I've got a 2010 2wd Lariat that I want to raise to 4wd height. I see the AS 1.5" Level Kit gets you a little over 2" of ride height, or 2 1/4" by some folks standards. I see that there are two OEM rear blocks, the 2009+ is 1 5/8" and the 04-08 is 1 7/8".

I've got factory setting of 36.5" front wheel well height and 38.5" rear wheel well height now. My plan is to add the AS 1.5" to the front for 38 3/4" front and add the 1 7/8" rear blocks to get to 40 3/8" rear height. This sets my ride (rake) to where I want it.

Here's the dilemma; I purchased an AS 1.5" Level Kit from another Member here and the 04-08 1 7/8" rear blocks from another Member here. Great, things are looking up I'm thinking. The rear blocks show up, there heavy and ready to go, the AS Level Kit shows up and... Well, it's a 1 1/4" Kit, with a said claim of 1.5" overall ride height change on the paperwork. WHAT?!? Maybe it's a typo or just mis-information, but I'm confused...

If I only get a 1 1/2" of actual front change, this screws my plan of using the taller rear block, because it puts me at almost 2.5" of rake as opposed to about 1.5". Maybe no big deal, or maybe I can cut those damn rear blocks down? Uugghh.

I'm thinking that a 1 1/4" AS Kit should yield me 2" exactly if I follow the general rule (and Member experiences) of Level Kit geometry, am I right here?

I just found this on Hell-Bent Level Kits;
"The thickness of the spacer is 1.25". Due to the design of the independent suspension of the truck, when you extend the strut by 1.25” the angle of the strut becomes steeper allowing the truck to experience approximately 2” of lift. It is the combination of extending the strut and the change in angle that gives the 2” lift. Remember that the installation is not complete until you have had the truck realigned. This is when you will see the true 2" lift that you are expecting."

If an AS 1.5" Level Kit is actually a 2 1/4" height change, how is a AS 1 1/4" Kit only get me to 1.5"? I'm confused...

James

 

A 1.5" level should give you pretty close to that much lift.. but the spacer will be a little smaller than 1.5". A kit that claims to be a 2" level will give you 2 inches... but the spacer will be more like 1.6 inches.

So basically you shouldve just ordered a 2".

My leveling shocks (5100's) have different slots to mount them from. One slot keeping you at stock height.. the next slot for 1" and the next for 2" of lift. But the space between each of them is less than an inch. It will still give you 2 inches of lift though. Its just the geometry of it.

 

x2.. if you bought a 1.5" leveling kit, its for 1.5" of lift. As the disclaimer on HBS's website stated, the spacer will not be the same size as the said lift. Your going on what some people experienced which is not always good. I'd count on the 1.5" of lift and go from there....if its not enough; sell it, and buy a 2" or 2.5" new. I wouldn't go cutting blocks, cause who knows WHAT will happen.

This all comes down to geometry again. Angles, and tangents of angles...its not going to be a proportional change.

 

When you say you have a 1.25" kit that you bought (under the assumption it was actually a 1.5" kit) is that what the block actually measures? When my 3" came in it only measured something like an inch and half maybe... I was dissapointed. Then I had it installed and was very pleased to get a good amount of lift out of it - something around 3" (though I never measured my truck at stock height).

So what I am getting at is does your kit come with a piece of paper that says it's a 1.25" level kit or does it just measure 1.25" in height?

What's got me confused is that the manufacturers sell you their level kits as 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 2.75, and 3" kits.... The level kits are sold advertising those numbers to gain said amount of lift. I have never heard of a 1.25" level kit. Granted, I have not been keeping a keen eye on them since I got mine....

Here's the big thing. If it says on the AS paperwork it is a 1.25" level kit, does it mean the spacer is 1.25" tall or it achieves 1.25" of lift? From your statement, I gather that the spacer is 1.25" tall but that it will actually give you 1.5" of lift - even though you really wanted 2" of lift. Most of these things are sold under the amount of lift they will give you, so part of me wants to say that you got ripped off by another member by getting sold a short level kit, part of me says that you wanted a 1.5" level kit and got just that, even though you were expecting to gain an actual 2" of lift from it.... If this is the case I would sell the level kit and just buy a 2" kit. Im not sure why so many people get different numbers, but general rule of thumb for level kits is that what it's sold as is the height you'll gain. Sorry to hear you seemed to have done a lot of research and had this happen. Now with leveling shocks, like bilstein and rancho, your ride height will probably be different from what is advertised - only speaking from what I've heard over the last 2 years since they came out with them... But steel spacers generally give you what it's sold to you as. Once again, sorry you're not getting what you wanted, but hopefully you can work it out

 

Yes... the leveling kit spacers will be smaller than the actual lift but you have to order by the lift size that you want. They work on the angles of your a-arms. Just for example of you bought a 2" leveling kit, the spacers will be 1 3/4" but after it is installed, you should get around 2" because of the angles that your a-arms will be at. Another way to look at it is if you buy a full lift kit, everything gets dropped straight down the 4" or 6" etc. but the leveling kits just push down your suspension. Kinda hard to explain but that's how they work so don't go off the size of the spacers but the size of the lift they give.

Also on a side note, each model of truck has a different rating front coils and rear springs depending on cab size, bed length, engine size etc so you may get different measurements on different trucks. Also springs and coils do settle after a while and you may loose an inch or two after a while if you drive a lot or drive on rough terrain a lot. Hope some of this helps.

 

I'm not that worried about it, just figuring out the numbers...

For instance the 1" Daystar lift claims to give you about 2" of front lift and some other 1.5" "spacers", typically level over two inches overall. I figure "said" claims that a 1.5" spacer gives you 2.25" of front lift, knowing that, isn't a 1.25" spacer going to give 2.08" by comparison? Just trying to figure out how a 1.25" spacer only gives you 1.5" of lift for this particular AS model.

For my 2010 F150, the 4wd has a 1" taller coil than my 2wd, I'm looking to gain the difference with the spacers.

Thanks for your input.
James

 

its not going to be a proportional equation. so no, the comparison is not correct. as you push the strut further down, its angle changes. it brings it closer to perpendicular than stock, so the spacer can be closer to the "actual" lift hight. its all simple math...

good luck getting what you want bro

 

Thanks for your help everyone, got the install and alignment done. I ended up with a AS 1.5" Spacer (1.25" actual spacer height) and the 1 7/8" OEM blocks. The truck rides 39" front and 40.5" rear now and other than that damn rattle, all is fine.

Before


After

 

truck looks great!!!!!!