The Starter System includes the Front Leveling Kit and options a rear Add-A-Pack and matching Rear Shocks. This system is designed for people seeking a leveled vehicle with more performance and ride quality than a generic spacer lift; then, adding the rear kit to further the ride quality improvement. The Carli Signature Series front shocks have been custom tuned, in house, for superior ride quality.
The Details:
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 included front & rear Carli Signature Series Shocks are longer to accommodate the extended travel. When designing the shocks, Zinc plating, Clear Coat for corrosion resistance and quality bushings were a must; finished off with boots to protect the shafts, we back them with a limited lifetime warranty to ensure their quality is as unbeatable as their ride quality at this price point.
When pairing added down-travel with the taller ride height, the position of the factory, front sway bar will need to be altered as well. For this, we offer two options (unless 1994-2002, then there’s only one); extended, Sway Bar End Links or the replacement Torsion Sway Bar. The End links are 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. Carli’s Torsion sway bar removes the entire factory sway bar assembly replacing it with a torsion bar supported by fabricated drop brackets and delrin bushings. Fabricated sway bar arms and dual 5/8” FK heim end links round off the package. This is the single best bang for the buck, ride-quality upgrade offered by Carli Suspension (in close competition with the full progressive leaf spring upgrade offered in the higher-end systems).
When lifting the front end of a straight axle truck, the front axle is pulled off-center unless the proper linkages are addressed. Three inches of front lift equates to an axle shifted toward the driver’s side ¾” and back toward the cab ½”. Although this is perfectly operable, we recommend the purchase of an adjustable track bar to shift the axle back toward the passenger side and provide a stronger link with less deflection for the lifted application, and a set of extended control arms to shift the axle forward to its new center of travel.
In the rear, the progressive add-a-pack can be optioned to replace the unyielding factory overload spring to increase comfort, traction & predictability.
**2010-present vehicles have 2 possible sizes of Sway Bar End Links. Place a socket on the nut that compresses the rubber End Link bushings; fitment of an 18mm socket will indicate the need for the 12mm part number.
This system fits Dodge Ram 2500 and Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 trucks from 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013.
Wheel and Tire:
This system will fit up to a 35” tire with stock control arms (we recommend purchasing our extended, Mild Steel Control Arms) on wheels with 5.75-6” of backspacing. If running factory wheels, we recommend an All Terrain 35” tire to avoid rubbing. For 37” tire fitment, our High-Clearance Control Arms and Adjustable Track Bar can be paired to a wheel with 5.75” 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. For more details, see our article on wheel and tire selection and tire pressures:
Tires and Wheels: How Do They Affect My Ride?
| Front Lift | Rear Lift | Front Travel | Rear Travel | Shock Diameter | Tire Fitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0″ | 1″ – 1.5″ | 10″ | 11″ | 2.0″ | 35″ x 12.5″ |
Customer Reviews
2011 Ram 2500 Hemi-
Very happy with this 3" leveling kit, optioned with the carli shocks and add-a-pack. Took out about 70% of the road feels I get on Colorado's infamous aweful roads and highways. Still feels like an HD truck, but a tamed HD truck. Felt great on the mountain dirt roads (except wash boards, they are still aweful). Big improvement 4 wheeling to my property up a rocky mining road. 5-10mph increase on the rocks, 10-15mpj increase on the dirt roads. The rep with CJC was very helpful in dialing in the right package for my situation- daily driver M-F and hauling a TC on the weekends to the lake. Very much recommended the Carli set up to eliminate the death wobbles. Took me a couple days to do, but install was relatively easy, with plenty of videos online to show you what to do. Still room for ride quality improvement, but I think that comes with the upper end packages like the pintop. 5 stars for what it is, 4 stars overall.
Replaced stock coils and a leveling spacer with 3” leveling coils from Carli.
Installed Carli shocks front and rear on a 2008 Ram 3500 Cummins. Straight forward replacement. Rides like a champ, I now look forward to washboard roads.
CJC helped me order a Carly suspension for my Dodge 1 ton. What an amazing product.
After getting this kit installed along with the Adjustable Track Bar and Torsion Sway Bar it makes my truck handle amazing feels like im riding on a cloud.
I love it so far, my truck was pretty well worn out and now afterwards it's one of my best riding vehicles and it's the heaviest with the most miles, makes me enjoy driving my truck again
