QUESTION: Am I being mislead to believe that the OEM/original ride quality of a new F250 can actually be maintained or improved when leveling and upsizing the tires?

SCENE SET: I recently had my new '19 F250 6.7L FX4 CCSB leveled by means of a BDS/Zone +2" Front leveling kit (under coil spacers and new track bar bracket) together with a -2" Rear Axle/Leaf Spring Spacer swap. I also had all 4-four OEM shocks replaced at the same time with new Bilstien 5100's and swapped out the factory LT 265/65/R20 Michelins for Nitto Ridge Grappler 35/12.50/r20 F-125 tires. All of which was recommended and performed by the shop that did the work.) My new truck had 288 miles on it when the work was done.

WHAT I'VE EXPERIENCED: The Truck looks great,but now rides terrible!

WHY I'M ASKING: After having the above work done and putting some 500 miles on the truck (to include my relocating 300 miles away to start a new job) I've determined that the ride quality has diminished significantly to include my experiencing minor bump steer and steering wheel vibration such that I took it into an well respected and highly recommended speciality alignment shop this week to have it checked. The outcome being that the truck alignment was found to be well within Ford spec (no adjustment needed) and it was then recommended I have a steering stabilizer installed along with having the tires re-balanced and rotated (truck now has 708 miles on it)!

MORE BACKGROUND - prior to having above works performed (leveling, shocks, tires), I read up a lot here in the FTE Forum on the subject of leveling & tires and concluded that the OEM stock ride quality could be maintained or even improved but as stated, that is not what I am experiencing.

WHAT WORKS/DOES'NT WORK: Furthermore, it seems that every 4x4 shop (or the alignment shop) I've spoken with have different opinions and recommendations on what is needed;

Shop # 1 - (original shop that did the leveling, shock replacement & tire install); said that the BDS kit, shocks and tires was the way to go and would result in the truck being level without sacrificing any ride quality. When I called them to complain on what I was experiencing (steering wheel shimmy and minor bump steer, they said "well maybe you threw a wheel weight, which I later confirmed was not the case). Shop # 1 is now 300 miles away from where I am working and thus, I'm having to sort this out with other shops in the vicinity of where I am now.

Shop # 2 - Told me they don't recommended the BDS/Zone kit and suggested I bring the truck in and let them change out to a Carli Commuter kit including new lighter front springs, caster shims, bump stop drops, etc.

Shop # 3 - (alignment shop) said the BDS leveling is OK, but that I need a steering stabilizer in addition to having the tires rebalanced and rotated (tires currently only have 708 miles on them).

I "get it", every shop I speak to wants to "sell me something" and most certainly have their own opinions on what works (and what doesn't) but I've lost confidence in whether or not achieving an equal to or greater than OEM ride quality is achievable!

AM I FOOLING MYSELF - to believe that an (equal to or greater) OEM ride quality can be achieved with this set-up (leveled/shocks/tires)?

Yes, it is possible to have a factory ride with a 2 to 21/2 inch level kit but +2 in the front and -2 in the rear for a total of 4 inches! I’m not sure if you’ll ever achieve a factory ride but I’m sure you’ll get a lot of responses. That’s a pretty drastic nose high if I’m understanding it correctly, changing a lot of original ride dynamics.

Caster shims and a better than factory stabilizer will help indeed. Also, a rebalance of your tires could help as well if the original tech didn’t do a very good job.

Hang in there.

bump steer should be completely resolved by proper caster and a good steering stabilizer.

You need a shop that will set the caster to your specification, not “within range”. You may hear differing recommendations relating to bump steer vs death wobble, but for what you’re describing you need MORE caster. The lift reduced your caster probably near zero. I’d recommend telling the shop you want caster between 4.5 and 5.5 and will want to see the printout. If that cures your bump steer but feels to heavy you can always dial it back.. but lots of people are happy in that caster range. In your case I’d rather go a little heavy on caster to know it solves the problem, then experiment dialing it back as it suits you.

many crap alignment places won’t even touch the caster because it’s more work and can be left alone on most vehicles without the driver noticing, so saying you have a specific caster you want to get to and will they work with you is key.

Id also recommend upgrading to the Fox single or ats steering stabilizer (lots of info on the forum).

Finally... we are talking a limited truck here so I’d consider getting new radius arms that permit adjusting caster without shims, either the PMF or Lewis ones. Even though they aren’t strictly speaking required for this size lifetime (and aren’t that cheap)... there’s nothing better.

That’s amazing that there’s a total of 4 inches of lift and drop and you’re not nose high. Did the level kit have a track bar drop bracket? A level kit without one can create some bump steer in the steering wheel. It’s an easy addition though. Also, did you see an actual print out after the alignment showing that you are indeed in Ford factory spec. Less castor will give you a loosey goosey steering feeling. The castor shims will add more castor angle and help with this. Perhaps you should ask around your new town which is the best alignment shop and talk to them for a starting point.

I also have a 2017 f250 xlt 4x4 crew cab short bed with 6.2 gas that has had a very occasional bump steer at speed on rough parts of the interstate.
it originally had 18” stock wheels and rose surprisingly smooth. At about 5,000 miles, I did a 2” front level with track bar relocate. It didn’t affect the ride or occasional bump steer at all. At about 20,000 miles I added a set of 20” stock ford lariat wheels with the stock Michelins.
Now it rides like a 3/4 ton truck. Sometimes I run slightly lower pressure when I’m not hauling to soften the ride a bit. (60 lbs).
I would look at the wheels and tires and see if there is one or 2 that have a lot of wheel weights. If so, put them on the back. If they all took a lot of weight then maybe they should be dis mounted and turned on the rims and rebalanced so they use less weight for a more true balance.


I have ave a few 2011 to 2014 4x4 f250’s in my work truck fleet. They all have this occasional bump steer issue. We’ve tried adding better steering stabilizers. It helps but it always gets worse as tires wear. Of course work trucks are all very high mileage and I bought them used.

To me, it’s a net overall lift of 2” considering the front was raised 2” together with lowering the rear 2” and yes I did exactly what you recommend I.e. found one of the best, most experienced & reliable alignment specialist in Houston. He’s the one telling me the truck is in spec (he even called a Super Ford Dealer to confirm the 2019 factory spec and if any TSBs exist which we learned there is one for the 2019 F250’s that encounter the death wobble - Fords TSB fix is to bring the caster to 0.0 degrees of which he said he can’t understand as being the proper solution), and that the next steps are to 1) have the 35/12.50/r20’s rebalanced and rotated then bring the truck back in next week where he’ll swap out the track bar bracket ( back to the original one) and install both an adjustable track bar and Fox steering stabilizer then realign the truck once more.

Last time I’m saying it. Who cares if it is in spec; it’s not driving how you want. Get it set around 5 degrees of caster (and get a good steering stabilizer). Caster was the most significant change in your steering from the lift.