Hello,

Just recently picked up a 2013 XLT F150 that came with the 18" chrome clad wheels. I've been doing a bit of research on the many different options available to remedy the dreaded factory front biased rake.

So far I see many folks going with the Bilstein 5100's and or one of the quick leveling block approaches like Autospring or Daystar..etc.

Please understand that I am not hear to **** on anyone's approach to leveling their truck as I fully understand budget and priorities are different for each individual but I'm looking to find out what I can on the proper way to do these sorts of things in the truck world. My background and experience in suspension modifications has been solely centered in the car world up until I got this new truck.

So with that out of the way I have a few questions and concerns I'm hoping someone can provide some feedback on about these two different approaches to "Leveling" out a truck.

1st: Who here that has installed one of these types of kits actually does semi serious off-roading with their truck and can say that the truck is just as capable or more capable now then it was prior to installing the kit? My main interest with this question relates to how much wheel travel have you gained or lost? Can the suspension still cover its full range of motion in terms of droop and compression?

2nd: Assuming some people with one of these kits does do more then just occasional off-roading what size wheel/tire are you running now thanks to the installation of said leveling kit that still allows you to have full use of your suspension without tire rubbing under any circumstance? How big do you think you can go without any rubbing at all under light rock crawling type conditions?


3rd: Does anyone know the range of motion in inches of the factory front control arms and ball joints and at what point in terms of "Lifting" you would begin to approach premature/greatly accelerated parts wear/failure?

4th: Does anyone have any pictures of what the before and after front sway bar and steering rack angles look like after going with one of the lift options being discussed? I'm curious to see how out of whack they look since none of these kits come with any sort of angle correction spacers or blocks for the FSB mounting locations or anything to correct Steering Rack angles. Are the ears of the FSB now pointing up towards the sky as compared to being level like it would be from the factory?

Last but not least:::What would your recommendations be (in kit form if it exists) for someone looking to remedy the front rake of the factory truck while at the same time also increasing the vehicles off-road capabilities without cutting corners or compromising the suspension geometry? Lets ignore cost at this point.

For what its worth, one kit I have looked at that seems to address many of my concerns is the Rancho 6519B (4" lift). It seems to be one of the few that actually includes parts that take into account the changing of the suspension geometry when doing any form of lifting...etc but I don't know if Rancho is considered any good or not or if they are just a more common household name that everyone knows. Kinda like Coors beer being popular by name but still tasting like crap.

Thanks for any info you can provide