Does ford still offer something similar to the X code spring front end? Is it higher than the non heavy dudty trucks. My 03 has the X springs and sits noticeably higher then the non X equipped trucks. ALso, I never felt the ride quality of my truck to be bad. It is certainly no worse than my uncles' cummins 2500 dodge with coils. My boss's GMC 2500HD feel a lot rougher than my truck.

 

wow that is suprising that the 2500HD feels rougher considering everyone think that gm's IFS is weak. Your boss could have cranked up his torsion bars to allow for the added weight of the snowplow on the front too, idk.

I was also wondering if the new fords leaf springs still bow the oposite direction after some higher miles. That could be the difference in ride height between the coils and the leafs.

 

Well Mr. GM guy it is weak no question about it. Thats why they should have a solid axle on there HD trucks. Snow plows belong on Ford trucks not GM trucks. I know you dont like Fords but the truth is the truth.Man you dont give up do you. GM or nothing. Stirrin up the pot again.

 

haha weak and my cousin and uncle neither one have problems with cc lb configurations with the D/A option and salt in the back, tools, and 100 gal of diesel.

they both have big boss V plows. but whatever you say 150ford

 

You havent seen the GM tie rods snap in off road situations have you. I have. Hey its a Ford site your a GM guy. You run down Fords at every opportunity the way I see it. Stirrin up the pot.

 

they hold up as good as the H2 hummers

they are fair play......the aftermarket takes care of that for 150 dollars.

 

What??? The only trucks Ford had that ever had springs that looked flipped upside down, were the leaf sprung TTB versions. I have never seen springs bow the opposite way...

 

He is talking about the Hyperbolic leaf springs fitted to the SuperDuty prior to 05 which are DESIGNED to do that (bend in both directions).

In all fairness, I couldn't recall the number of SuperDuties (and I am talking 100's) that snapped thier front and rear leaf springs out here.
Fortunately mine didn't, but one of the mining guys here wasn't even getting 15k miles out of the front springs in thier 15 vehicles before they would snap.
This was Reg cab with 5200lb front springs in it too...
But how a lot of Australian F-Series are treated isn't really remotely close to how a typical US F-Series are treated.
Like this
Or this


It would be interesting to see how a GM's front end would last out here.

 

Coils are so much more durable than those hyperbolic leaves are IMO. Rear suspensions are different. There your talking 5,6,7, or even more leaves bunched together and all designed to have a positive arc. You could'int give me a coil sprung rear suspension. Also it's a non steering axle. I could be wrong but the way I see it a leaf or two up front is subjected to lots more stress - especially while making rapid turns while jouncing around at high speeds in off road situations. Much harder to snap a coil.

Another example; Colt Single Action Army revolvers (and their many foreign made replicas) utilise a leaf type mainspring in the grip housing. When the hammer is cocked back pressure is increased on this spring and when the trigger is pulled the lock is released and the mainspring springs foward slamming the hammer back down. Over time this loading/unloading action will break the spring. It's not a matter of if - it will happen, sometimes sooner, sometimes later. It is a must to have replacement mainsprings on hand with these firearms if you use them regularly.

The Ruger single actions use a coil mainspring. I've never had to replace one of these ever.

Not sure how well my comparision fits in, but suffice to say ALL coils are subject to less stress over a steering axle due to the fact they simply compress rather than swing along an arc up and down. Then there's the better ride and turning radius with coils. Yep, give me coils (up front)everytime.

 

You can't just crank up torsion bars. That's not what there meant to do. If he did that, he'd more than likely get stranded when they broke. You can't just MacGyver things to get them to work in a way that they weren't intended for.

 

i hate to tell you, but that is exactly what it was ment to do, why do you think a crew cab still sets as high as a regular cab. the factory cranks up the torsion bars so that they handle the same even though they are different weight.

there are numerios guys that have them cranked up to run a bigger tire then was on them stock. i haven't heard of anyone breaking them yet......but i leave no doubt that some has, can, or will.

If indeed that one person exhists, I am sure I will hear about it.

 

I have a subaru that has instructions in the factory manual to crank up the torsion bars to increase ride height. My papa sold his 01 silverado a year ago. The first thing that the guy that bought it did was crank it up. Looks a lot better. He stuck some 32 inch rubber on it and now it looks like a truck.

My IDIs front coils are permanently negative arched. I was thinking about having them rearched but didnt think the engine would make it worth the time. I have seen collapsed coils same as collapsed leafs. I bent the rear leafs two trucks back. It actually improved the ride height so I never tried to fix it. I was towing a 50 ft mobile home and drove the dang thing into an old crib style sewer. The front of my truck came off the ground.

 

Sounds like your truck had some *****!! 50' motor home? That's a lot of weight.

 

Have you ever even worked on a torsion bar IFS? One of the main things that they stress when you install a lift kit on them is to mark the adjustment of the torsion bars first so that you can put them EXACTLY how they were before you took them out. The adjuster screws are only there to compensate for sagging.

Why can't I just crank up my torsion bars?

 

I think that 73fastback has a very valid point.