Anybody planning to lower their 2019 Ranger?

[gpsdualsport]

@PierreD , you asked about the ride quality.
My 2WD XL was lowered 2" in the front and 4" in the rear. My review is similar to @66F100 's. Much firmer ride quality and you could call it more sporty.
My preference would be less compression damping on both front and rear to improve ride comfort.
My guess is that any reduction in compression damping will make ride comfort suffer due hitting the bump stops more often.

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[Mark Sitter]

I think these can get you where you need to be. Lifted trucks have the same camber problems as lowered ones. They are adjustable UCA and at $630 might be able to be combined with the Belltech kit to achieve the desired lowering at a much more acceptable cost than the Freak $2000 front lowering. This might be an answer to the problem.
SPC Performance Ranger Forged Front Adjustable Upper Control Arms (2019-2020 RWD & 4WD)

https://www.steeda.com/spc-25670-ranger-front-upper-control-arms

They are widely available.

 

[66F100]

I think these can get you where you need to be. Lifted trucks have the same camber problems as lowered ones. They are adjustable UCA and at $630 might be able to be combined with the Belltech kit to achieve the desired lowering at a much more acceptable cost than the Freak $2000 front lowering. This might be an answer to the problem.
SPC Performance Ranger Forged Front Adjustable Upper Control Arms (2019-2020 RWD & 4WD)

https://www.steeda.com/spc-25670-ranger-front-upper-control-arms

They are widely available.

The problem is the same but different!
Lowered suspension causes negative camber, pulling the tops of the tires into the fender. Lifted suspension is the exact opposite, pushing the tops of the tires out of the fender.
I am not at all saying or assuming that these UCA won't work, we would have to do some research. But in theory the UCA designed for lowered trucks would be longer or adjustable through a range positive from stock and, the UCA designed for lifted trucks would be shorter or adjustable through a range negative from stock. I would be interested to know if these would work but honestly doubt that they would. Seems like it would be impossible to design a UCA that had a broad range of adjustment both positive and negative from stock or was somehow both longer and shorter than stock UCA. The UCA that are currently available for the lifted crowd are shorter than stock.
I do appreciate you helping and look forward to seeing what comes out in the future!

 

[Mark Sitter]

I just went and looked at my stock ride height 2WD Ranger. The UCAs are almost parallel to the ground. This would indicate that any extreme movement up or down would pull the wheels in towards the inner fender. If you can imagine the suspension travel from very compressed to very extended, at the top of the fully compressed travel you have extreme negative camber. As the suspension relaxes the camber travels toward vertical and as the suspension goes fully extended the camber goes back negative. As you look at these severely lifted trucks if not done properly, the camber is just as negative as severely lowered ones. It is the principle of a straight line traveling through an arc. I really believe these might just work.

 

[Mark Sitter]

The manufacturers description:
SPC Front Upper Adjustable Control Arm Pair for 2019-2020 Ford Ranger 25670





BRAND NEW IN BOX

FITMENT



2019-2020 For Ford Ranger RWD/4WD



DESCRIPTION



25670 - FRONT UPPER ADJUSTABLE ARMS (PR)



Improve droop travel, drivability and tire wear with SPC?s adjustable front upper control arms. Fit bigger tires without rubbing fenders. Featuring a greaseable ball joint and rubber isolated xAxis bushings, this arm is designed to correct alignment angles on standard height vehicles as well as lifted and lowered vehicles while maintaining factory ride quality. SPC?s tube and plate arms are made in our facility in Colorado. Their proven design provides the strength and durability needed for the most demanding environments. These remove and replace arms are sold in pairs.



Get more droop travel: Don?t let OE ball joints or mono-ball articulation limit your travel. SPC joints are oversized and provide 80° of travel.

Get your drivability and tracking back: Your truck may have started to ?wander? after you lifted it. That is because you lost caster. Install SPC arms and get your ?drivability? back by putting your alignment in specification.

Improve tire clearance: Are your oversized tires rubbing the fenders or frame rails? SPC Adjustable Arms, in combination with OE adjustments on the lower arm, allow you to dial in alignment specs at the same time that you move the tire forward/outward in the wheel well by up to 1?.



Adjustment range: Camber ±2.0°

Caster -1.0° to +3.0°

 

[Mirage775]

I've got it in my mind to just go ahead and use the Control Freak front drop stuff, as everything looks a lot better built, than that SPC UCA, but that's just my opinion. Sometimes, it's better to pay more for quality, but that too is just my opinion

 

[66F100]

I just went and looked at my stock ride height 2WD Ranger. The UCAs are almost parallel to the ground. This would indicate that any extreme movement up or down would pull the wheels in towards the inner fender. If you can imagine the suspension travel from very compressed to very extended, at the top of the fully compressed travel you have extreme negative camber. As the suspension relaxes the camber travels toward vertical and as the suspension goes fully extended the camber goes back negative. As you look at these severely lifted trucks if not done properly, the camber is just as negative as severely lowered ones. It is the principle of a straight line traveling through an arc. I really believe these might just work.

The more I ponder I think you're right! My experience comes from lifting scissor axle Ford F150 and F250 and some straight axle stuff. The LCA is the primary attachment and the spindle moves in and out in relation to it. Like you noted with the UCA being parallel to the ground it necessarily need to be shorter if moved up or down.
Thanks for the education!

 

[Mark Sitter]

The more I ponder I think you're right! My experience comes from lifting scissor axle Ford F150 and F250 and some straight axle stuff. The LCA is the primary attachment and the spindle moves in and out in relation to it. Like you noted with the UCA being parallel to the ground it necessarily need to be shorter if moved up or down.
Thanks for the education!

No problem. If enough of us put our heads together I am sure we can figure this out.

 

[Mark Sitter]

I've got it in my mind to just go ahead and use the Control Freak front drop stuff, as everything looks a lot better built, than that SPC UCA, but that's just my opinion. Sometimes, it's better to pay more for quality, but that too is just my opinion

At more than 3 times the price they are not 3 times better. SPC is a long time provider to the lifted crowd and to the racing community so their products are tested and proven. Go to their website for a more in depth look at the company before you make any judgements. In this industry more expensive does not necessarily mean better. There are CNC billet fully adjustable control arms for competition desert trucks that are only $1300 a pair so at $2000 a pair someone is getting real fat.

 

[66F100]

At more than 3 times the price they are not 3 times better. SPC is a long time provider to the lifted crowd and to the racing community so their products are tested and proven. Go to their website for a more in depth look at the company before you make any judgements. In this industry more expensive does not necessarily mean better. There are CNC billet fully adjustable control arms for competition desert trucks that are only $1300 a pair so at $2000 a pair someone is getting real fat.

$630 isn't a bad price for these UCA. Steeda is a reputable company that I gave heard makes good stuff. Give it a few months and I may go this route! Have to compare their price vs quality to the Belltech UCA.

 

[Kevin Franklin]

$630 isn't a bad price for these UCA. Steeda is a reputable company that I gave heard makes good stuff. Give it a few months and I may go this route! Have to compare their price vs quality to the Belltech UCA.

I am definitely interested. Since I was one of the test pilots for the Belltech stuff, it would be nice for someone else to take the plunge on this one. I would really like to bring the front down another inch or 1.5. Something in that neighborhood

 

[66F100]

I am definitely interested. Since I was one of the test pilots for the Belltech stuff, it would be nice for someone else to take the plunge on this one. I would really like to bring the front down another inch or 1.5. Something in that neighborhood

I agree. Another inch lower up front would be nice. How is your clearance with that wheel and tire setup? Do you have room to go lower?

 

[66F100]

Getting my alignment done tomorrow.
I dropped off these 20" F150 wheels at the body shop today. He is going to cleanup and spray the wheels magnetic gray for $300. Get some tires on them babies and I will be set!

Edit: These pics were taken before installing the lowering kit. These tires rubbed up front like crazy. No way would they fit with the drop installed!

 

[Mirage775]

At more than 3 times the price they are not 3 times better. SPC is a long time provider to the lifted crowd and to the racing community so their products are tested and proven. Go to their website for a more in depth look at the company before you make any judgements. In this industry more expensive does not necessarily mean better. There are CNC billet fully adjustable control arms for competition desert trucks that are only $1300 a pair so at $2000 a pair someone is getting real fat.

That's fine if you don't care for my opinion, that's how the internet is, LOL! But, if you think about it, you're not paying $2000 for just UCA's from Control Freaks, you're also getting those double adjustable coilovers and beefy mounts for them.

I know people that have spent almost $3000 just for coilovers for their street/track cars, like the one I have, LOL!

I personally don't care for the lifted lifestyle, so I honestly don't know any history about SPC. This is a lowering thread anyway I just like the way the Control Freak UCA's "adjust" compared to the way the SPC ones do and for my Ranger, 3"-4" dropped up front is more my goal.

Like I said, it's my opinion, since they're aren't many options for the low life Rangers...

 

[Mirage775]

Getting my alignment done tomorrow.
I dropped off these 20" F150 wheels at the body shop today. He is going to cleanup and spray the wheels magnetic gray for $300. Get some tires on them babies and I will be set!

Justin, what amount of total drop do you have on this?

I would prefer mine to be lower, but not too much. I'm still thinking 4-5" front/6" rear for mine?

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