well, ive been in the custom truck industry for a long time, and its always been chevys and the like, but always dropping them on the ground...

anyhow, my parents just purchased a 2003 Ford F150 King Ranch with 17" rims and tires. We are looking to do a 3" suspension lift and fit the biggest tires we can on there, probably going to switch out to some 15" rims too...

so my questions...

1. What is good brands of parts for lift kits? (I know to stay away from FabTech)
2. What is the best way to do a 3" suspension lift?
3. With 15" rims, what is the biggest tires we could fit? Would 31s or 33s fit nice?

The reason I ask about the rims and tires, is we have 14" of clearance to get the truck into the garage still...

also, if were doing the lift, what does it take to keep the truck in factory specs and not void the warranty?

Thanks again for all your help

 

nobody?

 

I noticed you havnn't received any responses. So I thought I'd chime in. I really like the Fabtech lifts. They use forged metal where ever they can and I have had no problems with my 3.5" lift. What have you heard that I should be made aware of? What is with the 15" rims. I know you can use up to 285/75 R16's with the stock 16x7" rims with no problems, even though the tire manufacturers specs call for 16x7.5" minimum. With a 16x8 you should be able to fit 32"ers with no problem. Wouldn't purchasing tires > 31" for 15's pose some difficulty in selection?

On the warranty stuff I have heard that the warranty is voided for the parts you have removed and any parts which are connected to them that may be adversly affected. Kind of non specific from what I remember. If you don't do the alterations, ford will honor warranty no q's asked. After the work, it is kind of up to them to determine if the warranty repair work needed was caused by the alterations. Hopefully someone can be more specific for you.

Good luck. Let me know about the Fabtech info. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the feedback...

The reasoning behind my dislike for fabtech, is you are honestly the first person that I have spoken with that has liked the fabtech parts. I have a handful of friends that have lifted S10s and fullsize chevys and dodges, and nobody has had any luck with Fabtech parts, all seem to be of shotty quality, and never offer quality or even tolerable ride quality even for a lifted truck. For that reason, i think i will be leaning towards companies other than Fabtech for parts. Who those companies are, is what I am looking for.

Regarding the rims and tires, i MIGHT be mistaken, but i think the rims on the truck right now are 17"s, if not, if they are stock 16"s, then those might be kept because I know tires are a little easier to find, and a little cheaper for that matter. Like i said, i am fairly new to this game, so yes, finding tires bigger than 31s on 15" rims might pose a challenge.

I have spoken with 4 Wheel Drive Parts here locally, and they claim that they can lift it and keep it "within warranty specs" and according to Ford, if kept within certain specs, it will not alter the warranty at all. I was looking to see if anyone had any information on what exactly those specs were. Or if anyone had lifted a truck under warranty....

 

Any reason you are looking for a 3" kit? Most manufacturers make a 4". One thing to also look at is the kit itself. I personally prefer any kit that lifts the front an inch higher than the rear. RCD suspension, Rancho, BDS, Superlift, and Tuff Country all make good lifts. What do you have planned for this truck? Are you looking for a big truck from the asethic side, or are you looking for a solid offroad performer? This should help you narrow down which kit is best (some cost quite a bit more, but its worth it). As for tires, what are you running for a tire now? I know the 17" rim is a bit tough to find tires for, but Im pretty sure BFG just made a 37" for the 17 inch rim . Do you have a tire in mind yet? Also, if you do decide that you need new rims, you should check this out
http://centerlinewheels.com and click on their 'wheel deals' section. Lifting trucks, and warranties are always a grey area. Did 4WDP give you any specifics on how they could keep it within warranty? Thats all for now, my coffee is getting cold.


Rich

 

well quite simply put the reason for the 3" lift and the 31s on 15" rims is Garage size. My parents still want to fit it in the garage. Currently at its stock hieght they have 14" of clearance. Also, sad to say, even though this is a 4x2, this truck will rarely, if ever, see offroad dirt. They are lifting it to get the higher stance and make it a little more agressive looking, you know, for all that suburban driving

anyways, we are looking for a level lift, not the prerunner look, so that is where the 3" and the 31s came from.

any preference for brand of lift? also, to achieve the best 3" lift, what parts do i need?

 

You have 14" above the truck still?? Thats a veritable canyon. Figure when you lift it and add tires, you effectively raise the height of the truck by the size of the lift, and half the difference in height of the new tires( youre only sitting on half of the new radius). What size tires do you have now? 265/75R17? AFAIK, those equaly roughly 30+inches. I would assume you could run 33s with a 3" lift. Have you looked for just a leveling kit, and not a whole lift kit? That might suit your needs better. http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/fd2_full.htm They have some stuff for the 2wd. You might want to give them a call to see what they think.


Rich

 

First off, I'm here looking for a lift for my 98 F150.

Secondly, I know a bit about lifting vehicles. I have in my possession now a 99 Jeep TJ Sport w/ 6" lift and 35" Tires on 15x8" rims.

What I don't know is 98 Ford F150 Specific but, for your lift...

You just simply CAN'T do a 15" rim on your truck. Your rotors simply too big. 16" rims are minimum. 17" rims are preferred for cooling your rotors. The tires that are already on your truck are closer to a 33" tire so finding a 31" tire for a 15" rim is a smaller tire/rim combo then you'd want to do.

Now, if you're looking for a street queen truck. Get max lift/max tires for your lift. Since you probably won't be taking it off road you won't have to worry about your tires rubbing.

If you are looking for off road performance, get max lift/min increase in tires so you have room to travel. Remember, tires don't only travel up and down, they do have a slight front/back movement as well.

Good luck, I'm looking for a 2.5" lift w/o a BL as an option. I'm having a difficult time finding anything under 4" suspension.

 

The problem with your thinking fordfreak is that without going to larger diameter tires you gain zero ground clearance at the rear axle and minimal at the front a-arms. Do suspension lifts for the IFS cause any problems? Are they mostly just drop-down kits? I have a Nissan atm and cant get anything more than a 3" suspension lift for it and that's mostly just a torsion bar crank with longer a-arms. Causes nasty problems with steering components though due to Nissan's poor IFS setup.

My question for you is do all the F-150 supercabs have the same rotors? big tires are still easier to find for 15's. I'm also wondering what the largest tire you can fit on a 2002 supercab 4x4 without a lift is. Really I'd rather get an F-250 but that may not be an option. Until I decide I'll just hammer my nissan into the ground.

 

First off, I said Max lift minimal increase in tire size. For anyone who is a true off road enthusiast who has actually engaged their vehicle in 4WD will understand the wheel travel concept.

On my Jeep (see above) I have 35" tires and still hit rocks and stuff with my axles and diff. Thats why you harden your undercarriage components. Skid plates are more important then clearance.

For every inch of tire size you gain half that in diff clearance. With a long wheel base, you aren't going to be doing any "serious" wheeling anyways... If you do find yourself in a rock quarry, get skid plates galore for your under carriage. Otherwise, pay the consequences.

If you get max lift/max tire size and you find yourself in the same rock quarry, you'll have a harder time getting out cuz your tires will be up in your **** before you know it. binding into your body and not allowing them to rotate.

Increase your tire size according to how much you will wheel. If you are going for looks and not performance. Get max tire size possible. I love my 35s. They look good, they roll over lots of stuff and I get plenty of flex from my suspension so they don't bind and I still maintain traction.

There is NO cheap way to get your cake and eat it too. Good luck trying...

As for lifting IFS - The ONLY experience I have had was with my 86 Bronco Twin I Beam IFS. It is by far the most sought after IFS setup on the market. Most pre-runners will setup their trucks wth the Twin I Beam from Ford under their Crystler/GM/Foreign trucks. Stregnth and reliability come to mind. I wouldn't know much about your setup... Gool luck... Stay Safe... Have Fun... Drive Home...

 

For giggles: Here is my Jeep before it grew another 2" and received a Ford 8.8 rear end and Atlas II T-Case and an Expedition Rack.

 

I just thought I'd stick my question here: I have a 4WD E-450 (dually) on order from Quigley and was wondering if the truck kit will fit this van. The guy at Quigley wouldn't say much excpet that the 4WD E series I bought is already supposed to be slightly higher ground clearance that a 4WD F-series. They add the 4WD to the van's chassis, What kit? I'm guessing F-series kit should work. Any help is appreciated!

 

Nice Jeep.

I understand what you're saying about binding, I wasnt suggesting putting the biggest tire you can possibly fit. I'd go with the biggest tire that you can fit without binding while flexed or rubbing anything while turning (and/or turning while flexed). Which will be considerably smaller than the biggest that will fit but likely larger than stock. I think you meant the something similar but I just didnt interpret it that way when I read it the first time.

 

EXACTLY

and, Thanks... I put a lot of time/money/sweat and tears into that Jeep. Just to be having spent the past 2 weeks stripping it and selling it as a stock jeep...