Level/Tire Consequences?

[packhawk1]

Hey Everybody,

I'm relatively new around here, so I apologize if I'm beating a dead horse by asking a few questions regarding the pros and cons of a front end lift, larger tires, and their effects on the truck and the things I do with it.

Right now I'm running on no lift and standard tires and I'm strongly considering making some modifications to improve the cosmetics and performance of the truck. I want to install some kind of leveling kit to eliminate some of the rake from factory and make room for slightly larger tires. Most of my driving is on the highway and roads around town with the exception of some gravel and dirt roads that I come across while traveling. The stock tires are ok for most of what I do, but I'm not super pleased with their performance on snow during the winter here in Wisconsin. I'd like to eventually put all-terrain tires on the truck (I've been impressed with the BFG KO3 on the Land Cruiser that I was previously driving) During the summer I haul around an 18 foot fishing boat (around 2,800 lbs) to and from the lake and on several longer trips a year.

Bear with me and keep this information in mind while I ask a few questions below.

1. Is my use of the truck enough to justify going for something like the fox ford performance level rather than a simple spacer? I'm not super keen on spending a ton of money on a coilover suspension kit when I'm not likely to take the truck out for any serious off-roading.

2. Does raising the front end make it likely that the back end will sag noticeably while I have a boat attached to it? Does anybody have any experience with that?

3. Will I have to worry about rubbing on 32 or 33 inch tires with a simple 2 inch level?

4. What are some of the ride quality and fuel efficiency effects that people have noticed with a lift and larger tires?

These are all questions that I plan to ask a ford professional about if I do decide to go that route. I appreciate any input on those questions and my apologies once again if I'm beating a dead horse by asking them.

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[9zero1790]

you have some options that could do what you want without the extra cost of coil overs. The fox setup is nice but to be brutally honest i dont think its worth what ford is selling it for. you can find the same parts for less outside of the ford perf. realm. im not anti fox at all. but lots of brands make good stuff for the ranger. i would avoid spacers. upgrading shocks and struts can give you a level / lift. The most popular options seem to be Eibach shocks and struts or Bilstein. i have seen good things about both. Bilstein would be my pick. Both brands offer adjustable front shocks which lets you pick the amount of lift you get in the front. they go up to roughly 2 3/4 inches and can even be stock height if one wants. this leveling of the front could cause the rear to sag when loaded or towing but you can also add a extra leaf spring to the rear or air bags. you can add a spacer to the rear also but i have heard mixed feelings on the rear spacer blocks. you could load up the truck with the boat and gear like you are heading on a trip and then see how the truck sits. maybe measure the distance from ground to fender front and rear. that will give you an idea how much front lift you can add without making the truck squat too much in the rear. The ride quality will likely be better than the oem shocks and struts. they also add a bit more off road ability. with a level set up correctly 33 inch tires would fit fine. ive seen some folks use different offset wheels to fit even larger but it may not be worth the cost or trouble for you. im old guy enough that i like my factory wheels and do not wanna change them. Honestly, it sounds like you could save a lot of time and money by simply upgrading tires. you can get approx. 32 inch tires on the stock suspension. So the truck would be slightly taller, have a bit more clearance and better tires for the traction you need for snow etc. the ko3 tires you mentioned are nice tires but pretty pricey and more mud tire than snow / mixed. i put on bfg ko2 tires and have been very happy with them. I cant speak for the snow ability since it rarely snows in my area enough to actually test a tire lol. in my area we get ice and a light slushy dusting of snow that typically only last a couple days. The falken wild peak a/t is also getting a lot of good reviews lately and in some cases cost a little less that some of the "big brands". sometimes it can be information overload on r5g with so many threads on common topics but search around lots of good info on these topics. im sure others will have great input and answers for you too.

 

[packhawk1]

you have some options that could do what you want without the extra cost of coil overs. The fox setup is nice but to be brutally honest i dont think its worth what ford is selling it for. you can find the same parts for less outside of the ford perf. realm. im not anti fox at all. but lots of brands make good stuff for the ranger. i would avoid spacers. upgrading shocks and struts can give you a level / lift. The most popular options seem to be Eibach shocks and struts or Bilstein. i have seen good things about both. Bilstein would be my pick. Both brands offer adjustable front shocks which lets you pick the amount of lift you get in the front. they go up to roughly 2 3/4 inches and can even be stock height if one wants. this leveling of the front could cause the rear to sag when loaded or towing but you can also add a extra leaf spring to the rear or air bags. you can add a spacer to the rear also but i have heard mixed feelings on the rear spacer blocks. you could load up the truck with the boat and gear like you are heading on a trip and then see how the truck sits. maybe measure the distance from ground to fender front and rear. that will give you an idea how much front lift you can add without making the truck squat too much in the rear. The ride quality will likely be better than the oem shocks and struts. they also add a bit more off road ability. with a level set up correctly 33 inch tires would fit fine. ive seen some folks use different offset wheels to fit even larger but it may not be worth the cost or trouble for you. im old guy enough that i like my factory wheels and do not wanna change them. Honestly, it sounds like you could save a lot of time and money by simply upgrading tires. you can get approx. 32 inch tires on the stock suspension. So the truck would be slightly taller, have a bit more clearance and better tires for the traction you need for snow etc. the ko3 tires you mentioned are nice tires but pretty pricey and more mud tire than snow / mixed. i put on bfg ko2 tires and have been very happy with them. I cant speak for the snow ability since it rarely snows in my area enough to actually test a tire lol. in my area we get ice and a light slushy dusting of snow that typically only last a couple days. The falken wild peak a/t is also getting a lot of good reviews lately and in some cases cost a little less that some of the "big brands". sometimes it can be information overload on r5g with so many threads on common topics but search around lots of good info on these topics. im sure others will have great input and answers for you too.

Thanks for the input, that was well written. I'll definitely have to go measure the height difference when it's connected to the boat. I've been meaning to do that but haven't gotten around to it since the boat is in winter storage. Will have more info once I do that. Thanks Mark!

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