joshuaeb09
Well-Known Member
I'm a bit torn on the way I wanna go to replace the rear control arms for a number of reasons so I figured I'd turn to the group to get some input. Right now I'm 60/40 split looking at the Thuren 4-Link kit or the Metalcloak Rear arms. In the past I've used Core 4x4 stuff on these trucks and it works, but it does nothing for NVH other than the benefits of removing the stock bushings. The torsion spring effect of the the OE rear control arms really is the last major "ride quality thing" left to tackle on the truck. Those rear control arms are also the last major suspension component on the truck that are stock or w/stock style bushings ... and you can feel/notice it. I know that going into 2024 I'm probably going to have to take more, longer work trips so tackling that source of negative ride quality will be worth the spend to me. Also our daughter is finally getting old enough that she can do/enjoy more stuff so I'm planning on more family road trips - Anything that reduces NVH and driver fatigue is worth its weight in gold for these trips.
The New Thuren Kit - https://www.thurenfabrication.com/products/2014-2024-ram-2500-rear-4-link-upgrade-kit
The New Thuren Kit - https://www.thurenfabrication.com/products/2014-2024-ram-2500-rear-4-link-upgrade-kit
- The Engineer in me loves the geometry correction and the way Thuren dealt with the shudder/hop in soft stuff. I much prefer the idea of getting the 4 link geometry right rather than how Ram dealt with it on Hemi's/PW's with the anti-hop shock as more of a bandaid than a support. Just the simple matter of getting the link bars more seperated will make the whole rear end more stable on-road, off-road, towing, etc. Raising the Instant Center should make the rear end more stable under most driving conditions and really help it to hook up under load - Meaning less traction control lights on the dash for me lol.
- The added beef to the rear shockmounts is a real positive for me as I also plan to add the front weld in supports from Thuren in the feature. Preventing known weak points is a big thing for me as I do plan on keeping this truck for a while and I do want something I feel just fine jumping in to take the family across the country with a little off-road play along the way and back.
- The Thuren Bushings are poly so they're not going to be any better than Johnny Joints for NVH IMO. They will at-least remove the torsion bushing bind to allow for the full ride quality potential of the Carli R2 springs and BackCountry Shocks. I also know from experience that Johnny Joints alone help kill hop while alowing for good flex so I imagine it's part of their equation here.
- If it ended up having some hop in reverse as they mention - I'd likely play with adding the PW anti-hop bracket and the 5100 dampener. I can justify as I'd likely end up doing it for the other options out there and it would be more of a support than a band-aid.
- It ain't cheap ... That said it looks like a quality setup that's been well designed and tested from what I've seen on social. Having the Thuren rear trackbar I feel like this kit would just be taking that rear axle stability to the next level. Part of me feels I could justfiy part of the spend as "saftey/functionality", but also would enjoy the improved geometry in all forms of driving the truck just like the trackbar.
- I've been super impressed with the Duraflex Joints in my Metalcloak Radius arms so far. The way they handle NVH is superb, way better than OEM bushings, yet they can flex out without binding up like a good joint. I know that for empty highway driving and just flexing out these would likely be the best choice. No joke having the two duraflex bushings inbetween my front axle and the frame has removed a ton of NVH on certain types of pavement or very fine gravel roads. These bushings are the chery on-top for very small bump compliance where neither shocks nor tires are going to help you.
- They don't have any geometry correction and I would likely end up adding the PW Anti-Hop bracket to my Axle with a 5100 Anti Hop dampener. I don't get a lot of hop unless its wet or I'm in fine gravel or sand (not super often), that said I still don't like it. Not having correction is a big negative for Metalcloak here as it's not a full solution.
- They're a little pricey, but nothing compared to the Thuren Kit. Part of me wonders if I could have my cake and eat it too by getting the Thuren Kit 1st and then measuring to see if I can add the Metalcloak arms to it later on. I think I would really love these for their NVH mitigation, however, a big part of me thinks I'll enjoy the geometry correction of the Thuren kit more than I'd enjoy the NVH mitigation of the Metalcloak bushings if I could only have one. I've had trucks with Core 4x4 arm's on them and you just learn not to run M/Ts and instead stick to tires like KO2's, AT3Ws, AT2/3s, etc.
- I know these work ... They're the gold standard on 1500 builds to kill rear axle hop as there aren't many options there. I know plenty of folks running them on jeeps, 1500s, and some 4th gen 2500s. I've used them myself.
- They have some NVH - It's not bad on the highway or at speed, but when I was running Toyo M/Ts on my last truck that had Core 4x4 Arms you could feel the lugs when you where coming to a stop once you got under a certain speed.
- I would probably run the PW Bracket and 5100 Anti-Hop shock with these due to the lack fo geometry corection. They help remove hop through the removal of the bushings and replacement with joints, but that's not a true fix so a shock would help support them.
- They don't correct the geometry just like the Metalcloak Setup, but they also add NVH instead of remove it. Unlike the 1500 platform we can simply add the PW anti-hop shock if needed, so we don't need bushings/joints that are super tight for certain types of builds. These things ain't race cars and I want to eliminate NVH where I can since its not a dedicated off road rig.
- The Thuren Bushings and Johnny Joints are very similar in design so there's nothing special here unlike Metalcloaks joint/bushing design that is great for NVH. I would only get these if I was doing a budget oriented build where I cared more about the benefits and less about the NVH and/or I had a stock 2500 that I wanted to beef up for towing along with a spring from like Super Springs (Not Sumos).
