Suspension mods for 2WD

[EL5_Zero]

The more I look and compare the IHC vs. Ridetech kit, I see why the Ridetech would ride better. I'm not saying the IHC kit is trash, (nothing has broken yet) but the Ridetech is better engineered for the F150 chassis. So far, with the adjustments I've made the truck does ride nice. If I don't add the IHC airbags, I might just do what you did and buy the Ridetech rear kit. I won't be going any lower on my truck, I prefer the rear end to have approx. 1" of rake. Somehow, Ridetech incorporated rear end height adjustment in their kit. I believe it has something to do with the leaf spring mounts.

Sponsored

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

The more I look and compare the IHC vs. Ridetech kit, I see why the Ridetech would ride better. I'm not saying the IHC kit is trash, (nothing has broken yet) but the Ridetech is better engineered for the F150 chassis. So far, with the adjustments I've made the truck does ride nice. If I don't add the IHC airbags, I might just do what you did and buy the Ridetech rear kit. I won't be going any lower on my truck, I prefer the rear end to have approx. 1" of rake. Somehow, Ridetech incorporated rear end height adjustment in their kit. I believe it has something to do with the leaf spring mounts.

Yes, the rear shackles for the Ridetech kit have height adjustments in them. I didn't think there could be a huge difference between suspension kits, especially when we are talking a flip kit vs another flip kit, but the Ridetech stuff is MUCH higher quality than the IHC stuff for sure. I don't like how the IHC bag kit pushes against the leaf springs rather than the axle itself and isn't centered, which is another reason I went with the Ridetech kit.

 

[EL5_Zero]

Please post pictures once you finalize the install. I'm definitely considering making the switch.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Please post pictures once you finalize the install. I'm definitely considering making the switch.

Yeah, I'll put some pictures up of everything when I get everything "squared away" on it and cleaned up. Looking forward to having it all dialed in.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Should be getting the replacement parts installed as well as putting in the eccentric bolts in the lower control arms early next week!

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

No pictures to share yet, as the project isn't 100% complete yet. I was able to get mostly done, but ended up missing parts to complete one of the items and just put the truck back into the storage area and out of the way until I can get back to it. I'll also wrap up the Fluid Film spraying as well, as I was able to get most of it done, but just had a couple more areas to do.

In the front suspension I ended up threading the coilover perches back up so that the springs just had slight tension on them when the suspension was fully unloaded. Previously I had it set so that there was about 1" of free play in the spring between the perches to get the height I wanted, but that was annoying, because when the suspension was unloaded the springs would come out of the perches. Also, I'm only missing the upper Delrin washers at this point, which the Ridetech rep said they really don't make a difference to have them or not, and it's not worth removing and disassembling the coilovers to put them back on. So far I haven't noticed a single difference without them either.

In the back I pulled out the Eibach 1" lift block, u-bolts, and hardware. I put the springs and blocks back together as originally setup with the Ridetech kit, and installed new Ridetech lower spring plates, u-bolts, and hardware. I also loaded the suspension and got the traction bar spacing reset as well since it was easier to do on the lift by just putting a couple screw jacks under the rear end. I also set the rear bags to 5 PSI.

One of the other things I had done during this was to install the SPC front eccentric cam bolts in the lower control arms. In another thread someone had said that the heavy duty version of those cam bolts would not fit a regular F-150, but then a few others chimed in that they fit just fine. I bought the heavy duty kit figuring they probably would work and just required some modification. The only thing required is that a small hole needed drilled on each control arm pocket for the locating tab of the cam bolt plate. The truck came factory with a hole in one side of each of the control arm pockets, so all that was needed is just to drill the opposite side for this hole. I would highly recommend using the heavy duty kit over the regular kit, as it will adjust much easier, and last a lot longer. It most definitely will make it easier to get the alignment done now instead of having to push and pry the control arms back and forth.

Last thing to tackle while it was still in the air was to remove the active front air dam. At some point in time the right side motor had failed, and the air dam was stuck down all the time. Since it was stuck down it had gotten pretty beat up, so I wanted to remove it anyways. I figured it was going to need removed also to install the RK Sport front splitter, so since it was already broken, I just pulled it off. Once I get the truck back in I'll be putting some heat shrink over the ends of the connectors to seal them off and the removal will be complete.

During the drive back to the storage area I could tell it was WAY better in the ride already. Looking forward to getting it wrapped up, aligned, and driving again!

 

[sport19]

Thanks for the update on the camber bolt situation! It's good to know for sure the HD version will fit with some minor adjustments.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Thanks for the update on the camber bolt situation! It's good to know for sure the HD version will fit with some minor adjustments.

They most definitely will without a problem. The cam bolt kit comes with instructions and a template on how to do it, so it's not like it's a mystery at that point. The HD version is most definitely a lot nicer than the standard version. It's worth having to drill the 4 small locating pin holes.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Been reading around over on one of the high performance F-150 Facebook groups, and Ridetech seems to be the popular opinion for sure unless you're wanting just track use, in which the VAS is a popular choice. Tons of problems with IHC. Been trying to see if there's anyone running the 4 link and coilover conversion on the back but haven't seen anything yet. Also haven't seen anyone running the frame notch either. I just don't think unless you really want to mess with the suspension and body into a bunch of custom work there's been a reason for it.

Outside of the full Ridetech kit that they offer along with the traction bars, helper bags, and rear sway bar I'm not seeing any other upgrades unless you go with the inboard shocks and anti-rollbar, but you also lose the spare tire, which since I'm running 22's with low profile tires currently I want to keep. On my Raptor with 37's a flat tire isn't nearly as much of a worry. I do know that at least the majority of the fast trucks are running outboard shocks still though, so it doesn't seem to be any sort of problem.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Got the truck back in and finished heat shrinking the active air dam connectors off so they don't get any moisture into the wires. At this point everything is wrapped up and heading for alignment on Wednesday!

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Took the truck in to my buddy's shop this morning and got the alignment all set. It was SO much easier with the SPC HD adjustment cams in the control arms. Didn't need to pull any of the skid plates to access the cam bolts or nuts for adjustment. I also got the traction bar pad spacing set back up properly while it was up on the alignment rack and installed my winter wheels and tires. No issues with them clearing the TBM brakes. Drove the truck back home and it's 100x better driving now. It's no longer bouncy and hitting the bump stops in the back and tracks the road far better as well.

If you're looking for a proper setup, go with Ridetech's 3/5 kit, helper bags, rear sway bar, and traction bars as well as installing the SPC HD front control arm cam bolt kits. Even with 22" wheels and performance tires it rides amazing, and the handling is astounding as well.

At this point I'm all back to where I wanted to be, and consider the suspension and steering "done" besides possibly changing wheels and tires down the road once the current tires are ready for replacement.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Just wanted to update this with the full current setup:

Ridetech Performance Lowering System (set to lowest settings)
Ridetech Traction Bar Kit
Ridetech Rear Sway Bar
Ridetech Air Assist Load Leveling Kit (5 PSI unloaded)
Hellwig Front Sway Bar Kit
Twisted Metalworkz Bumpsteer Kit
SPC HD Cam-Bolt Kits
Stock 17" steel wheels, lug nuts, and center caps with 245/70/17 Blizzak DMV2 (winter)
Fuel 22" wheels and Gorilla black spline drive lug nuts with 275/40/22 Toyo Proxes (summer)

There's a chance that over the next year or so I may end up changing out the wheel and tire setups. When I bought the truck it came with the 22" setup that was brand new, and also the very lightly used stock 17" wheels and tires. I'd like to go to a 315 for the summer setup once the 275's wear out, and also probably go to a more aggressive style wheel. If I do that I probably will end up just putting snow tires on the 22's as I really don't much like the look of the steel wheels, although they do really well in the snow since they are tall and skinny. That's a down the road thing to figure out though after it's time to replace tires.

Sponsored