Put her level

 

it only limits downward travel about 1/2"...and that is with the tire off the ground.

but yeah, the spacer kits don't affect ride at all. the daystar kit that goes inside the coil-over does affect ride though




as far as the install...I did in my driveway. You only need a jack, floorstand, 30mm socket, 1 1/16" wrench, big hammer...everything else is inside your common toolbox.

 

Well when you put on a 2" spacer, you are extending the suspension as if the shock were extended 2", meaning 2" of travel. Look at how much lower the hubs sit than the differential...about 2". Hell, often times the ball joints are almost maxed out with a leveling kit on.

A couple guys on here who live out in the country and drive gravel roads with potholes daily and have leveling kits have told me it rides incredibly poor offroad, to the point where the suspension is constantly maxing out...one was considering limiting straps since it was so bad. Maybe around town/the mall you cant really tell a difference though, in which case it shouldn't even matter.

 

yes, you are pushing the control arms down 2 to 2.5"...but there is never that much travel with these trucks. the IFS kinda defeats any good potential wheel travel.



as for the ride...there is 0 chance that a spacer style leveling kit changed the ride. it isn't possible. I've had my truck 4x4 plenty of times since the install and it's the exact same offroad as before...about 2" more ground clearance though.

I used to go haul *** on the logging roads in 4x4hi in Washington. Never had an issue other than the odd bottoming out here or there


if your friends are maxing out the wheel travel on a 04+ F-150 on dirt roads...they need to slow the hell down. sounds like they are beating the **** out of the trucks and blaming something other than themselves and going too damn fast on dirt roads.


For someone to say he needs limiting straps is because the truck is rebounding enough from a hole to actually become airborne. I think you'll find a stock or lifted 4x4 will do the same thing when treated so.

the front wheel downward articulation IS NOT LIMITED UNTIL THE TIRES ARE OFF THE GROUND. you can watch them while jacking up the truck. the tires are 100% off the ground before the suspension hits any sort of snag preventing droop.


msalle
I know your lifted...but did you ever have a leveling kit?

 

How do Bilstein 5100's perform compared to leveling spacers?

My understanding is much better, because you're actually extending the shock in the stock spring, which doesn't preload/compress the spring.

 

I have to say my truck rides a lot better off road with the Bilstein 5100 then when I had the Autospring 2''. But that might have to do with the crappy stock shocks.

 

spacer = no affect on ride. Just physically moves the coil-over assembly downward 2". Coil-Over has the same tension/preload as from factory.

bilstien = alot better quality shock than OEM shocks. that gives you the better ride.



the AS, Hell Bent, NCD and other steel spacers ride ontop of the coil-over assembly. THEY DO NOT PRELOAD THE SPRING.

The Daystar kit does preload the spring.



Thos Bilstein shocks seem nice...but the price is ridiculous IMO...especially if you don't need new shocks. You'll spend $300 + for them. In my case, my shocks are great. So I spent $89 for the leveling kit and called it good. If I had needed shocks though, I most likely would have bought the Bilsteins to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and save money.

 

The stock shocks dont last and at 28k mine were completely shot. I`ll tell anyone installing the A.S. kit them selves to upgrade there shocks to atleast a set of Monroe`s. Someone here on another post stated the stock shocks only last for 30k miles and I believe that.

 

My shocks seem fine so i'm gonna stick with the AS leveling kit since i bought it like 8 months ago and it's just been collecting dust lol.
Hopin tomorrow it's fairly nice out and i can get my dad and brother to do it..but we'll see

 

I've been running a Daystar 2 1/2" kit over 3 1/2 yrs with no problems. I put some Bilstein HD shocks front and rear at 55k miles and they helped out a lot also. A lot better ride and control on the crappy roads we have down here. Great for towing also.

 

So does the leveling kit bring up the front or does it bring down the rear???

 

Brings up the front.

 

Nope Tyluse, i haven't...and damn glad i didn't. No need for terrible CV angles or CV boots being more prone to tearing. Not to mention the ball joint angles and premature ball-joint wear.

I have, however, ridden in a leveled F150 (this was when my truck was stock) and i can say it did seem to ride a little rougher than my stock truck did..especially on speed bumps or other uneven surfaces. Although you may think the suspension isnt prone to maxxing out until the tires are off the ground, when you are cruising along and hit a deep pothole the suspension flexes down...but with a leveling kit this flex is very limited and what do you know...it maxes out. Its not getting the truck airborne that my friends are experiencing, its the holes/dips/bumps on the road that do it. They certainly arent mall cruisers.

I considered a leveling kit for a long time. I could afford it then, and knew i wanted my truck taller. But after reading about the troubles of leveling kits and actually seeing it first hand, i decided to just wait until i could do it the right way the first time. Do lots of people have leveling kits without problems? Yes absolutely, and im sure you're one of them Tyluse. but lots of people also experience CV/CVboot/ball joint related problems, and i dont want to deal with that (especially since i would be more prone to it since my truck is offroad quite often).



i agree completely. The stockers dont last, mine were completely shot when i put my Fabtech's on. Man, what a huge difference.

 

I hear those 2 statements all the time. My ball joints are bad because of the leveling kit...and that the stock shocks are crap. IMO, they work great. It's a truck with a rough ride. The stock shocks stop all body roll and bounces with the first bounce.



seeing posts like that, it really makes me wonder. I am a very **** retentive driver. I avoid every bad section of road that I can. But then I see 9/10 people "deliberately" hit that pothole I just avoided.either way, msalle, we'll just have to agree to disagree. A leveling kit is perfect for the trucks that see little to no offroad action...I agree though that a lift kit is the "right" way to do it...if you 4x4 alot. Otherwise, you are blowing a ****-ton of money to "Do it right" both

the front goes up 2 to 2.5" taller...and the rear bumper will go downwards by about 1"

 

i hate how my dads truck drives with that spacer now, everyone says ride quality doesn't change, but IMO on his truck it did. speed bumps are much more harsh now and i feel much more out of the front end. his is the only leveled truck i have driven tho, so thats just my opinion on his truck