Rough Country 6-inch lift upgrades for smoother ride/21 Ram 1500

[presley82]

Howdy,

I recently had a Rough Country 6" lift installed. Initially I had a spacer lift and couldn't deal with the ride. My wheel/tire combo was delayed and I had to put my stock 20" wheels/tires on and drove that combo for around a week. Once my new setup came in (22" MotoMetal -18 with Kenda Klever 35x12.5 12 Ply) those were installed and the ride was worse but only by a small amount over the stock wheel/tire combo. Based on the minimal difference in ride between the two I feel strongly that dropping to a 10 ply tire will make little to no difference in ride.

To improve the ride I ordered Rough Country N2 lifted struts and longer coils from the back. (Essentially the 1st upgrade package when you order the lift kit.) After install the ride was much better, actually I thought it was perfectly fine. Over the past month, its become more annoying to me. When going to a longer coil I have more of a jiggle in the back.

It just doesn't ride worth a s**t in my opinion. I may be asking for too much being this is my first truly lifted truck, everything previously being leveled. This truck rode great before the lift and I knew there would be some trade-off but this is more than I hoped.

Any suggestions? I run low air pressure, I don't care about the long term effects, it's intolerable at higher pressures. Going to a 10 ply tire is not an option, I don't think it will make a difference and If I swapped tires I'd go to a name brand and I'm not spending that type of money at this point. Is there any option for different rear coils? Would the investment in the Vertex system make a significant difference in ride quality? I'd think it would eat through bumps and transitions much more effciently.

Thanks for the help.

Josh

 

[JerryBsizzle]

What psi are you running on your tires?

 

[H2OMAN]

Lift kits don't exist to improve your ride. They exist to lift your truck. Ride is in the suspension and with suspension you get what you pay for. Crappy suspension crappy ride. Better suspension better ride.

 

[presley82]

What psi are you running on your tires?

I run them really low right now, sub 35. If it breaks the sidewalls down in a year, so be it. I'll get better tires then. 40psi is absolutely not tolerable, I couldn't imagine 45psi....

 

[JerryBsizzle]

Okay that sounds good on the tire pressure. Just making sure because some people see max psi 80 and think 45 is low.

Okay I think you have a few things going on, this is strictly my opinion after running many different tires, lifts and combinations over the years. Start with 12 ply, I dont care what they will just be stiffer period. Also combine that with they are 22's. With less sidewall rubber you only have so much flex and 22's don't give you much. Also the fact that your 22" 12ply tires are rated for 80psi. I've noticed after running many different tires that I tend to stay away from 80psi. I had some Mickey Thompson Baja Boss ATs for a while and they were 80psi max, stiff as hell. The Falkens I have now are 65psi and it's noticeably better.

Another thing is I bet you have the N3 twin tube rear shocks. Those are trash. You would be better with the Rough Country V2 or even the Fabtech Stealth monotube shocks offer a great ride. Fox 2.0's if you want to spend a little more.

Just my thoughts, but im in a 6" lift, 35s but I have 20s, 10 ply, 65psi and monotube rears and I love it.

 

[presley82]

Thank you for the helpful feedback. My thought process going into this was as such: I had another Ram 4 years ago, I did 22" wheels with Terra Grapplers, 35x12.5. I swear those tires were XL rated which are not offered anymore, it looks like the Terra Grapplers are being phased out. It rode great and looked terrific. Looking at all of the options in brand name 22" tires, the majority are only offered in 12 ply. There are a few options in certain tires that offer a 10-Ply. In budget brands, Radar makes a tire in 10-Ply and I should have purchased it, however the Kenda was so highly rated with substantially more reviews that other tires, I felt confident in my choice. Being a budget build I initially went with strut spacer lift. Rough country knocked some money off when I ordered the lifted struts and springs but it would have cost substantially more to go to V2's. Since I didn't upgrade at time of purpose I hamstrung myself. I have a really great shop that does good work at good rates. But I've already spent $700 total more having the springs and struts switched out (parts were $400 of that.) This is a 2nd vehicle so I wanted to try to keep the cost down.

Knowing what I know now, I would have went 20's with xl or less tires. But the 22's look terrific on my truck and make a big difference. I know that if I went with 20's to begin with I'd be kicking myself for not doing 22's. Also, the Kenda's are a damn good looking tire and if I went with something milder from the start I'd be kicking myself for that. So basically I'm screwed no matter what, lol.

I don't think there are any alternative spring options, so I'll start with shocks. I was wondering if Fox made shocks for our trucks, I'm familiar with the V2's and will check out the fabtechs. The N2 struts don't really seem too bad upfront however since going to the longer spring in rear, it's more "jiggly" and jumpy in the rear.

Looks like I'm learning the expensive way. That being said, when I'm thinking about something else and not focusing on the ride, it doesn't bother me. 32-33psi is my best aire pressure I've found also.