Carli 6" Dominator 3.0 Radius Arm Suspension System 10-13 Ram 2500 / 10-12 Ram 3500 6.7L Cummins
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
If you are looking for the ABSOLUTE BEST PERFORMING 6" LONG TRAVEL SUSPENSION SYSTEM ON THE MARKET.....HERE IT IS!!! Sage Carli has engineered what most others said to be impossible, build a 6" radius, long arm suspension system completely capable of anything you can throw at it off-road, all while maintaining completely superb street manner, GUARANTEED!
This is the true, Jack of all trades suspension system offering the most on-road comfort of any 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 Carli's "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 system is the perfect candidate.
The Details: The Carli 6" Systems are an entirely different animal than the 3" offerings. There is no entry level; every system is equipped with a custom tuned shock package and Radius Arm Conversion. The Dominator goes a step further and runs a 1-piece, internally gusseted crossmember. The longer, flatter links cycle more linear travel and offer a superior ride quality over extending a short arm to work with a 6" front lift. Complete with a Driver's side axle shock, Carli radius arms allow the axle to roll as to not bind during articulation; think of it as the strength of a radius arm and articulation capability of a 4-Link. Further, the drop brackets that affix the radius arms to the frame bolt on with no modification to the existing, factory control arm brackets (ensuring the truck can be returned to stock). The arms themselves boast "X" bracing internal to their gusseted, clam-shell structure and are constructed with 3" Currie Johnny Joints and an internally gusseted, 1-piece Crossmember (Dominator and UnChained only) making them both serviceable and nearly indestructible.
The Dominator is the best of Carli's utilitarian style offerings boasting front Carli Signature tuned, King 3.0" remote reservoir shocks so large, you'll need to bore the factory spring buckets for them to cycle properly (hole saw included). As the old adage goes, there's no replacement for displacement. In an effort to provide you with the best product, these are not off-the-shelf King 3.0s. Carli designed a custom piston to determine proper base flow rates to ensure the shock works well in the heavy duty truck platform; the shocks are then tuned around the custom pistons based on seat-of-the-pants feel. ALL of Carli's King shocks are treated to new 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. Note that 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 6" higher in the front with 60% more suspension travel than the factory platform thanks to the taller, lighter rate coil springs. The rear is lifted 4" via Carli's Full Progressive Leaf Pack. The Full Progressive Leaf 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 3500 SRW factory capacity with the addition of the Long Travel Airbags (with optional spacer for 6" systems) for the best of both worlds; ride quality and payload capacity/load control. The Full Progressive Leaf Pack requires no block to achieve the 4" rear lift height.
When pairing added 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; Sway bar Drop Bracket + Extended Sway Bar End Links or the Sway Bar Drop Bracket + Replacement Torsion Sway Bar. The End links are equipped with 1/2" FK Rod-Ends and in-house machined 17-4 stainless bodies that are extended over stock to reset the sway bar engagement points. Factory pillow-bushings are re-used to assemble the sway bar to the lengthened link.
Carli's optional 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 included in this system).
When lifting a straight axle truck, all linkage, brake lines and bump stops need to be addressed. Carli includes extended stainless brake lines, an adjustable track bar + track bar drop bracket, bump stop drop brackets, drop pitman arm, and recommend the purchase of a carrier bearing drop bracket in the rear for those running a 2-piece driveline.
Wheel and Tire: This system will fit up to a 37" tire on wheels no more than 9" wide with 4.5" 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.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
WHEELS Carli Recommends a 17"-18" Wheel, no more than 9" wide with 4.5" of Backspacing on 6" Systems
TIRES: 37", E-Rated Tire Fitment is Recommended. Recommended unloaded Tire Pressure 45F/40R
RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION: Carli 6" Suspension Systems are Designed and Tested on Vehicles with 17"-18" Wheels with 37", E-Rated Tires. Stock wheels and tires or running a larger wheel diameter will result in a stiffer ride.
FRONT DRIVESHAFT: Front drive shaft MUST be lengthened 2".
REAR DRIVESHAFT: Rear Driveshaft must be checked for 1 piece or 2 piece units. It is recommended that 2 piece Driveshafts order a carrier bearing drop, PN# CS-CARRIERDROP-D. Available from below options.
PITMAN ARM: A drop pitman arm is REQUIRED for 6" suspension kits. Pitman Arm Selection. Available from below options.
END LINKS: 2010-2013 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 Extended End Link.
DUALLY APPLICATIONS: The kit for 2012-2013 model years will NOT fit Dual Rear Wheel (DRW) applications, only single rear wheel
Radius Arm Insight - The lower part of the arm has a full-length internal gusset, shown here creating 4 triangles inside the arm. Above and below are full length external gussets. You can see the top piece clamped to the arm. This is key set with a plate that is connected to the main box. This creates 2 more triangles on top and 2 more on the bottom.
When this was designed, it was laser cut so that the welds will tie every plate together. First the internal X is welded up on a jig and then the box is added with the external gussets.
This system's true engineering feat comes in the form of overcoming articulation bind. The engineering that went into this is where the innovation is truly demonstrated. The engineered radius arms will allow for maximum axle articulation, with one shock at full bump and the other at full droop. No castor change bind.
Sage Carli engineered a solution that offers harmonious axle geometry throughout the entire motion range. Ask anyone who has built radius arms, and they will talk about castor change bind, it's nothing new. The Carli engineering approach is, however, something new in a production bolt-on radius arm system for Dodge Ram HD's.
This project was modeled on a computer using factory chassis parameters to ensure precision before plates even hit a laser table. The answer was +/- 3" of upper arm deflection to accommodate travel and articulation specs that exceed the chassis. This component is finished off in classic Carli style using chromoly tube, a billet stainless steel shaft and hard ball center joints.