Any issues with levels OTHER than Rough Country?

[Arkangel]

Whats up GMT

 

New to the forum, just bought my first truck and was interested in leveling and adding new wheels/tires

 

Ive done a ton of searching and only found posts with people having noises or ball joints wear out with RC Leveling kits.

 

Anyone had or is aware of issues with any other method of or brand of 2-2.5” leveling?

[Logan Lanfear]

It depends how the kit levels the truck.  If youre getting new control arms, which im not sure you can get with just a level, youd probably be okay.  But some cheaper levels just crank the front end up and change the geometry around.  

[Sierra706]

Any 2” level kit (presumably just a single spacer) is going to be the same. Top or bottom of the strut affects nothing but installation complexity/time. Rough country gets a bad rap because of angle issues with their 3.5” kit. Their 2 and even 2.5” are both reasonable in regards to extra wear and tear.


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[newdude]

Every leveling kit will do the same thing, its not RC specific.  The more aggressive the level, the more wear. 

[Robopie]

My 2" rough country level has been flawless with no issues (both in my previous 2008 I had for many years and my current 2016).  It's ANY leveling system more than 2" that you'll have issues.  

[Arkangel]

So you will have the same issues with Bilsteins or Coilovers such as Fox, King etc?

[Arkangel]

3 hours ago, Bushleaguechew said:

Any 2” level kit (presumably just a single spacer) is going to be the same. Top or bottom of the strut affects nothing but installation complexity/time. Rough country gets a bad rap because of angle issues with their 3.5” kit. Their 2 and even 2.5” are both reasonable in regards to extra wear and tear.


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Could it be the size/offset of the wheels coupled with the leveling kit that causes the problems?

[newdude]

50 minutes ago, Arkangel said:

Could it be the size/offset of the wheels coupled with the leveling kit that causes the problems?

 

Its a geometry change in the angle of the control arm and the angle placed on the ball joint.  A 2 inch level kit will bring the angles of the arms and CV shafts down more from stock.  Therefore, the working angles and stress under suspension travel are changed from stock.  Above 2 inches and you really change the angles even further.  You drive down the road, and the suspension still travels up and down, just as it would off road, but at higher rates of speed vs. off road (in most cases), plus you have expansion joints, potholes, rough roads, railroad crossings, etc.

 

As for wheels/tires, sure a heavier tire might add some stress, as will offset, but those would add more stress to axles, hubs and bearings. 

[Sierra706]

Could it be the size/offset of the wheels coupled with the leveling kit that causes the problems?

Generally size and offset of wheels isn’t too big of a factor in most cases. In cases of extreme wheel offset and tire size/weight added stresses can occur, but to different parts of the suspension than a leveling kit usually affects the most.


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[Arkangel]

26 minutes ago, newdude said:

 

Its a geometry change in the angle of the control arm and the angle placed on the ball joint.  A 2 inch level kit will bring the angles of the arms and CV shafts down more from stock.  Therefore, the working angles and stress under suspension travel are changed from stock.  Above 2 inches and you really change the angles even further.  You drive down the road, and the suspension still travels up and down, just as it would off road, but at higher rates of speed vs. off road (in most cases), plus you have expansion joints, potholes, rough roads, railroad crossings, etc.

 

As for wheels/tires, sure a heavier tire might add some stress, as will offset, but those would add more stress to axles, hubs and bearings. 

Thanks for the reply

 

Do aftermarket control arms correct this problem completely or only help?

 

Unsure now if its worth the trouble for new wheels/tires

 

 

[Arkangel]

3 minutes ago, Bushleaguechew said:

 

Generally size and offset of wheels isn’t too big of a factor in most cases. In cases of extreme wheel offset and tire size/weight added stresses can occur, but to different parts of the suspension than a leveling kit usually affects the most.


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What would be considered “extreme”? -24 and 35’s?

[Sierra706]

 
What would be considered “extreme”? -24 and 35’s?

Plenty of people run those. I’m sure they are wearing components out at a faster rate than others with more conservative setups. But you pay to play.


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[Arkangel]

3 hours ago, Bushleaguechew said:

 

Plenty of people run those. I’m sure they are wearing components out at a faster rate than others with more conservative setups. But you pay to play.


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Thanks for your help

 

Would you say the safest way to run 2.5 of lift would be to pony up for aftermarket UCA’s?

[Sierra706]

Thanks for your help
 
Would you say the safest way to run 2.5 of lift would be to pony up for aftermarket UCA’s?

Pay for the UCAs to have longer life and slightly better performance, or pay to replace the factory arms potentially sooner than would normally be required. Whatever option suits your personal and financial preference


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[Boardmember]

2 hours ago, Bushleaguechew said:

 

Pay for the UCAs to have longer life and slightly better performance, or pay to replace the factory arms potentially sooner than would normally be required. Whatever option suits your personal and financial preference


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Another way to look at this would be 1) change ‘em up front and GUARANTEE you spend the money, or 2) wait to see IF you develop a problem and then spend the money.   

 

We’ll leave any NPV calculation out of this, given we don’t really have a solid time reference.