IHC 3/5 Performance Lowering Kit on 2024 RCSB

[EL5_Zero]

I would like to share with you guys my experience with IHC 3/5 Performance Lowering Kit. I was looking for a kit that would maximize straight line acceleration and also able to soften the ride for daily driving. This past Saturday I got started on the truck following the instructions provided. The front end went on extremely easy, not a single issue removing the stock parts. Upper control arms and stock structs were installed with the parts provided. The craftsmanship on the control arms is very high quality. Arms feel strong and have some good weight to them. The QA1 coilovers are very nicely made as well. I did have to adjust them following the instructions to get the 3 inch drop I was looking for. If I ever want to lower or raise the truck, there is plenty of thread on the coilovers and upper control arms to do so.

The rear axle was removed fairly easy. I completely remove the passenger side leaf spring and removed the rear bolt of the driver side leaf spring to allow the axle to swing to the passenger side far enough to flip it over the driver side leaf spring. I decided to go this route and not have to cut and replace the driver side front leaf spring bolt. As some of you may know, the driver side bolt will not come out due to the gas tank.

Unfortunately, my kit was missing the two axle saddles used to bolt the axle and leaf springs together. I sent IHC an email informing them of the situation I was in. They quickly responded and apologized for the inconvenience. They immediately informed me that they would next day air ship the parts from TX to CA and provided tracking information. I am extremely proud of their communication! Mistakes happen, and I'm happy IHC responded fast.

For the meantime, I used a piece of 2x4 to sandwich in between the axle and leaf spring just to be able to finish the rest of the install, and be able to drive my truck into the garage. Once I get the saddles installed, I will drive the truck to get a feel on the new suspension and report back with you guys. If anyone has any questions on this kit, please let me know and I'll try my best to answer your questions.

I also went ahead and installed Forgestar X12 in a 22 x 10 with 305/40R22 tires. Here are some pictures of the truck as it sits right now.

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[timnohio]

Nice!
I've heard the IHC performance kit rides rough BUT I heard the IHC ride quality kit rides rough, makes all kinds of noise and squeaks....Well, the ride quality kit doesn't make any noise at all. Rides good but I try to avoid every little bump I see that might hurt the truck, I always have.

Nice looking truck! Keep up updated on how the kit feels. If you made sure to put grease on every contact points and grease in zero fittings and torqued to IHC specs you should be good.

 

[Blue22]

That stance and those wheels totally transform the look of your truck. One thing to watch out for is those plastic aero shields at the bottom of the wheel well may melt with where your exhaust tips are located. I've seen several members on here who had that happen to theirs. The good thing is you can easily replace them with the ones that were on the 2021's that sit flush.

 

[timnohio]

That stance and those wheels totally transform the look of your truck. One thing to watch out for is those plastic aero shields at the bottom of the wheel well may melt with where your exhaust tips are located. I've seen several members on here who had that happen to theirs. The good thing is you can easily replace them with the ones that were on the 2021's that sit flush.

 

[Blue22]

You just took a .00001 mpg hit.

 

[EL5_Zero]

Nice!
I've heard the IHC performance kit rides rough BUT I heard the IHC ride quality kit rides rough, makes all kinds of noise and squeaks....Well, the ride quality kit doesn't make any noise at all. Rides good but I try to avoid every little bump I see that might hurt the truck, I always have.

Nice looking truck! Keep up updated on how the kit feels. If you made sure to put grease on every contact points and grease in zero fittings and torqued to IHC specs you should be good.

UPS will be dropping off saddles today at noon to finalize the install. Talk about customer service! I will go over all nuts and bolts to make sure everything is torqued to spec. I think I'll add more grease to all contact points just to be safe. I'll set all coilovers at full soft to see how it rides, and then adjust from there.

 

[EL5_Zero]

That stance and those wheels totally transform the look of your truck. One thing to watch out for is those plastic aero shields at the bottom of the wheel well may melt with where your exhaust tips are located. I've seen several members on here who had that happen to theirs. The good thing is you can easily replace them with the ones that were on the 2021's that sit flush.

Yes, I did purchase the low profile corners back in March. Unfortunately I can't find the box. Hopefully I find it today when I get home to replace them and avoid unnecessary damage.

 

[JCsTruck]

I would like to know impressions on ride qaulity for stock vs your IHC lowering kit. Rate stock ride quality 1-10 with 10 being best and rate the IHC kit you have 1-10 using the same metric. Do the same with handling 1-10 stock vs OHC handling 1-10.

Thank you

 

[Rob67]

Great looking truck! Love it! Do you happen to have a part number for the flush ones? I worry about losing/breaking mine.

 

[EL5_Zero]

Great looking truck! Love it! Do you happen to have a part number for the flush ones? I worry about losing/breaking mine.

Thank you! I ordered my wheels, exhaust, and trim pieces from Coyote Truck Parts. Here's a link to the trim pieces.

Products (coyotestruckparts.com)

 

[Rob67]

Thank you! I ordered my wheels, exhaust, and trim pieces from Coyote Truck Parts. Here's a link to the trim pieces.

Products (coyotestruckparts.com)

Thank you!

 

[timnohio]

Great looking truck! Love it! Do you happen to have a part number for the flush ones? I worry about losing/breaking mine.

Stone Rock Guard Trim Moulding Compatible with 2021-2022 Ford F150 ML3Z-99292A22-CA ML3Z-99292A23-CA (Left & Right) https://a.co/d/golEDRD

 

[EL5_Zero]

I would like to know impressions on ride qaulity for stock vs your IHC lowering kit. Rate stock ride quality 1-10 with 10 being best and rate the IHC kit you have 1-10 using the same metric. Do the same with handling 1-10 stock vs OHC handling 1-10.

Thank you

Yesterday I spent a good 2 hours and 25 miles of driving making adjustments to the suspension. I'm happy to report that I dialed it perfectly to my likings. My settings may not be to your liking, but I'm sure it is a great starting point to getting your truck dialed in to your preference.

Ride quality Scale: Comfort / Performance / NVH
This is based off of the best and worst driven cars I have owned and driven for over 50K miles.

Comfort:
1 = (80's Foxbody Stock suspension)
10 = ( 2020 Buick Lacrosse )

Performance:
2015 Mustang GT Performance Pack

Stock Ride Quality

Last week I drove the truck a solid 500 miles mainly on the highway commuting to work. My route consists of smooth, bumpy, and 15-year-old asphalt that needed replacement a few years back. The truck had a very smooth, yet floaty feel to it while driving at 75 mph. Whenever I would drive over a dip on the road, the front end would bounce about 3 times before it would settle down while the rear end bounced once. This caused the truck to feel unstable at high speeds. On the street, the front suspension would soak up the bumps nicely, while the rear end was a bit firm. Not bad, but noticeably firmer than the front. Turning at moderate speeds, or slowing down fast, the trucks front end would dance around quite a bit. The stock tires play a bid roll in soaking up the small surface cracks, but also caused the truck to dance around on the highway when hitting big dips.

Comfort: 7
Performance: 3
NVH: 1

IHC 3/5 Performance Ride Quality

Here are the final settings on the truck as it sits right now. Front suspension coilovers where set at 4 clicks Compression, 4 clicks Rebound clockwise. Coilover height was set at 2 5/8" of exposed thread. This is measuring from bottom of lock collar to bottom end of threads where the adjustment knobs are at. Tires are 305/40R22 and they were set at 35 psi cold.
Rear shock setup was 0 Compression, and 1 click Rebound clockwise. Traction bars are set to approximately 1/8" gap between contact pad and leaf spring. At first, I tested it with the pads making contact. It rode firm, but not bad. As soon as I gave it 1/8" gap, the ride became smoother. When I accelerate fast from a complete stop, you can feel the rear end raise from the traction bars doing their job. No more squatting! Rear tires are 305/40R22 and were set at 32 psi cold.

I want to thank the guys at IHC for building an awesome kit, and for answering my questions over the phone. THE TRUCK HANDLES EXACTLY HOW A SPORT TRUCK SHOULD HANDLE!!! The truck no longer dances around at highway speeds, nor does it dip when you slow down fast. This morning when driving thru the "S-style" freeway on ramp, the truck felt 100% planted to the ground! No body roll, no swaying when turning left then quickly right. The small cracks are noticeable compared to stock, but the suspension soaks them up nicely. When driving over the big dip on the highway, the truck bounces once and settles. No drama whatsoever. You will need to remove the rear bump stops to allow the rear suspension to cycle and absorb the bumps. So far, the rear end has not bottomed out. I have a solid 4 inch gap between the axle tube and the frame rail.

Edit*
Comfort: 6
Performance: 6
NHV: 5

All in all, I love the IHC Performance lowering kit. I read many posts where people are not happy with their IHC 3/5 Ride quality drop kit. I believe it comes down to the shocks being used (stock front struts and generic rear shocks). QA1 double adjustable shocks and struts make a HUGE difference in comfort. I will put on miles and report back once I hit 1000 miles. Hopefully by then, the suspension should have settled.

Truck has a fender to tire gap of 3 inches in the front, and 3 1/2" in the rear.

 

[INADAZE]

Yesterday I spent a good 2 hours and 25 miles of driving making adjustments to the suspension. I'm happy to report that I dialed it perfectly to my likings. My settings may not be to your liking, but I'm sure it is a great starting point to getting your truck dialed in to your preference.

Ride quality Scale: Comfort / Performance / NVH
This is based off of the best and worst driven cars I have owned and driven for over 50K miles.

Comfort:
1 = (80's Foxbody Stock suspension)
10 = ( 2020 Buick Lacrosse )

Performance:
2015 Mustang GT Performance Pack

Stock Ride Quality

Last week I drove the truck a solid 500 miles mainly on the highway commuting to work. My route consists of smooth, bumpy, and 15-year-old asphalt that needed replacement a few years back. The truck had a very smooth, yet floaty feel to it while driving at 75 mph. Whenever I would drive over a dip on the road, the front end would bounce about 3 times before it would settle down while the rear end bounced once. This caused the truck to feel unstable at high speeds. On the street, the front suspension would soak up the bumps nicely, while the rear end was a bit firm. Not bad, but noticeably firmer than the front. Turning at moderate speeds, or slowing down fast, the trucks front end would dance around quite a bit. The stock tires play a bid roll in soaking up the small surface cracks, but also caused the truck to dance around on the highway when hitting big dips.

Comfort: 7
Performance: 3
NVH: 1

IHC 3/5 Performance Ride Quality

Here are the final settings on the truck as it sits right now. Front suspension coilovers where set at 4 clicks Compression, 4 clicks Rebound clockwise. Coilover height was set at 2 5/8" of exposed thread. This is measuring from bottom of lock collar to bottom end of threads where the adjustment knobs are at. Tires are 305/40R22 and they were set at 35 psi cold.
Rear shock setup was 0 Compression, and 1 click Rebound clockwise. Traction bars are set to approximately 1/8" gap between contact pad and leaf spring. At first, I tested it with the pads making contact. It rode firm, but not bad. As soon as I gave it 1/8" gap, the ride became smoother. When I accelerate fast from a complete stop, you can feel the rear end raise from the traction bars doing their job. No more squatting! Rear tires are 305/40R22 and were set at 32 psi cold.

I want to thank the guys at IHC for building an awesome kit, and for answering my questions over the phone. THE TRUCK HANDLES EXACTLY HOW A SPORT TRUCK SHOULD HANDLE!!! The truck no longer dances around at highway speeds, nor does it dip when you slow down fast. This morning when driving thru the "S-style" freeway on ramp, the truck felt 100% planted to the ground! No body roll, no swaying when turning left then quickly right. The small cracks are noticeable compared to stock, but the suspension soaks them up nicely. When driving over the big dip on the highway, the truck bounces once and settles. No drama whatsoever. You will need to remove the rear bump stops to allow the rear suspension to cycle and absorb the bumps. So far, the rear end has not bottomed out. I have a solid 4-5 inch gap between the axle tube and the frame rail.

Comfort: 8
Performance: 9
NHV: 3

All in all, I love the IHC Performance lowering kit. I read many posts where people are not happy with their IHC 3/5 Ride quality drop kit. I believe it comes down to the shocks being used (stock front struts and generic rear shocks). QA1 double adjustable shocks and struts make a HUGE difference in comfort. I will put on miles and report back once I hit 1000 miles. Hopefully by then, the suspension should have settled.

Truck has a fender to tire gap of 3 inches in the front, and 3 1/2" in the rear.

That is one badass looking truck, sir!

 

[EL5_Zero]

That is one badass looking truck, sir!

Thank you for very much! I appreciate the compliment! I took a gamble buying all the aftermarket parts prior to delivery of the truck. At the time, no one could confirm the parts would carry over from the 2023's. The only difference I did see on my truck was a sheet metal plate attached to the differential that was larger than what was on the 2023's. This plate holds the brake lines, diff vent line, and rear locker wires. You have to trim about an inch off the right side so that the driver side relocation shock mount can clamp onto the differential. Other than that, everything is the same.

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