Bilstein 2.65 Delivery Dates

The question has been answered: We will be shipping Bilstein 9100 2.65 systems in Mid-November! We will have our first sets of shocks in from Bilstein in just a couple of weeks. The custom cut shock bodies that go through a clear-powder coat process took the longest to produce. Just to make sure we have plenty in stock, there will be an additional run of 240 shocks that will be available in January.

Our delivery date is scheduled for the 14th of November and a month after that, we will receive another run of the Bilstein 2.65 racing shocks to make sure we meet the demand. In 2009, Bilstein will produce hundreds more of these for Carli Suspension, Inc.

Sway Bar Torsion Rate Finalized

As with all of the research and development done here at the Carli shop... the final performance call of off road suspension components gets left to Mexico. Another weekend logging hundreds of miles testing tweaks to valve profiles, prototype components and, this round, sway bar torsion rate. Too stiff and you loose low speed articulation and driver comfort... too loose and you sacrifice high speed stability. This has to be something that is tuned just right. Although, still adjustable with a two position sway bar arm, you can tweak it a little bit more to work for your own preference or suspension set up. Our findings are going down into the books and we'll be setting up some part numbers with metal suppliers to get these into production. Along with that, custom laser cut brackets will be fabricated as well as selecting bushing material for the mounts. Carli's Dodge Ram Sway Bar is just around the corner.

Carli Diff Protection

Taking your Dodge Ram out in the boondocks, whether that means deep in Baja or your favorite local spot, should not be a trip that winds up costing you a set of gears. Having the confidence of .250 wall steel plate constructed differential guards is one of those piece of mind add-ons that any adventurous off road enthusiast should strongly consider. Shown here is my Megacab negotiating the infamous Goat Trail on the SCORE race routes a few weekends ago. Taking a truck this size down trails as tight as this means you're limited in your selection of lines... and as you can see from the photo, there isn't a pretty one to choose from. Once in a while you're going to make contact, whether that is by choice and moving slow and deliberate or by accident - either event can cost you.


The first time to Barstow for a location scouting run, I dropped my front differential down on to the top of a rock buried in a sand wash. The only reason I caught this is due to a flat tire and upon inspecting the rest of the rig, I noticed a steady flow of gear oil coming from my differential cover. Sage grabbed a rock and smashed the cover with it a few times and got it to seal up with just a small puddle of oil under the axle. Had we continued and this went unnoticed, it could have cost a set of gears and a few hours in the dirt removing critical running gear for the limp home.

We installed 5 prototype differential guards on 5 Dodge Ram HD's and headed for hundreds of miles in Baja a couple weekends ago and turns out, one of us took a boulder dead center. An impact that brought a long bed quad cab diesel to a dead stop while slowly rolling down a trail. The incident required nothing but a change in line to correct the situation and the adventure continued. Without the guard... who knows?


Proven strength in the roughest conditions we can subject the hardware to... testing has completed. Now it's a matter of design tweaks to accommodate all 3rd Gen Dodge Ram model years' steering hardware, various stabilizers and their mounting brackets. Stay tuned for the release of Carli's Diff Pro.

Upper Ball Joint Inspection

With tens of thousands of miles stacking up on the first installations of the Dodge Ram Upper Ball Joint, we finally have a baseline to really dig into the engineering behind the material, machining and processes that comprise the extreme duty assembly. Recently we removed one of the pins and sent it back to the engineer after about a thousand miles of Mex in the dirt, which is like double dog years on hardware. Initially we discovered a bright luster on the surface which was a contrast to that of the newly machined and lubricated assembly piece. What we got was a lesson on metallurgy and just how deep the design was on the processes chosen for this component.


Shown here is a drawing of a magnified view of a machined flat surface. Although by eye and touch, this isn't what you'll find, but with high magnification, any "flat surface" has texture. This is a dramatization shown to explain the engineer's intention with the design... BURNISHING, or to polish by friction was part of the process. The 2-stage dry lubricant applied after machining and hardening, filled some of the pores of the metal and covered high spots. This is a view of the brand new ball joint surface.


Now we get to our latest discovery. When you disassemble the component after some hard use and consistent pressure from normal activity, you will quickly notice a metallic luster on the surface. The two parts burnished, similar to a cylinder wall break in period when the rings find their seat, yet on a much more micro level, the hardened surface will polish itself into an even smoother surface and work even better.

Still flowing the Redline CV2, the ball joints just keep getting better after they've been in for a while.