Hey ya'll I have a 99' F-150 supercab flareside, and I was wanting to lower it
about three inches in the front and four in the rear, I was just wondering if *ANYONE* could tell me which lowering kit would give me the best for my buck. And keep the same quality of ride as stock.
I've heard of the springs, A-arms, shackels, leafsprings, control arms, which one(s) are the best and wont' damage or hurt the vehicle.
I'd appreciate any help in this matter, Hope to hear from all you soon!!!

 

I would go with a Beltech, or I have heard some good things about Western Chassis and DJM. I have a Belltech 3/4, I havent had any problems to speak of. Honestly, I think it rides 100% better than stock, and coners like crazy. If you want to keep factory ride go with A-arms and some rear leafs. Check out gallery for more pics

 

Thanks Joni,
That's what I was plan on going with unless I had some bad replies about belltech. I will be getting that along with some nice 20" Titan chrome rims made by Oasis.
After I get some of these last mods up I'll have some pics for the gallery!

 

yeah i've heard alot of good about the beltech...i went with the Roush kit because it changes out the leafs and not the shackles and hangers it drops it 3 and 3.5 kinda pricey though...front springs are a piece of cake....

 

I like your truck, great pics!!!

 

I'd like to jump into this question if its ok. I have been thinking about lowering my truck but to be honest I don't have a clue how to. I have never done it so please bear with me.

You guys mention beltech. Just what is that? A kit? what is included and/or what all do you have to change out? Also what is a good ballpark figure for all the things needed? What would it cost to have someone do it, again good ballpark? Do you also have to change the shocks? If so what would you recommend using?

Thanks for any answers.

 

http://www.belltechcorp.com/pages/ford.htm

http://www.eibach.com/index1.htm

http://www.you're welcome.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I went with the Bell Tech kit 5 years ago on my '97 six months after I bought the truck new. I love it. I went with the 3"/4" drop. Springs in the front and shackles in the rear. I would have gone with a-arms but back then the kits for these trucks were non-existent and I wanted to be one of the first ones around my hometown lowered.

See my sig for a picture of my truck back in '98. Not much has changed except the addition of eurotaillights. I tried attaching the picture guess it was too big or something.

 

look for some truck magazines with suspension installs....they might give you a better idea of what needs to happen..and if you are able to tackle the job...i think it will be better for you to see it than try to explain it .. www.truckinweb.com www.sporttruck.com

 

I have the roush perfomance lowering kit and I was wondering if anyone has had problems with the alinement in the last couple of months I have had 3 alinments done what is causing this the dealership keeps telling me it's because it's lowerd is this true...in total I have had 5 alinments within 75,000 kilometers and are you guys getting a lot of wear on the inside of your tires???

 

I would say I get more wear than usual on the insides. I do have slight negative camber in the front. I've heard that you can fix it with an alignment kit but I never did (it's been lowered for 5 years now). The truck tracks true and doesn't shake or anything. So I just never bothered.

Another factor in the wear is that I cannot rotate my tires. I have 255/55/17 front tires and 275/60/17 back tires. My first set of tires after lowering it lasted 50,000 miles which I didn't think was too bad.

My theory is that you wanna play you gotta pay. Anything you do is going to have positives and negatives to it.

 

dseibert,

By all means get the alignment kit installed. It's almost impossible to get the F150 chassis back into alignment without it. I would say you were very fortunate to get 50,000 miles out of your tires.

Robstaxi,

Have you been taking it to the same dealer for alignment? If so, I say it's time to find a good alignment shop. Make sure that they have installed the camber kit (alignment kit) to get it back into spec. The camber kit consists of a bolt and some washers. Should run about $50.00 to $60.00 for parts and installation plus alignement. Good luck.

 

yeah you should get the cam bolts...i havent had a problem yet and i've had the kit a few years... i just threw out an extra set i had sitting around ..sorry ...

 

Got another question for the experts here. Will lowering your truck affect its resale/tradein value? Will it increase, decrease, or have no effect?

 

Bel tech is an excellent kit, I would avoid Western Chassis like the black plague. Both are manufactured in Fresno Ca. One trip to their shop, will convince you who is building quality. Also if you drive a similiar vehicle equipt with each, you'll pick the Beltech. It rides like an OEM suspension. Western, rides like a buckboard...wheel hop is severe, making for a very poor handling vehicle.