I have noticed riding around town I will see one truck(Chevy, Dodge, or Ford) will ride at one height and another at a different height, same model and make. I have noticed it moreso is Chevys and GMCs, but Dodges and Fords more and more. MY F150 4x4 sits fairly high, but I have seen others that sit higher, w/o any lifts or torsion bar tuning. I have noticed the new Fords have more ride height variance, and the new GMCs and Chevys sit a bit higher and more level than past models. Are they different suspension offerings from the factory (Besides FX4 and Z71 and Off-Road) or is it just luck of the draw that a customer finds a truck that sits higher than other trucks?

 

My guess is different suspension packages/drivew systems/models. Luck of the draw really has nothing to do with it, it would have to do with the truck's equipment. The other wuestion is how much of the euipment is factory stock (tires, etc).

 

We have a Ford dealership here in a suburb of Seattle, which sells more F-Series trucks than many of the others combined. One of the reasons, I believe, is that they will take three to four of their new trucks and install moderate after-market lift kits on them (and sometimes even tire and wheel packages). They will then put them on display in front of the Dealership for all to see. These trucks are ALWAYS the first to sell. In addition to this great marketing ploy, this Dealership also offers the same to be done to any other 4X4 F-Series truck on the lot, just in case the pre-lifted models were not your favorite color/options.

 

I think I know who they are. We were 4th in the region- not bad for a Ford store in a town of 4500 people. The problem with dealer ad-ons is it removes one of two ways to sell a truck (dealer trade). I'd say about 1/3 of our SD's get lifted here after sale. Ford doesn't seem to have warranty issues with it, but GM can sure get in a snit over it.

 

The reason being, GM's axles are highly sensitive to larger tyres...
I haven't seen a problem with the SD axles with larger tyres, hence why Ford isn't to concerned with it with warranty

 

with gm it all depends on your dealer whether they warranty as well as ford for that matter. but i can tell you why some of the gm's set higher than the others and it is due to the torsion bars under the truck. people that want more ride height or a cooler looking truck tend to crank them up. you can go from riding like a chevy to riding like a ford or a dodge in a few twists of the bolts on each side.

the dealer could also do this to make them look diferent compared to competing area dealer.

 

You mean axle , as in singular. All of GM's 2000+ pickups are IFS and really only have one solid axle.

 

My apologises, I meant differential.

 

BigF350- Correct, to a point. Doing a proper lift on a Chevy/GMC is quite a bit more expensive than on a Ford if done right. Done wrong, it can get extremely expensive.

duramaximizer- I'll probably get flamed for this, but overall GM does a far superior job with covering warranty issues than Ford. But, when a GM rep sees a lifted truck, it's out of warranty.

 

i think that with that statement you are game from both sides.

lol nah i tend to agree with that. esp the front end. and the rear drive shaft but i think the trans engine and interior is still covered, at least if you have a reasonable dealer i won't say anything about gm reps in general b/c i think they are at the dealership to line ceo's pockets

 

When you say 'out of warranty' do you mean completely or if they feel something that may have been caused by the modification? If so how would they prove something like that?

 

I put a 3” lift on my ‘02 F250. Everything I did is easily reversible. I don’t know about the new model of Chevy trucks, but I helped my buddy do a lift to his ’01, and it was quite the cut and hack operation. It took four times as long, twice the tools, and did not, IMO, appear to be reversible.

Yes, I can see why "....GM can sure get in a snit over it."

 

no doubt that is 1 advantage to a SFA vs. IFS.

 

This is the single arguement which has never inspired me at all - SFA superiority to IFS. Who cares really? I don't - not for a single solitary minute. There are two classes of 4x4 owners - those who off road very often and put more strain on front axle components, and those who buy it for the increased resale or the one or two possible chances of actually needing it - you know, the rather have and not need mentality.

It's common knowledge that 4wd will usually increase the resale value of any given vehicle by about 1,800.00 during the time of resale (unless your in an area where there is a large need for 4x4 vehicles), that's nice considering it's a 3,000.00 factory option.

As far as having it incase you need it - 3000.00 pays a butt load of tow bills. I've been on all sorts of off road job sites, many I thought I'd never get out once going in - but had to go in anyway, I've never been stuck in my 2wd's - not even in the worst sugar sand - course being honest, there were no real bad grades to overcome either.

2wd makes the whole truck much more useable IMO. 4x4 is a compromise - you give up user friendliness for extra traction. This is a compromise worth making when you actually NEED the extra traction. Load height, heavy payload handling characteristics, fuel mileage, turn radius, road handling, center of gravity, trailer handling - ALL are MUCH better with a 2WD truck with independent front suspension. And you compromise some of all these qualities for added traction with a solid axle 4x4.
Enter IFS 4x4. This is so simple yet none see - you retain the real advantages of
2WD while gaining the added traction of 4WD.

What is there to argue here? If you want SFA - go buy a truck which has it! If you do severe off roading or use heavy snow plows you need it - no need to justify! If you want a truck which is better for EVERYTHING else and don't need added traction - 2WD can't be beat! If you want the added traction of 4x4 but would like to retain most of the advantages of 2WD(I say "most" because maintenance and initial cost will still be more), then get a 4WD with IFS.

 

True. The SFA vs. IFS debate with regards to durability/ride will never be settled as long as there are both. But, that’s not the discussion here (at least at this moment).

It is irrefutable, that the IFS is a bigger pain in the donkey to lift than the SFA counterpart. PERIOD.