Post Your Tow Rig!

[Cobound]

I have a factory 20”...I’ll maybe Stick w/ that and go with 295/60/20...looking at the Bilstein strut vs. spacer.

[MBood82]

Originally Posted by Cobound

I have a factory 20”...I’ll maybe Stick w/ that and go with 295/60/20...looking at the Bilstein strut vs. spacer.

go bilstein. spacer risks upper control arm issues.

[bbaCJ8]

Originally Posted by MBood82

Sounds like only if you use their knuckle. If you use the stock knuckle on a leveling kit with the Mesa wheel you should be fine.

Once you go to a 3"+ lift and get a new spindle then you do need to get a different wheel, most kits say you need a 20 inch rim to clear the new spindle height. It's another reason I decided to go with the Bilstein option, I didn't want a 20 inch rim. I want some meat on the tire.

Correct, only requires our TRE with our lift/knuckle.

Originally Posted by Cobound

I have a factory 20”...I’ll maybe Stick w/ that and go with 295/60/20...looking at the Bilstein strut vs. spacer.

Factory wheel size is irrelevant, nothing else changes on the vehicle. But yes if you have 20s already there's not much reason to change unless you just want different wheels. You'll have to keep an eye on backside clearance to the tires, that's the case on most newer trucks.

Originally Posted by MBood82

go bilstein. spacer risks upper control arm issues.

The Bilstein setup is nice for sure, we actually used those struts in conjunction with custom spacers until our custom struts were available. But they're no different from a geometry standpoint than spacers. It exceeds the UBJ and CV angles at full droop just like a cheap spacer lift would. Normal spacers go between the top of the strut and the upper frame mount. Bilstein's setup has longer struts with multiple mounting grooves for the lower spring bucket. It's adjustable from roughly 0-2" lift, but basically acts like a spacer on the bottom instead of the top. The different lift heights also change spring preload rather than just static ride height. Not bashing the Bilstein setup, but don't kid yourself that it doesn't risk the same issues as any other leveling kit. Lift the front without correcting geometry and you're going to exceed the travel of upper balljoints and CVs.

[Cobound]

Originally Posted by bbaCJ8

Correct, only requires our TRE with our lift/knuckle.


Factory wheel size is irrelevant, nothing else changes on the vehicle. But yes if you have 20s already there's not much reason to change unless you just want different wheels. You'll have to keep an eye on backside clearance to the tires, that's the case on most newer trucks.


The Bilstein setup is nice for sure, we actually used those struts in conjunction with custom spacers until our custom struts were available. But they're no different from a geometry standpoint than spacers. It exceeds the UBJ and CV angles at full droop just like a cheap spacer lift would. Normal spacers go between the top of the strut and the upper frame mount. Bilstein's setup has longer struts with multiple mounting grooves for the lower spring bucket. It's adjustable from roughly 0-2" lift, but basically acts like a spacer on the bottom instead of the top. The different lift heights also change spring preload rather than just static ride height. Not bashing the Bilstein setup, but don't kid yourself that it doesn't risk the same issues as any other leveling kit. Lift the front without correcting geometry and you're going to exceed the travel of upper balljoints and CVs.

Great info. With all that said, with me just looking for a set of 295/60/20 and factory or Mesa rims, what leveling kit would you recommend?

If I wanted a 35x12.50x20 would I need to lift front AND rear? Would prefer to keep it simple, and think the 295s would suffice for what I'm looking for. I'm coming up on having this 5 years, would like to keep it another 2-3 or more. Instead of upgrading vehicles, since I do really like it, I'll just make upgrades to the vehicle itself.

Would like to avoid needing a chip to correct speedo as well.

Thanks for the input gents!

B

[bbaCJ8]

Originally Posted by Cobound

Great info. With all that said, with me just looking for a set of 295/60/20 and factory or Mesa rims, what leveling kit would you recommend?

If I wanted a 35x12.50x20 would I need to lift front AND rear? Would prefer to keep it simple, and think the 295s would suffice for what I'm looking for. I'm coming up on having this 5 years, would like to keep it another 2-3 or more. Instead of upgrading vehicles, since I do really like it, I'll just make upgrades to the vehicle itself.

Would like to avoid needing a chip to correct speedo as well.

Thanks for the input gents!

B

Bilstein would still be a great choice for a leveling kit, I just didn't want you to kid yourself that you wouldn't be maxxing out other components doing it. If you're trying to fit 35s I'd highly recommend the AEV kit. It's on the high end of price, but it also is for quality and design. Most other kits cut a lot of corners that ours doesn't. But if you don't plan to keep the truck that long you'd be better off from a budget standpoint just leveling it and throwing 295s on.

[MBood82]

Originally Posted by bbaCJ8

The Bilstein setup is nice for sure, we actually used those struts in conjunction with custom spacers until our custom struts were available. But they're no different from a geometry standpoint than spacers. It exceeds the UBJ and CV angles at full droop just like a cheap spacer lift would. Normal spacers go between the top of the strut and the upper frame mount. Bilstein's setup has longer struts with multiple mounting grooves for the lower spring bucket. It's adjustable from roughly 0-2" lift, but basically acts like a spacer on the bottom instead of the top. The different lift heights also change spring preload rather than just static ride height. Not bashing the Bilstein setup, but don't kid yourself that it doesn't risk the same issues as any other leveling kit. Lift the front without correcting geometry and you're going to exceed the travel of upper balljoints and CVs.

See, I always thought that too until I dug into it a bit, I didn't understand the difference. I'd be interested to see if you have any feedback otherwise, having a manufacturer experience, relative to what I found.

The argument, straight from Bilstein, is that their shock has the same travel capabilities as a factory shock. Therefore, you can't overextend since the extended length is the exact same as a factory shock. It does stiffen up the ride a bit but I don't think it's made it overly harsh or abrasive.

The lift is accomplished by changing the spring preload (as you note) but all that does is change the static ride height. So if static ride height had the shock 50% extended at the stock height, now it's at 75% extension with the new preload.

In comparison, the spacer lift would move the whole strut assembly down by the height of the spacer, which means the static ride height is still at that 50% extension, allowing further droop, which is where the internet hive mind thinks the upper control arm issues crop up.





For what it's worth, when I had the factory struts side by side with the Bilsteins, they were the same extended length.