Bilstein v Carli (Fox) v Icon

I'm eagerly awaiting my OE tires to finish out their life this spring and plan on upgrading both the tires and suspension then. I'm pretty sure I will be going with BFG KO2s for the tires, I'm also looking at the Falken Wildpeaks but there doesn't seem to be much of a price difference there. Stock size for me is 265/70 r17 which is a bit under 32", I'm thinking I will probably go with 285/75 r17 at right about 34" for the replacement.

The hardest decision for me is what to go with on the suspension. I want roughly a 2" lift, not a level as I do like the rake and have around 500# in the bed constantly with the shell and my drawers. I'm also out East, so more of the forest road and dirt road type of trails than rock crawling or anything like that.

Bilstein

• $650
• 2.1" front lift, 1.5" rear lift
• 5100 Coilover, 5100 rear, Icon variable rate rear lift spring

Carli Commuter

• $1,885
• 2" front lift, 1" rear lift
• Fox 2.0 Coilover, Fox 2.0 rear, variable rate rear lift springs, track bar drop, end links

Icon

• $1,899
• 2.5" front lift, 1.5" rear lift
• 2.0 Coilover, 2.0 rear, variable rate rear lift spring

I think I'm leaning either the Bilstein or the Carli route. Pushing me towards the Carli is their reputation, higher quality shocks, and not having to break down the stock struts to swap parts over like on the 5100. Pushing me towards the Bilsteins is obviously the price. The rebuildable aspect can really go either way; on one hand it's nice to be able to get them rebuilt, but on the other hand this is my DD so having the downtime would be a bit of a pain.

What are everyone's thoughts on the different brands/systems? Carli or Icon I think will definitely be better, but I'm having a tough time deciding if they are $1,200 better.

go carli, its the top of that list

Carli stuff is engineered to maintain proper geometry and is very well built. Carli will get you the best ride out of the three, they make a great 1/2 kit.

Carli gets my vote. I've had too many issues with Icon shocks in the past to recommend them without hesitation.

Yes, I know you are driving a half-ton, but go to the PW site and read the shock links and discussions over there. Lots of good info. When I did my PW suspension upgrade a couple years ago, I went with Thuren's custom-tuned Fox 2.0s and am very pleased with them. Call Carli and call Thuren and get their take on what they recommend for your situation. The Bilstein 5100s have a bit of a spotty record on PWs, but that's a different truck with different use patterns.

http://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3044&sid=26069b66104101fadf9295d1a8147b08

Not too surprised Carli is taking the early lead. I was just sort of considering Icon a bit since they were there, but from some reading I had been doing the tuning from Carli seems to be pretty top notch.

Ducky's Dad said:

Yes, I know you are driving a half-ton, but go to the PW site and read the shock links and discussions over there. Lots of good info. When I did my PW suspension upgrade a couple years ago, I went with Thuren's custom-tuned Fox 2.0s and am very pleased with them. Call Carli and call Thuren and get their take on what they recommend for your situation. The Bilstein 5100s have a bit of a spotty record on PWs, but that's a different truck with different use patterns.

http://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3044&sid=26069b66104101fadf9295d1a8147b08

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There's some solid information there, I appreciate the link! I've been looking over all sorts of threads and forums so the PW isn't even that for off. Looked through some of that already, but I'm going to keep working on the rest.

I did look at Thuren's site, but they only have a King system listed at $2,400. That also doesn't include a spring for the rear, so you're looking at $2,700. I definitely don't want to go over the $2k mark so that put them out of the running. I'll drop them a line though and see if they have anything coming out that is Fox based, the 1/2 ton looks to be a new market for both Carli and Thuren. I haven't called either, but it sounds like I need to do that.

What is everyone seeing on service intervals on the more high end shocks? Fox lists a rebuild at 10k for 50/50 use and 50k for 100% on road use. If I go with the higher end shocks I'll need to figure something out come rebuild time.

Be aware that not all Fox shocks are rebuildable. The ones with aluminum tubes are one and done.

Re springs, my truck has leaf packs in the rear, but I went with Carli packs on Thuren's recommendation, and Thuren shocks on Carli's recommendation. They will listen to you and give you good advice.

Ducky's Dad said:

Yes, I know you are driving a half-ton, but go to the PW site and read the shock links and discussions over there. Lots of good info. When I did my PW suspension upgrade a couple years ago, I went with Thuren's custom-tuned Fox 2.0s and am very pleased with them. Call Carli and call Thuren and get their take on what they recommend for your situation. The Bilstein 5100s have a bit of a spotty record on PWs, but that's a different truck with different use patterns.

http://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3044&sid=26069b66104101fadf9295d1a8147b08

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FYI he has a 1500.

FYI he has a 1500.

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Well, Duh! That's why I said I know he's driving a half-ton.

Carli. Contact CJC Offroad.

I don't have long-term experience with any of these, but I do have a budget and I ended up with Option A, plus Icon upper control arms with their greasable Delta joints. I have Rebel wheels/tires (285/70R17) on my truck and I'm very happy with the results so far. Unloaded on the highway, it's not all that different from stock. However, loaded up, or on dirt roads (or both), it's been far more stable and smooth.

Time will tell if I made the right decision. Given that it's a Hemi 1500 that spends most of it's time near the lower end of it's payload capacity, Option A fit the bill perfectly.

In your case, you've got more weight front and rear than I do, so YMMV.

I use BDS and Carli. BDS has some cool stuf as well, check them out.

I see you're also in Ohio. The Falkens will stomp the BFG AT Ko2's. The Cooper ST max is even better still, and made IN Ohio.

Ducky's Dad said:

Well, Duh! That's why I said I know he's driving a half-ton.

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Sorry I didn’t read that. I read that you mentioned thuren, I don’t think don has a 1500 kit out.

Appreciate the continued thoughts everyone!

Ducky's Dad said:

Be aware that not all Fox shocks are rebuildable. The ones with aluminum tubes are one and done.

Re springs, my truck has leaf packs in the rear, but I went with Carli packs on Thuren's recommendation, and Thuren shocks on Carli's recommendation. They will listen to you and give you good advice.

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Good to know! Yeah, I'll probably give them a call sometime next week.

Buliwyf said:

I use BDS and Carli. BDS has some cool stuf as well, check them out.

I see you're also in Ohio. The Falkens will stomp the BFG AT Ko2's. The Cooper ST max is even better still, and made IN Ohio.

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I looked at BDS, but they've only got 4" and 6" lifts. That's higher / more complicated than I really want, not to mention it's really more than I want to spend.

I'm curious on your comments on the Falkens, a lot of what I've read seems to say they are good tires. I don't have anything against them; I've just kind of always thought of the KO2s as the standard for ATs and Falkens might be a good route if I could save some cash, but it didn't seem like the case.

lowfreqgeek said:

I don't have long-term experience with any of these, but I do have a budget and I ended up with Option A, plus Icon upper control arms with their greasable Delta joints. I have Rebel wheels/tires (285/70R17) on my truck and I'm very happy with the results so far. Unloaded on the highway, it's not all that different from stock. However, loaded up, or on dirt roads (or both), it's been far more stable and smooth.

Time will tell if I made the right decision. Given that it's a Hemi 1500 that spends most of it's time near the lower end of it's payload capacity, Option A fit the bill perfectly.

In your case, you've got more weight front and rear than I do, so YMMV.

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Yeah I haven't seen many people trash the 5100s and I think they would still be a good option, just weighing spending some more. It's not an easy decision. Any way I go I plan on switching out to the Mevotech control arms. They are just an OE replacement, but actually forged instead of stamped. I think it's worth the little extra to not have to worry as much about the UCAs. Don't think I'll end up going with the Icons though due to cost. The Rebel rims do look nice, haven't been able to find any locally unfortunately.

Explorerinil said:

Sorry I didn't read that. I read that you mentioned thuren, I don't think don has a 1500 kit out.

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He actually does have a kit out. It's King based and probably more than I want to spend, but I may wind up giving them a call anyway.

BFG ATs are a very dated design. Newer designed tires like the Toyo AT or RT, Cooper tires, etc. will perform better and be as or more quiet.