I was wondering if anyone knows the best ways to improve the handling of a 2005 5.4 crew?

My truck sways alot on turns and chatters/bounces around them occasionally also. Just recently I was driving around a slight turn on the highway at about 65 mph and hit some small pot holes which caused the truck to do a kick out. I'd really like to eliminate this.

I read in this site about some people that were putting rear sway bars on their trucks. I also read one listing where the person put a type of add-a-leaf on their rear spings. Would either of these additions help with the symptoms that I have described above?

If anyone can help me with this it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

You are describing two characteristics (sway when cornering and loss of contact over rough roads) that are somewhat at odds with each other. Maintaining a level attitude when cornering on a flat road helps prevent the tires from rolling up on the sidewalls and losing tread contact. However, the stiff springs and swaybars necessary to perform this function reduce compliance. Lack of compliance hurts handling when the road is rough, because vertical tire movement is limited and more closely coupled to the chassis. You will probably need to consider which of the two characteristics is more important in your daily driving, then look for components that target your goal. If you want to improve sway and compliance simultaneously, be prepared to spend a lot of money on an engineered package that includes springs, shocks and bars.

 

Thank you for the explanation.
Well, I guess if I had to choose what to attack it would be compliance. In what ways could I keep the tires on the ground and avoid the chattering?

 

# 1 Make sure your tires are inflated to Ford's recommendations.
See the door plate for tire settings.
Typical; 35 psi front and 35 psi rear

# 2 LT tires will ride stiffer than P tires.

# 3 Shock replacement, if originals are worn out.


nordicbastard

 

Most of the OEM tires are pretty bad. A better set of tires will help. It made a world of difference on my Expy.

 

I've read from a few members on here that replacing the shocks(even before they are worn out) eliminates the rear kick out from the newer trucks.

 

Thanks for the advice.
My truck is brand spankin new with only 1500 miles on it and it's acting like I described above.

 

from my research, online forums, bilstiens seem to be the best, just got mine last night, looks like a well built product, I have had rancho stuff on my other truck(74 power wagon!!)the shock aren't near the quality of bilstien, infact I have removed most of the rancho suspenion and have custom springs and related componets. You get what you pay for. Don't let pricing make your decission

 

I have the same problem on my truck. Go around a corner and the back end wants to kick out when you go over a bump. I have allready wrecked one truck this way. I bought another one hopeing it would be diff with a longer wheel base but its not. I thinking of selling it and buying a f350 diesel. Cause it can get pretty hairy when your driving on bad paved roads or even on gravel roads. I think its becuase of the shocks mounted on the outside of the frame making the ride more ridged and giving the truck a different pivot point. I know my old 02 f150 had no problem. Its just these new style 04+ trucks.

 

Factory shocks suck, period. The sooner you change them, the better. This is your least expensive and most effective remedy. Second would be better tires. You can pony up the dough now and see if you can get some credit for your take-offs, or you can ride on the craptinentals for a year and then get good rubber.

I'd hold off on adding aftermarket suspension items like sway bars/ steering stabilizers until after you fix the crap that's already on it first. And yes, the tires and shocks from the factory are crap- all of them.

 

Where did you buy your Bilsteins and how much did you pay for them? I am thinking about replacing all four shocks on my FX4.