I have a '95 ram 1500 4x4 with a 318. I want to lift it enough for 35 inch tires. I'm thinking of putting 35"/12.5" mud terrains on 15"/10" wheels with 3.25" backspacing. I wanted to achieve the height to do this by a 3 inch suspention lift(rancho sport or pro-comp standard) and a 3 inch body lift. Will this work without rubbing? Will i still have enough power with the big tires or will i need to sawp gears? If so, what ratio will i need? Will the big tires kill my gas mileage? Would i be better off with a 5" suspention lift instead of a 3" suspention lift and a body lift? Will it handle bad with the big tires and lift on the road? If so, what can i do about it? Will the mud terrains wear really quickly on the road? How far off will my speed signal be with the 35's? Will i need to get a recallibrator? If so, how much will i expect to spend on it? Are 10" wheels too wide for the truck? Are 8" wheels to narrow for the 12.5" tires? Wil i need to go with more backspacing than 3.25"? Are the stock wheels out of the question for 35"/12.5" tires? Why are steel wheels less expensive that aluminum? Is it worth paying more for aluminum? What do you get extra on the stage 2 or perfomance suspention kits? Is it worth paying more for them instead of the standard kits? I'm sorry about all the questions. I'm kinda new to this an on a tight budget. Any answers or feedback at all wil be appreciated.
lift and tires
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i would recommend a 5 inch suspension lift with no body lift, this will handle 35's with no rubbing. it will still handle good as long as you get the 3.25 inch backspacing, this will make the tires stick out a littel and make it more stable.( the more backspacing the closer into the wheel well the tire will be). go with the 10 inch wide wheels instead of the 8 inch ones. aluminum or alloy wheels are better than steel, theyre lighter and can spin faster with less effort needed, they also look better too. american eagle 589's are good and arent very expensive. mud terrains should wear well as long as theyre radials. as far as the stage 1 or 2 over the standard kit im guessing your reffering the skyjacker kits, i think stage 2 has double shock kit and dual steering stabalizers, and maybe has leaf springs in the rear instead of lift blocks.
6" of lift should accomodate 35's without rubbing. I was planning on putting 35's on my '99 Quad Cab with a 318, and my local shop said I needed to change to 4.10 gears. You should be able to find gear/rpm charts on various sites to tell you what gears you need to install. E-mail me if you have any trouble finding them. My stock 3.55 gears were way too low. I'd have no power if I didn't change them. Yes, your gas mileage will suffer, but I don't know by how much. Re-gearing it will help some. You speed signal will also be off, but again I'm not sure how far off. I was going to install a 5" suspension lift instead of a 3" body and 3" suspension. I haven't lifted it yet due to $$$. Hopefully soon I'll have enough cash. I prefer suspension lifts over body lifts personally. Your road ride will depend upon the type of lift you install. My local shop raves over BDS lifts. They say BDS lifts give one of the best road rides for a good off road lift kit. They said some of the more well know companies will give an extremely rough ride on the road. With regars to wear of your tires all I can say is rotate, rotate, rotate. At least every 5,000 miles, probably more like every 3,000. Mud T/A's are pretty agressive and probably won't wear too well on the hot pavement. Stock wheels are too small for 12.5" wide tires. Sorry, but I've forgotten your other questions. Hope this helps.
Ok...thanks for the help guys, but i'm still alittle unclear on a few things. Ive decided on 15"/10" aluminum or alloy wheels with 3.25" backspacing. I have also decided on 35"/12.5" mud terrains. From what ya'll have said, it seems that i should go with a 5" suspention kit instead of a 3" suspention and 3" body lift as i had originally planned even though the 5" kit would be more expenive than a suspention/body lift combo. I dont mind spending more if it is necisary. I would appreciate it if anyone could suggest a good 5" suspention kit that is relatively enexpensive and includes everything i will need to lift my truck. Regarding gearing, i really dont want to have to spend all the extra money to swap gears so if someone is running stock gears with 35's and haveing no trouble please let me know, but again, i will go ahead and swap if i have to. I have also found from what ya'll have told me that my ride should be decent if i go with 3.25 " backspacing wheels and my tires should wear decently if i rotate often. As for speed signal, if someone could let me know about how far it will be off and if i need to get it recalibrated it would be helpful because as i said i'm on a tight budget but will spend the extra money to get it recalibrated if necisary. I'm looking forward to being able to post some pics of the finished product so any feedback agaain will be appreciated.
Joe,
I have not put on my lift (Scheduled for the 20th) it's currently hiding in the garage! Like I said, I personally went with the Fab-Tech lift. I did alot of checking and found that Fab-Tech does the best engineering for the money I spent. I spent just under $1700 (includes shipping) for the top of the line Fab-Tech 5.5" Performance Lift.
http://www.fabtechmotorsports.com/dodge/ram_4wd/ram_4wd.html
I went with the 4.5" rear springs, 5.5" lift and the double shocks up front. It's a fairly simple install with a handful of drilling and welding on 2 things on either side. There is some cutting, but it's not coming back off so I don't mind. I ordered Centerline rims with a back spacing of 3.75, and the 15x10's aren't stocked so they are being made. <IMG SRC="/board/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif">
I have a 360 and 3.55's FRT & BACK, I don't know what my performance is going to drop to - yet I will suffer for the time being until I can do the gears right (with true lockers rear and LSD up FRT of course!) Stay away from the aluminum rims, they dent easy and are practically impossible to repair. Eagle Alloys, Centerline or American Racing rims are good choices.
I am going to try and regain performance by intake, exhaust, computer & ignition upgrades (totaling about $800-900.) The gearing I anticipate to run $700 an axle so I am going to leave it for last. I think the 360 should handle the tires well enough for the time being. Speedo, I dunno - I suppose I can figure it out as things go along.....Anything else I can do or help with, just let me know!
John
I have not put on my lift (Scheduled for the 20th) it's currently hiding in the garage! Like I said, I personally went with the Fab-Tech lift. I did alot of checking and found that Fab-Tech does the best engineering for the money I spent. I spent just under $1700 (includes shipping) for the top of the line Fab-Tech 5.5" Performance Lift.
http://www.fabtechmotorsports.com/dodge/ram_4wd/ram_4wd.html
I went with the 4.5" rear springs, 5.5" lift and the double shocks up front. It's a fairly simple install with a handful of drilling and welding on 2 things on either side. There is some cutting, but it's not coming back off so I don't mind. I ordered Centerline rims with a back spacing of 3.75, and the 15x10's aren't stocked so they are being made. <IMG SRC="/board/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif">
I have a 360 and 3.55's FRT & BACK, I don't know what my performance is going to drop to - yet I will suffer for the time being until I can do the gears right (with true lockers rear and LSD up FRT of course!) Stay away from the aluminum rims, they dent easy and are practically impossible to repair. Eagle Alloys, Centerline or American Racing rims are good choices.
I am going to try and regain performance by intake, exhaust, computer & ignition upgrades (totaling about $800-900.) The gearing I anticipate to run $700 an axle so I am going to leave it for last. I think the 360 should handle the tires well enough for the time being. Speedo, I dunno - I suppose I can figure it out as things go along.....Anything else I can do or help with, just let me know!
John
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im running 33's with stock gears and they pull the tires fine.....but my stock gears are 4:10's. as for the lift, most 5 inch kits are about the same price, superlift and skyjacker are about a thousand bucks depending on what options you get. the fabtech is a little more expensive as you already know but looks a little nicer than the others. the onlt kit thats considerably cheaper is the tuff country kit, i think its around 500, but im not too sure. its alot more basic using lift spacers and blocks instead of new coils and leafs. personaly i would go with the fabtech kit if i had the money, but ill probably end up buying the skyjacker kit when i do eventually lift, i might just wait a year or two and get a diesal and then lift that.
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I've gotten by with 36" swampers with a 4" lift with no rubbing. I have 3.55 factory gears and I get by although I'm currently saving up for 4.10 gears. A factory 318 might be a little worse cause my 318 slightly modified.
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My truck has been going for 3 months on 3.55's and 36" tires and hasnt shown any weakness....YET.
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Go with a 5 inch SUSPENSION kit. 15x10 wheels. Regear it so the tranny wont have to work so hard to like 4.56's. It will eat up the gas more b/c it will constantly be underload due to the larger tires. Yes you will have to recalibrate it. I havent recalibrated mine but it is like 5-7 mph off. It will handle differently b/c its raised so take it easy on turns, dont make sharp ones. Be on top of tire pressure bc you dont want your MT's to eat up and wear wrong b/c they will never be the same.
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What are you doing man, just upping your post count or what?????
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10 months 9.25 with 3.55 gears 35"x13.5 krawlers i think the 5 spd helps
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Wow! :shock: There's a whole lot of misinformation in this thread. I don't even know where to begin.
No. 1: if you're on a tight budget, I'd drive the truck, as is, until you can afford to do EVERYTHING right, basically, in one shot. If you're on a budget, now, and throw 35" tires under the rig and drive around for a few months with 3.55 gears (I'm just presuming that's what is in the truck, now) under it, you'll really be on a tight budget months down the road when the tranny gives up the ghost. You'll really be on a tight budget while you're driving it with stock gears and 35" tires, as well, because your fuel budget better get ready for a big hit.
Aluminum wheels are more expensive because aluminum, on whole, is a more expensive material to mine and "refine" than is steel. That being said, aluminum is no better nor any worse than steel. It depends on what you're needing the wheels for. If it's rock crawling, I'd never run an aluminum wheel. If its to cut down on all weight possible, and rocks are not a part of your appetitite, go with aluminum. To whoever stated he's buying Centerlines, but in the same thread stated avoid aluminum wheels...WHAT? :-?:
I'd install gears at the same time or before throwing bigger tires on it, but perhaps that's just me. With either 3" suspension + 3" body, or 5" suspension, alone, you should be able to fit 35" tires for normal driving and light wheeling, but if you try to stuff 'em, you're likely going to have clearance issues, especially on a 10" wheel. I'd go with an 8" wheel, myself, but whatever.
Best of luck to ya. Like I said, if you think you're on a tight budget now, I'd hold up on the project until you have more funds saved up.
No. 1: if you're on a tight budget, I'd drive the truck, as is, until you can afford to do EVERYTHING right, basically, in one shot. If you're on a budget, now, and throw 35" tires under the rig and drive around for a few months with 3.55 gears (I'm just presuming that's what is in the truck, now) under it, you'll really be on a tight budget months down the road when the tranny gives up the ghost. You'll really be on a tight budget while you're driving it with stock gears and 35" tires, as well, because your fuel budget better get ready for a big hit.
Aluminum wheels are more expensive because aluminum, on whole, is a more expensive material to mine and "refine" than is steel. That being said, aluminum is no better nor any worse than steel. It depends on what you're needing the wheels for. If it's rock crawling, I'd never run an aluminum wheel. If its to cut down on all weight possible, and rocks are not a part of your appetitite, go with aluminum. To whoever stated he's buying Centerlines, but in the same thread stated avoid aluminum wheels...WHAT? :-?:
I'd install gears at the same time or before throwing bigger tires on it, but perhaps that's just me. With either 3" suspension + 3" body, or 5" suspension, alone, you should be able to fit 35" tires for normal driving and light wheeling, but if you try to stuff 'em, you're likely going to have clearance issues, especially on a 10" wheel. I'd go with an 8" wheel, myself, but whatever.
Best of luck to ya. Like I said, if you think you're on a tight budget now, I'd hold up on the project until you have more funds saved up.
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Look at the date. I'm guessing his project is either done or is never getting done... This has to be the oldest post I've seen anyone bring back...Esspecially with nothing to say about it :twak:
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