FX4 Suspension

[BettaRanga]

Let me clarify though that I replaced my rear with Bilstein 5100 and it’s great. Doing front this weekend on that slippery slope…. but I could live with it now just having done rear.

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[JoeC]

Yup, that's what I did ... replaced the rears with 5100"s.
Amazing difference!
No more 'wallowing' on the road, just a nice firm ride.
Of course, that's just my opinion.

 

[9zero1790]

It seems like 9/10 people hate the FX4 suspension because its boaty and just not as refined as other suspensions out there. My question is, personal opinions on the feel aside, how is the actual quality? How well would you expect it to hold up for mild off-roading? I do want to upgrade eventually but feel like if I change the suspension now I'm just wasting money instead of getting use out of the current FX4 suspension and then upgrading when its beat.

the stock fx4 stuff is not bad honestly. yes the shocks are bouncy. when i took my rear shocks off one seemed like it was totally broken and I could move it on and out like an accordion the other seemed ok but was not very stiff. my guess is ford got a bad batch of shocks from whatever supplier makes the fx stuff. to be totally fair i do recall a couple small launches that i did not not expect and the stock shocks took some abuse. (likely how one shock got damaged lol). all that said, i put 20k on the stock fx4 stuff having all the fun i could handle without intentionally doing something that looked like a bad idea. every photo of my truck looking dirty or off road here on r5g was done with the stock fx4 stuff and i made it home just fine. the ranger is a tough lil truck and it can take care of its self off road without excuses. are after market shocks that cost more money etc. better, sure. aftermarket parts are hand picked by us to do and drive / act how we want. take the truck out and have fun with it and push the comfort level just a bit and see how you like the fx4 shocks on your truck how you use them and how you drive. you may hate them and want to swap them asap or you may decide they are just fine.

 

[9zero1790]

It seems like 9/10 people hate the FX4 suspension because its boaty and just not as refined as other suspensions out there. My question is, personal opinions on the feel aside, how is the actual quality? How well would you expect it to hold up for mild off-roading? I do want to upgrade eventually but feel like if I change the suspension now I'm just wasting money instead of getting use out of the current FX4 suspension and then upgrading when its beat.

good to see another member from dfw on here !

 

[RangerMags]

I changed my fx4 stuff at 40k it still ran like factory, but factory was pretty bad, especially when towing. I changed over to the fox branded (not ford) coil overs and rear shocks. They are pretty good, and definitely better towing, and on the off-road trails I use. The reason I went with the fox instead of the ford ones was because the spring rate is higher on the fox stuff and I needed firmer and not bouncier.

Fox is what I’m looking at for when I upgrade. Will be nice to level the front with it also

 

[RangerMags]

good to see another member from dfw on here !

Yessir! You do any trails? There’s not much local unfortunately

 

[Bob902]

Fox is what I’m looking at for when I upgrade. Will be nice to level the front with it also

I swapped out my rear shocks with Fox. Big improvement. Eventually, I will probably do the fronts as well.

 

[9zero1790]

Yessir! You do any trails? There’s not much local unfortunately

a few places are accessible but depends on how much you want to spend on gas. the most popular close to us near bridgport. It is pay to play and open to all. its nice most of the time. Gilmer also has a nice off road park. several down by austin. but some of my favorites are not really off road trails but old ranch roads that are open to the public but not often used. that way you dont have to pay a fee and no line of antsy guys behind you waiting for the photo op lol. Also a couple places are federal land that allow all types of vehicles and some state / county ones. used to have a great one right between us at marshal creek. it was army corp of engineer land and they didnt care what you drove where as long as you didnt mess up camp areas or leave trash. but several years ago some how the govt sold it to a city and the city made it pay to play and slapped on a long list of rules.

 

[RangerMags]

a few places are accessible but depends on how much you want to spend on gas. the most popular close to us near bridgport. It is pay to play and open to all. its nice most of the time. Gilmer also has a nice off road park. several down by austin. but some of my favorites are not really off road trails but old ranch roads that are open to the public but not often used. that way you dont have to pay a fee and no line of antsy guys behind you waiting for the photo op lol. Also a couple places are federal land that allow all types of vehicles and some state / county ones. used to have a great one right between us at marshal creek. it was army corp of engineer land and they didnt care what you drove where as long as you didnt mess up camp areas or leave trash. but several years ago some how the govt sold it to a city and the city made it pay to play and slapped on a long list of rules.

Yep I heard about Bridgeport. Good point on the smaller less traveled country roads. I’ve been looking into Hidden Falls adventure park and Merus adventure park though those would be more of a multiple day camping trip. Maybe we can get a local group together sometime.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

I really don't have any complaints with FX4 on road performance, and off-road my only complaint is the bounciness on drops as @Colo_Ranger mentioned. I'm mostly into bush trails and mud, so it's not a major issue for me.

I'm at 24,000 miles and aiming for next spring to rebuild my entire suspension package around 35,000 miles. I'll be removing my BDS 3.5" lift kit, and going to ~2.25" front and ~1.5" rear, with medium weight multi-leaf, and new UCA. Possibly OME BP51 and what ever UCA I can find for steel spindles.

 

[Fritz]

I thought my stock non fx4 was boaty. Can’t imagine a fx4.

and you don’t need fx4 for a locking rear axle. Got one on my XL truck.

 

[12Bravo20]

I am the odd one out, I have no complaints about the factory FX4 suspension. It does fine for me both on and off road and I can still fly through the curves on the back roads around me.

I have mostly driven either Ford Trucks or Jeeps since turning 16 along with all of the rough riding military vehicles during my time in the Army.

All I can say is go spend enough time behind the wheel of a Deuce 1/2, older 5 ton, or HMMT trucks and you will appreciate the ride of your Ranger FX4.

 

[9zero1790]

Yep I heard about Bridgeport. Good point on the smaller less traveled country roads. I’ve been looking into Hidden Falls adventure park and Merus adventure park though those would be more of a multiple day camping trip. Maybe we can get a local group together sometime.

sounds like a good idea to me! I was hoping to get something like that organized a few months ago and then life got all crazy. but keep me in the loop i may be able to get away from a day.

 

[Todd Chapin]

I drove for 2 1/2 years on the stock fx4 suspension. My biggest complaint was brake dive which was horrendous.

That said I now have Eibach coilover/ extended rear shocks , Icon UCA and 1" rear blocks and it is a huge improvement on and off road. At some point I will be swapping out rear leafs to multileafs.

The stock fx4 is ok but leaves allot of room for improvement.

 

[Todd Chapin]

i only get brake dive when i slam on the brakes to avoid running over puppies and kittens.

Mine would go down like a 20 dollar whore on any type of hard breaking before installing Eibachs

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