suspension thoughts - best for you

Been doing a lot of research. wanted to jot down what i think I have learned. and get yall's opinion on wether you think i have the right idea or not. I see so many questions on this forum about these. i would love to clean this list up for others to reference. to understand what they are getting.



1. Cheapest option - Lift blocks, usually only 100-200$ in price. good for looks only, no performance gain outside bigger tires, and can in some cases cause damage to the vehicle.

2. Better option - 5100 kit with stock coils. Costs between 650-1100 w/ or w/out new Upper control arms. Good for looks, and possibly a little more ride quality depending on how high you lift it. The more you lift it the more you compress the springs, and remove down travel. This can create a ride with noises and comfort that aren't desirable.

3. slightly better OME kit or 5100 kit with aftermarket coils. Costs about the same as option 2. but the new coils help to give a better ride with less preloading. You can buy a coil based off the weight of the vehicle. giving you better options. Usallay nets a better ride quality. Depending on the coil you get determines how soft / stiff the ride will be.


4. Even better - Bilistien 6112 kit or (Icon, Fox, King) stage 1 - pro good ride quality, not sacraficing much down travel if any. Costs around 1500- 1600.

5. Much better option - Coilover kit (Icon, Fox, King) stage 2 or 3 kits. improved handling and improved ride quality. Costs upwards of 1600 - 2000k. Can start to rebuild these in your own garage. Adjustable at your own whim. your ride will be better than stock on and off road.

6. Really good option -Coilover kit (Icon, Fox, King) stage 2 or 3 kits w/ UCA and extended shocks- this starts to edge on or be considered mid travel. the Pros improved handling, improved ride quality, gain additional down travel, better articulation off road than stock. Costs about 2100$ and up, And you get a lot more performance / budget balance.

7. Beyond what a normal truck needs - Long travel, costs as much as your truck. your truck will be a beast off road, but who cares about the on road.

 

Forgot SAC .. but nice list

 

Just started learning this stuff to pick out my kit. Think im going with the FOX stage 3 w/ extended shocks and the Light racing UCA...

what is a SAC? not familar with the acronym.

 

Solid axle conversion, it pulls bitches I hear.

 

well in that case it should go on the list. perhaps between steps 5 and 6. or is this a number 7. And how many bitches does it pull exactly, i don't do any mod if its less than a bakers dozen.

 

I wouldn't exactly put it under suspension mods, lots of R&D goes in to a proper SAC.

 

Seems to be a solid list, but I would break out the OME kit away from the Bilstein 5100 kit. They're not really in the same category. 5100's on stock coils do exactly as you described, preload the coils for a stiffer ride, but limit down travel. OME completely replaces the front/rear shocks and leaf pack for upgraded struts, coils, and leafs.

 

modified it. what do you think now?

 

im not saying from experience, but i have read some bad stuff before on those UCA. although i cant verify its happened more than the one case i read somewhere on here (maybe someone can shed some light on this) but im running fox 2.5 coilovers w/ resi along with camburg UCAs and couldnt be happier. again, hopefully someone can post on here if they have more info on them. i chose camburg because my brother is running them on his f150 and has put it through the ringer and never has a single issue.

 

ill do some research on them. see what peopel are saying .good call.