This sure didn't take long!! Thought I would at least get to enjoy my 2.5 inch Rough country Leveling kit for a few months.....

I guess its what I should expect searching the web every night for lift kits. Safe to say I did my home work and came to the conclusion that the RCX would be perfect for my lifting needs.

It also didn't hurt that S3MS sold it to me for $1220 shipped to my door. An extra $90 on top of that I had the Kicker Braces to complete the lift.

This lift might not be for everyone... It only offers a 5" drop and uses spacers. A seemingly popular turn off for most. However, don't let these minor difference to the more "Brand Name" lifts fool you on the quality! Every component in the well packed 5 boxes (6 if you get the Kicker Braces) has plenty of quality!

There are a few things I would recommend RCX change. The skid plate mounts use self taping bolts.... These are very easy to strip out when tightening... which could lead to your skid plat falling off. A few extra bucks and your can properly bolt it in place using a Nut and Bolt.

The Strut Spacers uses "cinch bolts"... if you follow the instructions way of installing these to the spacer you'll find all three quickly stripped out. After stripping out two I tried a few taps with a hammer and wha'la! The stripped out cinch bolts I had to weld into place.

Anyone questioning on whether or not the Rough Country Kicker Braces are cheaply made should know I found them to be of high quality! Compared to the Fabtech impact struts the RC braces are larger in diameter and slightly heavier. They may not be better, but are a close equal.

Anyhow.. I did the install in just under two days. I did this solo with an occasional helping hand from my wife! So I think 2 days is a good finish. Oh, it was also raining on the second day.. which puts a damper on everything!

Now for the good stuff... here are a few pictures of the install and end result!













All finished!!







Some CV axle angles for those curious:









Over all I am pleased with my choice in RCX and would do it again if I had to. It should be noted.. this lift should not be a choice for anyone looking to exceed 6" in lift. The drop downs measure only 5 inches. This makes the end result of 6 inches equivalent to a 5" lift with a 1" leveling kit in terms of angles on your cv joints.

Also you might have noticed the use of 2" wheel adapters in one of the pictures above. While I do believe the OEM 20" wheels would work with this lift, the Toyo 35" AT II's do not. They are just a tad to wide and would hit the Knuckle. Many may disagree on the use of Wheel Adapters.. I did my research and found that if you properly maintain the adapters and follow the strict instructions of re torqueing when required I feel the adapters will work for my needs. I do have plans to purchase a set of Fuel Boost 20x9's with a 4.5" offset.

That about does it. Just need to get it in for an alignment and she'll be road worthy!

Thanks in advance for viewing!

Cheers

Nemi

 

Thanks for the pics and review! Truck looks really good. Have you looked at getting a set of extended Bilsteins or Foxes up front to replace the spacer?

 

Thanks for the response!

I certainly have looked! While I'm not sure what I'll be getting, the top 3 choices are the adjustable Bilsteins (which is most likely), Pro Comp Coil overs are the Fabtech Dirt Logics.

I understand the Spacer is an Eye sore for most, but it doesn't bother me as much! The only reason I'd pull the trigger sooner than later is I believe my Struts might need changing.

Anyhow, thanks again

Cheers

Nemi

 

Looks really good! I'm sure you're glad you went with such a big tire before! I didn't put your name and your truck together before, but now I've got it haha.

$1220 shipped is stupid cheap, that's great. Does sales tax apply to CA for online stores? My Fabtech is gonna be around $1700 shipped.

 

Thanks KMAC,

In my experience, the sales tax only applies if the Online store is located in CA.. Otherwise it doesn't seem to apply in most cases!

1700 for a fabtech is pretty darn good. Cheapest I've seen is 1900 for the 4x4. That too was free shipping.

I seem to have a pattern.. install a leveling kit, get bigger tires, remove leveling kit and buy a suspension kit. Only this time I did things much faster.

 

Faster, it took like 2 weeks! Yeah, I'm not sure what governs whether a place needs to charge tax or not. I feel that they all should, but not all do. Only a handful of states require it for online purchases.

$1700 is with free shipping and 15% off from 4wheelparts. I can actually get it for $1500 even, shipped from autoplicity too, but don't know if I trust them or not. Don't see any reason not to. Difference is ~$50 and then 4wheel charging tax.

 

Told yall it was 5" --KMACerrrrr

Truck looks great OP

I would be tempted to do 10" wide wheels though.

 

OP I'm jealous of 6.5' box as well, wish I would of gotten it like that!

 

I still can't understand how a 5" drop works for a 4" lift though! But whatever, now it's solidified

I feel like the 6.5 foot boxes only look right when they're lifted a little, case otherwise the proportions are off for me.

I like 10" wides too (obviously, cause that's what I'm gonna get), but I dot know of his tires can take it. They might be 275mm wide, but I can't remember.

 

Looks good!

The only thing that I would have done prior to installing the knuckles would be to paint them with a good coat of paint

Mine look terrible and are a rusty mess. They should be powder coated like the rest of the parts

Do you have any issues at full lock, be cautious as it eats away the aluminum bump stops on the lower control arms. I have a serious "pop" when I do full lock

 

KMAC,

If it makes things any easier for you Autoplicity receives an A+ on the BBB website. So does 4wheelparts though.

Fine Style

I already have a set of wheels picked out.. just don't want to over do it. With the tires and lift I'm already at 2400 invested. Another 1200 for wheels my wife would have my ***. I am thinking when I have the tires paid off I'll get the wheels. Shouldn't be too long for that.

These are what I am considering

\

I had these same wheels on my other 06 F150 in black... which looked fantastic on an all white truck. However I am not sure I can pull it off with the Lariat having Arizona Beige trim?!

As for the 6.5 bed. you really don't see too many of them anymore. Especially in the Lariat model. The only thing I wish this truck had different is the 35.7 gallon tank that my XLT had.

As always thanks for the feedback. Mucho Appreciated!

Cheers

Nemi

 

Moto Metals are an option for the wheels. I picked my wheels out entirely based on looks, and it came down to $830 for the Moto Metal 970s I like the most, or $1100+ for Fuel Mavericks, which are a close second. I'm concerned with long term durability with the Motos, but they're a very cheap alternative to save some money. If you come in around $3k, that's killing it. Motos seem like a steal.

How are your wheels holding up after X(?) years fine_style?
I know about your issue with them, Chris!

I'm at $1700 for tires, $800 to $1200 for wheels, and $1700-1900 for lift (need 4" AAL for the rear).

Only concern with Autoplicity is getting my lift with a piece missing (which seems quite common) and it being a hassle to get a hold of the part(s).

 

KMAC,

The both times I have ordered lifts for my F150s I have had things missing.

The Fabtech I ordered from 4wheelonline, had missing cam bolts. Hours of arguing I was forced to buy another set for 200 fn dollars.

The RCX I just ordered from Stage3motorsports was missing a hardware bag... 5 mins on the phone and RCX overnighted the missing bag without question. I had it the very next morning!

All I can say is, these boxes are heaving, they generally show up with the corners missing and things nearly falling out. There is a chance something might not be there.

Hope for the best I suppose.

 

So if anything is missing, you call the lift manu. directly? That makes me more apt to buy from autoplicity then. Hope Fabtech doesn't hoe me and make me buy crap they didn't put in the box or that fell out. Seems stupid to have things missing when they should be sealed up with everything in it automatically . . . need better quality boxes or something too then.

I'm gonna be ordering things from a collection of sites, so I won't be too rushed to have it all together immediately if something ends up being missing.

 

Looks great!!! Just curious by kick braces are those the same as traction bars for the rear to hook the rear axle to the frame to prevent axle wind up and hop?