I had Bilstein heavy duty shocks installed and they improved ride quality and handling. I had Cooper Zeon LTZ tires put on after that, and I was surprised how much of an improvement they made around corners, they made just as much of an improvement as the shocks I think. I then put on an Addco rear anti-sway bar, and it is by far the biggest improvement of all, bigger than the shocks and tires together. The bar that was sent to me is supposed to be for both 2 and 4-wheel drive, but it doesn't fit right because I have the towing package, which increases the height another 2 inches. I should be getting the longer bolts and sleeves soon so that I can install the bar at the correct angles, instead of it being aimed upward to reach the frame. I imagine it will work even better installed properly. The back end is much more stiff than the front end, I'd like to find a way to tighten it up a bit..but overall I'm very happy with the improvement.

 

you can get an 4x4 expedition sway bar for the front, its heavier duty then the F150s came with

 

now all you need to do is lower it , sway bars definitely make a difference, going + a couple of inches on the wheel size and shorter sidewalls make a huge difference too, but I know you just bought wheels & tires.

 

I don't want to lower it because I would like to keep the ground clearance for heavy snow, and would also like to keep the factory rake just in case I do any towing. I had 18 inch tires and wheels put on, maybe that played a factor in the improved handling..285 60 18's instead of the 265 70 17's that were on it. I was going to buy 20's, but these were too cheap to pass up..$302.17 including shipping from e-bay. When I come to a fast stop the front end bounces noticeably more than the back end..I didn't know the expe has a larger bar, would it decrease this bounce?

 

not sure on the expy bar, i went aftermarket, not sure why you'd have bounce from the front if you just replaced the shocks. maybe the 1" sidewall shrink is enough for you to feel more than before.

 

Well I came to a fast stop near a building's windows, and I could see in the reflection the front end dove more and had more bounce to it..the back end is much tighter. I think it is because there is less weight in the back and leaf springs are tighter than coil springs.

 

The truck is also using more front breaking than rear. Its not a even split. That with the added weight of the front end is what's causing this "bounce". I recommend lowering the rear, the installing airbags for the times you tow.

 

I thought since the whole truck is connected the uneven braking won't cause the front or back end to bounce more, am I mistaken? It does the same thing when I stop from going in reverse also, with the front end moving more. I'm pretty happy with the handling, especially for a full size truck. I am curious about the Expe front anti-sway bar, has anyone noticed a big difference after replacing the f-150 bar with that one? I did an internet search, I guess the f-150 bar is 1 1/8inch, and the Expe bar is 1/14 inch?

 

My front tires started to bounce after I put Bilsteins on. do you have any pics of that rear sway bar? Were can I get one? How much? Difficult to install?

 

I explained that wrong, when I come to a stop the front end moves more than the back end. It's still pretty tight, but not as tight as the back end. The Bilstein shocks control bounce more than the standard oem shocks..I explain things wrong sometimes and it's confusing. Here is the bar from Summit, it's not a bad price. I got mine from e-bay so you may want to check there. It's really not hard to install, you have to drill a few holes in the frame for the end links. It fits 97-03 years I think.http://static.summitracing.com/globa.../aco-643_w.jpg

 

Sorry I just noticed you have a 2008, but you can probably get one for that also.

 

when you say moves more do you mean the front drops more than the back? because when you stop the weight is shifted forward because of momentum and since trucks are already naturally nose heavy that weight drops the front end.

Also the rear leaf springs have are stiffer to handle a load in the bed or when towing, the fronts aren't as stiff to give a better ride. If you don't want your front end to drop when you brake put stiffer springs in the front. Sway bars only help when your going around turns to reduce body roll.....thats it.

If your tires are bouncing when braking its probably from non abs front brakes locking up the tires and having them gain and loose traction rapidly. If they are bouncing more than a 1/4-1/2" up and down you have more serious problems

 

Yeah that's what I meant, the front end drops more..and the anti-sway bar does make the back end more stiff, it doesn't drop as much. I can't put springs on the front end because I have torsion bars, maybe stiffer torsion bars?

 

the rear shouldnt drop at all while braking,it should actually go up or not move at all. I didnt realize you were a 4x4. You can crank them up which will get you some height and a stiffer front end. Or you can get stiffer torsion bars

 

Yeah I meant when coming to a stop going backwards, I recently had wheels and tires put on with an alignment, I'm not going to mess with it..handles good enough. I was going to get the same tires you have, but Sears says they're on national back order..so I got the Coopers instead.