New guy. Need ranger owners opinions on the rough country 2.5 kits

[Allenfrx]

I feel like this question may get a bunch of beating a dead horse emoticons but i feel i should ask.

Regarding the move to a 2.5 inch rough country lift and larger BFG KO tires 285/65/18.

Forums: "Don't do it it changes the front end geometry and causes premature wear and ruins ride quality"

Me: "If i have to change everything in 5 years of driving (for me that is about 60k to 70k miles then i don't care. If i still have it after 5 years i wont mind upgrading from factory. If i have to change everything in 2 (30k miles or less) years i will be PISSED"

Dealer (Who has done more crap to his F150 than i have ever seen done to a truck and probably in the entire regional area) He wins shows and daily drives his. "It rides fine and looks great".

Custom truck shop (borderline rude that i even had the nerve to ask): "It does not cause premature wear, dont believe the forums, people don't put in all the extra parts and don't know what they are talking about" Me. "I looked it up it looks like just a spacer, what extra parts?" Him. "it looks like that from a quick peek at the picture but that isn't really the case".

Me: "Well i know you get a lot of morons on forums who think their craiglist or ebay kit was perfect and ruined their trucks.....but..." "WTH is he even talking about".

In all fairness I am not even mad that he got short with me...he probably spends longer than he would like out of each day, trying to answer dumb arse redneck questions and insults about stuff where people don't really do proper installs and his reaction to the question wasn't really "about me" as they say... but.

What about the parts of those complaints that ARE legit?

Now let's hear from Ranger owners.

Me:
I don't tow but once or twice a year maybe a riding lawnmower
I don't haul heavy but once or twice a year maybe gravel or landscaping blocks
I don't off road but a few times a year just mud and snow and relatively stable terrain, not at high speed and not rock crawling
I do a crap load of street driving and highway driving.

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[doug910]

I'm a simple man. I see Rough Country, I say no.

 

[AzScorpion]

I installed the 2.5 RC kit about a month ago along with 265/70R/17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers and love the way it looks and rides,very smooth and quiet. I don't haul heavy loads or tow but I do off road a bit. Right now we're up in Sedona and have taken it on some pretty rocky terrain with some good stair steps. I was contemplating the 285's but you're going to have to cut the crash bars (not a big deal) and lose more mpg's,being my daily driver I concluded this was my best choice.

As far as pre mature wearing meh I'll cross that bridge if it happens,besides I don't usually keep a vehicle all that long maybe 3-4 years. Most internet forums are nothing but a mouthpiece for those who like to argue that their stuff is the best. and you need to do exactly what they did blah blah blah. This one has been very helpful with loads of info and everyone will give you their advise and not criticize you if you don't follow their advise. You want to see a real shit show go over to Tacoma World and read that forum!

 

[Allenfrx]

I installed the 2.5 RC kit about a month ago along with 265/70R/17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers and love the way it looks and rides,very smooth and quiet. I don't haul heavy loads or tow but I do off road a bit. Right now we're up in Sedona and have taken it on some pretty rocky terrain with some good stair steps. I was contemplating the 285's but you're going to have to cut the crash bars (not a big deal) and lose more mpg's,being my daily driver I concluded this was my best choice.

As far as pre mature wearing meh I'll cross that bridge if it happens,besides I don't usually keep a vehicle all that long maybe 3-4 years. Most internet forums are nothing but a mouthpiece for those who like to argue that their stuff is the best. and you need to do exactly what they did blah blah blah. This one has been very helpful with loads of info and everyone will give you their advise and not criticize you if you don't follow their advise. You want to see a real shit show go over to Tacoma World and read that forum!

Not to derail my question but, how many mpg we talking? My Raptor gets less than 13 on the highway (no leveling kit but it has the 4.10 gears) and i was hoping id still get 20 after the break in period (you never get close to advertised mpg in the first 10k to 15k miles which makes the car reviewers who test this on low mileadge vehicles sort of morons themselves).....anyway, 20mpg with these mods after break in was my target.

 

[AzScorpion]

Not to derail my question but, how many mpg we talking? My Raptor gets less than 13 on the highway and i was hoping id still get 20 after the break in period (you never get close to advertised mpg in the first 10k to 15k miles which makes the car reviewers who test this on low mileadge vehicles sort of morons themselves).....anyway, 20mpg with these mods after break in was my target.

You should be good if you're use to Raptor mpg's lol I do mostly city driving (85%) and I'm averaging around 21 mpg's with only 1500 miles on my Ranger. Highway you will lose more raising the front with the 285 tires but someone who's done this will be able to give you exact details. I think your expectations of 20 mpg's should be good but that all depends on how heavy a foot you have.

 

[doug910]

You should be good if you're use to Raptor mpg's lol I do mostly city driving (85%) and I'm averaging around 21 mpg's with only 1500 miles on my Ranger. Highway you will lose more raising the front with the 285 tires but someone who's done this will be able to give you exact details. I think your expectations of 20 mpg's should be good but that all depends on how heavy a foot you have.

That's pretty good fuel economy considering you're leveled and wider tires. I'm kind of disappointed with my mpgs...

All I did was go from stock tires to 265/70R17 Falken Wildpeak's. Before the swap I was averaging 23-24 mpg! On the highway I saw 26 pretty regularly. Now I STRUGGLE to average 21, most tanks I average 20.3 or so. And if I drive at 80 on the highway? I'll dip in to the teens. My wallet hasn't necessarily felt a difference but it still kinda sucks seeing the low number on the cluster.

 

[AzScorpion]

That's pretty good fuel economy considering you're leveled and wider tires. I'm kind of disappointed with my mpgs...

All I did was go from stock tires to 265/70R17 Falken Wildpeak's. Before the swap I was averaging 23-24 mpg! On the highway I saw 26 pretty regularly. Now I STRUGGLE to average 21, most tanks I average 20.3 or so. And if I drive at 80 on the highway? I'll dip in to the teens. My wallet hasn't necessarily felt a difference but it still kinda sucks seeing the low number on the cluster.

IIRC the Falkens are a heavier tire than the Nittos but we're still pretty close in mpg's so I wouldn't be to disappointed. I looked at just about every tire option and found the Nittos were a good aggressive tire which maintained a smooth ride and didn't kill your mpg. I just did my first hwy trip up north and like you was in the high teens. Leaving the valley you're around 1000' up to Sedona which is close to 5000' driving 75-80 with a few 90's so I wasn't to disappointed lol

 

[Allenfrx]

Unless you are driving more than 1,000 a month the difference in a few mpg is about the difference of a meal at Texas Roadhouse. People get too weird about a loss of a few mpg. Now if you drive more than 1,000 a month, it starts to compound and become an issue.

 

[AzScorpion]

Unless you are driving more than 1,000 a month the difference in a few mpg is about the difference of a meal at Texas Roadhouse. People get too weird about a loss of a few mpg. Now if you drive more than 1,000 a month, it starts to compound and become an issue.

Exactly! Besides if you're looking for something with good gas milage don't buy a truck buy a Prius.

 

[doug910]

IIRC the Falkens are a heavier tire than the Nittos but we're still pretty close in mpg's so I wouldn't be to disappointed. I looked at just about every tire option and found the Nittos were a good aggressive tire which maintained a smooth ride and didn't kill your mpg. I just did my first hwy trip up north and like you was in the high teens. Leaving the valley you're around 1000' up to Sedona which is close to 5000' driving 75-80 with a few 90's so I wasn't to disappointed lol

Maybe disappointed is a strong word. I don't regret getting the heavier tires at all and I love the way they perform off road, the ride improved from stock, and the aggressive tread looks awesome too. The stock Hankook's are barely an All-Terrain at that so it's not a true comparison between the two tires.

Unless you are driving more than 1,000 a month the difference in a few mpg is about the difference of a meal at Texas Roadhouse. People get too weird about a loss of a few mpg. Now if you drive more than 1,000 a month, it starts to compound and become an issue.

I drive about 1800 miles a month (truck is almost at 18k miles!) so I can't treat fuel economy differences as negligible. I'm going to be getting the Fox coilover kit and I anticipate another mpg drop there so it's not something I regret doing at all - it just sucks when you see the number go down.

 

[AzScorpion]

Maybe disappointed is a strong word. I don't regret getting the heavier tires at all and I love the way they perform off road, the ride improved from stock, and the aggressive tread looks awesome too. The stock Hankook's are barely an All-Terrain at that so it's not a true comparison between the two tires.



I drive about 1800 miles a month (truck is almost at 18k miles!) so I can't treat fuel economy differences as negligible. I'm going to be getting the Fox coilover kit and I anticipate another mpg drop there so it's not something I regret doing at all - it just sucks when you see the number go down.

Yes I agree I hate looking at the lower number. I'd rather my mpg go down some than be stuck somewhere off road with a flat from the stock tires.

 

[Allenfrx]

Alright guys, back on topic.

Ride quality/premature wear? Car shop guy's attitude? Ranger owners real world experience?

 

[AzScorpion]

Alright guys, back on topic.

Ride quality/premature wear? Car shop guy's attitude? Ranger owners real world experience?

For me the ride is great! After doing some moderate off roading I wouldn't change a thing.

Car shop guys attitude...Well opinions are like a'holes,everyone has one.

As far as pre mature wear the aftermarket mods have only been out for several months not years so no one had them installed long enough for any definitive answer.

 

[Allenfrx]

For me the ride is great! After doing some moderate off roading I wouldn't change a thing.

Car shop guys attitude...Well opinions are like a'holes,everyone has one.

As far as pre mature wear the aftermarket mods have only been out for several months not years so no one had them installed long enough for any definitive answer.

We have very similar packages as i am getting the Lariat super crew fx4 501A, chrome pckg, tow pckg and spray in liner. Biggest difference looks like tire size.

When i did my mustang last year i went ahead and did camber plates, bumpsteer, torsion arms, shocks, springs and everything just to lower the car 0.75 and have it be "factory" right so you can kinda see where i am coming from.

Percise steering isnt exactly as big of an issue on a daily driver as something i might be going 180 around the curves at atlanta motor speedway in though.....well i wont be going 180 "In" the curves but you get the point.

 

[Msfitoy]

After leveling, you will get a hit on MPG. Especially if you combine that with larger tire upgrade. I'm netting 18.5+- city and 21+- highway with 2.5" front lift with 285/70-17 plus wheel offset that brought them out another 35mm. That combined with needing to remove the small front tire air dams hurt my MPG. That said, no regrets

As for RC spacer, I can't speak to what that does to geometry. I used Eibach Pro Truck lift that replace all four struts with front having adjustable perch to lift the front end. My geometry is fantastic and no where near causing any CV angle binding.

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