Carli suspension info

[Crusty old shellback]

why not look at a set of bilsteins to replace the factory shocks? you're ultimately keeping the same spring rate by not swapping, and a shock isn't going to change ride characteristics that by much.

It has Bilstiens on it from the factory. So which ones would I go for?

 

[Crusty old shellback]

I beleive the beadlock PW rims are different offset than the regular PW rims.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

If you’re like me, you’d only run a spare tire for long enough to get to the tire shop.

A 35” will fit under the bed and is only 5% smaller than a 37. I think it would be an acceptable spare and that’s what I’ve considered for myself when considering 37s for mine.

 

[elephantrider]

It has Bilstiens on it from the factory. So which ones would I go for?

I'd check out the 5100's.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

My BFG 35 fits under the bed just fine without airing it down any. I did trim the heat shield in the front so maybe that helped some.

 

[elephantrider]

I couldn't get my 35"er to fit, mainly due to the trac bar.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

To get mine in, as it got close to the track bar, I raised the front/lower the rear of the tire as I raised it. After it got over the track bar, it went in the rest of the way just fine. I made sure and pulled the tire as far back as possible whne raising it into its final position. So far, I don't see any rubbing. I flexed it out pretty good the other day on a 2 foot ramp and didn't notice anything. I'll do it again and crawl under and look at the track bar and see if it rubs.

 

[AnthonyD1978]

As for going with 37s. I prefer not to have to cut any fender liner. If you do you'll have to maintain the pinch weld that's now exposed (from chips and rust). I also believe there is a wiring harness in that area.

I massaged my fender liner with a heat gun instead.

My BFG 35 fits under the bed just fine without airing it down any. I did trim the heat shield in the front so maybe that helped some.

Same here when I ran 35s.

I couldn't get my 35"er to fit, mainly due to the trac bar.

It was a tight fit, but I was able to push it past the track bar with some elbow grease. To be clear a 35 won't just slide up or drop out freely either way. It requires some manipulation when lifting or dropping it.

If you’re like me, you’d only run a spare tire for long enough to get to the tire shop.

A 35” will fit under the bed and is only 5% smaller than a 37. I think it would be an acceptable spare and that’s what I’ve considered for myself when considering 37s for mine.

I've thought about this too. Also, people say to make sure the spare 35" tire is on a non-drive wheel (up front and in 2wd), but don't our front diffs still spin in 2wd? This may require rotating the tires around if your flat is on a rear wheel. Another problem is that if I'm on a trail the nearest tire shop could be hours or even days away. But It would be real nice to free up my bed space and get the 37" spare out of there.

I carry a ton of tire repair gear with me and I would do a patch job on the tire before putting the spare on.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

MDethloff,

There is another member who put 37's on his stock PW rims and no lift and they did rub on the sway bar. He actually ground some off it looks from his pictures to clear it.

What I posted above from Carli and CJC is from what they have found in their testing. Seems CJC does a lot of testing and real world driving of the systems, so I'd say they have a good working knowledge of what works and what doesn't.

And I've run 2.5" remote resi King shocks on a K5 I built with Deaver springs. 12/18" of wheel travel. So I know how well the systems can work when setup/tuned correctly.

My problem is I don't really want to lift my truck anymore as I use it as a truck. But I'd like to try and find some better shocks to help with the ride.

As far as putting in a bed slider as mentioned before, it will not work for my usage. When I'm doing race support, I carry anything from 40" race tires/rims, 110G axillary fuel tanks, 55G drums of race fuel, or 110G pressure probe for refueling the race truck. So putting one of the bed slide boxes in, I'm not sure it would handle the weight on top. Plus there really wouldn't be anything put inside of it as it wouldn't fit.
Also with all the stuff I carry, that's the last thing I want is to have it lift it higher to get it in the bed of a lifted truck.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

AnthonyD1978,
I'm with you. Down in Baja or out in Nevada, the nearest town could be a days drive or more. I too carry a plug kit when traveling outside the normal area. Otherwise I'd call AAA. But they don't service the neverland down in Baja.

If I was to go with 37's. I'd probably look at a swing out tire carrier mounted to the rear bumper in some way. That wa the bed is still usable.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

As for going with 37s. I prefer not to have to cut any fender liner. If you do you'll have to maintain the pinch weld that's now exposed (from chips and rust). I also believe there is a wiring harness in that area.

I massaged my fender liner with a heat gun instead.



Same here when I ran 35s.


It was a tight fit, but I was able to push it past the track bar with some elbow grease. To be clear a 35 won't just slide up or drop out freely either way. It requires some manipulation when lifting or dropping it.


I've thought about this too. Also, people say to make sure the spare 35" tire is on a non-drive wheel (up front and in 2wd), but don't our front diffs still spin in 2wd? This may require rotating the tires around if your flat is on a rear wheel. Another problem is that if I'm on a trail the nearest tire shop could be hours or even days away. But It would be real nice to free up my bed space and get the 37" spare out of there.

I carry a ton of tire repair gear with me and I would do a patch job on the tire before putting the spare on.

I’m assuming They say to put the smaller tire up front because most of us have limited slip rear end. Two different size tires would heat the lsd up, open diff wouldn’t care much

 

[MDethloff]

@Crusty old shellback I agree that 37's will rub on factory wheels, and that is what I was saying. They will have slight rub near full lock on the radius arm and swaybar, but it just removes some paint, and with more aggressive tires like STT Pros or Toyo MT's you will lose a little bit of steering. CJC knows what they're talking about; I think if you were open to any degree of rubbing there might have been more info added into that email to explore that option. I'm sharing the experience I have from all the Ram's I have set up for customers or myself.

That's great that you know what a performance system works like, that helps a ton. The aftermarket options for shocks on the 2500's with stock coils is pretty minimal if you want an improvement over factory. Filthy Motorsports carries King 2.5's for factory coils in stock if I remember correctly, or you could ask Thuren if they'll build and tune you a set of shocks for factory coils. The rear stock coils are an option on their site, keeping the front coils I think would require a request.

If you run a 35" spare with 37's you'll probably lose ESC/ABS for that short time you've got the spare on. The rear axle of the 2005-present Wagons has a Torsen LSD and the 2019+ non-Wagon HD's have a clutch LSD. Probably wouldn't want the spare on the rear axle if you were driving on the highway like @Rockcrawlerdude said.

 

[Fishnerd]

Im running Kings w/ resi (front and rear) with factory coils, and so far they have been awesome! No increase in ride height. They were tuned for the PW.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Im running Kings w/ resi (front and rear) with factory coils, and so far they have been awesome! No increase in ride height. They were tuned for the PW.

Where did you get them and who tuned them?
Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Fishnerd]

Where did you get them and who tuned them?
Inquiring minds want to know.

Got them from Filthy Motorsports, best customer service ive ever received, spoke with Ben (owner) for over an hour and he explained everything and answered all the questions i had.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Got them from Filthy Motorsports, best customer service ive ever received, spoke with Ben (owner) for over an hour and he explained everything and answered all the questions i had.

Thanks. Yea, I've bought stuff from them before when I rebuilt my King shocks and talked with them. Good company and their website is full of good info.

Update: sent Filthy a Email. Will post what I get back.

Also sent Thuren a Email asking about a kit from them to fit my needs.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

OK, I got a package from Thuren they spec'ed out for me that meets my needs that I described to them. Seems reasonable.

Power wagon front coils. 1/2" lift
King 2.5 shocks front and rear with stage 3 valving and remote reservoir mounting brackets
Front and rear track bars
Rear sway bar end links.

I asked about their rear springs and he stated that the PW springs are softer than the 2500 springs, but still stifer than their springs. And for what I will be using my truck for, the stock springs would be better.

So with their setup, it basically lifts the front 1/2" but I've heard on some, it doesn't really lift it. I think for now, I'm leaning towards this system. Unless Filthy comes up with something better. Or I can get a hold of the guy at Fox and see what they are working on for the near future.

I also saw the ADS shocks on the Filthy site and that reminded me that one of my buddies is working with them on shock setups for the suspension he builds for older square body Chevys. I've met some of the guys and their tuner out at KoH. So may try and reach out to them as well.

 

[JamesEvan]

OK, I got a package from Thuren they spec'ed out for me that meets my needs that I described to them. Seems reasonable.

Power wagon front coils. 1/2" lift
King 2.5 shocks front and rear with stage 3 valving and remote reservoir mounting brackets
Front and rear track bars
Rear sway bar end links.

I asked about their rear springs and he stated that the PW springs are softer than the 2500 springs, but still stifer than their springs. And for what I will be using my truck for, the stock springs would be better.

So with their setup, it basically lifts the front 1/2" but I've heard on some, it doesn't really lift it. I think for now, I'm leaning towards this system. Unless Filthy comes up with something better. Or I can get a hold of the guy at Fox and see what they are working on for the near future.

I also saw the ADS shocks on the Filthy site and that reminded me that one of my buddies is working with them on shock setups for the suspension he builds for older square body Chevys. I've met some of the guys and their tuner out at KoH. So may try and reach out to them as well.

What would be the turnaround on that package?

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Not sure. You'd have to ask. Seems most places are talking 6 months plus for the king shocks.

 

[jetrinka]

Maybe Bilstein will come out with a 5100 series shock that will swap in? I looked around a month ago and didn’t find anything