Just joined

[Wadlum22]

Hey long time lurker but figured I'd finally join. I've learned about this truck over the last year of ownership. Going the opposite of what people normally do by lowering my truck. Would like to hear from others that have done it.

 

[GunnyJC]

Welcome aboard.

 

[TheGRam]

Welcome!!

 

[Neurobit]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations!!

Pls add your truck's vitals to your signature when you have a moment. This makes it easier for other folks to help in case you have questions or concerns about your vehicle.

 

[HemiDude]

Hey long time lurker but figured I'd finally join. I've learned about this truck over the last year of ownership. Going the opposite of what people normally do by lowering my truck. Would like to hear from others that have done it.

Welcome! When done right I do like the look of a lowered 2wd truck, hope to see some pics as you go

 

[PorBoy]

Welcome, how exactly did you go about the “ lowering “ process please ?

 

[Scr8pin]

Hey long time lurker but figured I'd finally join. I've learned about this truck over the last year of ownership. Going the opposite of what people normally do by lowering my truck. Would like to hear from others that have done it.

Lowered mine 3//4.5 with MaxTrac. If I had the cash at the time I would have went Inez due to the minor negative camber I ended up with. But the MaxTrac kit is easy to install but buy an adjustable trac bar to get the back end centered. Here’s a pic of mine currently. Just ordered 24x10 dub ballers for it and looking into see if I can order just the Inez upper control arms and the rear 4 link brackets to get it further down in the weeds lol. But up here in Canada it’s hard right now to get parts from down south. The exchange rate is crippling .

 

[HemiDude]

Lowered mine 3//4.5 with MaxTrac. If I had the cash at the time I would have went Inez due to the minor negative camber I ended up with. But the MaxTrac kit is easy to install but buy an adjustable trac bar to get the back end centered. Here’s a pic of mine currently. Just ordered 24x10 dub ballers for it and looking into see if I can order just the Inez upper control arms and the rear 4 link brackets to get it further down in the weeds lol. But up here in Canada it’s hard right now to get parts from down south. The exchange rate is crippling .

Looks sharp!

 

[Wadlum22]

Lowered mine 3//4.5 with MaxTrac. If I had the cash at the time I would have went Inez due to the minor negative camber I ended up with. But the MaxTrac kit is easy to install but buy an adjustable trac bar to get the back end centered. Here’s a pic of mine currently. Just ordered 24x10 dub ballers for it and looking into see if I can order just the Inez upper control arms and the rear 4 link brackets to get it further down in the weeds lol. But up here in Canada it’s hard right now to get parts from down south. The exchange rate is crippling .

I read the track bar wasn't necessary with lowering 4" in the rear. How bad was it and which track bar did you buy?

 

[Fatherof3]

Welcome to the forum .

 

[Scr8pin]

I read the track bar wasn't necessary with lowering 4" in the rear. How bad was it and which track bar did you buy?

Lol oh man I was out over 3/4 - 1”........ I ordered the freedom off-road one off Amazon. Here’s a picture. It’s over built but works great! Here’s the link - Freedom OffRoad Rear Adjustable Track Bar Panhard for 0-4" Lift 2009-2018 Ram 1500 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07B6TCTSP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_lZu7FbNB56404?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Ram1992]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Wadlum22]

Lol oh man I was out over 3/4 - 1”........ I ordered the freedom off-road one off Amazon. Here’s a picture. It’s over built but works great! Here’s the link - Freedom OffRoad Rear Adjustable Track Bar Panhard for 0-4" Lift 2009-2018 Ram 1500 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07B6TCTSP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_lZu7FbNB56404?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Oh damn that's pretty bad! I'll definitely pick one up then. I was on the fence but alot of people said it wasn't an issue. Which way was it off? And how did you get it centered? I planned on getting it aligned after everything settles, but did you just "eyeball" it?

 

[Scr8pin]

I know it’s for a 4th Gen but it worked fine. Yeah the axle pushed out to the drivers side, the trac bar was a little too long on mine but the aftermarket one took the alignment guys like 5 seconds to dial in. You can actually lay under your truck and when it’s loose( when I first installed it) you can twist the Center adjustment in and out and watch your entire differential slide left to right and vice-versa. I eyeballed it to get it to the alignment shop then they finalized the adjustments, totally worth the money. The one thing about mine and going down to the 3” markers on the front struts is that the wheels will sit back towards the firewall a bit to get the caster to fall in line but I think I have finally found adjustable ball joints to correct that. It doesn’t affect the drive but I’m OCD with stuff like this so I want everything perfect. These ball joints will also help me with my negative camber. I started a thread yesterday about them, hoping anyone else on here has used them before. If these things work, I’ll be dropping the front end another notch on the coil over ( to the last one) and have the truck down about 4 1/4” and I’ll be cutting the rear springs half a turn to get the rear down to a bout 5 1/4”. The MaxTrac kit is a great deal but you do have to pick up some extra parts if you use it past their recommendation of 2” front and 4” rear. But damn I looks cool down at 3 3/8” front and 4 5/8” rear right now......

 

[Wadlum22]

I know it’s for a 4th Gen but it worked fine. Yeah the axle pushed out to the drivers side, the trac bar was a little too long on mine but the aftermarket one took the alignment guys like 5 seconds to dial in. You can actually lay under your truck and when it’s loose( when I first installed it) you can twist the Center adjustment in and out and watch your entire differential slide left to right and vice-versa. I eyeballed it to get it to the alignment shop then they finalized the adjustments, totally worth the money. The one thing about mine and going down to the 3” markers on the front struts is that the wheels will sit back towards the firewall a bit to get the caster to fall in line but I think I have finally found adjustable ball joints to correct that. It doesn’t affect the drive but I’m OCD with stuff like this so I want everything perfect. These ball joints will also help me with my negative camber. I started a thread yesterday about them, hoping anyone else on here has used them before. If these things work, I’ll be dropping the front end another notch on the coil over ( to the last one) and have the truck down about 4 1/4” and I’ll be cutting the rear springs half a turn to get the rear down to a bout 5 1/4”. The MaxTrac kit is a great deal but you do have to pick up some extra parts if you use it past their recommendation of 2” front and 4” rear. But damn I looks cool down at 3 3/8” front and 4 5/8” rear right now......

Thanks for all the info man! This will definitely save me a great deal of headaches and guess work. I already ordered track bar because someone had a pic of their lowered 5th gen on the reviews. Might have been your truck actually . Truck looks awesome dude. Looks just like mine (minus being lowered as of right now). Can't wait until my kit comes in and I can get installed. I should be good on the front because I only plan on doing 2/4 but it's good to hear the maxtrac allows you to go lower in the future. How's the ride with the kit? Just ordered 24s so I'm sure the ride will be a bit rough compared to factory. I've read some mixed reviews on it but I get that it's subjective.

 

[Scr8pin]

Thanks for all the info man! This will definitely save me a great deal of headaches and guess work. I already ordered track bar because someone had a pic of their lowered 5th gen on the reviews. Might have been your truck actually . Truck looks awesome dude. Looks just like mine (minus being lowered as of right now). Can't wait until my kit comes in and I can get installed. I should be good on the front because I only plan on doing 2/4 but it's good to hear the maxtrac allows you to go lower in the future. How's the ride with the kit? Just ordered 24s so I'm sure the ride will be a bit rough compared to factory. I've read some mixed reviews on it but I get that it's subjective.

Rides like factory up front but the rear bump stops were really hard and I kept bottoming out on them so I removed them, cut the cups off the mounts with an angle grinder and installed bell tech bump stops, they were like $35 on Amazon. Super soft and I haven’t bottomed out since! Way more clearance once you cut the cup off of the plate.Yeah I pulled the trigger on Boxing Day and bought 24x10 dub ballers in gloss black ( 19mm offset) and 295 30 24 lexani lx20 tires. Going to be rough but if I wanted smooth n stuff I wouldn’t have ventured this route lol . I used to drive dropped Mazda’s and Rangers, those things were like riding in a stage coach! Lol this is way better than that...

 

[Wadlum22]

Rides like factory up front but the rear bump stops were really hard and I kept bottoming out on them so I removed them, cut the cups off the mounts with an angle grinder and installed bell tech bump stops, they were like $35 on Amazon. Super soft and I haven’t bottomed out since! Way more clearance once you cut the cup off of the plate.Yeah I pulled the trigger on Boxing Day and bought 24x10 dub ballers in gloss black ( 19mm offset) and 295 30 24 lexani lx20 tires. Going to be rough but if I wanted smooth n stuff I wouldn’t have ventured this route lol . I used to drive dropped Mazda’s and Rangers, those things were like riding in a stage coach! Lol this is way better than that...

Good to know. Looks like I'll have to get those too lol. I'll try it out. I got some helper bags because I tow alot with my truck so maybe that will keep it from bottoming out. I honestly thought the kit came with shorter bump stops. Pretty dumb it doesn't but oh well... And yea I dont expect it to be as smooth as factory but just didn't want it to be crazy stiff. I daily a 350z on coilovers and have a couple other Japanese **** boxes that I don't have an issue driving. I'm pretty excited to get everything installed. I got the gloss black status empire wheels. 24x9.5 +15 and went with 305/35 nexen roadian tires. Basically the same wheels as the ballers but went with those because I was worried about inner clearance at full lock. You have good taste though haha. Thanks again for the info man. Always good to meet a fellow lowered truck lover haha

 

[Scr8pin]

Good to know. Looks like I'll have to get those too lol. I'll try it out. I got some helper bags because I tow alot with my truck so maybe that will keep it from bottoming out. I honestly thought the kit came with shorter bump stops. Pretty dumb it doesn't but oh well... And yea I dont expect it to be as smooth as factory but just didn't want it to be crazy stiff. I daily a 350z on coilovers and have a couple other Japanese **** boxes that I don't have an issue driving. I'm pretty excited to get everything installed. I got the gloss black status empire wheels. 24x9.5 +15 and went with 305/35 nexen roadian tires. Basically the same wheels as the ballers but went with those because I was worried about inner clearance at full lock. You have good taste though haha. Thanks again for the info man. Always good to meet a fellow lowered truck lover haha

They actually have you cut the factory bump stops, and once you cut them man they’re rigid. By cutting the cups off that the factory bump stops sit in gives you another inch of compression on aftermarket bump stops and really smooths out the ride, but if you have helper bags, I bet you will have to cut the cups off because I think it’s where the factory air ride is located. I’m almost positive that where the bump stops touch the differential is the lower bag mount. Actually maybe the cup is the top mount?

 

[Wadlum22]

They actually have you cut the factory bump stops, and once you cut them man they’re rigid. By cutting the cups off that the factory bump stops sit in gives you another inch of compression on aftermarket bump stops and really smooths out the ride, but if you have helper bags, I bet you will have to cut the cups off because I think it’s where the factory air ride is located. I’m almost positive that where the bump stops touch the differential is the lower bag mount. Actually maybe the cup is the top mount?

I guess I'll see what happens when I start installing everything. I don't have factory air ride. I just got the helper bags that just sit jnside the coils. Not the ones thag are hard mounted. Hopefully I don't have to start cutting stuff up lol.

 

[Svt40]

Good to know. Looks like I'll have to get those too lol. I'll try it out. I got some helper bags because I tow alot with my truck so maybe that will keep it from bottoming out. I honestly thought the kit came with shorter bump stops. Pretty dumb it doesn't but oh well... And yea I dont expect it to be as smooth as factory but just didn't want it to be crazy stiff. I daily a 350z on coilovers and have a couple other Japanese **** boxes that I don't have an issue driving. I'm pretty excited to get everything installed. I got the gloss black status empire wheels. 24x9.5 +15 and went with 305/35 nexen roadian tires. Basically the same wheels as the ballers but went with those because I was worried about inner clearance at full lock. You have good taste though haha. Thanks again for the info man. Always good to meet a fellow lowered truck lover haha

How do those Status wheels look on your truck? Any fit issues?

I am looking at the Status Mastadon 6 wheels in 24x9.5 et15 with 305/45R24 tires as well. The plan is to eventually lower it but I'm waiting to see if Belltech actually comes out with a kit.