Ride Quality

[Mountain Whiskey]

So I have been through many of the threads here. Many complain how stiff a ride got with a lift while others say it rides better than stock.

General concensus here, what type of lift provides a better ride quality for the road? Spacers? Kits with UCAs and rear springs (ex. Readylift)? Coil over kits (ex. Fabtech)?

Looking for 3 to 3.5 inches so 35s would fit. Would like opinions of those who have these kits, good and bad.

I know there has to be some of you that have not been satisfied and gone back and forth probably from multiple kits. You can list it here. I am a jeep guy, we are used to pissing mass amounts of money away on frivolous things for vehicles!

Let's hear it.

 

[DirtNazzty]

I wouldn't even waste time with 3"/3.5"lifts spacers etc... And still have to deal with trimming to fit 35s...just spend a little more money on a 4" zone lift and call it a day... Way better ride quality than other options you're considering

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

Thanks! So does the Zone kit drops the pumpkin so the cv angles are improved? If the improvement is good, I would rather buy once cry once. Really, I am trading in a Rubicon that is 6 months old. Great vehicle but I know I will dump more and more money into it as they are never ending with mods.

 

[texasvolfan15]

Generally, it seems like there are a few options people consistently are going with...

• mopar 2 inch lift - still leaves rake, but if you had ORP springs or a 1.5 inch spacer it’s the same as the ready lift height wise and you can fit 35s but would be 0 offset which really doesn’t give you any poke
• Readylift 3.5 - I think creates the best look for our trucks, but also I personally wouldn’t get near it. I don’t believe anyone who says the ride quality is better with this as it’s just spacers all over. People did combos with this kit and bilstein which seems to greatly improve lift
• BDS / Zone - 4 and 6 inch lift options. I wouldn’t do 6, but I just have the preference of just enough lift to fit the biggest tire I can. This will probably be one of your better riding and also more off-road capable options vs the above. Looking back, I would have done the BDS 4 inch
• Carli - most expensive by a mile but probably going to be your best riding options. Custom shocks, springs, etc. they’ve shown videos of fitting 35s but does require trimming
• Eibach - they have a small lift kit option as well, but haven’t dug too much into it

 

[A4Owner]

Hi I'm new I own an A4 but I really like these Ram 1500s. So question is I found one that is a Longhorn with the non air ride suspension. Is it true that these trucks have fully independent coil spring suspensions (like a car) versus leaf springs out back? So I guess the point about this would be the Ram drives better than the F-150 and GMC Sierra correct? What added or I guess incremental benefit does the air ride suspension provide? I don't want to spend the money on e-Torque and for the Pano Sunroof I can "take it or leave it". But why do some users say air ride suspension is "better" while others say the fixed springs actually offer the better ride quality? I understand the benefit of air ride is I can lift it for rougher patches of road and then crouch it into underground parking garages but I still don't understand what you guys mean by ride "Quality".

 

[texasvolfan15]

Hi I'm new I own an A4 but I really like these Ram 1500s. So question is I found one that is a Longhorn with the non air ride suspension. Is it true that these trucks have fully independent coil spring suspensions (like a car) versus leaf springs out back? So I guess the point about this would be the Ram drives better than the F-150 and GMC Sierra correct? What added or I guess incremental benefit does the air ride suspension provide? I don't want to spend the money on e-Torque and for the Pano Sunroof I can "take it or leave it". But why do some users say air ride suspension is "better" while others say the fixed springs actually offer the better ride quality? I understand the benefit of air ride is I can lift it for rougher patches of road and then crouch it into underground parking garages but I still don't understand what you guys mean by ride "Quality".

I can’t comment on air ride vs standard, but generally when it comes to modifying the truck you are going to affect the quality of the ride. Quality meaning riding characteristics, floaty vs planted, how many of the bumps you feel in the road, travel suspension, etc. Because a lift is changing the factory geometry of the suspension, it’s going to change how the vehicle will react to the road. Different kits affect it in different ways, and even when you get a top of the line kit when you go from a passenger tire to an LT tire it will stiffen up the ride. More often than not I believe that is what people think about with ride quality detriment because the tires are heavy and significantly stiffer sidewalls so you just feel imperfections in the road that much more.

If you are not doing anything to your truck, then IMO air ride vs not really doesn’t matter. My truck does not have air ride and the ride was fantastic stock.