The front springs on my Ex are totally clapped out, if the bump stops hadn't fallen off at some time in the past, it would be riding on them. The rears aren't great but the Air-Lift bags make up for a multitude of sins. I'd like to throw a mild lift on the truck. I tow our 30' 10-11K toy hauler a lot so I don't want to get stupid with the left and compromise my towing ability. I'd like to get it no more than four inches over stock ride height, enough to comfortably accommodate 35' tires. I've contemplated a number of options including B and V codes, various kits and whatnot. Also want to go with dual shocks up front. Can anyone give me some examples of solutions that have worked for you in similar circumstances?
Thanks
MDH

 

What sins are you wanting to get rid of in the rear ?

 

I meant that leaving 25 or 30 PSI in the bags offsets the clapped out saggyness of the original rear springs. Outside of to much body roll, which can be at least partially addressed by a sway bar and the springs everything out back is solid.

 

Sounds like 4 new leaf packs are in order. Fairly straight forward, determine what what "mild" lift ride height you want and and select spring accordingly.

For stock to up to a 4" you shouldn't need a drop pitman arm or drop track bar bracket but I would recommend an adjustable track bar.

You don't say what motor you have but the main thing that will compromise your towing ability is tire size. If you have a gasser I'd regear with 35's, you can get away with 35's if you have a diesel but even then, at 11,000 lbs I'd regear.

Dual shocks, No need on a street truck but as long as you get shocks that are valved to be used as duals then ok, basically it is a fashion statement on street trucks

 

The Ex has a 7.3 PSD. I worked the math a while back. I don't think a regear is going to be necessary, one of the primary reasons I want to run 34-35 inch tires is to drop the RPMs a bit at highway speeds. I'm trying to walk a fine line, I want to improve both on and off road manners and handling without compromising the truck's ability to tow. As it sits, engine power is more than adequate to the task of towing the trailer. I'm running a superchips tuner, I pretty much leave it set at max performance. I swapped in 6.0 tranny cooler to keep the fluid temps under control, and did the tymar mod. I'm going to order a 4" turbo back exhaust and EGBPV delete turbo pedestal and am looking at the high voltage-high frequency mod on the ICM. I'm still a little out to lunch on that particular mod, it's supposed to be good for an additional 35-45 HP at the rear wheels but I'm wondering what it's going to do to injector longevity.

 

To improve handeling off road you want to focus on total suspension travel and getting the shocks valved specificly for the weight of the vehicle, suspension travel and terrain you intend to encounter and speed you intend to travel.

On road handeling is similar demands just different settings.

Bottom line is you will always be fighting which way to compromise, off road, on road, towing, straight line, twistys.. etc

 

For what it's worth, I have a 7.3 with the V/B swap. Front also has a 2" drop hanger kit and the B's have been modded in typical fashion and used in conjunction with the stock X blocks. I clear 35x12.50's on 18x10's, although it does rub the wheel liner at full lock.

Tows fine for a spring-only setup, but I'm usually dragging cars and such around and not a TT.

Instead of doing a HV/HF IDM (which while beneficial, isn't really needed on your basically stock setup), put the money into a tuneable chip/programmer. You'll get a similar performance increase to the IDM, however it also allows for trans strategy tweaks, etc that are a good thing to have with decently heavy frequent hauling. The Hydra is a solid choice as it offers email support for tune adjustments and such. The reason I suggest this is you can obliterate your transmission real quick with generic tuning. If you're dragging 11k worth of weight, making sure the trans strategy is on point is a damn good idea. Personally I prefer Gearhead, but ultimately it's up to you. The main objective is making sure the trans gets a nudge in the right direction for towing performance.

I'm not saying your SuperChips is junk, but they're dated and the coding is geared more towards skinny pedal changes than it is making more power AND keeping the transmission intact and happy while doing so.