Regcabguy
Oil eater.
I guess Kore had it all wrong. Mine don't touch with the vehicle sitting still.
My friend has their early linear rate coils and they too work well.
15' Ram 2500 - Carli vs AEV vs Misc
- Thread starter nick325i
- Start date
I guess Kore had it all wrong. Mine don't touch with the vehicle sitting still.
My friend has their early linear rate coils and they too work well.
Highway Camper
New member
Icon makes several kits for the Ram 2500. I have herd that their shocks are as good or better than most. I don't have a lift, pretty much stock.
I'm not so focused on the shocks as I am the individual systems. I am still trying to compare what it is about the components of a thuren or carli kit that makes it superior to AEV. If the shocks aren't great on AEV, then you could just swap them out for tuned carli/thuren/icon shocks correct?
chet6.7
Explorer
You could swap,allegedly the shocks are tuned to the specs of the aftermarket springs.
I have no idea how this effects real world performance.
From what I have read on CF,and my limited grasp of the subject...the lighter spring rates of the aftermarket springs allows more movement/articulation,this works with the specific tuned shocks.
The heaver spring rates of the stock springs does not articulate as much as the lighter rated aftermarket springs.
How much of that is marketing I don't know.
I do see Carli buyers always mentioning they could drive fire trails at high speed..the faster they go the better it handles. That is not something I have any interest in, I am more interested in speed bumps at 10 mph,and pot holes at 25 mph.
Highway Camper
New member
I have no desire to drive a fire trail at high speed. I put some Bilstein HD's on my stock suspension and it helps some but the washboard roads still shake the truck apart. So I put some Michelin Defenders 295-70-18 and plan on lowering the PSI down to 40's in hopes of taking the shake out of the washboard some. Getting a Powertank to refill. The problem is, the truck is just big. Lifting it and putting 37's on it will just get you where you should not be with a truck this size while camping and relying on it to get you home. I've done the Rubicon trail and that is not really Overlanding. A dirt road wandering through the back country is all I want to set my Ram up for.
Agreed. Furthermore, I don't think I want to be going 60+ down some of these trails in a 8000lbs truck loaded with gear. So the question is, does a kit like AEV prevent the truck from shaking apart on those washboard roads?
LimaMikeMike
Observer
Thuren is going to have gas 2014+ coils in stock in a couple weeks I was told, maybe drop them a line.
Highway Camper
New member
I think the best expedition Ram would be a base model 2500 4x4 CCSB 6.4gas and take it from there. Keep the electronics simple and the diesel just has to much smog to go wrong with the new ones. A good 3 inch soft lift with 35's. Other than hard core rocks and Gatekeeper level 4x4 it would do it. I have the Laramie level Cummins and I fear for all cool electronics and smog on the diesel.
I have never been a supporter of spring spacers and lift blocks. But to each their own.
Bilstein 5100 shocks are just okay shocks. Way better than stock or any "white rocket" twin tube.
Like what was said above, custom tuned shocks are tuned to work with specific spring rates. A higher quality shock custom tuned will probably still work better on the AEV kit than what is offered just because it is a better / larger shock. By that right you could also replace the AEV 3" spacer down the road with performance springs as well.
A truck set up to go fast down fire roads will do better all around than one that isn't. Now a truck designed to go fast through large bumps might suffer on the slow ones. My truck is very comfortable on a mostly groomed road like Camp Rock at 50ish. At that speed I don't have to care about the spots where the berm washed out across the road or rolling dips and such. That is just with good front coils and off the shelf shocks. Once I get into any sort of whoop type terrain I have to slow way down as the front will pogo due to the valving and the stock leaves are too stiff.
I would love to drive a truck with a Carli "back country" or "pin top" kit down our craptastic highways to see how good they are as that is where I am most disappointed in my setup.
Bilstein 5100 shocks are just okay shocks. Way better than stock or any "white rocket" twin tube.
Like what was said above, custom tuned shocks are tuned to work with specific spring rates. A higher quality shock custom tuned will probably still work better on the AEV kit than what is offered just because it is a better / larger shock. By that right you could also replace the AEV 3" spacer down the road with performance springs as well.
A truck set up to go fast down fire roads will do better all around than one that isn't. Now a truck designed to go fast through large bumps might suffer on the slow ones. My truck is very comfortable on a mostly groomed road like Camp Rock at 50ish. At that speed I don't have to care about the spots where the berm washed out across the road or rolling dips and such. That is just with good front coils and off the shelf shocks. Once I get into any sort of whoop type terrain I have to slow way down as the front will pogo due to the valving and the stock leaves are too stiff.
I would love to drive a truck with a Carli "back country" or "pin top" kit down our craptastic highways to see how good they are as that is where I am most disappointed in my setup.
Highway Camper
New member
At 50 on Camp Rock what PSI do you run in the tires? I am hoping that my new Michelin Defenders, 295-70-18 will help a lot with the washboard with a lower PSI.
shocks
Most of the cost increase in the Carli kit vs the AEV kit is the shocks. The King or Fox shocks they offer ARE much higher quality shocks capable of taking more abuse and allow for much greater valving control and fluid volume due to increased body diameters and remote reservoirs. Take a look at the shaft on a 2.5 King shock vs a bilstein shock. The difference is pretty striking at first.
I killed several (3) sets of Bilstein 5100's on my 3500 before upgrading to Carli kings. I have driven bilstein 5100's on several other vehicles with equal vigor and not killed them. I just don't think they are capable of taking abuse on a truck as heavy as a cummins equipped ram.
Speed bumps at 10mph are still pretty rough with a Carli kit with full leaf pack. Much better than stock, but not even close to a current 1/2 ton stock. Little pot holes at 25mph....still shake your truck about. Huge pot holes at 70+.....you barely notice. Speed bumps at 40, not even there. Speed is your friend with a pintop/king Carli kit. If you don't abuse your truck, I would either look at their backcountry package or one of the lower end Thuren kits. AEV may be fine, but don't go telling everyone you have factory payload and tow ratings after lifting your truck if you put that kit on!
Ultimately if you are lifting your truck, I would assume you are doing it to increase off road performance. In order to do that, you need springs that afford MORE travel. A lift kit with aftermarket springs will do this. A lift kit retaining stock springs will offer minimal if any increase in wheel travel. If you just want height for bigger tires or looks, spacers will do the trick. If you just want a better ride, get a 1/2 ton truck. They ride REALLY well these days! Any 3/4 or 1 ton truck is going to ride like **** on bump city streets no matter what you do to it.
All the outfits mentioned in this thread have great customer service in my experience.
Most of the cost increase in the Carli kit vs the AEV kit is the shocks. The King or Fox shocks they offer ARE much higher quality shocks capable of taking more abuse and allow for much greater valving control and fluid volume due to increased body diameters and remote reservoirs. Take a look at the shaft on a 2.5 King shock vs a bilstein shock. The difference is pretty striking at first.
I killed several (3) sets of Bilstein 5100's on my 3500 before upgrading to Carli kings. I have driven bilstein 5100's on several other vehicles with equal vigor and not killed them. I just don't think they are capable of taking abuse on a truck as heavy as a cummins equipped ram.
Speed bumps at 10mph are still pretty rough with a Carli kit with full leaf pack. Much better than stock, but not even close to a current 1/2 ton stock. Little pot holes at 25mph....still shake your truck about. Huge pot holes at 70+.....you barely notice. Speed bumps at 40, not even there. Speed is your friend with a pintop/king Carli kit. If you don't abuse your truck, I would either look at their backcountry package or one of the lower end Thuren kits. AEV may be fine, but don't go telling everyone you have factory payload and tow ratings after lifting your truck if you put that kit on!
Ultimately if you are lifting your truck, I would assume you are doing it to increase off road performance. In order to do that, you need springs that afford MORE travel. A lift kit with aftermarket springs will do this. A lift kit retaining stock springs will offer minimal if any increase in wheel travel. If you just want height for bigger tires or looks, spacers will do the trick. If you just want a better ride, get a 1/2 ton truck. They ride REALLY well these days! Any 3/4 or 1 ton truck is going to ride like **** on bump city streets no matter what you do to it.
All the outfits mentioned in this thread have great customer service in my experience.
Highway Camper
New member
A Ram 1500 4x4 with a slight lift will fit 35's. 8 speed trans and 3.92 gears. It will ride nice on washboard roads and get better MPG than the 3/4 with a 6.4Hemi. The cab is the same size along with the bed unless you go QC or 5'7 bed. Then you are 10 inches shorter. But we all know the difference between a 1500 and a 2500 so make the choice.
I was running around 25 psig as I wasn't planning on seeing pavement when I dropped pressure the day before and I wasn't carrying any real load. Still, I wouldn't even bother airing down anything less than 30psig. The time to air back up from 20-30 is not much different than from 40. I would run my FS Bronco @ 15psig when trail wheeling and never had a issue at that pressure. On a 35x12.5r17 e tire, max pressure is 65. There really wasn't any wash board at the time. The road had quite a few softer spots due to the weird moisture coming out of the sky.
Highway Camper
New member
Powertank advises against airing and E rated tire down too low as it can cause internal damage to the sidewall if there is too much flex. The result could be not pretty.