Is the Carli markup worth it on the Fox 2.0 coilovers?

[mrack]

Shopping for my 2nd set of coilovers after the Icon 2.5 I had turned out to be complete garbage. Looking at this Carli commuter kit which uses the fox 2.0 coilovers:

Commuter System

Designed and tuned for the truck that spends its life on road with occasional dirt trails, this custom shock project was intensely focused on delivering a comfortable in-town ride and smoothing the freeway's all while improving vehicle control for light off-road adventures. FOX IFP Pintop shocks...

www.carlisuspension.com

Is the markup on the coilovers worth it for whatever custom tuning they do? Obviously the kit comes with a lot more than just the coilovers but according to my estimations, if I sourced all those parts separately from other quality manufacturers and bought the standard Fox 2.0 it would be at least a few hundred cheaper. Anyone have experience, thoughts, speculation? My truck is a 2016, I tow a ~5000lb travel trailer and take the truck on the dunes semi regularly during the summer (maybe 5-10 trips a year).

 

[danielmid]

Fox 2.0, well anything 2.0, should be a significant downgrade from most everything 2.5. What was the issue with the Icons?

To answer the thread question, most shock tuners say the 2.0 IFP are not tunable so I'm not 100% that Carli even touches them.

 

[mrack]

Fox 2.0, well anything 2.0, should be a significant downgrade from most everything 2.5. What was the issue with the Icons?

To answer the thread question, most shock tuners say the 2.0 IFP are not tunable so I'm not 100% that Carli even touches them.

The Icons were terribly stiff with a whopping 650lb coil (which I was not aware of before buying), and only had about a 1/2” travel on the shock under the weight of the truck, so they constantly bottomed out on any decent sized bumps. Basically anything big enough to get that big hard spring compressed was immediately faced with a bump stop. On road was tolerable (but still a huge downgrade from my 100k mile old leaking stock struts), off road was absolutely pathetic. I couldn’t believe it for the price I paid. After contacted icon they told me they can’t refund me but they’ll build and ship me a free set of replacement coilovers. At least they’re doing something but I’m not even going to try installing the 2nd set when they get here.

So after that experience I am leery of getting another set of coilovers. I may just do bilsteins or an eibach pro kit. Thanks for the info on the tuning, I suspected the extra price was for the Carli name and not the performance.

 

[LumberJakl]

Not sure with stock setup, but when I changed over from ICON to Fox 2.5 - I noticed a huge difference for ride quality on road and offroad BUT you have to get the full coil w/ res serviced every 15,000 to 30,000 depending on the road conditions you tackle through.
I snapped the coil, then the strut assembly 6 months later on the ICON, and that's the last time I will purchase their product.
I don't think having a "special tune" is necessary once you have the 2.5 package - In my opinion

 

[ram1500rsm]

The Icons were terribly stiff with a whopping 650lb coil (which I was not aware of before buying), and only had about a 1/2” travel on the shock under the weight of the truck, so they constantly bottomed out on any decent sized bumps. Basically anything big enough to get that big hard spring compressed was immediately faced with a bump stop. On road was tolerable (but still a huge downgrade from my 100k mile old leaking stock struts), off road was absolutely pathetic. I couldn’t believe it for the price I paid. After contacted icon they told me they can’t refund me but they’ll build and ship me a free set of replacement coilovers. At least they’re doing something but I’m not even going to try installing the 2nd set when they get here.

So after that experience I am leery of getting another set of coilovers. I may just do bilsteins or an eibach pro kit. Thanks for the info on the tuning, I suspected the extra price was for the Carli name and not the performance.

You're not getting much out of any 2.0 body shock or coilover in a full size RAM 1500, at least not driving over 25-30mph through that sand per you pic in the OP There is not enough displacement on the shocks to control the weight of the truck, and i'm surprised Icon is building you a new set on their dime, did they say somehow the set you've got was built for a different application ? It doesn't make sense to have only 1/2" travel on the shock under the weight of the truck with 650lbs springs. The assembly measures 22 and 3/4 i believe so there should be enough shaft for move than 1/2 travel.
See what's different in this 2nd set. can you snap some pics at your current set installed ?

 

[ram1500rsm]

Not sure with stock setup, but when I changed over from ICON to Fox 2.5 - I noticed a huge difference for ride quality on road and offroad BUT you have to get the full coil w/ res serviced every 15,000 to 30,000 depending on the road conditions you tackle through.
I snapped the coil, then the strut assembly 6 months later on the ICON, and that's the last time I will purchase their product.
I don't think having a "special tune" is necessary once you have the 2.5 package - In my opinion

Your assembly with the shorter icons and that huge spacer at the top is longer compared to the Fox assembly. I'll say longer by about 2" ? My guess you topped up the CO's on a hard landing or hit it hard on some sort of pothole or something alike ?

 

[mrack]

@LumberJakl Wow, at least I'm not the only one who's finding out how bad these things are. I couldn't find any reviews on them when I bought them but decided to take a chance. Lesson learned, never doing that again. What's the approximate cost to get the fox 2.5 serviced? Do you have to ship them back to fox?

@ram1500rsm I'm not a hardcore offroader and not planning on doing any prerunner stuff, the only issue I've had with the stock suspension is I can't go over whoops at any more then 5mph, the suspension is too soft and throws the front end into the sand every time. My front bumper has been bent in more then once that way. Icon didn't ask much questions, just said there might be a problem with my set and they'll build me another. I asked about possibly a lighter coil but that was a no go. The issue with the Icons is just simply terrible design, cheap junk with a big price tag. Can't believe more people aren't talking about this.

Here's some pics from when the icons were installed. I yanked them back out a few hours after installing, certainly never took them on the dunes or anything. Those bricks probably would have rattled me and my truck apart.




I PMed @ThunderMug95 about it a while back when I installed them since I knew he had a set. His have the same lack of travel but he said he's been happy with the ride, I'm guessing he stays on road, maybe he can chime in.

 

[mrack]

Back to the original topic, the Fox 2.5 are a good bit more then I was looking to spend on coilovers. Sounds like the Fox 2.0 wouldn't be a very big or worthwhile improvement over stock? In which case I may just be better off with a set of Bilstein 5100s or similar, sounds like those might give me just the little extra bit of stiffness to hopefully not throw the truck all over the place on whoops, and of course still ride well on road. I hear the eibach kit is softer so that's probably not my best option. Truck just passed 100k and one of the stock struts is leaking pretty good so I need to do something before too long.

 

[ram1500rsm]

@LumberJakl Wow, at least I'm not the only one who's finding out how bad these things are. I couldn't find any reviews on them when I bought them but decided to take a chance. Lesson learned, never doing that again. What's the approximate cost to get the fox 2.5 serviced? Do you have to ship them back to fox?

@ram1500rsm I'm not a hardcore offroader and not planning on doing any prerunner stuff, the only issue I've had with the stock suspension is I can't go over whoops at any more then 5mph, the suspension is too soft and throws the front end into the sand every time. My front bumper has been bent in more then once that way. Icon didn't ask much questions, just said there might be a problem with my set and they'll build me another. I asked about possibly a lighter coil but that was a no go. The issue with the Icons is just simply terrible design, cheap junk with a big price tag. Can't believe more people aren't talking about this.

Here's some pics from when the icons were installed. I yanked them back out a few hours after installing, certainly never took them on the dunes or anything. Those bricks probably would have rattled me and my truck apart.

View attachment 526478
View attachment 526479

I PMed @ThunderMug95 about it a while back when I installed them since I knew he had a set. His have the same lack of travel but he said he's been happy with the ride, I'm guessing he stays on road, maybe he can chime in.

Wow yes that dont seem like much up travel. It's IFS so is not exactly we have tons of travel in the front, but it should not be that little either going up. Not sure what's going as you have CV angles like something with 3" lift but you barely have any exposed shaft. What lift are you getting witht that preload ?
I don't know many people with the Icon setup so i can't tell you what to expect and what's normal for them. @hodge-xj was running the Icon setup, maybe he'll able to chime in.

Wait to see what's different in the new CO set from Icon. For Icon to come back to you and say they'll build you a new set because it appears this one is not right it's something you don't see every day.

If you have a chance can you lift the truck up from the crossmember and lift the wheels in the air? Measure from the top hat of the CO to your lower shock bolt eyelet.

 

[mrack]

Wow yes that dont seem like much up travel. It's IFS so is not exactly we have tons of travel in the front, but it should not be that little either going up. Not sure what's going as you have CV angles like something with 3" lift but you barely have any exposed shaft. What lift are you getting witht that preload ?
I don't know many people with the Icon setup so i can't tell you what to expect and what's normal for them. @hodge-xj was running the Icon setup, maybe he'll able to chime in.

Wait to see what's different in the new CO set from Icon. For Icon to come back to you and say they'll build you a new set because it appears this one is not right it's something you don't see every day.

If you have a chance can you lift the truck up from the crossmember and lift the wheels in the air? Measure from the top hat of the CO to your lower shock bolt eyelet.


View attachment 526488

Got exactly 2.5 inches, perfectly leveled my truck (which is an outdoorsman so a little higher in the back). Felt to me icon was more just throwing free stuff at the customer to make them happy then actually admitting to and trying to rectify the issue.

Oh, and I forgot to mention getting ahold of Icon was an absolute pain in the rear. After emailing every address I could find and messaging them every way possible I got nothing, what I ended up doing was leaving negative comments on every social media post they made, they got back to me realllll quick after that.

Like I said the icons are no longer in the truck, I actually sold them on marketplace for a few hundred bucks to recoup a little of my lost money. But if it would still help I could measure that.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Sure if you still have the CO's measure them to see how long they were.

 

[mrack]

Sure if you still have the CO's measure them to see how long they were.

Like I just said I don’t have them anymore

 

[gunner_herman]

I posted my issue with the Carli 2.5 performance (Kings). I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. My Bils were way better. I believe the primary issue in my case is the spring rate (700lb) on this Carli set-up. I think I should have gotten a 550 or something like that. My truck rides on its tippy-toes and is very harsh. I don't want to spend another $1,000-$1,500 buying new springs and having everything swapped out and aligned.
I'm doing my part warning others to take a ride in one of these Carli trucks before they buy. I know I wish I had because I am not happy.

 

[mrack]

I posted my issue with the Carli 2.5 performance (Kings). I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. My Bils were way better. I believe the primary issue in my case is the spring rate (700lb) on this Carli set-up. I think I should have gotten a 550 or something like that. My truck rides on its tippy-toes and is very harsh. I don't want to spend another $1,000-$1,500 buying new springs and having everything swapped out and aligned.
I'm doing my part warning others to take a ride in one of these Carli trucks before they buy. I know I wish I had because I am not happy.

I saw and read through your carli thread, I certainly would never buy the King setup after that. I assumed the Fox kit would be better but can't find any reviews on it. I can relate after trying the 650lb $1400 garbage that was the Icons. Seems like there are more bad experiences then good experiences with coilovers on our trucks, and I'm not trying to throw a thousand bucks away again. Which is why I'm planning on settling for bilsteins now. Thanks for your input

 

[ram1500rsm]

I posted my issue with the Carli 2.5 performance (Kings). I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. My Bils were way better. I believe the primary issue in my case is the spring rate (700lb) on this Carli set-up. I think I should have gotten a 550 or something like that. My truck rides on its tippy-toes and is very harsh. I don't want to spend another $1,000-$1,500 buying new springs and having everything swapped out and aligned.
I'm doing my part warning others to take a ride in one of these Carli trucks before they buy. I know I wish I had because I am not happy.

Replacing CO springs is not or should not be that expensive. King springs are around $110 each. But i see a problem more related to how Carli tuned those CO's to work with those 700lbs springs. Normally for a spring that heavy i'd imagine they'll slow down the rebound by a good lot, so if youre going with a ligther rate spring you may need to fasten up the rebound a little bit. Absolutely crazy they spec their CO's with 700lbs springs especially for a vehicle that is pretty much stock. i'm still at 500lbs with my King OEs CO's, and i have a steel bumper with a 12k winch and rock sliders. I'm literally at max though where i may have maybe one more full turn in my adjusters to maintain 2.5-2.75" lift. Ever since i put the plastic flares in the fenders it's been amost impossible to measure what have.
I want to have my shocks rebuilt since i've been running them since 2020 and i wanted to change springs as well to counter the extra weight i have. King charges $160 per shock, Accutune is $165 but i get a 25% discount. labor to take the spring off the CO is $25 from Accutune, so changing to whatever spring King may have with more or less spring rate cost the same $25 per CO.

 

[crazykid1994]

I know it’s not your cup of tea price wise. I love my fox 2.5 from accutune thought. Haven’t had a chance to take it on high speed off-roading but they handle extremely well on road and through trails. I’ll be going back out on some easier trails in a month or so. Truck has eibach rear lift springs as well. Sits around 2.5” front lift with 1” rear lift.

 

[ThunderMug95]

I’ve been running the Icon 2.5’s for several months now. Even after DM’ing with @mrack and checking the travel on my set and seeing the perceived lack of travel havent noticed any negatives. I went out and deliberately tried to stuff the front end and it never slammed home. The range of travel felt the same as my Bils, but the Icons felt less harsh. Could it be the CO’s move on 2 axis’s w/geometry vs struts on a single? All components except the LCA is upgraded on mine though. The Icons w/ Wulf 1/4” plate installed much easier than Bils @2.8 + plate, but provided the exact same lift.

 

[mrack]

Maybe I'll look into the fox 2.5 one day, but at the moment I need to leave room in the budget to replace my folded in front bumper lol.

@ThunderMug95 It's hard to believe we have the same coilovers with how drastically different experiences we've had. Yours pillow soft, mine hard as bricks, mine always bottoming out and yours never. Maybe I did just get a faulty set, who knows. But after hearing more then one story about them basically self destructing over time, I wouldn't try them again anyways. I do wonder if your other suspension components being upgraded made a significant difference. When I had them in I was completely stock besides the coilovers.

 

[healthyrx]

Maybe I'll look into the fox 2.5 one day, but at the moment I need to leave room in the budget to replace my folded in front bumper lol.

@ThunderMug95 It's hard to believe we have the same coilovers with how drastically different experiences we've had. Yours pillow soft, mine hard as bricks, mine always bottoming out and yours never. Maybe I did just get a faulty set, who knows. But after hearing more then one story about them basically self destructing over time, I wouldn't try them again anyways. I do wonder if your other suspension components being upgraded made a significant difference. When I had them in I was completely stock besides the coilovers.

I also have some of the Icon 2.5s. Before that I was running the Eibach pro truck front lift. IMO the 650# springs are stiff for a stock front end but not over the top stiff. My analogy of stock front suspension vs Icon front suspension is like a trail riding dirtbike (stock) vs a motocross bike (Icon). Much firmer and but ultimately more controlled.
I have about 30k on mine right now.
I dont remember if its been addressed already- but are you running E load tires with high air pressure and skinny sidewall? That could be significantly contributing to poor ride quality.
Also as you suggested- it is very possible you got a bad valving job.

 

[mrack]

I also have some of the Icon 2.5s. Before that I was running the Eibach pro truck front lift. IMO the 650# springs are stiff for a stock front end but not over the top stiff. My analogy of stock front suspension vs Icon front suspension is like a trail riding dirtbike (stock) vs a motocross bike (Icon). Much firmer and but ultimately more controlled.
I have about 30k on mine right now.
I dont remember if its been addressed already- but are you running E load tires with high air pressure and skinny sidewall? That could be significantly contributing to poor ride quality.
Also as you suggested- it is very possible you got a bad valving job.

Yes I have always had E rated on this truck, currently have 285/70/17 Wildpeaks. I’ve never run them over 40-43ish PSI though and with the stock suspension it has always rode like a Cadillac compared to any other truck I’ve ever driven.