Carli 6" Unchained 3.5 Radius Arm Suspension System 10-13 Ram 2500 / 10-12 Ram 3500 6.7L Cummins

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

THE MOST PERFORMANCE OUT OF ANY BOLT-ON RAM SUSPENSION SYSTEM YOU CAN GET, PERIOD!

The Unchained is a purpose built kit. 3.5" Front Kings and 4-Tube Bypass rear 3.0" shocks are paired with optioned Torsion Sway Bar, High Clearance Control Arms and Full Leafs in the rear for unsurpassed off-road capability from a bolt-on suspension system. A roll cage should be considered at this level of suspension.

Where the Dominator 3.0" is more balanced, the tuning in the UnChained System is enough to put the build quality of the rest of the truck to the test. At this level of suspension, customers should install a cage as the off-road capability far exceeds the capability of the truck itself. The Front Boasts massive, long-travel 3.5" King Shocks with an off-road oriented tune; the rear, 3.0" 4-Tube King Bypass Shocks. The 4-tube bypass will have far more bottom-out resistance than their smooth-body counterparts and their capability is user tunable to achieve exactly the rear ride desired by the purchaser (More on this in "The Details").

What does all this mean? Uncompromised off-road ability with an amazing on-road ride resulting in a truck that's a blast to drive in all environments.

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 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 UnChained Suspension system is the only kit running a shock tune specifically for off-road. At this level of suspension, customers should install a cage as the off-road capability far exceeds the capability of the truck itself. This system was tuned with 37" x 13.5" Toyo M/T at 40F/35R.

The UnChained system features front Carli Signature tuned, King 3.5" remote reservoir shocks so large, you'll need to 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 you with the best product, this kit does not include standard off-the-shelf King shocks. Carli spent countless hours dialing in an off-road oriented tune to ensure the performance was maximized out of these monster-shocks while maintaining good road manners. To ensure the rear performance is on par with the front, Carli spec'd KING 3.0" 4-tube Bypass Shocks round off the rear.

For those unfamiliar, a bypass shock has external tubes with one-way check valves that are fully adjustable to allow users to tailor the amount of fluid that bypasses the piston/valving on either the compression or rebound stroke within the effective range of the bypass tube. Typically, there will be a tube surrounding the compression zone (at ride height) that will allow fluid to freely move around the piston giving a supple ride. Once a large hit is encountered, the piston will move upward closing off the port, thereby forcing all fluid through the valving which substantially increases the shock's resistance in this secondary zone. This acts as an internal bump-stop of sorts and gives tunable progression to the shock making it the perfect dual purpose setup.

Conversely, on the rebound side, Carli normally specs tubes that are oversized and deep in the travel stroke to allow a high volume of oil to bypass ensuring the shock shaft comes out quick enough to maintain contact with the ground (doesn't get hung-up in the bump-zone after a large hit). As the shock extends and closes off the rebound tube, all the valving on the rebound side engages to slow the shaft as it reaches maximum extension, top-out. Simply put, the larger the shock diameter, the more capable the setup; the more tubes and "zones", the more adjustability; the larger the tubes, the more fluid can flow around the piston and the more valving you can run to increase the stopping power in the "bump-stop" or "top-out" zone.

ALL of Carli's King shock offerings are finished 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. 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 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, you'll receive a replacement Torsion Sway Bar. 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).

When lifting a straight axle truck, all linkage, brake lines and bump stops need to be addressed. Extended stainless brake lines, an adjustable track bar + track bar drop bracket, bump stop drop brackets, drop pitman arm are all included and we 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. Available from below options.
DUALLY APPLICATIONS: The kit for 2012 model year will NOT fit Dual Rear Wheel (DRW) applications, only single rear wheel
2013 2500 APPLICATION: This kit will NOT fit a 2013 2500 as the driver's side rear shock mounts do not fit the 2013 models. Further, there is a clearance issue between the shock tower and A/C lines due to the reconfiguration of the 2013 models.
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.