2022 Lariat Supercrew - need help making it ride smoother

[JefffromNJ]

If you cringe over potholes I'd definitely first start with the suspension.

The "jarring" is more likely from underdamped shocks and struts, which can deflect and chatter over anything other than brand new asphalt. Bilsteins, Fox, Eibachs, whatever are more refined and well-rounded products. The ride will be firmer (and less body roll), but I bet you'll feel a lot more noticeable change if you head straight to the suspension aisle.

I'm not a mechanic, so I didn't appreciate that the shocks/struts could effect the ride so much. I just thought when the truck starts bouncing and doesn't stop quickly, its time to change out the struts and shocks.'

Combine that with the "soft" tires Ford tossed on to start us off, and fool us the truck had a soft ride, maybe the tire can wait then to be replaced and I should look into the shocks/struts to solve my problem.

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[Snakebitten]

Bingo. And the factory P rated tires are extra light and soft to enhance the old Buick feeling... 1) peak acceleration and pep and 2) extra quiet and smooth ride

Personally, I found the super soft factory tires and underdamped struts/shocks terrifying around corners with so much body roll and essentially skipping across the pavement if cornering was push too far. I put on LT tires and coilovers/shocks at 1k miles and love it. But yeah, another $3k to get it ride better (more like a TRUCK for me - just my personal pref) was sobering.

Agree
I'm very happy with the ride of this 157" Max Tow F150 now, but it required some dialing in.
I added a rear Antisway bar to address the body roll, along with the negatives associated. I also added RAS, but NOT for the original design intent of the product. Instead I use them as a second source of "damping" the spring pack with just enough preload to compliment the soft oem rear shocks.

I got exactly the result I was looking for, and have the ability to "tune" the rear suspension for changes in mission. (cargo or towing)

Kind of a poor-man's approach to a tunable rear suspension?

 

[SRHAGEN]

Curious what this means. Were you feeling every bump, or bouncing too much?

County roads are typically not flat. The truck suspension seemed to follow the road at speed instead (wallowing)of obsorbing the small Road changes . Body roll and bounce was terrible. After I changed rear shocks the Truck is much more stable On uneven roads. Without a stiff response.

 

[Snakebitten]

County roads are typically not flat. The truck suspension seemed to follow the road at speed instead (wallowing)of obsorbing the small Road changes . Body roll and bounce was terrible. After I changed rear shocks the Truck is much more stable On uneven roads. Without a stiff response.

Nice post. Your description of the before/after is what I use the term "increased composure" to describe.

I fear words like stiffer/softer are both subjective and misleading to some.

 

[hammerhead2411]

I agree with snakebitten and pavementends. Installing new shocks is the answer you are looking for. Buying new tires will be a waste of your time and money, they will have a minimal impact on ride quality.
There's really nothing easy you can do about reversing the max tow package.
And long wheel bases have better ride quality than short beds so don't loose sleep over that.

 

[Zengineer]

I have the 157 wb max tow but 4x4. Shocks may or may not make enough difference to make it ride the way you want but are a low cost upgrade that will definitely help some. I Have a car for when I want to drive something that actually handles well and just wanted the truck a l little more composed when empty.

Rear shocks (pick most any color/flavor) worked for me. I went with FOX 2.0 but they are much more expensive than the Bilsteins recommended by many here.

 

[M. Fahrenheit]

I have the long box but without the max tow and I felt the same way, a little too jarring for my old back and hips. I put on the Ford Performance Bilsteins and was very pleased at the "more refined feel." Agree with the others that it is subjective and I was hesitant to drop that much coin on a brand new truck but in the end I'm really glad I did.

 

[air2mag]

I’m waiting for Snakebitten to figure out the CCD so I can tune on the fly?

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