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

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PassivAggressor

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I may have missed it, but what were the details on these shocks? Like what part numbers?

Figures. Typical engineer, can't find the answer in front of his nose. His cajun friend has to come along and help him out!:roflsquared:

The part numbers are on the boxes and the shocks in the pictures buddy!:love51:
 

Gary's Hemi

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Is yall's beds off from side to side.? I have Mcgaughy's 2/4 & adjustable panhard & have the rear axle centered w/ the frame & it looks like my bed is too far over to the left causing the axle to not "look" centered
 
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moregrip

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Is yall's beds off from side to side.? I have Mcgaughy's 2/4 & adjustable panhard & have the rear axle centered w/ the frame & it looks like my bed is too far over to the left causing the axle to not "look" centered

Mine seems ok but I haven't really taken the time to measure any differences, although it wouldn' surprise me if some of the tolerances were visually different.
 

Gary's Hemi

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Moregrip, so after some more time to review the rear bilsteins, how do you like them? Do they ride rough?
 
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moregrip

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:emotions122: Found it!..............update on the noise from the rear suspension......actually wasn't that hard to find......:emotions122:

check out the vid, lot's of movement :(
http://vid1295.photobucket.com/albu...A-0B5C-4DA0-8D78-F77419A3EE0B_zpsf00vvjun.mp4

drivers side both the upper and lower control arms are doing this, passenger side lower looks to be about ready to start, passenger upper is solid.

Anyone have Spohn's email addy so I can send them a quick email?
 
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moregrip

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Anyone have a solid email to Spohn?
 
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moregrip

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Seems like really soon to do that but I'm sure you're right
 
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moregrip

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so it looks like I'll be inspecting/tightening my Spohn control arms this weekend......I'll keep you guys posted with what I find.......been driving like a grandma all week because I haven't had time to dive into it........more to follow
 
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moregrip

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so it looks like I'll be inspecting/tightening my Spohn control arms this weekend......I'll keep you guys posted with what I find.......been driving like a grandma all week because I haven't had time to dive into it........more to follow

So I was able to adjust the upper and lower Spohn control arms on the vehicle(did not remove them) with a $4.99 pin spanner wrench from Harbor Freight in the grinder section.

They all needed some level of adjustment, but the del-sphere's that needed the most adjustment were the rear lower Sphere's attached to the axle.

She's all good again, tight and quiet. Was not too bad at all on the adjustments, but of course I did not inspect them, just didn't have the time this weekend.:happy107:
 
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moregrip

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so a little update, all is going well with the drop with the exception of the clunky Spohn control arm bushings. Using the Harbor Freight pin spanner wrench I am able to adjust the Del Sphere joints on the truck with the rear wheels off.

As many have experienced, they don't necessarily "stay in" adjustment very long, for me that equates to a few hundred miles before they start making noise again, but more importantly, as the joint gets loose and starts to move(cause of the noise) that probably isn't all that good for the joint itself.....but since it won't stay tight that's kinda how the joint lives it's life..........doesn't seem like an ideal situation, to me at least.

Also, and this one was surprising to me, as the Del Sphere joints loosen up I can feel my alignment being effected as I drive..........maybe I'm on crack here......but I can noticibly feel the truck driving differently(very slight pull), tighten the arms up, all is well.

I sent Spohn 2 emails through their online communication tool with no response.....probably a glitch....but who knows. I'll give it one more shot and see what happens. I'll post my findings. FWIW, Besides the noise/clunk I'm happy with the setup.

If I'm being 100% honest the clunkiness in the rear does have me not driving the truck as much as I like too.............which I suppose is good for my wallet but not really the intent of all these costly mods!

ok, that's about it for now. Working on a few tweaks and peaks to fine tune my setup, fingers crossed we get these joints figured out!
 
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DireRam

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Thank you very much

Just purchased a 2017 Ram 1500 Quad cab and was on the phone with Moe's Performance while I was still signing the paperwork. This thread has gave me pause before installing my 963SP kit. Thank you very much for the great write up and the time and effort put in to your posts. Is there a reason you didn't use the front/rear shocks that came with the kit?
 
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moregrip

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Just purchased a 2017 Ram 1500 Quad cab and was on the phone with Moe's Performance while I was still signing the paperwork. This thread has gave me pause before installing my 963SP kit. Thank you very much for the great write up and the time and effort put in to your posts. Is there a reason you didn't use the front/rear shocks that came with the kit?

Glad you got something from the detail! That's the whole point to these forums I think!

I went with the bilstein shocks because I believed they were/are more suited to the type of driving I wanted to try, some local autocross events from time to time.

Turns out, these shocks are pretty dang good in every situation, IMO......since I didn't go with the ready to run 4600 series, these 5125's took a little effort to fit up, but not much:favorites13:

If I were planning a drop again I'd wait to see how these brackets work out before doing so. Looks like there are some solid options out there now. I think these drop brackets, in theory, are awesome.........time will tell if they are roadworthy. fingers crossed!
 
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moregrip

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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?
 

Quicksilver337

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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?

Cut 1 full coil = 1" drop
 

Walker345

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just read all 22 pages. very informative thread! cant believe I just now found this. I will be subscribing.
 
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moregrip

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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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