Lift kit vs Leveling kit and Steel Off road Bumper??

[Colin Jordan]

Hi Guys, 

Just a few quick questions here.

Apart from my wife's Jeep which Ive been out with, I own a 2016 RAM 1500 SLT (with no standard front tow hooks), now i know for a fact i will rip off my front bumper within the first 10 mins of driving in the desert any tips regarding that will be much appreciated.

Anyway so i just wanted to ask if its worth it to  lift/level it (2 or 3 inches) ? Obviously the leveling kit is much cheaper and will suit my pocket better at the moment, will this be ok or does it cause complications/issues later on or should i rather just save up for a lift kit?

and do you recommend putting on an offroad steel front bumper for more clearance? and if yes. is this a problem with the RTA if the car goes for testing?

 

Thanks in advance guys!

 

 

[Rahimdad]

@Colin Jordan the Ram is my all time favourite truck. I always recommend you take out your ride and do the modifications which you require rather than taking some educated guesses from a few. Having a lift kit is better than a levelling kit as the levelling kit is a bunch of coil spring spacers which makes your ride more uncomfortable and bouncy with a risk of spoiling the drive line. I can see that there is a plastic part which forms the lower lip of the bumper, removing that will give you a couple of extra inches of clearance. A proper 2 inch or 2.5 inch lift kit will do a much better job, but than again you will need to offset the tires by an inch to get the center of gravity right and bigger tires to support the lift kit. I will not recommend steel bumpers as it increases the weight of the vehicle, but a proper steel bumper with some rubber up front will not effect the passing of the car, steel bumper on its own will mean RTA will end up failing the car. I would still request you to take it out for a couple of newbie drives with the plastic at the bottom of the bumper removed and try it out before you come to a conclusion.

[Gaurav]

First of all @Colin Jordan my salute to you for driving Cooper STT's on road with huge road noise and pathetic fuel mileage. Of course they look mean, but trade off is huge too. Deafening noise on highway speed.

Lift or level kit comes bit later, first do share that which 4x4 you will be using more often for off-road Wrangler or Ram or both?

 

[Colin Jordan]

@Gaurav They were terrible haha but luckily I changed recently to the Cooper AT3's which are amazing in my opinion. 

As my the offroad bug has bitten both myself and my wife we will be using both cars. 

 

@Rahimdad

 

Thanks for the advice I will definitely take it out on a few drives first. 

 

one more qeustion is there anyvother place that can fabricate front tow hooks other than Titan performance?

[Colin Jordan]

@Rahimdad I was referring to a bumper like in the photo with the white RAM will this be better? and will it pass RTA? 

[Gaurav]

In that case, do what Rahimdad mentioned, remove the front bumper skirt, drive for few newbie level drives to feel how its doing and what is really needed.

Having a height clearance is only needed if you are totally convince that you can manage such LWB truck for regular sand offroading. Not many ppl can manage it easily tbh as it require special skills, patience and technique, but it's perfectly doable.

[Colin Jordan]

1 minute ago, Gaurav said:

In that case, do what Rahimdad mentioned, remove the front bumper skirt, drive for few newbie level drives to feel how its doing and what is really needed.

Having a height clearance is only needed if you are totally convince that you can manage such LWB truck for regular sand offroading. Not many ppl can manage it easily tbh as it require special skills, patience and technique, but it's perfectly doable.

ok perfect, thank you so much. will definitely take it out and see how it goes. 

[Brette]

10 minutes ago, Colin Jordan said:

@Rahimdad I was referring to a bumper like in the photo with the white RAM will this be better? and will it pass RTA? 

Looks like just the chrome bit has been removed and a skid plate added. 

[Gaurav]

2 minutes ago, Brette said:

Looks like just the chrome bit has been removed and a skid plate added. 

And metal tubular bar added and that will not get pass wit RTA unless you stick two rubber bumps.

[Gaurav]

35 minutes ago, Colin Jordan said:

one more qeustion is there anyvother place that can fabricate front tow hooks other than Titan performance?

There are plenty of places in Al quoz:

Robbies Motorsport, Icon Autos, offroad zone, AAA,