Designed and tuned for the truck that spends its life on road with occasional dirt trails, this custom shock project was intensely focused on delivering a comfortable in-town ride and smoothing the freeway’s all while improving vehicle control for light off-road adventures.
The Carli-SPEC Commuter for the 2009-2018 Ram 1500 is the first of it’s kind within our 1500 offerings. The front coilover is a 2.5″ Diameter, non reservoir. In our custom tuning process, we found the additional surface area of the 2.5″ piston (vs. the 2.0″ piston in our previous Fox offering) resulted in a far better ride both on and off-road for the heavier front end. The empty bed is adequately handled by the included 2.0″ Internal reservoir shock.
On road ride tuned in to a beautifully smooth result – in fact, it’s one of the best rides we feel we’ve achieved to date. When the pavement ends, the ride is fantastic and controlled but, these shocks were travel limited to be compatible with the factory upper control arm AND are non-reservoir. Pushing them hard in the dirt will result in more frequent service intervals and top-out events as you find the limits of the down-travel bottle-necked by the factory control arm. If you’re looking for a significant improvement in off-road performance, we recommend jumping up to the Performance System equipped with King Reservoir Shocks and Carli extended control arms.
Are Upper Control Arms Necessary?
With the Commuter system, it’s not necessary to purchase the Carli Upper Control Arm. The factory arm DOES limit the travel of the Commuter kit; it is actually capable of about 1″ more travel than it’s spec’d with BUT, we had to install a short internal spacer in the coilover to limit the travel of the shock and ensure customers were not topping out on the factory ball joint in the upper control arm. The King Shocks we offer include our control arms and brake line kit to achieve this extra 1″ down travel. Being both budget and on-road focused, we limited the travel of the Commuters for safe operation with the factory control arm. If a customer decided to purchase the Commuter for its on-road prowess, the internal spacer could be removed by the user (or user’s selected shock service facility) to achieve the same suspension travel as the Performance Kits – this would require the Carli Control Arms and Brake Lines for safe operation.
Which Rear Coil Spring?
The Rear coil provides 0.5″-1″ of rear lift and runs 2 rates. The initial, softer rate is blocked out at ride height. This is NOT designed to be some super soft on-road rate – think of this as a “tender spring”. We wanted predictability in ride and handling so the truck will run on the 2nd rate unless the rear axle droops (off-road). Further, when loaded, it ensures sag is not exaggerated by initial collapsing of a softer rate. Take it in the dirt and, once the axle droops, the initial rate opens to keep the coil tight to its mounting perches while the extended travel shocks are pushed to the bottom of their longer stroke.
Racks and Rooftop tents, Camper shells and bedslides, contractor tool boxes, etc. are no longer an issue. Made for the customer that drives around with a constant 500lbs in the bed, our HD spring option operate exactly as our standard multi-rates while accommodating the load.
As travel was extended in the rear, we spec our extended sway bar end links to maintain the factory sway bar through the extended range.
We recommend an 8.5″ Wide wheel with 4.5″ Backspace be utilized with a 34″ tire for best fitment and minimal trimming. 35″ Tires are doable but requiring more trimming.
This system fits Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 trucks from 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.
SKU: CS-RAM15COM-CS-09
Dodge 2.5" Commuter 2.5 System, Hemi, 2009-18 Base Kit
Base Kit Includes:
CS-DEL-R-14 Rear End Links
CS-RAM15PRBDROP Rear Track Bar Drop
CS-RAM15MRC-09-R Rear Multi-rate Coil Springs
AS-RAM15SPKG-CS20IFP-A
Carli-SPEC 2.5" IFP Coilover Shocks & Rear 2.0" IFP Shocks
$2,629.00
