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Differential Drop spacers necessary with 2-2.5" leveling kit?

livetoski78

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D Fresh

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Frenchy

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I'm looking at this kit https://www.americantrucks.com/max-trac-ranger-250-inch-front-leveling-kit-833825-4.html. I see it comes with differential drop spacers. This is something I don't see on most of the other kits I'm looking at, mainly larger lifts. I'm going to be going no more than 2.5" on the front lift to level the truck and maybe only 2" because I do tow from time to time.
First off if you are planning to tow from time to time then dont bother with a leveling kit. Simple as that.

Second a diff drop is not neesed until you pass 2.5 inches of lift in the front. I had the Old Man EMU lift wich lifted tue front 2.4 and the rear 1.6 inches. No diff drop was included and it wasn't needed.
 
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livetoski78

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First off if you are planning to tow from time to time then dont bother with a leveling kit. Simple as that.

Second a diff drop is not neesed until you pass 2.5 inches of lift in the front. I had the Old Man EMU lift wich lifted tue front 2.4 and the rear 1.6 inches. No diff drop was included and it wasn't needed.
Well, I hate the raked look and I don’t tow that often. When I do it’s a small trailer with a mower on it or an aluminum fishing boat. If I need to tow something bigger I’d most likely install load boosters or something in the rear to keep the truck level. I’m leaning more towards the 2” kit at this point.
 

Dr3wDrop

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I am happy with my 2” level
 


Dr3wDrop

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Is there a general consensus here of when to do a diff drop?

My Tremor is 3" higher than a standard 4x4 Ranger.

CVs don't look too happy.
I did a diff drop with my 2" level. It wasn't awfully hard and was inexpensive.
Main reason why I did it was that I saw BDS and Superlift kits came with them. My ford ranger lift spacer did not.
 

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I did a diff drop with my 2" level. It wasn't awfully hard and was inexpensive.
Main reason why I did it was that I saw BDS and Superlift kits came with them. My ford ranger lift spacer did not.
Which kit did you use?

I've seen some negative feedback about a few kits out there.
 

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Is there a general consensus here of when to do a diff drop?

My Tremor is 3" higher than a standard 4x4 Ranger.

CVs don't look too happy.
Depending on how you got the extra lift maybe. Remember that the main reason the Tremor is higher is due to the tires(32 inch tires vs 30 inch tires will give about 1 inch of overall lift). On my 2019 when I had it woth the Old Man EMU lift and the 33 inch tires I had a total lift of 4 inches front and 3 inches rear. With just suspension it was 2.4 front and 1.6 rear and I didnt need a diff drop
 

Aonarch

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Depending on how you got the extra lift maybe. Remember that the main reason the Tremor is higher is due to the tires(32 inch tires vs 30 inch tires will give about 1 inch of overall lift). On my 2019 when I had it woth the Old Man EMU lift and the 33 inch tires I had a total lift of 4 inches front and 3 inches rear. With just suspension it was 2.4 front and 1.6 rear and I didnt need a diff drop
My suspension is 3" taller than a FX4.
 

JACKSMYDOG

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I have BDS 3.5" lift front and rear, carry ~800 pounds additional weight, on 8 ply LT 33's, in Smode constantly, off-road regularly & pushing it, with no diff drop. I asked the service manager, he said it wasn't needed.

I'm 11 months in @ 16,000 miles and no issues yet.
 

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Any time you modify a truck you change a lot of engineering. The only correct answer to your question for most people is" I dont know!" Everything else is a WAG.
 

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First off if you are planning to tow from time to time then dont bother with a leveling kit. Simple as that.

Second a diff drop is not neesed until you pass 2.5 inches of lift in the front. I had the Old Man EMU lift wich lifted tue front 2.4 and the rear 1.6 inches. No diff drop was included and it wasn't needed.
I towed my tractor/backhoe on my 16' trailer 50 miles the other day with no issues . Is it going to break or something ?
 

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I figure 2" lifts are safe without a diff drop. The reason is Ford will install the ford/fox 2" lift coil spring kit without it an the warranty remains. I went 1.8" for this reason. You may run 3" an never have a problem but I decided to keep it what I consider safe.
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