Mexstan

As so many of you know from your jiggled kidneys and sundry other body parts, our trucks are not exactly renowned for their comfort level on rough roads. I daily travel on concrete roads and that is probably the worst ride condition. In fact, when it is known that I am going on those roads many of my passengers refuse to ride with me as it is so uncomfortable. Some of the other roads, even the paved ones in my area are very uncomfortable with my truck.

In desperation I researched different modifications to the suspension. I had pretty well settled on throwing out all four springs and going to a full Kelderman suspension when I heard about Carli and had chats with them. They persuaded me that by changing all four springs and all four shocks to their “special” springs that my truck would ride nicely on my rough roads and was the best solution. They prefer that the modification be done in one of their approved shops, but the closest one to me is north of Houston, so that was not an option. However, I did call them and ask for a quote, but they told me that they did not send out quotes by email and in fact were quite rude and bery unbusinesslike. That should have alerted me to my coming problems. Carli agreed that it would be OK to have the installation done at a closer shop in Texas that I selected and that they would call the shop just before the job was done and provide full instructions.

I would have preferred to do the job myself but that would have meant bringing the full kit across the border and I was not prepared to get into a fight with the Mexican customs and end up paying about a 30% duty. Figured the duty would be close to paying to have it done by somebody else.

I have been riding in my Carli modified truck now for over two months and have to report that while the ride is minimally improved on some road conditions, the slight improvement in the ride is NOT worth the expense. Driving on concrete roads still rattles my kidneys and teeth. Still no passengers as they still find the ride too uncomfortable, especially in the rear seat. In desperation I have now installed air suspension seats in the front and now the ride is passable, but not near what I was expecting from the Carli modifications. Air seats on top of the Carli suspension should not have been necessary if the ride was what they led me to believe. Carli never did call the shop that did the change over, and in fact, we had to call them halfway through the job to resolve a problem. The ride feels as though the rear springs should be about 50% less stiff.

Communications with Carli about my rough ride problem have not been satisfactory as they tend to blame the installation for the rough ride. They have totally ignored some of my questions, including asking them to be specific about what part of the installation could result in the bad ride I have now. They did offer to take a look at my truck if I brought it to them in California. That is a three day ride one way for me, so is not very practical. Twice I suggested to them that for R & D purposes they send someone to me to check out the truck and the actual situation I am complaining about. In fact, I even offered to pay some of the expenses. They have ignored this just like they have ignored my other questions.

In short, I am bitterly disappointed with Carli, the resulting rough ride and the lack of decent after sales service. Ignoring a customers concerns is no way to resolve problems. In no way can I recommend this company or their product to anyone. I acknowledge our trucks are heavy duty trucks and sure ride like a heavy duty truck, but was hoping that the full Carli modification would make it ride less like a heavy duty truck. Boy, was I wrong! I have wasted my money and in retrospect, should have gone with the Kelderman.
Caveat emptor!

D45

Good info.........not the first time I heard complaints of the ride quality on a "performance lift kit"

People spends thousands and thousands on a lift kit and the ride quality is the same as stock......I would be upset also.

On a side note: It looks like you have a nice truck, any pics?

Mexstan

Thanks for the compliment.
Go to members photos and I have a couple of pics. More to come later.

06CTDforAU

A lot of the ride quality has to do with the shock valving. Which shocks do you have and were they valved by Carli? Do you have full replacement rear springs or mini-packs?

5lonestar9

carli susp. company was started by kore racings' designer after a fallout with the owners of kore. i meet the father in law of the owner of carli susp. in pagosa springs colorado a little over a year ago. their kits are awesome as far as ride quality.

whoops

What Carli Suspension system did you get? Mine rides night and day better than stock on road and obvious off road.

I think some people get mis-conception that getting a Carli/KORE/Thuren Suspension they are going to get a Caddy ride. Your NOT going to get a Caddy ride w/ our trucks. These suspension (KORE/Carli/Thuren) will take the abuse for off road so you won't break your truck and on road ride tightens up (better than stock ride).

So, I think people get dissapointed w/ the ride and then bash one of these suspension companies. As far as customer service from Carli. Nothing but top notch. I don't know.?.?.? Maybe you were one of those complaining, pain in the butt customers. Sometimes the company has to say "screw him" as a customer. Too many people have Carli Suspensions and know what they are designed for. So, word of mouth spreads around and is a great product.

offroadcpa

Sorry if this is harsh, but I never knew heavy duty trucks were supposed to ride like a luxury car. For myself and most of my friends, we knew what we were getting into before we purchased one. They need a fairly stiff suspension to handle the load. My truck actually rides great under a load. If it was not stiff without a load, it could not handle the load. I think if you were looking for a comfortable ride, you may want to consider a Benz, BMW or Lexus. You can get a nice one for the same price as the heavy duty trucks.

enafzige

What Carli kit did you get? What tires are you running, and at what psi?

--Eric

5lonestar9

i was going to say something about that, you lose towing compasity with their "softer leaf springs". but with a air bag helper spring you can retain your tow quality...

Mexstan

I have the full replacement leaf springs with the Carli valved shocks. In other words the full Performance 2.0 package. For tires I have the Yokahama 315's and am running 30 psi in the rear and 40 psi in the front. I dare not go any lower.

For the record, I do NOT expect my truck to ride like a Caddy and at no time expressed that, but would like it to ride so that I can at least talk when on the concrete roads without my voice quivering. Carli were well aware of my requirements before I purchased their kit and assured me my problems would be over. I quiried this with them a few times as I was very leery that their system would take care of my ride problems. Even with the Carli suspension when on the concrete roads if I have anybody brave enough to ride with me, we give up trying to talk because the bumps makes our voices sound wierd.

As I expected the rear springs to be a lot softer than I received I also opted for the long travel air bags to compensate. So far I have not needed to install any air in them.

06CTDforAU

I definately wouldn't go any lower on the tire pressures front or rear. At first I thought you may be running way too high in the tire pressure department but it looks like you've got that covered. I normally run around 50 psi.

The only thing I can think of contributing to the harsh ride is the shock valving. Were the shocks shipped to you from Carli or from Bilstein/King? I know I ordered my King shocks (when I had them) from Thuren Fab but King was actually the ones to valve them. They valved them per Don's specs. If they were shipped directly from the manufacturer maybe they sent you shocks with the wrong valving. Don't have any idea other than that.

whoops

I hear nothing but great things about the 2.0 System. Even a magazine article done up by one of the editors of Off Road Magazine praised the system. I know the full leafs and properly valved shock will cut down the expansion joints significantly. My 2.5 System w/ full leafs kick ***......

CrashCade

Man, just a little harsh. If you have ever driven on concrete roads or the concrete freeways throughout So Cal. Then you would realize what he is talking about. At times there are points on the So Cal freeways where I think my truck is about to shake apart. Experimenting with a few different items will eventually help you achieve what you are looking for.

A full triangulated 3/4 link in the rear with air bags and good shocks would give him the ride he is looking for. No need for the BMW, or MBZ stuff.

He is just trying to get help on ways to fix his problem.

cquestad

Got to be the shock valving...

Send them to Thuren for a second opinion.

He will set you up.

Thundercloud

I have been more than satisfied with my suspension kit from Don and his customer service is nothing less than awesome. Before I order I spoke with Don and he asked me questions about the truck, driving characteristics and what type of roads I drive on. From that he taylored a kit to my needs and its working flawlessly. I just need to get bigger tires than stock to take up the harshness of the pavement cracks and it should ride perfect. I also spent thousands less for my custom kit then Carli's 2.5 kit. I would call Don and talk to him about re-valving the shocks or decreasing the pressure in the shocks because you have all the nice components from Carli maybe just not the right valving. I believe Don and Sage use the same spring manufacturers but valve their shocks differently. Good luck and I hope you get it right. Click on the link http://www.thurenfabrication.com/