Hodges 2016 Bilstein Build

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hodge-xj

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Well my buddy took his truck in to the alignment and they did a **** "toe and go". They dialed his castor a tiny bit, and didn't bother with any camber adjustment so his tires were still pretty much \ / Dropped the 6112s 2 notches and it got him down to about 38.5" on stock 20" tires. This brought camber closer to visually correct and will suffice for a little. He's due for new tires soon so when he gets them he's gonna schedule with the offroad shop by us and have them get his truck aligned properly. He's already looking at UCAs and rear shocks etc but I throttled him back a bit and told him to drive it instead of really dropping money for no reason.

@ram1500rsm what were the lengths on the king shocks you went with in the rear? I had my truck out the past few days and was hammering some old farm roads that are akin to smoother desert washes. Think rollers, g outs and alot of small washboard chatter. Front end handles perfect, rear shocks get hot enough you can't grab them with your hand and hold them, I could feel the damping worsen after about 10 mins. I'm thinking about the icon 2.5s they spec out at 16.5x26.8 so I lose a touch of down travel at the expense of better valving
 
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Maybe you have something in yours that weights a lot more?. or Maybe the springs in his 6112's are different ? 1" is a lot of height difference considering Bilsteins run super close to the heights they advertised. Could be normal too as they haven't settled. Typically 0.5" less after some miles.
Just to clarify these were my old 6112s which is why I'm so confused at the over 3" total.
 

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Well my buddy took his truck in to the alignment and they did a **** "toe and go". They dialed his castor a tiny bit, and didn't bother with any camber adjustment so his tires were still pretty much \ / Dropped the 6112s 2 notches and it got him down to about 38.5" on stock 20" tires. This brought camber closer to visually correct and will suffice for a little. He's due for new tires soon so when he gets them he's gonna schedule with the offroad shop by us and have them get his truck aligned properly. He's already looking at UCAs and rear shocks etc but I throttled him back a bit and told him to drive it instead of really dropping money for no reason.

@ram1500rsm what were the lengths on the king shocks you went with in the rear? I had my truck out the past few days and was hammering some old farm roads that are akin to smoother desert washes. Think rollers, g outs and alot of small washboard chatter. Front end handles perfect, rear shocks get hot enough you can't grab them with your hand and hold them, I could feel the damping worsen after about 10 mins. I'm thinking about the icon 2.5s they spec out at 16.5x26.8 so I lose a touch of down travel at the expense of better valving

The OE Kings 2.5 are 27" extended 17.5" compressed, You'll need 1" bumpstop
The longer version King made for me are 28.5" extended, 19" compressed, you'll need 2" bumpstops.
 
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The OE Kings 2.5 are 27" extended 17.5" compressed, You'll need 1" bumpstop
The longer version King made for me are 28.5" extended, 19" compressed, you'll need 2" bumpstops.
Ok perfect thanks. I'm weighing options at this point. All I need is a set of rears to round out my mid travel for now and that'll hopefully keep me satisfied. Once it's paid off I'll re-evaluate things but for the immediate I enjoy just being able to haul a$$ across things it shouldn't be able to. Gonna do a comparison of specs across fox, icon and king as well as discuss the ability to revalve them at a later date and see which is my best choice. Part of me wants try the icon 2.5 piggy backs out since most guys with icon seem to have the 2.0s. They're just under 27" extended but compressed they're stock length.
Dang, So either yours weight more or his weight less.
Yea something is weird, the trim levels are different, but both are identical cab and bed configurations. We also carry similar bed loads for daily work routine so it was easy to assume I wouldn't have to adjust them. Alignment and doing some driving they didn't settle/move at all so I dropped him 2 clips, which is the 2.5" setting on the "hemi" chart and it was dead on 2.5 over his stock height. We'll see if they come down a bit more which would be ideal since he's on stock UCAs. Needless to say he's tickled pink over how it drives, I'm just OCD with things and know what happens if you don't do things right. Granted he just runs the road but still I've learned the hard way enough
 
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And since I'm low on truck updates for the current, here's that 1 ton cherokee on 41s as of tonight. Motor is rebuilt, new trans is in. Need to finish plumbing and wiring that all up, t case, steering, track bar, shocks, driveshafts, LOTS of body work/trimming, bump stops, than tear it down and paint the whole thing and final assembly.
 

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View attachment 465460

And since I'm low on truck updates for the current, here's that 1 ton cherokee on 41s as of tonight. Motor is rebuilt, new trans is in. Need to finish plumbing and wiring that all up, t case, steering, track bar, shocks, driveshafts, LOTS of body work/trimming, bump stops, than tear it down and paint the whole thing and final assembly.
Damn those shoes look massive. I'm guessing you'll have to open up the fenders a lot more or is she bumped up to the moon ?
 
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Damn those shoes look massive. I'm guessing you'll have to open up the fenders a lot more or is she bumped up to the moon ?
That's why its been a push to get the big ticket items done. We needed it at ride height so I can sort his steering, track bar etc as well as figure out how and where we need to clearance the floors. I'm thinking we're gonna bump it at 3-4" up travel so its still streetable and the rest can be droop. Aside from fender sheet metal they fit surprisingly decent. Not as much chopping as I envisioned. Its 100% full body and the trimming on it was there with 33s. Don't get me wrong, its getting mutilated, but still they technically "fit" lol!

These iroks run true to size as well so they're legit gigantic. Overall this is pretty cool. Not what I would do, with a unibody rig but cool to do even still.
 

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Ok perfect thanks. I'm weighing options at this point. All I need is a set of rears to round out my mid travel for now and that'll hopefully keep me satisfied. Once it's paid off I'll re-evaluate things but for the immediate I enjoy just being able to haul a$$ across things it shouldn't be able to. Gonna do a comparison of specs across fox, icon and king as well as discuss the ability to revalve them at a later date and see which is my best choice. Part of me wants try the icon 2.5 piggy backs out since most guys with icon seem to have the 2.0s. They're just under 27" extended but compressed they're stock length.
Check Radflo as well, best price so far for rear 2.5 race shocks with reservoirs. I can vouch for their performance as well as i had Radflo CO's and shocks in my FJ.
$759 and the color will match your Icons :)
Call them to find about if their listing part# as the 6SD0010A should be Radflo part# for the RES+Adjusters (according to Radflo website), while the R's should be reservoirs only.
 
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Check Radflo as well, best price so far for rear 2.5 race shocks with reservoirs. I can vouch for their performance as well as i had Radflo CO's and shocks in my FJ.
$759 and the color will match your Icons :)
Call them to find about if their listing part# as the 6SD0010A should be Radflo part# for the RES+Adjusters (according to Radflo website), while the R's should be reservoirs only.
You the best man! I totally forgot about radflo honestly. Being east coast and talking big shocks doesn't mean I get much input unless I get online and ask newbie questions lol. I'm gonna check them out right now. I have no issue running factory valving for the time being until I can get them sent out. I still need track bar and arms in the rear since I'm still running stock as well so the rear surely needs some attention. After using the Clayton Giiro Joints I don't think I could ever use anything else so I'm saving up for that rear setup.
 

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You the best man! I totally forgot about radflo honestly. Being east coast and talking big shocks doesn't mean I get much input unless I get online and ask newbie questions lol. I'm gonna check them out right now. I have no issue running factory valving for the time being until I can get them sent out. I still need track bar and arms in the rear since I'm still running stock as well so the rear surely needs some attention. After using the Clayton Giiro Joints I don't think I could ever use anything else so I'm saving up for that rear setup.
Contact Radflo directly and see if they can you give length specs. They can do whatever Icon or King or Fox can do for length and valving. You may need to order from the reseller to get the price, i don't know if you can get the same deal directly with them as they deal with their resellers for pricing. Not exactly sure why companies do this instead of dealing directly with us. Icon does the same thing. In the past i've gotten 10% discounts from Radflo directly so check all the options to get your best price.

+2 on the Clayton arms and their Giiro joints, they're just awesome set it and forget it. It's been almost 2 years now since i'm running them in my RAM without a single issue. i took the Synergy fixed LCA's i had in the Jeep and replaced them with Clayton adjustables overland+ (Giiro joints) and i went with a Clayton front trackbar as well. I'll order the rear lca setup and trackbar as well in the shorter future :)
 
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Contact Radflo directly and see if they can you give length specs. They can do whatever Icon or King or Fox can do for length and valving. You may need to order from the reseller to get the price, i don't know if you can get the same deal directly with them as they deal with their resellers for pricing. Not exactly sure why companies do this instead of dealing directly with us. Icon does the same thing. In the past i've gotten 10% discounts from Radflo directly so check all the options to get your best price.

+2 on the Clayton arms and their Giiro joints, they're just awesome set it and forget it. It's been almost 2 years now since i'm running them in my RAM without a single issue. i took the Synergy fixed LCA's i had in the Jeep and replaced them with Clayton adjustables overland+ (Giiro joints) and i went with a Clayton front trackbar as well. I'll order the rear lca setup and trackbar as well in the shorter future :)
I never did quite understand why they won't deal directly with the consumer base and make you go through retailers. Especially when it comes to information/feedback and spec requirements. I'll for sure have to do some digging and reach out. Things are so back and forth with what I'm gonna do for vehicles it's stupid. I'm essentially bored with the jeep and truck, but it's silly of me to make any drastic changes without sleeping on my decisions. It's worse since what I genuinely want and have interest in doing offroad wise doesn't exist here in NJ or on the east coast for the most part. So I'm kinda at an endpass for now and weighing my options
 

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I never did quite understand why they won't deal directly with the consumer base and make you go through retailers. Especially when it comes to information/feedback and spec requirements. I'll for sure have to do some digging and reach out. Things are so back and forth with what I'm gonna do for vehicles it's stupid. I'm essentially bored with the jeep and truck, but it's silly of me to make any drastic changes without sleeping on my decisions. It's worse since what I genuinely want and have interest in doing offroad wise doesn't exist here in NJ or on the east coast for the most part. So I'm kinda at an endpass for now and weighing my options
I feel you on that. I want to hit trails but south Florida is all swamp…. Or nasty clay. No nice rock trails or woodsy endeavors.
 
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I feel you on that. I want to hit trails but south Florida is all swamp…. Or nasty clay. No nice rock trails or woodsy endeavors.
I'm over the mud, and the 1500 is the wrong tool for east coast rocks. Hell I won't even take my jeep on alot of stuff anymore since it's on 33s and most rigs live on 37s or bigger anymore. It would 100% mean definite damage on most of the fun trails I used to hit. At this point I'm leaning heavily towards needing a full time trail rig I can have fun with, but my current house doesn't have room for that or a trailer so I'm just trying to work with what I have for the time being.

The offroad parks by me do have raptor events, which is why I'm leaning into go fast stuff, but again, neither of my rigs are built for that yet. The jeep is close, but I need a cage to feel safe in that above the normal trail speeds. XJs fold like a cardboard box if they roll. Ugh first world problems
 
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Finally debadged this little bread box. Gave it the good old wd40 wipe down and pulled 2 years of my dogs hair out if the interior. Procrastinating pulling the axles apart since it's too damn hot to be covered in grease and 85-140w gear oil.

The 1500 needs a good bit of cleaning and painting on the frame so I'm thinking this week I'll get a case of paint and get to doin that than the truck is pretty much good to go for a bit and I can just leave the jeep in the driveway for a bit while i freshen up the axles. Also kind of need to wax the Ram but man is there alot of paint real estate on this damn thing!
 
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1 bottle of degreaser, 6 cans of rustoleum and a black face later and the frame/high impact areas are all nicey nice again. I hate doing this. There's no fun way about it, even with the truck on ramps, but living in the north east it's a necessary evil. Now I can hit some quick touch ups and it'll be good to go for winter after a coating of krown. Not the best pics but the entire frame nose to tail and the floor boards of the cab outboard of the frame got sprayed.

I like rustoleum since it cures well and lasts pretty damn good in the winters up here. For as durable as it is cleaning the over spray is easy, 91% rubbing alcohol pulls the heavy deposit right off the paint and I'll likely clay bar the truck since it could use a little love. Once that's done I'll wd40 the paint and call it good.
 

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ram1500rsm

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Looking good right there. i couldn't live without that Rustloeum stuff, i use semi gloss black in everyhting i see that needs to be painted black in my vehicles. i don't mask much either i cover the stuff with a plastic bin cover i have and if i oversprayed something i'll remove with acetone. sometimes we know acetone can be very disruptive on plastic hahaha, now i know better so i'll try your tip with alcohol 91% first.
 
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hodge-xj

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Looking good right there. i couldn't live without that Rustloeum stuff, i use semi gloss black in everyhting i see that needs to be painted black in my vehicles. i don't mask much either i cover the stuff with a plastic bin cover i have and if i oversprayed something i'll remove with acetone. sometimes we know acetone can be very disruptive on plastic hahaha, now i know better so i'll try your tip with alcohol 91% first.
I pulled the acetone out, had flashbacks and than got on YouTube to look at options. The rubbing alcohol works awesome, just don't do it in full sun or you're racing the evaporation and it's annoying.

So side bar here, but I'm gonna take my truck down to the dealer and see what they'll give me for it this week. At 156k on the time bomb aka ecodiesel and in this market my value according to the nada/edmunds/KBB averages more than I owe. With the recent passing of my step father's mother I was offered first dibs at her 2005 grand cherokee so depending on its condition I may scoot out from under this truck before I'm stuck. I don't necessarily want to, but I'm still out of work and it's the only payment I have left aside from my mortgage. I figure I can run a couple years without a truck and play with my jeep and ideally buy something cash after we move. Even if I did sell, I'm not leaving the forum so y'all are stuck with my ***!

Side note #2 did you see what I tagged you in on the "bump stop upgrade" thread?
 

ram1500rsm

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I pulled the acetone out, had flashbacks and than got on YouTube to look at options. The rubbing alcohol works awesome, just don't do it in full sun or you're racing the evaporation and it's annoying.

So side bar here, but I'm gonna take my truck down to the dealer and see what they'll give me for it this week. At 156k on the time bomb aka ecodiesel and in this market my value according to the nada/edmunds/KBB averages more than I owe. With the recent passing of my step father's mother I was offered first dibs at her 2005 grand cherokee so depending on its condition I may scoot out from under this truck before I'm stuck. I don't necessarily want to, but I'm still out of work and it's the only payment I have left aside from my mortgage. I figure I can run a couple years without a truck and play with my jeep and ideally buy something cash after we move. Even if I did sell, I'm not leaving the forum so y'all are stuck with my ***!

Side note #2 did you see what I tagged you in on the "bump stop upgrade" thread?
Oh Dang. Well good luck with that. If you're going to dump it at a dealer take as much off the expensive mods as you can, that'll means prob getting some used stock parts or super cheap Ebay/Amazon deals on struts , shocks, springs etc.
I'm stuck with mine cause i threw the factory bumpers in the gargabe. but if i sold it it'll go out with the Rancho suspension i have for backup and some Mevocrap control arms, and the cheapo rear springs i could find, i'll take the softopper out, the carrier and a bunch of other things the dealer would remove to put it back to stock. Come to think about the rear bumper is easy so if i could find a cheapy stock one that will do. The front will stay minus the winch hahaha but who knows, Just thinking about it give me the chills...

I blogged about those bumpstops in my built thread just too lazy to find them but i remember taking print screens and talking about them. That's why i had the idea of using a shop to weld 2.5 front cans but then that idea died as i needed to add more mods and the shop i found that i thought was going to be able to do them for me was too busy to take me in. They do a lot of fabrication for the dudes that run Baja, mint 500 etc.

You should get good money for it because the chip outage thing, that's why i'm in a Jeep now. Carmax gave me good money on my wife Ford Explorer so i was able to pay it off and still put an extra $1000 on the Jeep down payment. Truck is fully paid off so i'm keeping that one for the longest i can. Carmax or Carvana will prob give you the most.

Good luck.
 
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Oh Dang. Well good luck with that. If you're going to dump it at a dealer take as much off the expensive mods as you can, that'll means prob getting some used stock parts or super cheap Ebay/Amazon deals on struts , shocks, springs etc.
I'm stuck with mine cause i threw the factory bumpers in the gargabe. but if i sold it it'll go out with the Rancho suspension i have for backup and some Mevocrap control arms, and the cheapo rear springs i could find, i'll take the softopper out, the carrier and a bunch of other things the dealer would remove to put it back to stock. Come to think about the rear bumper is easy so if i could find a cheapy stock one that will do. The front will stay minus the winch hahaha but who knows, Just thinking about it give me the chills...

I blogged about those bumpstops in my built thread just too lazy to find them but i remember taking print screens and talking about them. That's why i had the idea of using a shop to weld 2.5 front cans but then that idea died as i needed to add more mods and the shop i found that i thought was going to be able to do them for me was too busy to take me in. They do a lot of fabrication for the dudes that run Baja, mint 500 etc.

You should get good money for it because the chip outage thing, that's why i'm in a Jeep now. Carmax gave me good money on my wife Ford Explorer so i was able to pay it off and still put an extra $1000 on the Jeep down payment. Truck is fully paid off so i'm keeping that one for the longest i can. Carmax or Carvana will prob give you the most.

Good luck.
Yea I need to look at my potential replacement first and see if it's a viable option and than shop around if I decide to move forward with it. I owe 15k and i should get anywhere from payoff to 18k from what I'm seeing. But who knows. Everything is or sale for the right price. Thing is I really do like the truck, but this engine has me super leery at its longevity and it's a 10k+ replacement if it pops. It's frustrating too cuz there's no easy answer and honestly if it had a hemi, i would have no issue keeping it. New diesels suck. I also have none of the OEM stuff so truck would have to go as it sits....which makes it even harder to consider.

As for the bumps it didn't seem like they added extra anything beyond the cans on the truck autoedits has. What extra did they need to do?
 
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