthy, setting the front struts for 2.8" of lift leaves the front suspension with less than 2.5" of remaining downtravel (at the wheels) as I was able to measure. I measured this by inflating my front tires to the maximum pressure on the sidewall (80psi) to minimize the effect of the tires unloading, then measuring the exact height of my front diff skid plate between the wheels, then lifting the vehicle with a floor jack until the tires just unloaded from the ground.
I'm beginning to think that the ideal front leveling solution might be to combine 1.5" or 2" of strut spacer lift with the 0.7" height notch on Bilstein lift struts. Or something like that, maybe even a 0.5" spacer and the 2.1" setting on Bilsteins would make a bit more difference.
I know that strays from the dogma of using Bilsteins alone but that was borne of an assumption that Bilsteins are longer than OEM type shocks and the numbers don't support that conclusion. Bilstein 5100 lift struts are materially the same length, if even a fraction shorter than aftermarket struts.
Sorry to muddy the waters here.
In the above picture Bilsein is not making the claim their strut is longer. They are making the claim that they acheive more travel than the others. Watch the video.
![]()
The linked picture shows the Bilstein to be dramatically longer than the "stock with preload spacer" - and that may even be true of the Toyota application being described in the video.
On our Ram 1500's the numbers simply do not support that statement and if you placed a Ram 1500 Bilstein strut next to a Monroe stock replacement, the Monroe is factually longer and all the other stock replacement ones are well within a half inch of the Bilstein shock. Not at all similar to the photograph which is being commented on here.
As for the claim that they achieve more travel than the others, again for our application of Ram 1500's that is 0.0195" compared to the Monroe stock replacement, and materially similar to Gabriel's stock replacement.
Acknowledged that 6.2" of travel is 0.33" greater than the travel of SenSen 32140152 stock replacements, which would mean ~0.495" greater travel at the wheel. That's not really much but I guess maybe a half inch starts being enough to talk about.. though not really a very exciting result. Definitely not something I'd be basing my shock purchase on.
Rancho RS999808 - a stock length replacement shock - offers 6.6" travel at the shock (the lift version is RS7810 and offers 5.86" travel at the shock)
Like I said Bilstein is a great product and both my trucks & my wife's car are Team Bilstein - just think the advertising as it relates to our trucks is misleading - and meaningless in practical terms at best.
So I read this entire thread and until the last page didn't see anyone mention the use of a pre-load spacer I have a 2019 classic 4x4 CC with 1100 miles on it and already cant stand the 3" factory rake so looking at options. I am leaning towards this kit https://www.roughcountry.com/dodge-suspension-lift-kit-358c.html but on such a new truck don't want any issues with ball joints. So in my thoughts because I am retaining the stock strut in front it would limit the travel to within oem specs for the ball joint, is this correct?
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Honestly, for the cost of that kit, I would recommend just getting the Bilstein 5100's. The labour is the same to install each as the strut has to be disassembled but with the Bilsteins you get the added benefit of a better performing shock that will last longer.
You likely won't want the rear spacers anyway as that will leave you with too much rake. Steel rear spacers are also known to make a fair amount of noise going over bumps/chatter.
Ok so are my thoughts about travel limits correct? They also offer this kit https://www.roughcountry.com/dodge-front-leveling-lift-kit-363.html which is cheaper than one 5100 and if it ends up needing the rear I can order after the fact. I don't really mind the extra cost of the 5100's but am concerned with the possibility of ball joint issues and don't really like the idea of having to swap out the uca's even if it is with the cheaper mevotech arms. measurements on my truck are 36.5 in front and 39.75 in rear. I should also mention Ive only had it 2 weeks and am looking for a level solution until it is out of warranty then it will get a full 6in lift
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It's the spacers that will cause your ball joint issues. The bilsteins eliminate those issues. So, in the end the bilsteins will cost you far less while giving you the off road ride you are looking for.
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