Carli Dodge 3" 1994-2002 Dominator 3.0 Suspension System

This is the true, Jack of all trades suspension system offering the most on-road comfort of any short-arm system in the Carli lineup. The Dominator rides better than any other system on the road while boasting off-road manners that make the truck feel half its size. This is the end of our “all-around” Suspension Systems; anything above the 3.0” King will sacrifice on-road ride for off-road capability. For the customer looking for the best balance of on and off-road capability, without leaning too far in either direction, this is the setup. Unlike the bolt in Pintop system, the Dominator does require drilling out the front coil buckets to fit the massive 3" diameter shocks, as well as notching and clearancing the rear of the frame to fit the shocks. After making those changes, you're rewarded with the best ride possible on a short arm 2nd gen. 

We recommend adding a track bar with this system. You can either use the Thuren 2nd Gen track bar or DT Pro Fab track bar. If you wish to maintain your factory sway bar, use the DT Pro fab track bar as the Thuren isn't compatible with inverted 94-98 cobra style sway bars.

On 1994-2002 trucks, we recommend you check the bolt size to ensure the correct arms are purchased. We recommend taking a 14mm wrench and putting the open end against the threads of the lower control arm bolts. If it matches, the 14mm arms are the correct arms to order. If the bolt size is bigger than the open end of the wrench, the 16mm arms are the correct arms. If you have any questions in regards to this process, feel free to give us a call!

The Details:

The Dominator is the best of our short-arm, utilitarian style offerings boasting front Carli Signature tuned, King 3.0” remote reservoir shocks so large, we needed bore the factory spring buckets for them to cycle properly. As the old adage goes, there’s no replacement for displacement. In an effort to provide customers with the best product, we do not sell off-the-shelf King 3.0s. We designed a custom piston to determine proper base flow rates to ensure the shock works well in the heavy duty truck platform; we then tuned the shocks around the custom pistons based on seat-of-the-pants feel. We round off ALL our King shocks with shafts machined and polished from a solid piece of 17-4 Stainless. Unlike King’s standard shafts, there is no coating to wear off, weather is far less likely to hurt them and if there is a small chip, you can round the edges with emery cloth to ensure the seal housing isn’t damaged as they’re not brittle like the stock, hardened shafts. All King shocks are built with a plated steel body. If subjected to inclement weather for extended periods, we recommend wrapping your shocks in 3M to provide a moisture barrier that’s replaceable.

Your truck will sit 2.5”-3” higher in the front (year/cab configuration dependent) with 50% more suspension travel than the factory platform thanks to the taller, lighter rate coil springs. The rear is lifted 2” via the Full Progressive Leaf Pack (We recommend against the add-a-pack). The optional Full Progressive Leaf Pack is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as it’s with what this system was tuned. This spring pack replaces the entire factory leaf spring assembly increasing travel and drastically increasing comfort throughout the entire usable travel stroke at the cost of a 15% payload reduction from a standard 2500. This payload reduction can be supplemented back to factory 3500 SRW capacity with the addition of the Long Travel Airbags for the best of both worlds; ride quality and payload capacity/load control.

This system fits Dodge Ram 2500 and Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 trucks from 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.

NOTE: 3.0” Rear Weld-on Piggyback Reservoir shocks should be drained of nitrogen and cycled to their collapsed dimension to ensure the reservoirs clear all under-bed crossmembers. These shocks Mount body down, shaft up, reservoirs point TOWARD the axle. The passenger’s side will require a 3”x 1.5” Section to be removed to clear the shocks. Once confirmed, put installed rear shocks to full extension and charge to 250psi of Nitrogen.

When pairing added down-travel with the taller ride height, the position of the factory sway bar will need to be altered as well. For this, we offer extended Sway Bar End Links equipped with ½” FK Rod-Ends and in-house machined 17-4 stainless bodies that are extended over stock to reset the sway bar engagement point. Factory pillow-bushings are re-used to assemble the sway bar to the lengthened link.

Wheel and Tire:

This system will fit up to a 35” tire with Extended Control Arms – We recommend wheels with 5.75-6” of backspacing. The more rubber, the better the small bump compliance will be at proper inflation pressures. The ride will firm up as you go larger in wheel diameter.

Base Kit Includes: