Noob Questions on Lifting FX4

[Rocketeer61]

These trucks look awesome. Strider is still basically stock, but I didn't buy it to adventure. I actually bought it so that I'd have something that could make it up my driveway in the Winter. It does that beautifully.

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[D0lphan72]

There's going to be a lot of scraping and banging going on especially if you're on rocky trails. The key is your approach angle and your speed. You always want to go slow (like barely crawling) over rocks and make sure you air down, I usually go down to 18 lbs.

The second picture above was from Schnebly Hill Rd in Sedona. It's 6-7 miles of rocks and drop offs and really designed for Jeeps/Broncos. I had to try it in my Ranger but I wouldn't again as it was a back breaking 90 minutes ride. I was wondering why there were no other trucks out there and only Jeeps that day. lol This was done with the stock Fx4 pogo stick suspension and 32's so it just shows you it can be done without any crazy lifts. The only damage was a big scrape under my stock side steps.

Here's a few recent reviews from Tripadvisor and they're pretty spot on.

Thinking I might just get rock sliders & more plates to protect the bottom of the truck beyond the FX4 plates. any recommendations on what to get for both of those & if sliders are easy enough to install myself?

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Thinking I might just get rock sliders & more plates to protect the bottom of the truck beyond the FX4 plates. any recommendations on what to get for both of those & if sliders are easy enough to install myself?

That depends, can you weld?

True rock sliders are attached to the frame (welding is the preferred method). Side steps or running boards, to the underbody. Some “sliders” mount to the underbody but might not be able to take the same force as the welded variety.

A few different companies make skid plates for Rangers - I don’t have any. Some are steel, some are aluminum. Some are budget-friendly, some are hella expensive.

Search this forum for skid plates and rock sliders. You’ll likely find out a lot more than we could tell you here in this thread. If you come across ShrockWorks, keep kicking rocks, they’re out of business.

 

[Ninong]

I "leveled" my truck with an Icon Stage 3 kit. This allowed me to run 33's with no problems. Got rid of the factory 18" rimes and went for aftermarket 17" for better tire selection. Couldn't be happier with its performance and looks.

 

[D0lphan72]

I "leveled" my truck with an Icon Stage 3 kit. This allowed me to run 33's with no problems. Got rid of the factory 18" rimes and went for aftermarket 17" for better tire selection. Couldn't be happier with its performance and looks.

Beautiful truck! mind sharing the cost of doing all of that? Might follow your footsteps

 

[Brett Fields]

For the record…AzScorpion takes immaculate care of his truck and has wheeled the pants off it in many places that are on people’s bucket lists.

As you can tell, we kid around a bit on this forum. Actually, this is one of the trucks I reference often to show people they don’t need to have huge tires or a big lift and fancy aftermarket wheels to get a great look and equally great off-road performance.

You don’t need 3-6” to be off-road worthy. Some folks go that high because they take their trucks places the rest of us wouldn’t dare, so it’s necessary. Others go that high because they take their trucks………TO THE MALL - and that’s fine - wait, no it’s not.

These trucks are great “out of the box”. In fact, you’ll see rigs on here with crazy off-road and overlanding modifications that are still running OEM wheels and tires.

You don’t need a big lift or aftermarket wheels, and you don’t need to move brake lines or anything else. A good set of levelling coil over front shocks (2” level is just fine) with a matched set of rear shocks, along with a bit more aggressive tire in the 31.6” (265/65R18) range, on your stock wheels, will serve you well and improve the quality of the ride.

Don’t over think it - it’s already a pretty amazing off-road truck.

First, what he said.
Next, watch this...

Then, subscribe to this guy's channel. VERY educational.
Finally, I'm on 285 70 R17 with what should be a 2" lift that's really about 1.5" with my extra weight. I have no complaints.

 

[Ninong]

Beautiful truck! mind sharing the cost of doing all of that? Might follow your footsteps

I spent right at $6K for the suspension parts, wheels and tires plus labor. The Icon Sage 3 kits is currently going for around $3K itself. Wheels and tires can vary depending on your preferences. but you can easily spend $600-$700 per corner. I went with wheels from KMC and Nitto Trail Grappler tires. Don't forget to factor in the small stuff like TP sensors and lug nuts. I paid to have the suspension kit installed, but if you DIY you well still need to get a front-end alignment. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Brett Fields]

Not fur nothing but... don't overlook Bilstein. Alotta of people think they need something super sexy. I did the Fox 2.0 thing and they ended up destroyed. (My fault. They were inappropriate for where I ended up.) I figured I'd go with the very moderate and decidedly unsexy 6112/5160 stuff til I figure out what I wanna do for real. I'm done figuring. This is the stuff for me. ...with icon leaf packs.

 

[Msfitoy]

Don’t take any advice from that guy. He doesn’t even look after his truck properly. Never changes the oil on time, let’s the battery run down, hardly ever washes it or cleans the interior, and drives it like it’s a rental. His Sabre Ranger was so neglected, it fell apart after only a few years and he had to buy a new one! I think he chose that colour to hide all the rust but they stopped offering it so he had to get a white one.

Besides all that, he clearly can’t be trusted because he rounds up on size. So, I can only imagine what he told Annie when he first met her. ?

He barely drives his truck...and you don't want to look under his hood! ? Although he is THE president of DeeZee TGD so he's forgiven... ?

As for lift, you don't really need more than 2.5-3" front level and a full strut replacement...FX4 struts suck...

 

[Whiplash]

Not fur nothing but... don't overlook Bilstein. Alotta of people think they need something super sexy. I did the Fox 2.0 thing and they ended up destroyed. (My fault. They were inappropriate for where I ended up.) I figured I'd go with the very moderate and decidedly unsexy 6112/5160 stuff til I figure out what I wanna do for real. I'm done figuring. This is the stuff for me. ...with icon leaf packs.

My first go round with my suspension when the truck was new, I did'nt go far enough....After 6 months completely redid it with the sexy stuff....3.0" front lift, 1.0" rear....stock Ford BAP 18x8 wheels, 1.0" spacers, Skinny 255 / 70 R18 Cooper Rugged Treks, 45lb reinforced sidewall XL rated , 32.0" tires...all crash bars still untouched...get about 19 mpg, with spirited, mostly sport driving style...

 

[D0lphan72]

My first go round with my suspension when the truck was new, I did'nt go far enough....After 6 months completely redid it with the sexy stuff....3.0" front lift, 1.0" rear....stock Ford BAP 18x8 wheels, 1.0" spacers, Skinny 255 / 70 R18 Cooper Rugged Treks, 45lb reinforced sidewall XL rated , 32.0" tires...all crash bars still untouched...get about 19 mpg, with spirited, mostly sport driving style...

This looks like what I might want to do, mind sharing what it cost you?

 

[Brett Fields]

My first go round with my suspension when the truck was new, I did'nt go far enough....After 6 months completely redid it with the sexy stuff....3.0" front lift, 1.0" rear....stock Ford BAP 18x8 wheels, 1.0" spacers, Skinny 255 / 70 R18 Cooper Rugged Treks, 45lb reinforced sidewall XL rated , 32.0" tires...all crash bars still untouched...get about 19 mpg, with spirited, mostly sport driving style...

See? You're making the biggest point where suspension is concerned. You made a first move that gave you a reference point. After that, you were able to make decisions based on what you liked or didn't like. (Which, btw, is extremely subjective) I wish I had started my journey with 5100's rather than Fox 2.0's. I could have saved a bunch of money and walked away with a comparable education. I read everything and watched every video on YouTube. None of it was as educational as just getting on to my first set of aftermarket coilovers. So I guess the point I'm trying to make is, use caution when making a first suspension choice. There's no way to know if you're doing the right thing. Any info you go on is someone else's opinion based on their preferences and use cases.

Ps - one thing that is indisputable... nothing out of the box is suitable for a heavy front bumper with a winch. You always need to consider spring weight. Ask me how I know.

Edit: Not totally true. Some companies spec special heavyweight kits. They've already done the work. Bilstein has an upgrade kit for the 6112's, but only for Tacoma. ...not Ranger.

 

[Whiplash]

This looks like what I might want to do, mind sharing what it cost you?

It is almost one of those "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" questions...
How I ended up with this suspension has a story.....Year 2021 , 1st week of April, middle of covid hysteria...I had read a couple reviews about Ranger Tremor vs.
other midsized trucks, woke up one morning and declared " today I buy a Tremor"....1st stop closest Ford dealer,
five Rangers on the lot, 2 Lariats 1 XLT,
2 XL FX4 with STX pkgs... salesman on lot tells me Tremors are delayed not shipping yet, and he has never personaly seen one .
20 mile trip to bigger Ford dealer 20 miles away....8 Rangers on the lot..No Tremors.
After looking over the herd this Rapid Red
XLT FX4 with BAP, was screaming "BUY ME". ....It was heavily optioned and deeply discounted....told the Salesman I was going to give it the" Tremor Treatment,,..Drove it off the lot payed for $6K under MSRP and about $10K less than what the Tremors were listed for....I started my search for suspension options that night, just the 20mile drive home gave me insight into what I needed to address to achieve my goal of "Tremorness"
Ordered a bunch of stuff, then made some calls looking for someone to do installs...
All shops were either backed up for months or would not install parts not sold by them....so just out of desperation I dusted off my big tool box and did all the installs myself....Saved my self a bunch of $$$...and gained knowledge/ Pride of ownership.....About $7K in parts.....plus $900 for the tires...
Edit: might also want to set aside an extra $750 for a T.Woods one-piece drive shaft....the 3.0"- 1.0" rear lifts almost always will result in drive line vibration...some will be able to shim the Pinon to carrier bearing angles to minimize the vibration...never really got mine to go away, even after several tries.
My Carrier bearing started failing at 8,400 miles, replaced it with the Woods 1-PC...
No more Hwy speed vibrations...?.....

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