I've got a 2003 F150 Flareside 4X4 extended cab with the 4.6 and auto tranny, 3.55 LSD. My plan is to put 33 inch tires on my stock Lariat 17 inch chrome rims, and I'm looking to bump the back of the truck up an inch by sticking in the Fab-Tech 3 inch blocks (removing the stock 2 inch blocks first). For the front, I'm looking at the AutoSpring 2 inch leveling kit. I want to make SURE there are no rubbing issues with the 33s on there, and I don't want to crank the torsion bars either. I also realize that the truck will still sit a little nose-down but I want it like that. Does anyone see a problem with anything in my plan? Will everything work well together? Finally, will I need to get my computer or anything reprogrammed for turning larger tires? Thanks.

 

I'm 2wd with a 2.5" spacer and 33.5" tires. You shouldn't have a problem.

You will need to get your speedometer recalibrated for the tires if you want the speedo and your mileage to be accurate.

 

Autospring doesn't make a leveling kit for your truck. You don't need one because the front ride height is adjustable via the preload on the torsion bars. You can buy a leveling kit, but it's just reindexed torsion bar adjustment keys which allow you to put way, way too much preload on the torsion bars. No need to pay $100 for something you can do for free. You can fit 33's on your truck without lifting it any using the oem wheels.
Also, you won't need to regear with 33's.

 

doesn't cranking the torsion bars affect ride quality? i don't mind spending $100 on a kit that's meant to bring the front up.

 

you basically are driving around with an uninstalled leveling kit. you have torsion bars which can be cranked up with torsion keys to level it. unless you wanna waste your money dont buy a leveling kit for your truck that will replace an exsisting part you have (you already have what you would be buying). yes, cranking the torsion bars will reduce your ride quality but it shouldnt be too bad unless you crank them up all the way. if you want to gain a little height just buy the tires. you can put on a 285/70/17 which is a 33 in tire. look at my sig pic my torsion bars are not cranked and i have 33's

 

Yea, its a complete waste of money to buy a leveling kit. They are ****. Your ride quality wont be bad at all and no need to regear.

 

When you increase torsion bar preload, it makes the initial portion of the suspensions travel slightly stiffer. Some people love this, some hate it. You will have to judge for yourself. What we are saying is that a leveling kit does the exact same thing. The leveling kit (for torsion bar equipped trucks) manufacturers' claim that ride quality is not affected is an outright lie.

 

So friggin true....

 

i was always under the impression that a leveling kit is a spacer that goes inbetween the coil/shock and the body mount. so if i were to buy a leveling kit, all it would be is a tool to crank my torsion bars?

i've also heard people talking about getting the computer/speedo recalibrated for bigger tires, one reason because the shift points of the auto tranny will not be the same and it'll eat up a tranny.... i'm skeptical, but is there any truth to this? is it an easy thing to have done at a dealership or whatever?

 

The reason for the calibration is to make sure your speedometer reads correctly. When you go with a bigger tire, your speedometer reads slow, i.e. when I'm going 55, I'm actually going about 59. It also makes your odometer off. I lose 8/10ths of a mile for every 10 miles my truck says. (all confirmed with GPS as well as mapquesting.

As far as messing up your tranny, never heard that. I always drive stick though so I don't know for sure.

 

You don't have coilsprings on your truck. You have torsion bars. Your suspension is completely different than the 04-08's.

 

I have drawn up a small diagram to show what these re-indexed keys do. Like everyone here has said, it puts undo stress on the front components and can be done in small amounts with the factory design. But it WILL change the ride and make it stiffer. Hope this makes sense and helps.

 

He shouldn't even need the torsion keys right? I cranked up my torsions on my 01 ranger edge that I had and I believe it was a 10mm socket I used or maybe a 12.....

 

Do you turn the bolt to get the lift, or do you remove the bolt and twist the key to get the lift?

 

Correct. You can do basically the same thing with both factory and aftermarket keys, it's just the aftermarket keys can be cranked up more(too much IMO) using the same amount of threads on the adjusting bolt.

The re-indexing of the hex in the key in affect twists the bar without turning the bolt. In most OE keys you would come close to running out of threads on the bolt to achieve the lift.