Devil Dog

Is there really a big difference in ride quality/handling between the two?


Performance susp.: Kore Recon, Carli Starter, Lorenz Bilstein 5100.

Lifts: Superlift, Skyjacker, Fabtech, Revtek, BDS.

ptgarcia

Yes.......

Megadeth

For that kind of money I sure as hell hope there is a difference.

Devil Dog

You can get a entry level perf. susp. from $1085 to $1580 so its not much more than a lift and cheaper than some.

kwylie

What do you want to do with it? Here in BFE every road turns into a dirt road and then into a washboard. I got mine for that and love it. In fact today I took the back road home just for the chance to bash it.
If you are on the road 99.9% of the time and do very little off road and you do it slow you will be fine with the lift kit. just my opinion.

Cowhand

All a "lift kit" does essentially is increase the ride height. They will typically come with extended bump stops so that you end up with little or no increase in suspension travel. Spring rates are almost always higher to somewhat counteract increased body roll that comes with a higher center of gravity. Most often, they come with mass produced twin tube shocks that use the same or similar valving for every vehicle. In other words, most of them are for mall crawlers that want additional ride height to stick a bigger tire under there. They'll handle some light off roading, but invariably, some reliability issues will pop up. After a couple years, bushings wear out, springs sag, shocks leak and rust. This leads to all kinds of front end issues, especially with the Dodge front end. Ever wonder why the off the shelf box kits are so much cheaper than the performance systems? Believe it or not, the profit margin is alot higher with the big box kits than it is with the performance systems (except maybe one). You get what you pay for.

A true performance suspension system will give some additional ride height, but the ride height is secondary to useable suspension travel....in other words, to get 10" of travel (with an acceptable compression/extension split), you'll need to increase the ride height 2-3". Performance systems will typically (depending on which system) result in significant improvements in ride quality, on and off road. Performance systems are also typically purpose built for a specific vehicle, i.e., different spring/valving combos for 2nd gen vs 3rd gen, different springs/shocks for rock crawling vs. open desert, etc.

Bottom line is, it depends on what you want to do with the truck, and how much you're willing to spend. IMO, even the entry level performance systems are light years better than the Superlift/Skyjacker/Rancho/Tuff Country/RCD etc. Guess it also depends on how much tire you're trying to stuff under the truck, and how much you're willing to compromise in terms of ride quality and durability to do it.

Dieseljunkie

It all comes down to what you want to do with your truck, like cowhand said. At this point, for me, I do not plan on running baja with my truck anytime soon. But, I want the ability to. I have a set of 35's that I plan on putting on my truck, bone stock. If they rub too much for my liking, I will throw on a leveling spacer, and a set of bilsteins, but I will keep saving for the carli starter kit.
Scott

jamesbfishin

Not to hi-jack this thread but.....

Cowhand, is there a minimum amount of lift needed to convert the front suspension to radius arms like the ones under your truck or will they fit a stock truck, or one with just a leveling kit?

Thanks

Devil Dog

What I plan to with the truck has nothing to do with the question asked, I guess this should be answered by people with experience with both.

Dieseljunkie

Actually, what you plan to do with the truck will tell us what suspension would be better for you. If all you are looking for is what is going to ride best, and cost be darned, then go with something from Carli, Thuren, Lorenz or Kore.. Preferably in that order, IMHO.
Scott

Cowhand

I think Donny is running his with +3"........ you might call or e-mail him and ask. All my experience with RA's is on 2nd gens, axle end mounts are alot different. Don is the only guy I know of so far that's done them on a 3rd gen......he could answer that question better than I could.

Devil Dog

The new Kore Recon is looking real good.

jamesbfishin

Thank you for the info. I'm just trying to get a feel for where I might take my truck in the future (around 3 yrs from now) The leveling kit will work for a while, but I would like to put about 6" under this truck and I don't think I'll stick with the shorty 4 link control arms combined with drop brackets.

Thanks again.

Luvnacumns

I believe DOn is running 3" too I had a lengthy talk with him yesterday and he is goona set me up with the same set up.... But for towing....

UnrulyNFS

Your out of control, you know that.