ok, so i'm trying to decide between KORE's Unlimited Series suspension, or Carli's 3" suspension (essentially same thing, just doesn't have a "cool" name). if i'm lucky, someone will have ridden both and can compare... both are too expensive to just "pick one"... thoughts, comments??

Please tell me you read the thread at the top of the forum, and this thread is a valid one for this EXTREME OFF ROAD DODGE forum...

I dunno...both those kits allow for semi smooth jump action so I'd say this is just over the brink of extreme :)

Never run the carli kit.

I think the kore stuff is all well and good but the fact that it retains short links kinda destroys its luster. All that money...all that time and thought put into the kit... and it still has junior length arms.

I'd say... buy the coil and shocks...maybe even the rear springs.. but then gut all the mounts off the axle and build them long and flat. you could also grab a little more lift out of the front end so you don't have to run the glass to get 37's in there.

When I build my long arms and link the rear I'm probably going to buy 2 pairs of their coils and just move the lower mount up or the upper mount down so I can still have 6" of lift. and run that coil on the back too w/ a spare and another tank at the very back. more of an expedition vehicle than something that can jump... but still ride right.

Not really an answer to your question, but two other suspensions to consider are:

http://lorenzindustries.com/home2.html
http://spirsonoffroad.com/

Silly is right about the control arms though, these kits are super expensive and still don't address the short stock control arms. Randy Ellis built a long arm suspension for his Dodge and it rides really nice at speed in the desert. With all the players in this market I don't know why no one has addressed this issue yet.

call don thuren at thurenfabrication.com before you make any final decisions

later, dustin

Having installed a kore system on an 04 I wasn't terribly impressed. Maybe their front setup does ride better than stock, I can tell you lift is negligible. Maybe enough room for 35's with proper offset and careful attention to bumpstops. More like 33's.

The guy that "had to have" a kore truck was under the impression his truck would handle like a sports car after the install. It won't. If that is what you are after to be deluded, it ain't gonna happen.

Also, the pins installed on the rear add-a-leafs (yeah, thats what they are) were not drilled at the proper offset so I had to adjust the holes. I have a mill in my shop, but I feel for the sorry SOB that is trying to do that in his driveway with a handheld electric drill. Spring steel ain't easy. The pins were about 1/2 in too close together.

Basically, you get some good shocks. I was not impressed the springs but the shocks were good. Thuren sells a shock kit for 1500 i think.

Carefully analyze what you want and what you expect before you buy something that expensive. And know going in, that 8000lb truck is never, ever, ever gonna act like a trophy truck.

Alcan will make springs rear springs for about 600 I believe. Add those to some RCD coils and a dick cepek long arm kit and Thuren shock kit and it would be a pretty pimp ride set to run 37 or 38 in rubber. THat is probably what I would do if I had it to do over.

I run a skyjacker 4.5 inch kit on my 99 2500. Rides pretty nice and came with adjustable arms. I run 37 in Pro comps on moto metal wheels. It wasn't a bad kit. Shocks could be better. RCD makes a nice setup too.

you got a website for rcd??

later, dustin

http://www.racecardynamics.com/home.htm

I have never run their stuff, but I have never read one bad review. There is also a shop called DT that i have heard good things about. They make a radius arm setup:
http://www.dtprofab.com/

radius arm: http://www.dtprofab.com/SUPER-I.htm

Having installed a kore system on an 04 I wasn't terribly impressed. Maybe their front setup does ride better than stock, I can tell you lift is negligible. Maybe enough room for 35's with proper offset and careful attention to bumpstops. More like 33's.

I have a Kore suspension on my 94 Cummins and am running 38s (Michelin XLs) on factory wheels. All it took was a little sheet metal trimming. My goal was to get more air under the axles without lifting the truck too much.

You are right ... you don't get a sports car ride out of the kit, but it is a little better than the stock. I don't know how the Kore kit will work on the rocks, if that's what you are interested in. My truck isn't even close to being able to do those sorts of trails right now. I suspect the suspension will require further tweaking. I would be interested to know what sort of RTI numbers the Kore suspension is capable of.

I run my truck offroad. Not rock crawling, but fire roads, beach running for fishing, around my farm and such and don't have any clearance issues with 37x12.5, wheels are 17x9 with about 1 inch positive offset (the center of hub is one inch toward the outside face of the wheel from the centerline of the wheel shell). My 4.5 in lift came with adjustable links and I have them cranked out as far as I feel comfortable, no fender trimming.

It really comes down to how you use your rig. You have to look at where the designer is, where you are and what you want to do. I don't run desert, kore and carli may be the hot stuff there. For me there wasn't enough lift and I don't trim fenders so they didn't work for me.

Side note: I did convert to 5/8ths ubolts. Not a big deal, I had a local spring shop make them then enlarged the stock spring plate holes to fit. May not be necessary, but lets me breathe a little easier when I hit the happy pedal. Read my sig, my Cummins gets ugly in a hurry when you unleash it. I am also in the middle of collecting the next build stage for the motor, should get me to the 700HP - 1400ft lb range and still tow 16K safely.