20" Wheels, etc...

[Evan A. Beck]

Hey guys, I was just doing some thinking, and decided to get some 20" rims and some wide tires for my new '03. As you may or may not know, I have a '03 2500 2WD Regular Cab 6-speed, Sport package in Graphite Gray. Right now, it sits on the factory 17" Sport wheels with 265 tires. Also, the rear end sits up quite a bit higher than the front, so I am going to want to do something about that too.



So here's my question... Has anyone here put 20" wheels on a 2WD rig yet? How about lowering the rear end, or the whole truck for that matter? I am not wanting it to be super low, just want it a tad lower, and level from front to back. I don't plan on carrying any significant loads with this truck... It's just a cruiser. I got my '01 for hauling junk around.



My eventual plan for the '03 is to turn it into a very powerful buolevard cruiser... 500 or so HP, nice wheels & low-pro tires. Dual exhaust, etc... It will definitely turn a few heads, I'm sure. It's already a pretty rare truck, but I am wanting to enhance it even more.



Thanks for any input you may have!

 

[HVAC]

Leveling Kit

Evan, there is a kit that is used to level the truck. It consists of a block to go in the front end to lift it to match the height of the rear. It's usually used on 4x4's. But I guess it would work on a 2wd, not sure what it would look like.



Other then that, Mr. Bob used to have aftermarket spring shackles that would drop the rear 2". Maybe that would get the job done.

 

[timjones]

Evan,

for the rear you can easily take 1. 5 inches out but pulling the 2 spacers off the spring and re bolting the pad. All the factory bolts work and you get less axle wrap on launch(wheel hop). the down side is changing the brakes you'll have to undo the u-bolts and lower the axle to get the calipers clear. the truck will be almost flat just a hint of rake.

 

[Matt400]

Originally posted by timjones

Evan,

for the rear you can easily take 1. 5 inches out but pulling the 2 spacers off the spring and re bolting the pad. All the factory bolts work and you get less axle wrap on launch(wheel hop). the down side is changing the brakes you'll have to undo the u-bolts and lower the axle to get the calipers clear.

Got me wondering with that note... so I took a look for myself since I had done that mod a few months back and don't see what you mean, the caliper bolts undue just fine??

 

[HVAC]

Spacers

My "98 had spacers between the main spring set and the overloads.

 

[nickleinonen]

Originally posted by Evan A. Beck

Hey guys, I was just doing some thinking, and decided to get some 20" rims and some wide tires for my new '03. As you may or may not know, I have a '03 2500 2WD Regular Cab 6-speed, Sport package in Graphite Gray. Right now, it sits on the factory 17" Sport wheels with 265 tires. Also, the rear end sits up quite a bit higher than the front, so I am going to want to do something about that too.



So here's my question... Has anyone here put 20" wheels on a 2WD rig yet? How about lowering the rear end, or the whole truck for that matter? I am not wanting it to be super low, just want it a tad lower, and level from front to back. I don't plan on carrying any significant loads with this truck... It's just a cruiser. I got my '01 for hauling junk around.



My eventual plan for the '03 is to turn it into a very powerful buolevard cruiser... 500 or so HP, nice wheels & low-pro tires. Dual exhaust, etc... It will definitely turn a few heads, I'm sure. It's already a pretty rare truck, but I am wanting to enhance it even more.



Thanks for any input you may have!

that is more or less what i want to do with my 04 [2500 quad sb ho 6 spd 4x4] when i do finally get off my arse and go order it [dealers pc's are still messed by that blackout they say ] i'd like to run 20" with 325/50/20 toyo proxis s/t tires and lower the truck by about 2" front, 4" rear... i am thinking that full air suspension should be able to do the suspension lowering i want. do i need a 4x4, well 95% of the time, no not at all, but for that 5% or less of the time in winter, i don't want to get stranded out there [will probably roll on 285/70/17 bfg a/t's in winter or legit winter tires if they ever get made for 17" wheels & 3000lbs load rating]



the wheels would need to be 20x9's min, 20x10's max [gonna be kinda really hard to get for a good price] and the suspension is going to be hard to get [unless i make it myself unless air ride tech makes something for the dodge - they cater to lowered trucks - kelderman seems to want to lift trucks]

 

[Matt400]

Re: Re: 20" Wheels, etc...

Originally posted by nickleinonen

i'd like to run 20" with 325/50/20 toyo proxis s/t tires and lower the truck by about 2" front, 4" rear the suspension is going to be hard to get [unless i make it myself

How about using Nitto 305/55R20 load range E Terra Grappler's year round?

they look like this



at 33" tall they should fit fine with how much you want to lower it. Also there is a TSB out for owners that want 4x4's and need a lower ride for 5th wheel trailer use. DC has developed a lowering kit just for that use and may be a good place to start for you though I am unsure how much the drop is. The kit number for the 2500 4x4 is 05066072AA and the 3500 4x4 is 05066073AA

 

[nickleinonen]

Re: Re: Re: 20" Wheels, etc...

Originally posted by Matt400

How about using Nitto 305/55R20 load range E Terra Grappler's year round?

they look like this



at 33" tall they should fit fine with how much you want to lower it. Also there is a TSB out for owners that want 4x4's and need a lower ride for 5th wheel trailer use. DC has developed a lowering kit just for that use and may be a good place to start for you though I am unsure how much the drop is. The kit number for the 2500 4x4 is 05066072AA and the 3500 4x4 is 05066073AA

if i am going to shell out big $$$ for 20" rims, salt will never touch them... if i run something like the 285/70/17 bfg on the oem rims for winter, it will still look ok, and will have a narrower contact patch so the tires are not quite ski's [i had 305/70/16's on the rear on my tahoe last winter -kinda interesting to get going, but the 285/75/16's i had in front with the weight of the diesel engine worked well for me]



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hmm... i didn't know nitto had that size out yet. . who knows...