TRX with Leveling Kit and Behind Grille lights

[TheDailyDemon]

For sure, that's why I always say to each their own. I love the look of 37s, even though they don't really do anything for you from a performance standpoint. That said, personally I wouldn't do anything to harm the vehicle, and sure as hell would not screw with the awesome suspension that you are paying for. Again to each their own, but I know I benefit from the knowledge and opinions here, so just asking, how does it affect cooling, since no you cant just pull over and remove the front bumper and clip like you make it sound.

First - thanks to @Autoworks Custom and @4114Motors for coming on and sharing some details!

On cooling - yes Hellcat's need cooling, yes, a lightbar will reduce airflow, and ... I'll let others speak to whether they estimated or checked any differences in temp from before and after. Color me curious.

Leveling - others have more first hand experience with the Raptor which is probably the most relevant (versus my stuff with Jeeps or Toyotas). FWIW - I had some time in a Raptor on collars (RPG?). That Raptor rode as well as a stock truck (didn't put the shock into a funky part of the stroke/dampening/ride zone).

Since I'm not leaning towards a leveling kit at the moment though, I'm more curious about how the suspension performs with the extra unsprung weight from 37's. Look forward to some reviews of 37's on the dirt!

 

[5150TRX]

Hellcats engines need all the cooling they can get, this is why the challengers/chargers don't even have fog lights, and why Ram even made the RAM letters on the front pass through. How does adding light bars in the grill affect cooling?

This was my thought as well

 

[Bambi]

For sure, that's why I always say to each their own. I love the look of 37s, even though they don't really do anything for you from a performance standpoint. That said, personally I wouldn't do anything to harm the vehicle, and sure as hell would not screw with the awesome suspension that you are paying for. Again to each their own, but I know I benefit from the knowledge and opinions here, so just asking, how does it affect cooling, since no you cant just pull over and remove the front bumper and clip like you make it sound.

I was thinking about putting a cape buffalo skull on the front. Probably won’t because it would block a bunch of airflow

 

[n8er]

I was thinking about putting a cape buffalo skull on the front. Probably won’t because it would block a bunch of airflow

That would probably be better mounted on the hood anyways!

 

[Bambi]

That would probably be better mounted on the hood anyways!

You can’t because the hood scoop or I would

 

[Jackson]

21st Century Boss Hogg.

Off with the head of the next Cape Buffalo I encounter.

Nitro.... You did a great thing here. All we needed was SoulSea to harass these fine gentlemen enough to join us in our quest.

Great work here everyone!

J

Email sent.

 

[Bambi]

21st Century Boss Hogg.

Off with the head of the next Cape Buffalo I encounter.

Nitro.... You did a great thing here. All we needed was SoulSea to harass these fine gentlemen enough to join us in our quest.

Great work here everyone!

J

Email sent.

Hey. If someone can figure out a mounting location I’m open to doing it

 

[Enduromd]

Not my truck. I wouldn't be so lucky

All 3 looks the same size so I imagine one of the forum guys with a truck can roughly measure middle of R to middle of M for us and get us an idea of lightbar length.

I am guessing a 20in?

 

[Enduromd]

Good Morning. I am Sully (go figure), and I own Autoworks Custom. This truck belongs to a friend of mine, AL. I believe some of you have spoken with him. I have received a lot of emails asking about the leveling kit and we will be responding as soon as possible. We will have 1.5 inch as well as the 2 inch available very soon. As this was a custom piece for Al, we are working on pricing. Right now we are doing $200 plus shipping. As far as light kits, I have all the specs and measurements as to what can fit behind the grill. The mounting brackets we made in house. I have pics of the whole build that I haven't even had a chance to share with Al yet, so as soon as I share them with him, I will get the information out there to share with the TRX world. If you have not received your truck yet, all I have to say is you will not be disappointed. I can be reached directly at autoworks4600@verizon.net. It was a fun project, and I'm looking forward to people sharing their own builds.

Thanks,
Sully

Autoworks Custom
79b West St.
Mansfield, MA 02048
508.339.4600

Did you install the light bars too?
If so, can you post some details on the install?
ie. size of the bars. How did you mount it. Any specific issues.
Wiring details?
Thanks in advance!

 

[CustomPerformance]

Sulli is going to get everyone's questions answered, but he got bombarded yesterday. I spoke with him for awhile, and it sounds like he has a considerable amount of experience with the Raptor platform, so he can use that knowledge on the TRX. The lift comes from a billet upper spacer. That's actually probably a good way to go. No preload on the spring, and it should be solid enough to withstand off-road punishment. The light bars are 20", but he used a combination of some newer and older styles, and I think from both Rigid and BD. He has the bracket info, and can either make more, or he's reached out to the manufacturers of the lights to see if they would consider making the brackets as a kit for TRX owners. The install is time consuming, but as you can see from the pics it makes for a nice clean and stealthy install.

Sulli, I apologize if I've stepped on your toes, but I thought I might help add some info on which you can expand when you get time. The guys on here want answers and they want them now! LOL.

 

[Autoworks Custom]

Sulli is going to get everyone's questions answered, but he got bombarded yesterday. I spoke with him for awhile, and it sounds like he has a considerable amount of experience with the Raptor platform, so he can use that knowledge on the TRX. The lift comes from a billet upper spacer. That's actually probably a good way to go. No preload on the spring, and it should be solid enough to withstand off-road punishment. The light bars are 20", but he used a combination of some newer and older styles, and I think from both Rigid and BD. He has the bracket info, and can either make more, or he's reached out to the manufacturers of the lights to see if they would consider making the brackets as a kit for TRX owners. The install is time consuming, but as you can see from the pics it makes for a nice clean and stealthy install.

Sulli, I apologize if I've stepped on your toes, but I thought I might help add some info on which you can expand when you get time. The guys on here want answers and they want them now! LOL.

Thank you very much , I was on phone all day and most of the evening working with multiple companies to get this all rolling ASAP. I am in middle of multiple bids with companies for leveling kits w/hardware and different sizes. I am working directly with the major light bar companies on the size and brackets for the TRX as well as all the correct size harness. I did take detailed pics of the install as to how to disassemble to whole front end without braking any clips and keeping all hardware in its exact location as there are different sizes for front end and wheel wells . We are working on pictures and step by step instructions . I ran into a delay yesterday wondering why a lot of companies didn't get back to me as It was a holiday for a lot of them. I promise this is my top priority as my whole business is on hold so I can get this squared away. Thank you very much for your patience and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks Sully
Autoworks Custom

 

[Caliche]

Thank you very much , I was on phone all day and most of the evening working with multiple companies to get this all rolling ASAP. I am in middle of multiple bids with companies for leveling kits w/hardware and different sizes. I am working directly with the major light bar companies on the size and brackets for the TRX as well as all the correct size harness. I did take detailed pics of the install as to how to disassemble to whole front end without braking any clips and keeping all hardware in its exact location as there are different sizes for front end and wheel wells . We are working on pictures and step by step instructions . I ran into a delay yesterday wondering why a lot of companies didn't get back to me as It was a holiday for a lot of them. I promise this is my top priority as my whole business is on hold so I can get this squared away. Thank you very much for your patience and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks Sully
Autoworks Custom

Thanks Sully, we all appreciate your effort. Look forward to the end result.

 

[Futant]

@CustomPerformance , why do you say the spacer doesn’t compress the spring. Now you have me intrigued.

 

[Enduromd]

Thank you very much , I was on phone all day and most of the evening working with multiple companies to get this all rolling ASAP. I am in middle of multiple bids with companies for leveling kits w/hardware and different sizes. I am working directly with the major light bar companies on the size and brackets for the TRX as well as all the correct size harness. I did take detailed pics of the install as to how to disassemble to whole front end without braking any clips and keeping all hardware in its exact location as there are different sizes for front end and wheel wells . We are working on pictures and step by step instructions . I ran into a delay yesterday wondering why a lot of companies didn't get back to me as It was a holiday for a lot of them. I promise this is my top priority as my whole business is on hold so I can get this squared away. Thank you very much for your patience and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks Sully
Autoworks Custom

Any possibility of adding a pair of auxillary lights - one on each side of thee RAM logo- behind the grille? The Baja Designs LP6 or LP4 ? just curious.

 

[CustomPerformance]

@CustomPerformance , why do you say the spacer doesn’t compress the spring. Now you have me intrigued.

The top of the strut bolts onto the spacer which bolts into the upper strut mount. You are effectively just changing the location of the upper mount of the strut. You can debate if this in effect "compresses" the spring, but for the most part it doesn't. Keep in mind the location of the frame side mount for the UCA and LCA doesn't change, so any change to the location of the upper mount "could" create a little more preload, but it's doubtful you would notice it. A spring "perch" changes the location of the lower spring mount on the shaft of the strut/shock. It's debatable as to whether this creates more preload on the spring, but it for sure changes the length of travel of the shock, and depending on how they are valved it can disrupt the "sweet spot" for the shaft. Keep in mind the front shocks on the TRX are valved with an "anti-jounce" function at the end of their travel, so changing the mounting point on the shaft of the shock is probably not advisable. The engineers have configured valving that gets progressively more aggressive as you near full compression, and if you change the mounting of the spring on the shaft of the shock you change the point in time/length that this increased valving would take place.

 

[Futant]

The top of the strut bolts onto the spacer which bolts into the upper strut mount. You are effectively just changing the location of the upper mount of the strut. You can debate if this in effect "compresses" the spring, but for the most part it doesn't. Keep in mind the location of the frame side mount for the UCA and LCA doesn't change, so any change to the location of the upper mount "could" create a little more preload, but it's doubtful you would notice it. A spring "perch" changes the location of the lower spring mount on the shaft of the strut/shock. It's debatable as to whether this creates more preload on the spring, but it for sure changes the length of travel of the shock, and depending on how they are valved it can disrupt the "sweet spot" for the shaft. Keep in mind the front shocks on the TRX are valved with an "anti-jounce" function at the end of their travel, so changing the mounting point on the shaft of the shock is probably not advisable. The engineers have configured valving that gets progressively more aggressive as you near full compression, and if you change the mounting of the spring on the shaft of the shock you change the point in time/length that this increased valving would take place.

Thanks. I will have to read this a couple times so that I am clear on everything. In my mind the distance btw the upper and lower mounts has a limit and adding a spacer in there will reduce the actual travel of the spring by whatever the spacer width is. It may not be noticeable to the vast majority of drivers but I can tell you is is noticeable on the Tundras. The bigger the spacer the rougher the ride. That is my reference and I understand that this TRX is a different beast. So I hope things might be different.

 

[soulsea]

The top of the strut bolts onto the spacer which bolts into the upper strut mount. You are effectively just changing the location of the upper mount of the strut. You can debate if this in effect "compresses" the spring, but for the most part it doesn't. Keep in mind the location of the frame side mount for the UCA and LCA doesn't change, so any change to the location of the upper mount "could" create a little more preload, but it's doubtful you would notice it. A spring "perch" changes the location of the lower spring mount on the shaft of the strut/shock. It's debatable as to whether this creates more preload on the spring, but it for sure changes the length of travel of the shock, and depending on how they are valved it can disrupt the "sweet spot" for the shaft. Keep in mind the front shocks on the TRX are valved with an "anti-jounce" function at the end of their travel, so changing the mounting point on the shaft of the shock is probably not advisable. The engineers have configured valving that gets progressively more aggressive as you near full compression, and if you change the mounting of the spring on the shaft of the shock you change the point in time/length that this increased valving would take place.

I would very much like to have a set the spacers, thank you.

Sully, do you happen to have a picture of them installed on Al’s truck?

 

[Pcag]

I will say it was like they built the truck around the front grill so everything needs to come apart to do the lights behind the grill and also mark the screws they have different sizes

What lights did they use and what is the length?

 

[JumpSquadAuto]

What lights did they use and what is the length?

Complete performance spoke with them and shared that info above. 20 inch lightbars with different types and custom brackets.

 

[Pcag]

Complete performance spoke with them and shared that info above. 20 inch lightbars with different types and custom brackets.