Level it?
 

I'm debating wether to level my truck or not..
I've got the leveling kit but no money for bigger tires..
I really hate the factory rake and would love the look of a leveled truck but i'm not sure if the stock 32" tires would look too rediculous.
I probably won't have money for new tires for about 6 months and that's only if I find a good paying job soon...
so what do ya think...level it or just leave it alone til I can afford new tires.

your truck came stock with 32 inch tires? I'd say level it anyways, still looks better then stock

yup..good year wrangler at/s...

I think i'm gonna level it because when I do put new tires i'll probably also get new wheels so the tires will most likely be 33" and I dont see that 1" is gonna make a huge difference..

do it. I've been running that setup for well over 10,000 miles now. It can always look better with bigger tires, but still looks pretty good IMO

pics in the linky in my signature

for sure level it, will look better and ride beter

I had my truck leveled for a 1.5 years before I got wheels.
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...590-199150.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/galleries...590-199152.jpg

Level it. It wont look bad. Hell my 30"s wont look bad leveled. As long as the front end isn't hanging down any.

Do it! I leveled mine as well before I could buy tires

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...tock-truck.jpg

Save up and then buy later. Here's my current truck

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...5-img-0010.jpg

thanks guys!

my dad and brother seem to think they can't do this at home with a floor jack...they think i have to take it to a shop...what is everyone's thoughts on this?

when i bought the leveling kit i had the money for new wheels and tires but I didnt have the time to have any of it installed cause i was working so much so i put it off..now i wish i would have bought wheels and tires and just let them sit til I did have the time but ah well

I did the leveling kit with a floor jack and jack stands.

Level it...the install is cake, theres a thread on here showing step by step how to install it, and it can be done in about 2 hours, then just get it aligned.

Yea i've still got the directions that came with it from AS...my dad hasnt read them yet, i think he thinks it's harder then it is

I'd say go ahead and level it. Then when the time comes for some new tires, just up the size a bit :D

I have 39xxx miles on my truck w/ level and factory wheels/tires. Doesn't bother me at all.

Limiting your downward suspension travel = rides better? I call BS. :)

It will look better leveled though.

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.

:fyi: I used to go haul ass 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. :fyi: 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 anal 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" :beers: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

Here is the step by step process posted by another member.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/su...t-install.html

Sweet man, cant wait to see it lifted. I want to get a Roush charger for mine :)

Oh and believe me, i dont deliberately hit potholes. Theres a reason my truck is almost 95k miles old with almost zero issues. But some of the county roads out here are incredibly old and are littered with DEEP potholes that often times you cannot see or avoid without swerving out.

And the stock shock ares great for the first 15k miles or so. But once they go bad, heh, they are BAD. As with most shocks that go bad though. Just wish they would've lasted longer, thats all. :thumbsup:

next question is what do you think the odds are of the front sitting higher than the rear when i put on the 2.5" spacer?
i'm thinkin maybe i should have went with the 2" spacer since i won't be able to buy an AAL if the front does sit too high...

I think you will be fine. The 2004 model had ungodly rake, my truck stock was more like 3" difference between rear and front. You will be happy with 2.5" of lift.

You'll be fine, mine had a rake like yours when I got it, and with the 2.5'' AS it was perfectly level...maybe 1/4'' higher in the rear...AAL just jacked it up about an inch in the rear

Man i cannot agree with you more, After i had the leveling kit on for 15k miles on my 05 f150, every bump i hit was just ridiculous, I was surprised how bad it was, now on the new truck i am saving up to get the bilstein leveling shocks all i have heard is good things about those shocks!

Didn't you get a 4x4 this time? Get a suspension lift. It will ride the best. :)

My '04 has a 3-1/8" difference between front and rear. Once my 2.5" AS goes on I will re measure.

Yeah, i got an 08 4x4 stx ext.

I wish I could but I know I would need gears with a lift kit, and I dont wanna void my warrenty, but I wish I did.

yep, after 50K miles, the stock shocks are junk. i'll be getting the 5100's for xmas to level the front. i figure i need shocks anyways so why get a spacer and replacement shocks when i could get the 5100's and kill two birds with one stone.