Hey all,

My 2012 F150 Lariat SC 4x4 has been ordered w/ the 3.55 electronic locker and I'm curious to the your thoughts on the following topic :

How much "rake" or un level is the 2012 F150 Lariat SC appear to you?

I'm not planning on pulling / towing / or off roading and went with the 20 inch chrome clad rims as this is a travel / family vehicle but a friend of mine had brought up a concern....Leveling Kit.

Now that he's pointed it out how these trucks tend to have a heavy "rake" it seems to kind of stick out.

Is leveling a newer truck a good idea or not, how much does it effect the smooth ride I'll have without changing anything, is it worth leveling the truck if I'm keeping stock tires / rims or a bad idea?

To level or not?

Your thoughts are appreciated!!

 

The two inch rake in mine was very noticeable. I went with the Autospring kit which vastly improved the appearnce with no impact to ride quality or handling at all. I also have stock 20s and it looks fine.

 

X2 here. Although, if you are not going off road, it is merely for aesthetics. I did see s very slight drop in mileage as well. (about .2 MPG) but this could be other factors as well.

 

I am interested as well but the Ecoboost seems so susceptible to wind that I'm afraid the leveling kit will affect the mileage. I don't want that. Aerodynamics play a big role with these trucks for gas mileage and I'm afraid a leveling kit might have a detrimental affect.

 

Don't worry about it....no discernible affect whatsoever.

 

I know for the Super Duty trucks it's a moderatley common trick to swap the stock 4" blocks on the F350 for the 2" blocks from the F250, which gets you pretty close to level.
Anything like that for the F150, where instead of raising the front you lower the rear?

 

There are lowering kits out there, which use a shorter rear block. One could buy the kit and use only the rear stuff. But lowering a truck is simply against my teachings...

 

^ what he said X 2.

 

Why do you think this would make a difference on the Ecoboost vs the 5.0 liter or any other engine? It's 2 inches, hauling a load of firewood will even out the aero dynamics, I'm confused as to why you are thinking raising the front end rake 2 inches would make a drastic difference or where you picked up this information or concern?!

 

Curious to know if you've tested this therory or ran several MPG tests with your Ecoboost? What type of leveling kit do you have and how do you like it?

 

My truck had 2.5" of rake. I went with a 2" Autospring kit and still have .5" of rake.
If I was you and I wasn't planning on bigger tires I would only do a 1" level. It will take out some of the rake but not make the tires look to small. If you try to get your truck level and get rid of all of the rake the stock tires will look silly. Look at the pics below and you'll see what I mean.

The MPG loss from the leveling kit itself will be minimal. The real MPG loss comes from the larger tires most people add w/ the leveling kit.

 

I've got the 2 inch Autospring kit. As I said earlier, there was no noticeable impact on the ride quality and handling. I religiously monitor my fuel mileage, and my mileage has actually been going up. But I would ascribe that to my engine continuing to wear in and certainly not to a leveling kit. I only mention it because the mileage has been on a pretty steady (albiet slight) slope upward with no dip from the leveling kit install.

 

The stock rear blocks on the (4x4) 09+ F150's are 1.25". I've seen a few people remove the stock rear blocks to level their trucks.
But, I agree with you and what you were taught.

 

^^^ I'm with both of you guys!

 

Thanks Nasty,

Do you know if Redi Lift offers 1 inch for Supercrew 12 - Lariat 4x4?

Do you believe $500 is worth a 1 inch front end increase and or will it look much different?

I've noticed the newer F150 super crew trucks short box do not appear to have as much of a rake appearance as the previous year models or it could just be me.

Your thoughts?