Bye Felicia! (FX4 shocks)

[aeroshots]

Roost on

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[D Fresh]

So, guys, somebody has to ask the dumb questions, right? I put the Ford Performance Levelling Kit, with its (allegedly) Ford-tuned Foxes, on my FX4, and they improved the ride a lot. But what is a "roost guard," and what does it do?

Serves the same purpose as a shock boot. Fox doesn't recommend boots and therefore sells the guards.

 

[got3fords]

Are you going to do the fronts? I absolutely love the ride after I put Eibachs all around.

 

[stringbreaker]

Glad it helped I know my truck settled down considerably after I had the Bielstein shocks installed

 

[WhyNot21]

I wish I could ride in a Ranger with aftermarket shocks, just to see what the issue is with my stock setup. Does it make the ride feel more like a car than a truck? I'll admit, they do look nicer!

 

[EJH]

I wish I could ride in a Ranger with aftermarket shocks, just to see what the issue is with my stock setup. Does it make the ride feel more like a car than a truck? I'll admit, they do look nicer!

Still rides like a truck, without the nauseating rear bounce and rocking. I have the OPs setup and it was one of two modifications that totally changed the truck for the better (the other was to turn of the fake engine noise). One day I may replace the fronts as well, but haven't had the time or the urgency.

 

[Racket]

I wish I could ride in a Ranger with aftermarket shocks, just to see what the issue is with my stock setup. Does it make the ride feel more like a car than a truck? I'll admit, they do look nicer!

The factory rear shocks are fine if you have a load in the bed or tow frequently. You might even be happy with the factory setup just driving the TRUCK. If you use the Ranger as a daily driver (I replaced a sedan) I'm going to assert that at the very least replacing the rear shocks are going to make the ride quality much better, and it's a relatively easy inexpensive upgrade.

 

[D Fresh]

I wish I could ride in a Ranger with aftermarket shocks, just to see what the issue is with my stock setup. Does it make the ride feel more like a car than a truck? I'll admit, they do look nicer!

Many people here claim the factory rear shocks are "too stiff."

In reality it's just the opposite. The rear, front too IMHO, is drastically underdamped. This is evidenced by the wallowing rear, and to some degree, front when you traverse a rough road.

As a side note, my factory rear FX shocks could be compressed by hand. And I am not a strong man. The factory rear shocks are basically just placeholders for real shocks.

 

[D Fresh]

its funny, I'm no suspension expert, but i dont feel what you feel.
my FX4 ride is vastly different

You feel no wallowing after bumps?

Say a large railroad crossing, the truck doesn't bounce around for 100 ft or so afterwards?

Suspension is a subjective thing, some people like the factory FX suspension, some don't.

To me the factory setup felt like a truck trying to be a Lincoln, and failing miserably. With my current setup it feels like a truck.

I'm no expert either. But I can tell you that unless my factory FX shocks were defective your truck is essentially riding on springs only out back.

 

[AzScorpion]

You feel no wallowing after bumps?

Say a large railroad crossing, the truck doesn't bounce around for 100 ft or so afterwards?

Suspension is a subjective thing, some people like the factory FX suspension, some don't.

To me the factory setup felt like a truck trying to be a Lincoln, and failing miserably. With my current setup it feels like a truck.

I'm no expert either. But I can tell you that unless my factory FX shocks were defective your truck is essentially riding on springs only out back.

I don't think they're that bad either but all my F150's had the Fx4 so maybe I'm just use to it. Also the roads are smooth as glass out here and when off road I'm at low speed so they seem to soak up the bumps good for what I do.

Doug, when you have time throw some weight in the rear and see if it helps? I'm guessing it will take away the wallowing and bouncy ride.

 

[D Fresh]

Doug, when you have time throw some weight in the rear and see if it helps? I'm guessing it will take away the wallowing and bouncy ride.

I definitely agree with this. When I was still on factory suspension a load of roughly 300lbs would settle things down appreciably. But I do a lot of driving unloaded. Even the majority of the trails I run I'm empty minus recovery gear. I mostly do quick daytrips.


My suspension is virtually perfectly setup for me now that I've installed the Fox 2.0 setup with ROW Ranger leafpacks though. Empty or loaded it rides much better and is much more controlled.

 

[AzScorpion]

I definitely agree with this. When I was still on factory suspension a load of roughly 300lbs would settle things down appreciably. But I do a lot of driving unloaded. Even the majority of the trails I run I'm empty minus recovery gear. I mostly do quick daytrips.


My suspension is virtually perfectly setup for me now that I've installed the Fox 2.0 setup with ROW Ranger leafpacks though. Empty or loaded it rides much better and is much more controlled.

I forgot you changed out the shocks and leafpacks and it's good to know it made a big difference. If I was still living back east I'd probably notice this more as the roads were terrible there. My F150 was heavier and I had a toolbox loaded with stuff always in there so that most likely settled it down.

I know when I got to drive the Bronco off road there was a couple areas where you could get some speed going and those Bilsteins were awesome! They'd float rite over any bumps or washboards and you never felt and wallowing or bouncing. If I did more high speed desert running I would definitely get those all around.

 

[onobeka]

Maybe it’s the OEM springs in USDM, the almost single leaf design. Mine, the global version ones plus add a leaf keep the back very complaint in corners. I never got an oversteer on dry and wet. Ice and snow is a different aspect of course.

@AzScorpion, I may have contradicted you on the harder ride after a level. I found one interesting aspect yesterday as I was reading the workshop manual: the UCAs on a replacement are measured for lift before unmountinng and torqued after replacement while the suspension is lifted with a jack to the exact measurement as before. This tells me that the UCAs carry a lot of spring in the bushings as the workshop manual pretty much boils down to final torquing them while on a neutral position. If this is not done when installing a lift, the UCA remains torqued for the OEM position, which means it aids the spring rate when the wheel moves up over a bump. Obviously the opposite happens when the wheel is moving down, which means the shock is out of spec. It may be negligible, yet they would not do it if this would be the case. The UCAs are not only a front to back movement resisting aid, it seems they have an up and down purpose by the bushing design. I wanted to make a thread on this …
This being said, I appologize for contradicting you and you may have a point!

 

[D Fresh]

no, no wallowing. I hit bumps, it settles down pretty quick.
my only complaint is some body roll if taking a corner fast, but it's not excessive.
Its unfair to compare it to the Focus, as it takes a corner like its on rails, but it is a truck, I cant expect it to handle like the car.

In the beginning it took some time to get used to off camber curbs. the truck would pitch back and forth forcefully as the axle went over the curb one side at a time.
its not as noticeable now, but I also might have adapted to the curb issues unwittingly.

Ahh, yes, I forgot about curbs. My neighborhood uses the sloped curbs and I back into my garage. The curbs were an excellent illustrator of the wallowing.

Body roll I can handle, as you said it's a truck. I don't expect it to hustle 'round corners without leaning. Although, despite the body roll and my AT tires it is quite a nimble little truck.

I forgot you changed out the shocks and leafpacks and it's good to know it made a big difference. If I was still living back east I'd probably notice this more as the roads were terrible there. My F150 was heavier and I had a toolbox loaded with stuff always in there so that most likely settled it down.

I know when I got to drive the Bronco off road there was a couple areas where you could get some speed going and those Bilsteins were awesome! They'd float rite over any bumps or washboards and you never felt and wallowing or bouncing. If I did more high speed desert running I would definitely get those all around.

I think you make a good point about road quality.

The roads here are mostly shit. My commute is even worse as I take a lot of county roads to avoid traffic. These roads are ill maintained and torn to shit from oilfield traffic.

If I drove mostly on the glass smoth surfaces of my subdivision and the freeway I might've stuck with the factory suspension longer.

And the Bilsteins were top of my list on my aborted Bronco build. I've only used them on one other vehicle previously but they were magical.

 

[DanaBovender]

I forgot you changed out the shocks and leafpacks and it's good to know it made a big difference. If I was still living back east I'd probably notice this more as the roads were terrible there. My F150 was heavier and I had a toolbox loaded with stuff always in there so that most likely settled it down.

I know when I got to drive the Bronco off road there was a couple areas where you could get some speed going and those Bilsteins were awesome! They'd float rite over any bumps or washboards and you never felt and wallowing or bouncing. If I did more high speed desert running I would definitely get those all around.

I too swapped out the rear leafs with Euro springs off a Ranger Wildtrak (ROTW Ranger) and I am running Eibach Pro Truck rears and the Eibach 2.0 adjustable coil overs set at 3”.
No wallowing, truck responds and absolutely perfectly absorbs speed bumps, rutted roads and German cobblestone roads incredibly well. I also installed the Raptor bump stops for when we tow or run loaded.
Best money spent was definitely the Eibach set up, but the Wildtrak leaf packs sure are nice and smooth!

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