starting my drop project soon.......parts are on order

moregrip said:

Update: I ordered the Illicit no cut brackets, I couldn't take the clanking anymore! What a PITA those bars became.

For those that want a little more drop in the rear running the Belltech coils, how much did you cut for about an 1" more?

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I made Spohn refund me in full on my upper and lower arms , and they did.

moregrip said:

Illicit brackets showed up last week, going to get rid of the Spohn control arms and give the stock arms/illicit brackets a shot and see how that works out.

more to follow/will report back

On a side note: in back to back driving, I much prefer the ride/handling of my 2/4 lowered truck over stock.........MUCH more responsive and soild feeling.

I really wish the Spohn arms would have worked out, not just because they cost a good chunk of money but because I do like have the adjustability they provide. Unfortunately they are overly noisy and don't stay in adjustment very long......for those reasons I'm making the switch.

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Sorry I didn't reply sooner in the other thread have been out of touch for awhile. I'm at 9k miles since the brackets and just did a re-torque of everything and still very smooth. Have had the truck over 100 a few times with no issues and it rides great.

DireRam said:

Sorry I didn't reply sooner in the other thread have been out of touch for awhile. I'm at 9k miles since the brackets and just did a re-torque of everything and still very smooth. Have had the truck over 100 a few times with no issues and it rides great.

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no worries! thanks for checking in......great news, I'll be getting mine installed soon!

What ended up happening with all of this?

Fandango said:

What ended up happening with all of this?

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Regarding the Spohn parts? Or the setup as a whole?

moregrip said:

Regarding the Spohn parts? Or the setup as a whole?

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As a whole.

You had said "Illicit brackets showed up last week, going to get rid of the Spohn control arms and give the stock arms/illicit brackets a shot and see how that works out.

more to follow/will report back..."

Fandango said:

As a whole.

You had said "Illicit brackets showed up last week, going to get rid of the Spohn control arms and give the stock arms/illicit brackets a shot and see how that works out.

more to follow/will report back..."

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I have not installed the illicit brackets, my extra time has been spent going to school, finishing up a BA degree, bla, bla, bla.....but that will be over and done with in 1 week! Happy to have completed it; ready to get some free time back!

With that said the front suspension has been virtually flawless with the exception of the end links on the swaybar........a little clunky but not that bad really. Going against popular choice here, I'm going back to stock length end links because I think the geometry will be better.

For the rear it's really more of living with a loud, clunky, somewhat obnoxious rear suspension cycle. I've contacted Spohn several times by email with no response. I've called once or twice with no answer......bottom line; unless I get more interested in a fight with Spohn, it is what it is. With that said, if I turn up the radio and can't hear the "clunk" she still handles VERY well.....probably better than a slightly under sprung truck should...

Ironically, I'm "truck sitting" by buddies 2015 RAM Reg Cab Express while he serves overseas.......his truck is sitting on stock susoension and I have to say I don't miss that feeling at all; overall response and that firm cornering feeling/ability is night and day. The reality is, it ain't perfect and needs some work to get it right, at least IMO.

One of the things keeping me less than motivated in starting a fight with Spohn is I'd like to try and modify the Spohn bars to accept urethane bushings and the re-install them in place of the stock arms on illicit brackets. Besides the clunky Spohn joints I REALLY like the adjustability of them........but we'll see how it all plays out.

So besides the longer front sway bar end links the plan moving forward is "still" to eventually install the illicit brackets with stock arms and hopefully start enjoying a quieter ride with better rear geometry.

Rear sway bar has been stellar with no issues whatsoever! Shocks the same!

Thank you for the detailed reply.

I have a '17 CC with a 6'4" bed and am looking at lowering it, our thread has quite a bit more detail than others I've found.

btw, are you the same moregrip, from back when ls1tech had the trucks section, and you had a 1500hd with a colossal stereo screw up? If so, You've always had super detailed posts and I've appreciated it.

Fandango said:

Thank you for the detailed reply.

I have a '17 CC with a 6'4" bed and am looking at lowering it, our thread has quite a bit more detail than others I've found.

btw, are you the same moregrip, from back when ls1tech had the trucks section, and you had a 1500hd with a colossal stereo screw up? If so, You've always had super detailed posts and I've appreciated it.

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Awesome brother! Best of luck with your lowering project!

Lol, I'm still the same moregrip from back in the day......I went from the 1500HD to a 2500HD that ended up being pretty ridiculous......enjoyed those days quite a bit!!

Ironically, I have a full stereo build planned for the RAM as well, just waiting on getting the suspension sorted before I start that one.....only difference is I will be doing the install work this time

I have the belltech 964 kit 2/4 and the Qa1's Not sure i want the truck dropped that much. what would happen if i just installed Qa 1 shocks front and rear and left stock springs? Any input?

Simpsj2 said:

I have the belltech 964 kit 2/4 and the Qa1's Not sure i want the truck dropped that much. what would happen if i just installed Qa 1 shocks front and rear and left stock springs? Any input?

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I think your QA1's might be shorter than stock such that they work correctly with the 2/4 drop.....so because of that it would probably be better to install it all. Did you buy the shocks specifically for the drop?

moregrip said:

I think your QA1's might be shorter than stock such that they work correctly with the 2/4 drop.....so because of that it would probably be better to install it all. Did you buy the shocks specifically for the drop?

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Yes and thanks for input

Like several other people have said, Thank you for the detail of this post. This is exactly what I'm looking for and to get out of my 2018. Can't wait for the stereo build!

Wow very nice post just did my first read thru. Yeah too much to digest. I have a quick question. I just want a 2" rear level drop. Would it be OK to keep oe shocks? I'm planning to use Mcgaughy bc it's progressive. My bed will also be loaded 80% of the time. I'm looking for a oe ride.

atom13 said:

Wow very nice post just did my first read thru. Yeah too much to digest. I have a quick question. I just want a 2" rear level drop. Would it be OK to keep oe shocks? I'm planning to use Mcgaughy bc it's progressive. My bed will also be loaded 80% of the time. I'm looking for a oe ride.

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Yes I believe 2" rear springs will be fine with stock shocks. I blew a stock shock on 4" drop springs

Anyone blowout their rear Bilstein shocks? (33-185606) I was under the truck today checking for loose bolts today and found that the drivers side shock was soaked with oil.

I finally got the parts installed a couple months ago... this is the parts list... 3/5 drop.
Crown Suspension front 3" drop springs

MAXTRAX front upper arms for lowered trucks

Viking double adjustable shocks

Timber Grove RCM rear bags (6" drop)

Custom 1" HDPE rear spacer

CORE4X4 Tier 3 adjustable rear arms

CORE4X4 Tier 2 adjustable pan hard bar

Roadmaster rear sway bar

Custom adjustable rear end links.





Before Drop

After Drop

MCMLXIX said:

I finally got the parts installed a couple months ago... this is the parts list... 3/5 drop.
Crown Suspension front 3" drop springs

MAXTRAX front upper arms for lowered trucks

Viking double adjustable shocks

Timber Grove RCM rear bags (6" drop)

Custom 1" HDPE rear spacer

CORE4X4 Tier 3 adjustable rear arms

CORE4X4 Tier 2 adjustable pan hard bar

Roadmaster rear sway bar

Custom adjustable rear end links.

View attachment 515042


View attachment 515043View attachment 515044View attachment 515045View attachment 515046View attachment 515047View attachment 515048View attachment 515049
Before Drop
View attachment 515050
After Drop
View attachment 515051

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No relocation brackets??

Wild one said:

No relocation brackets??

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Negative. Truck is stable at highway + speeds...

MCMLXIX said:

Negative. Truck is stable at highway + speeds...

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If you still have the stock driveshaft in it,you don't want to go much faster then that anyways,lol. Just giving you a hard time,lol