Hello, I just purchased a 2006 FX4 and it is an amazing truck and already rides extremely well and higher then the 2WD F150 and even a little higher then the 4x4 non FX4 versions I have parked next to.

I would like to lift it higher but I am looking more for the looks and better ride then actual off road use. I do not do a lot of off roading but I love the looks of the lifted truck with big tires.

It has the 20" Ford wheels and I would like to keep these if I can and put some larger tires on them.

What are your recommendations on a lift kit for looks and ride quality. I would rather stay away from a Body lift because the ones I have been in ride very poorly. I have been looking at 6" lifts that should allow 33" or 35" tires with the 20" wheels.

Thanks for the help!

 

Do a search search on lift kits and leveling kits. You'll find a lot of info.

 

Not too many 6"+ kits allow the use of the stock wheels due to backspacing issues. I've heard the Fabtech can/may, but I've heard others say it can't. I believe the backspacing number they publish for wheels on their kit is 5"... the stock 20's are 6".

Like you, I wanted to keep my stock 20's, but give the truck a more aggressive look. I picked the Rancho 4" lift. I like it very much. The good thing about being 4" is you can run 33's or 35's with it. Both look good. I've heard people say it isn't worth it because its only 4" and costs as much as a 6" kit, but I picked mine up for $1,800 which was about $300 less than I could find a Fabtech for (plus I definitely didn't have to buy new wheels), but about $600 more than the 6" pro-comp. You just have to decide which lift will fit you and your needs the best. There's a lot of good choices out there and I'm sure you'll be happy with whichever one you go with.

As far as the ride quality goes, a lot of that will depend upon which tires and shocks you go with. For the most part, mud terrains are going to ride rougher than an all-terrain. On my lift I went with adjustable Rancho shocks so I could dial in better to the ride I was looking for.

Here is a link to some pics of the install. The install went pretty easy, didn't have an issues while doing it.
06 F150 Suspension

Here is a pic with a 2.5 leveling kit on my stock wheels and tires:



Here is a pic with the 4" Rancho and 35" Mickey Thompson ATZ's. (The leveling kit was removed during installation of the suspension lift.)