I'm lowering my SCrew. I have been told three different things about lowering by three different lowering professionals. One said to use spindels, coil springs, shackels and shocks. One said the same but no new shocks were needed. Another said only new front coil springs and rear shackels. I will be putting on 18 inch wheels and lowering 2/3. I want to keep the ride as smooth as possible as I have a wife and three kids to haul around. Anyone have further advice. Thanks

 

OK,

The first 2 were idiots. They don't make lowering spindles for 97+ trucks. Your choices are: coils and/or lowered control arms for the front and, a flip kit or shackles and/or hangers for the rear. The Roush kit does have leaf springs for the rear, but they are the only ones that do and that kit is quite expensive. Everything is really dependent on how much you want to lower.

Here is some information than can help you decide:

FRONT:
1) up to 3", coil spring will work fine
2) over 3", you need to use lower control arms and coil springs.

Rear:
1) Shackles - 1" or 2" of lowering (easier than hangers)
2) Hangers - 2" (2 or 3" for some brands)(harder to install yourself)
3) Flip Kit - 6" , moves leaf springs to bottom of the rear axle instead of above.

Best advice is to research in some trucking magazines. I prefer Western Chassis, but Bell Tech, Ground Force, and DJM are also good. Stay away from AIM or Chassis Tech.

Shocks? -- Can also depend on the drop. It is not required for small amounts of drop ( 2" all around or so) but with most it is advisable even if not required. With say a 3/4 drop you don't have to change shocks, but they will certainly wear faster and shocks designed for lowered vehicles will perform better. Less bottoming out of the suspension, better cornering, etc.

I used a Western Chassis kit from Sport Truck Direct with 3" coils, shackles, hangers, and new shocks for a 3/5 drop on my truck. I don't have any complaints whatsoever and my ride is not that much different than stock. Just a little stiffer. Handling is definitly improved though. My total kit price with everything and also the front end alignment kit was $550 including shipping.

Good luck, hope this helps.

 

Chris T,

Thank you for your information. I also want to lower a SuperCrew a couple of inches in the back, but only an inch in the front. There has been much discussion about raising the front ride hieght by cranking the torsion bars, can you take a turn out of the torsion bars and lower the front end?

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'01 Lariat Supercrew Oxford white, 4X4, 5.4 V8, limited slip, skid plates, tow package, captains chairs, Line-X, Super-Whites bulbs, Westin Nerf bars.

 

Yes, you can usually lower with the tortion bars as well, but seems to really adversely affect the ride. A lot of the early toyota and nissan mini-trucks lowered the front with the tortion bars, but you could feel a dime in the road the ride was so stiff. Don't know if the F150 would react like this or not as only the 4x4's have tortion bars and very few people lower a 4x4.

 

Can anyone recommend the best way to level out my 2wd Supercrew? The front seems fine but I'd like to lower the rear 3 or 4 inches. I'd also like to improve the ride and handling if possible. I would lower the front 1 or 2 inches if it would help tighten up the handling and still maintain a smooth ride. I've checked several mags but none have specifically addressed the Supercrew. Has anyone out there lowered your 2wd Supercrew?

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2001 F150 SuperCrew Lariat, Black and Gold
Line-X Spray-in Liner
Mods to come:
Retrax Roll Top, Superchip, Gibson Swept Side, Airaid, Drop the rear

 

I will get mine back on Thursday Oct. 19. California Concepts in Redwood City Ca. is lowering it. I'm going to check the ride before I decide on 17 or 18 inch rims.