GWOTRGR
Senior Member
Awhile back, sometime last year (or the year before!) I went down this rabbit hole of trying to “upgrade” my suspension due to the driver side front OEM Shock blowing out just days before a family planned camping trip. Instead of just replacing that shock with the same or even both of the front shocks, I opted to “piece together” what I thought would be an upgrade in ride quality both on and off-road. Initially, as with any large purchase (add in the placebo effect) you want to say and admit that what you did worked and it’s great! Right?
Fast forward a year plus, and transparently, I don’t think I was ever truly happy. In the beginning, maybe it did feel different, smoother, “better”…. But the more I ride in other trucks (stock power wagons, ZR2 2500’s, Raptors), and the more I travel out of state each year multiple times during bow season, I think I was wrong.
Lately, the truck has felt horrible. So much so, I can’t stop looking at Raptors (I know it’s not the same as our Power Wagons and I’ve never really liked them, until now). Do I sacrifice the capabilities of the Power Wagon for a more “comfortable” ride in a go-fast truck that’s mostly pointless for my way of life? Do I trade in the 2020 for a 2024 I just found and start over? Or do I acknowledge that I cut some corners with the previous deep dive, and fix it I took the front Fox 2.0 Remote Resi’s (not from Thuren, they didn’t have them in stock at the time I needed to fix the shock problem) paired with Thurens .5” front coils and rear Fox 2.0’s (non remote resi’s and also not from Thuren) with Thurens rear coils, and the King steering stabilizer from Thuren and put it all together.
Then I replaced the 35” Wildpeak ATW3’s (the new ATW4’s were not yet available when I went into discount tire) with 35 Toyo RT’s. I wanted something more aggressive but not fully mud.
Insert unbelievable road wobble and shaking. Mostly and at first only in the 60MPH range. Insert taking them to another reputable tire shop in hopes they could balance them and fix the “small issue”. Insert an immediate trip out of state. Insert passing the “trial miles” for discount tire to take ownership of “cupped” or bad tires. (Was told 2 of them would not balance and need to be replaced).
Insert last week the front driver side shock blowing out, this time the Fox 2.0 Remote Resi’s. I told myself shortly after doing the “suspension upgrade” that I should have never touched or changed anything unless I was going to drop a complete kit from CJC.
So here I am with 166,000 miles on a 2020 Power Wagon that needs fixed because 1) the front driver shock is blown (again) and 2) I’m no longer happy with the ride.
Lastly, if I do decide to try something else, this is what I’m looking at:
www.suspensionlifts.com
Remove Thuren Coils, the Fox Shocks, and put this on with the Factory Coils, take the tires off and except the loss (they only have 15,000 miles) and throw on a new set of tires, and maybe some Carli lifetime ball joints. And have the shop meticulously go over everything to ensure it’s all in spect and aligned etc etc etc
Fast forward a year plus, and transparently, I don’t think I was ever truly happy. In the beginning, maybe it did feel different, smoother, “better”…. But the more I ride in other trucks (stock power wagons, ZR2 2500’s, Raptors), and the more I travel out of state each year multiple times during bow season, I think I was wrong.
Lately, the truck has felt horrible. So much so, I can’t stop looking at Raptors (I know it’s not the same as our Power Wagons and I’ve never really liked them, until now). Do I sacrifice the capabilities of the Power Wagon for a more “comfortable” ride in a go-fast truck that’s mostly pointless for my way of life? Do I trade in the 2020 for a 2024 I just found and start over? Or do I acknowledge that I cut some corners with the previous deep dive, and fix it I took the front Fox 2.0 Remote Resi’s (not from Thuren, they didn’t have them in stock at the time I needed to fix the shock problem) paired with Thurens .5” front coils and rear Fox 2.0’s (non remote resi’s and also not from Thuren) with Thurens rear coils, and the King steering stabilizer from Thuren and put it all together.
Then I replaced the 35” Wildpeak ATW3’s (the new ATW4’s were not yet available when I went into discount tire) with 35 Toyo RT’s. I wanted something more aggressive but not fully mud.
Insert unbelievable road wobble and shaking. Mostly and at first only in the 60MPH range. Insert taking them to another reputable tire shop in hopes they could balance them and fix the “small issue”. Insert an immediate trip out of state. Insert passing the “trial miles” for discount tire to take ownership of “cupped” or bad tires. (Was told 2 of them would not balance and need to be replaced).
Insert last week the front driver side shock blowing out, this time the Fox 2.0 Remote Resi’s. I told myself shortly after doing the “suspension upgrade” that I should have never touched or changed anything unless I was going to drop a complete kit from CJC.
So here I am with 166,000 miles on a 2020 Power Wagon that needs fixed because 1) the front driver shock is blown (again) and 2) I’m no longer happy with the ride.
Lastly, if I do decide to try something else, this is what I’m looking at:
BILSTEIN 5160 0-2″ FRONT AND 0-0.5″ REAR LIFTS SHOCKS FOR 2014-2024 RAM 2500 4WD POWER WAGON
SKU: 2x25-293432_2x25-293449
Bilstein 5160 0-2" Front and 0-0.5" Rear Lifts Shocks for 2014-2026 Ram 2500 4WD Power Wagon
Bilstein 5160 0-2" Front and 0-0.5" Rear Lifts Shocks for 2014-2026 Ram 2500 4WD Power Wagon Online Auto Parts Store ✈️ Fast shipping and affordable price⚡ suspensionlifts.com
www.suspensionlifts.com
Remove Thuren Coils, the Fox Shocks, and put this on with the Factory Coils, take the tires off and except the loss (they only have 15,000 miles) and throw on a new set of tires, and maybe some Carli lifetime ball joints. And have the shop meticulously go over everything to ensure it’s all in spect and aligned etc etc etc
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