Dodge Starter System, Diesel, 2003-2009

Description

The Leveling System was designed for people seeking a leveled vehicle with more performance and ride quality than offered by a generic spacer lift. The Carli Signature Series front shocks have been custom tuned, in house, for superior ride quality.

The Details:
Your truck will sit 2.5”-3” higher in the front (year/cab configuration dependent) with 50% more suspension travel than the factory platform thanks to the taller, lighter rate coil springs. The included, front, Carli Signature Series Shocks are longer to accommodate the extended travel. When designing the shocks, Zinc plating, Clear Coat for corrosion resistance and quality bushings were a must; finished off with boots to protect the shafts, we back them with a limited lifetime warranty to ensure their quality is as unbeatable as their ride quality at this price point.

When pairing added down-travel with the taller ride height, the position of the factory sway bar will need to be altered as well. For this, we offer two options (unless 1994-2002, then there’s only one); extended, Sway Bar End Links or the replacement Torsion Sway Bar. The End links are equipped with ½” FK Rod-Ends and in-house machined 17-4 stainless bodies that are extended over stock to reset the sway bar engagement point. Factory pillow-bushings are re-used to assemble the sway bar to the lengthened link. 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 offered in the higher-end systems).

When lifting the front end of a straight axle truck, the front axle is pulled off-center unless the proper linkages are addressed. Three inches of front lift equates to an axle shifted toward the driver’s side ¾” and back toward the cab ½”. Although this is perfectly operable, we recommend the purchase of an adjustable track bar to shift the axle back toward the passenger side and provide a stronger link with less deflection for the lifted application, and a set of extended control arms to shift the axle forward to its new center of travel.

Wheel and Tire:
This system will fit up to a 35” tire with stock control arms (we recommend purchasing our extended, Mild Steel Control Arms) on wheels with 5.75-6” of backspacing. If running factory wheels, we recommend an All Terrain 35” tire to avoid rubbing. For 37” tire fitment, our High-Clearance Control Arms and Adjustable Track Bar can be paired to a wheel with 5.75” 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. For more details, see our article on wheel and tire selection and tire pressures: