Hey guys, I'm a teenager and wanting to get some help on where to purchase upgrades and what would look good. I think I want 285/75/16 tires and gonna purchase upgraded rims in the same size, should I go with 18"? Also, I'm just going to purchase a 3 inch front level kit to save myself money/ How would that look? thanks in advance

 

Rim diameter is stictly a matter of personal taste. Also you can't go higher than 2 inches with a leveling kit (coilsprings or spacers) or you will not be able to get the alignment within specs without buying longer aftermarket control arms.

 

so whats the highest tire size i could go with?

 

Do a 3.5" spindle lift and 305/70/16"s. (33x12.50) on aftermarket wheels.

Also if you need inspiration I'm 21 and mines a 2wd v6...... For now haha

 

Yea till he slaps a 4 banger in there

Just kidding. Theres alot of 2wd trucks(mine also) to use as inspiration. I might not be that much help, but never know. How much are you looking to spend is what we should discuss.

 

Probably around 1500 total or so, I just know stuff is a lot more difficult with a 2wd, I appreciate the suggestions guys keep em coming! Haha I'm 18, a senior and don't have too big of an income so I gotta stay on the cheaper side.

 

Oh no way man! 2wds are super easy to lift! Plus when you regear, you only have one axle to worry about. They look just as good as 4wds too, but obviously the function isnt there. There's alot of old body style lifted 2wds around here if you want help with that. Or are you looking for performance mods? Theres tons of stuff you can do if you have a stock truck now.

 

Well I have it dialed out with no muffler and a y pipe and have street 31's on it with stock 03 rims. I'm not looking so much for performance as I am appearance. Lift and tires is what I'm really set on with some nice rims too.

 

Well you have a few options. You can choose to spend most of the money on lift and tires, and less on wheels. OR you can spend more on wheels and less on lift and tires. You can find a good lift and some nice tires, but have to run stock wheels(nothing wrong with that) for $1500. My proposition to you would be...
1.) PA body lift off of amazon.com for $174 bucks
2.) daystar 1.5 spacer with camber bolts and a alignment $100 or so
3.) nice wheels and used tires
OR
nice tires, stock wheels.

Another option would be buying a 3.5" spindle lift, but thats going to run you $400ish just for the spindles. Fortunately, all you would need is the spindles in the front but you would need lift blocks and shocks out back.

You could run a 3.5" spindle lift as well as a body lift and put some used 35s on it. You would have to trim the bumper valance just a little bit, but that would be a massive difference in the appearance in your truck.

 

I have new rancho shocks in the rear, but what would your choice be? Probably want to spend the most on tires and lift, but I'm just really new to this. I've wanted to for a while just don't really have all my information quite yet.

 

Well, its hard to say. It all depends on how high you want it lifted, what size tires you want to run and what you want it to look like.

When I was fresh out of high school, and lifted my truck the first time around. I went with a body lift first, and I still believe now that was a great $175 well spent. I do, however, have an automatic trans and I am not sure if you do. Body lifts have to have a extension welded in for a standard transmission.

Lift spindles are always a good idea when lifting a 2wd, but if you aren't wanting to replace your new shocks then I wouldn't mess with an actual suspension lift. I would run a body lift with a 1.5" coil spacer and then buy some really nice tires. Here is a picture of my truck back when all it has was a body lift and 16x10 wheels with 285/75/16 hercules trail diggers on it. I spent a little over $1800 on this set-up but that was with brand new tires and wheels.

 

I like the look of that, yeah body lifts are cheap but they do leave that gap between your bumper and body right? That's the only thing why I'd rathergo something with the suspension although it would be more expensive. Did it rub at all?

 

I'd probably just do spindles, wheels and tires. The you can build from them. Especially if you don't have a manual trans. Once you go past 33"s your gonna want some new gears.

 

No rubbing to speak of. They make gap guards to cover those gaps or you can rock the gaps like I have . Its not that bad.. especially when you consider the fact that chevys show more frame without body lifts then fords do with body lifts.

You can do like Mr jake over here has and be a craigslist *****, and you can find all kinda stuff. If you can find some nice wheels and tires for less than a grand then you should be set with whatever lift set-up you want.

 

Yeah mines automatic, but I just wanted to go with 33's anyways. But how much would that run? I probably will spend around 4 or so on rims. And however much I need to on tires, like 800 or less.