Am I doing this right?

Lift/level... I know 1 million posts.

I'd like to get the front end levelled and have an overall better ride on and off road. I'm pretty set on 6112/5160. I'm putting an ARE V series shell on it if it ever gets delivered... I only ever tow a pop up and stick mostly to forest roads. I do love running through the deasert so soaking up the bumps is important to me. I'm keeping stock wheels and going to put on 255/85/16. It's a 17 OR 4x4 double cab and I don't plan on adding any other heavy parts like bumper etc.

Questions are, do I need to do an add a leaf or a new pack?
Is the shock upgrade fine without an AAL since the goal is ride quality and front level?
What notch setting for level 4/5?
Also can I put the new shoes on before the lift or do I need to wait until the lift is on?

 

Wait till the lift to get your tires and do the alignment. I'm running that same tire/wheel configuration with a RTT and about 500 lbs of sliders and skid plates. I went with a different suspension but did add a leaf to the rear springs. Rides great. Solid in both desert and mountains and have never bottomed out the rear end even with several hundred extra pounds of spare fuel, coolers, tools and recovery gear.

 

I have a set of medium Dakar springs with that setup. I have a softopper though so a little less weight. I feel like the springs were worth the cost.