hay Brewmaster from what I have seen on on another threads you can test materials. I see on another thread that you are testing rino, and lineX bed liners for durability. and you said your company uses polyurethane. do you have any information on the durability of it. I don't know if there is differant types of polyurethane. I got my kit in the mail and the spring spacers seem to be made of a hard material like a cross between plastic and rubber. I emailed Daystar with my concerns. and they wrote me this:
It wont crack, it wont deteriorate under NORMAL circumstances. We dont have a written warranty, but if you have ANY problems PLEASE contact me! These kits should outlast your vehicle as we dont get returns on them for wearing out! The polyurethane outlasts rubber 4 times!

they are made of a harder material than rubber but it seems like a harder material could crack especially with age and exposure to the outdoor elements. I know most plastics become brittle and can crack when exposed to the elements for a number of years. this stubb is a bit softer than most plastics. I would appreciate any info you might have on the durability of polyurethane perhaps compared to rubber.

 

I'm sure many here are anxious to know how the Daystar lift works out for you Jason. Would be very cool, if you take before and after pics, and maybe even some showing the instillation process. Some comments on your percpetion of the changes (if any) to the ride and handling characteristics would be interesting to read about.

 

I will take before and after pics and I still haven't desided if I am going to install them myself or not. I will have to rent me a spring compressor if I do deside to do it myself. the directions do seem like I could possably do it myself but I am going to wait to see what it looks like under my truck when it gets here. I do not have any experience with struts. I might look arround and see how much it is to have it installed. hopefully not to much. it seems like almost a shame to pay soomeone too much to put in such a simple kit in. especially when I got it at such a cheap price as far as lift kits go. I guess I will have to wait till my pickup gets here to deside what to do.

 

I have a few questions:

Does the Daystar lift just lift the body or the body & Frame?? I ask because I'm a little worried that if the frame doesn't move and the body does... maybe my nerf bars will look like they are positioned weird. Does that make any sense?? What's everybody's take on this?

 

I am pretty sure it lifts the frame. it is spring extentions which basicly pushes the two front tires down which in turn lifts the rest of the front end. if this makes any sence. that is the best way I can think to explain it.

 

Thanks... do you know if it will effect the ride quality at all? Will I have to adjust anything in the factory suspension?

 

jasonkola:

first, get them to put it in writing. contacting him doesn't mean you will be covered if there is a failure. i know we like to trust people, i certainly do, but don't set yourself up to be screwed.

second, to answer your questions, polyurethane comes in many different forms. there is something called Millable Urethane which is rubber polyurethane. it is called Millable because it can be mixed on a rubber mill (like bread dough). this is unlike melt-prcessing polyurethane, which is platic polyurethane. by the name you can tell that you have to melt it to mix it. it comes as hard beads that you melt.

hard polyurethane, plastic, can come in many different hardnesses. from your description, it sounds like they are using the right type, not too soft so that it will compress, but not too hard so that it will be brittle. the "normal" plastics that you say crack and wear in weather are probably polyethylenes and not in the same category. there are lots of different types of plastics anyway. i wouldn't worry about polyurethane wearing. it has extremely good abrasion resistance and wear resistance. you can call that good "durability" if you want, but "durability" isn't a test i can do in my lab, abrasion resistance and wear are.

one common application for polyurethane rubber and plastics is
rollers. not just your desk drawer rollers, although polyurethane is indeed used there, but things that get lots of use, like paper trays in xerox machine. they also use polyurethane for the rollers in printers that feed the paper. or even heavy duty rollers like a slide out truck bed. and infact, inline skate wheels, are made form polyurethane, at least the hard ones are. they use it in all these applications because it maintains its shape even under stress. you'll be fine with polyurethane spacers. and, food for thought, spray in bed liners are made from polyurethane too. they don't crack in the sun or from weather. so i hope this is comforting for your material choice. feel free to ask more questions. and as it was said, WE WANT PICS!


congrats on the new truck.

 

I'm not worried about the plastic... I've seen them bolt the same
(or at least similar) material to the pads of crane that was lifting concrete tilt-up wall panels (20'X40'X7&1/2" thick wall panels!!). They held up beautifully. The reason they put them on the pads was to protect the concrete slab underneath the crane from the metal pads. So the crane didn't just sit on these plastic pads... it moved around a whole 450,000 square foot building. This polyurethane is some pretty durable stuff!

 

now that sounds like a good real world test to me. sounds like this stuff is pretty tuff. it should work fine for my lift kit. I can't wait to get my truck and put this lift in it. I still haven't decided if I will do it myself or not. if any one else installs this lift kit them selfs before I get to it. let me know any tips on instalation. these lifts were first designed for the ford expedition. ford must be useing the same springs and struts as the expedition. this is why this kit came to market so soon for the F150. if any one has installed it on the expedition their input would be appreciated.

 

i hate to be the master of the obvious, but you may want to contact Daystar, jasonkola. they may have some extra tips not listed in the instructions.

 

I'm thinking about possibly lifting my truck, but are there ANY downsides to doing it? ANY at all?? Does it lower towing capability? Someone told me it makes your steering wheel crooked, (you know, to where the Ford logo is tilted when you are going straight.) Please, anyone that knows, please respond. Thanks.

 

A proper alignment job should fix the steering wheel being crooked.

 

Yeah, the steering wheel on my Jeep was a little crooked after I installed my Daystar spacers. I got it straighten out when I had the front end aligned without any problem.

 

I suspected I might need a alignment after I put that lift in my truck now I know. thanx

 

Anyone have better pics of the install process? The ones that come in the kit a pathetic.