Hello all...new to the Forum but not Ford trucks..=)..But I have a suspension question and it seems everyone in here is knowledgeable...

First of all, I own a 2004 F150 and the first thing I did was put a 2.5 x 5 drop kit on it from Ground Force....I am buying a 2010 4x2 Screw Platinum Edition next week and it has the same cosmetic flaw all F 150's have...A raised rear end. I dont want to go as hard on my 04 f 150 but I do want to level the truck out. But when I google "leveling" kits I get a bunch of hits on raising the front..I want to drop the back to level. Can anyone suggest shackles/hangers??....Thanx

 

belltech has what you need. i recommend just going with there 3/5 kit like i did. i have had many different lowered trucks with pretty much every different kind of static drop setup you can do and this 3/5 from belltech is the best ride quality and performance of all of them. there are tons of pics in my gallery if you want to see the stance you get with it.

It uses a flip kit in the rear with the Stree Performance shocks. the front utilizes the factory springs but replaces the strut with an adjustable model from belltech that allows you to go from -3" to +1" from factory height in half inch increments.

it rides way better than stock. you have no more body roll and it soaks up the bump really well. no bump steer in the front and you rarely bottom out in the rear so long as you know how to drive a lowered truck. .

i also have helper bags in the rear of mine hooked up to a tank and compressor with switch and gauge mounted in the cab. that way i can still load the bed or tow and not have to worry about "sagging" or riding on the bumpstops. it rides 10x better with air in the bags too. its like a cadillac and you never bottom out. Im thinking about lowering mine another 2" in the and notching the frame so i have to have air in the bags just to sit level even without a load. that way i can have the super comfortable caddy ride all the time.

either way you decide to go. belltech has what you need. i can tell you from personal experience that they are far superior to groundforce, DJM, and McGaughys. good luck with your new truck.

 

some drop shackles will get rid of the ugly rake...although I would love to see a Platinum with a 3/5 drop!

 

leveling implies lifting the front end these days...
http://compare.ebay.com/like/1207674...=sbar&_lwgsi=y

 

If u go drop shackles they are only around a hundred bucks installed from your local tire or truck shop. All depends how low u want to go.

 

WOW guys...great looking rides you have there....Im on the fence of how low I want..When I wanted to lower my 04 (new body style, not Heritage) I was limited on what I could get. I wish I would have held up on the flip kit and bagged it but didnt want to cut into frame....@ SLW-SVT I love the bags you did on your King Ranch....I was looking at your pics of the install and it doesnt seem you notched it...Also, I was looking at the Airride suspensions and there is so many variables when it comes to price...Is there a complete Kit I can get or what did you use??...Is there more detail in your thread??

Im planing on picking up a 09 or 10 Platinum and I worry about the automatic side steps that come out when you open the doors...when I get my hands on it and see if I can unplug them it might sway me on how low I want...Thanx for the info guys

 

I can't recommend the kit that I have since it's not for 09-12 trucks. I had to have custom brackets made and have the link bars lengthened. The air struts up front work fine as long as the camber holes are elongated but I will be doing away with them and going to a traditional bag setup up front. My frame isn't notched yet because the system doesn't go low enough to need it. I will be relocating the bags and notching the frame in the near future but it will only give me about 3" lower in the back. I won't be cutting into my bed so that will be my limiting factor.

if you don't want to 4 link the back you could do a 5" drop with helper bags...I'm also looking for a buyer for my air struts if you're interested

heres what I'm using
http://www.ridetech.com/store/truck/...ures_hash=V242

 

Im confused....I was talking about the setup you have on the 2011 King Ranch you have in your sig....After glancing over prices I dont know if I want to sink that much money into a bag system...BUT if your thinking of selling your setup you have now I might be interested....That is if it would work on a 09 or 10 (which I dont see why not)...And I dont want to pay anyone to do it for me...Im pretty inclined to work on it myself....Ive ALWAYS wanted a bagged truck but never had a buddy that knew anything about it to help me out....

Im getting this truck thru a dealer auction so if I save a couple g's on the truck I was going to tack a little extra on the loan for mods.....

@ Milt...with that 3-5 drop on your truck, do you have issues with curbs??....It being a longwheel base truck...My shorty F150 dont have any issues with a 3-5....Thanx again for the info guys...

 

what are confused about? I was talking about my King Ranch. I'm not selling my setup just the air struts up front. I have a couple of people that I couldn't have done this without. You can read my build thread which is linked in my sig.

oh the kit that I have is for 04-08 f150s and had to be modified to work on an '11

 

Gotcha.......Didnt realize it wasn't a kit for the KR......If you dont mind telling me how much a WHOLE kit would cost..When I look at the web site they sell everything in seperate peices..I dont know what I would need for a bag kit without notching the frame.....I might just stick with the 3-5 beltech

 

I hate this question $5500+ with the custom work to make it work

The front $900
http://www.ridetech.com/store/suspen...nt-system.html
The rear $2100
http://www.ridetech.com/store/suspen...ar-system.html
The air system $1850
http://www.ridetech.com/store/contro...ay-system.html

 

I see why......a little to much for me...Ill stick with the 3-5 drop.....

 

YES!! I'll say it again..I can't wait to see a dropped platinum!

 

i have zero issue with curbs because i never hit them or try to go over them. the crossmember under the truck and the wind deflector under the front bumper are way to low after the 3/5 drop to try and go over curbs.

 

Like I have said Im buying the new truck thru a auction and it seems imposible to find a 4x2 Platinum...looks like I might have to go with a Lariat....This is not a bad thing.....Should know something in the next couple of days..