Building a 2" leveling kit

e2e2
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:21 am
Bronco Info: Stock height 1992 f150.

Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by e2e2 »

OK - 1992 5.0/e4od/4x4 F150 ext cab. Not a bronco but the f150 forums are too bubba'd up for me to deal with so I hope you'll indulge me. Anyways, I'm limited by garage height to a 2" level and 31" tires. Looking at moog 826 or 828 (van springs?) for the front and haven't really looked into the rear yet - I'm open to suggestions/opinions on either. Mostly I see bilstein5100s suggested for mini lifts but I'm wondering why I don't see people running 10" FOA reservoirs? If they're rebuildable it seems like you could just buy one set of shocks to last forever. My intended use would be 80% hwy but also washboards, mini whoops, 2 tracks, etc. Basically just looking to get up to the cabin a little faster.
zachwabbit
Posts: 767
Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:48 pm
Bronco Info: '93 F150 XLT, '89 2wd B2(Smurfette)
Location: Jamul, CA

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by zachwabbit »

I got a pair of leveling springs and shocks I'll be selling soon once I get my new ones from Brandon if you're interested in buying used. But why run a leveling kit with 31s? 31s are stock size, and you can totally run 32s or 33s with ease on stock suspension
Potato.
User avatar
Tchajagos
Posts: 2124
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:07 am
Bronco Info: 1993 xlt stock on 33' BFGs
Location: Murrieta

Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by Tchajagos »

I run 33x12.5 on stock wheels without a lift and I haul ass in my bronco. Put some decent shocks on and you should be fine. F150 might be a little different. The secret is to air down your tires a bit for a smoother ride and more traction ;)
e2e2
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:21 am
Bronco Info: Stock height 1992 f150.

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by e2e2 »

I guess my concern was the 5.0 vs 33s. I dont really want to regear. Plus 2inches of lift means I can go to a 10inch reservoir which might be more useable to me down the road. So i guess its 2inches of lift vs 2inches of tire? I suppose I could also just air down 33s to sneak into the garage; best of both worlds? Mostly Id like to know if Im "over-shocked" with the resevoirs?
mobil1syn
Posts: 209
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:55 pm
Bronco Info: 1996 - operation mijo hauler

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by mobil1syn »

foa does not count as a quality shock, below are what i would consider acceptable options in order of quality

- fox
- king
- 5100s
- white rockets
mobil1syn
Posts: 209
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:55 pm
Bronco Info: 1996 - operation mijo hauler

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by mobil1syn »

whats your budget like?

there is enough kits out there you could do a 2.5" coil over get your ride height up to where you want it and have amazing performance, with very little effort.
User avatar
ChaseTruck754
Spy/Ninja
Posts: 9194
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:46 am
Bronco Info: Don't have one - just old Ford trucks
Location: Huntington Beach, CA

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

mobil1syn wrote:foa does not count as a quality shock, below are what i would consider acceptable options in order of quality

- fox
- king
- 5100s
- white rockets
Seriously white rockets over FOAs???

I could think of 3-4 to go above the 5100's & white rockets for sure. Bilstein 7100's or 9100's, Radflows, SAW and heck, even the Fabteck rebuildable shocks weren't bad quality. Especially for what e2e2 sounds like what he wants to do.

For that I'd take the FOA's over white rockets or 5100's as well. They are not race quality shocks by any means, but for the price they ain't half bad from what I've seen & read.
Owner of only dead and forgotten projects
e2e2
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:21 am
Bronco Info: Stock height 1992 f150.

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by e2e2 »

Whats it take to go coilover? Just mounts or do you need a xbrace too?
User avatar
ChaseTruck754
Spy/Ninja
Posts: 9194
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:46 am
Bronco Info: Don't have one - just old Ford trucks
Location: Huntington Beach, CA

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

depends on how hard you will beat on the truck & how tall of a shock you go. The taller the shock the more it sticks up above the frame = the more leverage on the top end requiring a brace.

There are LOTS of bolt on shock hoop setups for coilovers now-a-days. Autofab, Southwest, Threat, Giant (I think!) and then there are some of the cheaper places like Ruff Stuff who have universal, weld on type shock mounts that can be used for this purpose as well.
Owner of only dead and forgotten projects
mobil1syn
Posts: 209
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:55 pm
Bronco Info: 1996 - operation mijo hauler

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by mobil1syn »

ChaseTruck754 wrote:Seriously white rockets over FOAs???

I could think of 3-4 to go above the 5100's & white rockets for sure. Bilstein 7100's or 9100's, Radflows, SAW and heck, even the Fabteck rebuildable shocks weren't bad quality. Especially for what e2e2 sounds like what he wants to do.

For that I'd take the FOA's over white rockets or 5100's as well. They are not race quality shocks by any means, but for the price they ain't half bad from what I've seen & read.
yep. spend money on quality or just buy whats cheap.

i have worked most of the brands out there. i will not work on FOA, bilstein or Icon. FOA due to quality, bilstein and icon because of terrible customer support on parts (mainly shims)

fox and race kings are the only ones that offer stainless shafts. the nitro rod that radflo and saw is super brittle and likes to break. prerunner king, ads, fabtech all use chrome plated steel, one chip and they rust under the chrome, start flaking and kill seals.

fox has the best piston design. king is ok. radlfo is a copy of fox and their piston is mediocre. saw and bilstein pistons are terrible and do not flow at all. ads is a copy of king, down to seal interchangeability. flow is key to making a shock work.

king thinks their shims are made of gold since thats what color they are, so at $4/shim revalving can get expensive. fox shims work in radflos, kings. ads, and foa can use the same shims.

i would buy a set of used fox or kings, rebuild them and deal with them not pretty than use one of the other brands that is "cheaper"
User avatar
ChaseTruck754
Spy/Ninja
Posts: 9194
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:46 am
Bronco Info: Don't have one - just old Ford trucks
Location: Huntington Beach, CA

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

I get that on a race truck or well used prerunner. I own fox & king personally. What I am saying is for many people this is just out of the budget & out of what they justifiably need.
Owner of only dead and forgotten projects
mobil1syn
Posts: 209
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:55 pm
Bronco Info: 1996 - operation mijo hauler

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by mobil1syn »

ChaseTruck754 wrote:I get that on a race truck or well used prerunner. I own fox & king personally. What I am saying is for many people this is just out of the budget & out of what they justifiably need.
buy once or buy twice because you cheaped out the first go around.

with that said, here is a 100% bolt on kit with springs, shocks, and all that jazz for $2k
https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/pts/6088860336.html
User avatar
Tchajagos
Posts: 2124
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:07 am
Bronco Info: 1993 xlt stock on 33' BFGs
Location: Murrieta

Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by Tchajagos »

e2e2 wrote:I guess my concern was the 5.0 vs 33s. I dont really want to regear. Plus 2inches of lift means I can go to a 10inch reservoir which might be more useable to me down the road. So i guess its 2inches of lift vs 2inches of tire? I suppose I could also just air down 33s to sneak into the garage; best of both worlds? Mostly Id like to know if Im "over-shocked" with the resevoirs?
My f150 with a 5.0 was fine on 33" tires without a lift or regear. The issue with longer shocks and stock shock mounts is now the truck bottoms out on the shock body instead of the rubber bump stops. Not sure what you are planning on doing in the future with a 10" shock. I would go with a 2" leveling lift up front on some 33" all terrains and a set of 5100 bilstein shocks to keep the cost down till you want to put a nice kit onto it. Yes it's around $2k for the coilover conversion but you still have to buy the cut/turned beams and the longer radius arms for it all to work. Then you have to install it all which includes some welding. But then you have a sweet front end but a stock rear. Whelp, that's another $2k in shocks and springs. So maybe save the money now on fancy shocks till you get everything at once for that bad ass off-road truck that you are dreaming about.
User avatar
ChaseTruck754
Spy/Ninja
Posts: 9194
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:46 am
Bronco Info: Don't have one - just old Ford trucks
Location: Huntington Beach, CA

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

mobil1syn wrote:
ChaseTruck754 wrote:I get that on a race truck or well used prerunner. I own fox & king personally. What I am saying is for many people this is just out of the budget & out of what they justifiably need.
buy once or buy twice because you cheaped out the first go around.

with that said, here is a 100% bolt on kit with springs, shocks, and all that jazz for $2k
https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/pts/6088860336.html
That is the Threat kit I mentioned above. Lots more into that cost wise like Travis mentioned.
Owner of only dead and forgotten projects
e2e2
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:21 am
Bronco Info: Stock height 1992 f150.

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by e2e2 »

Im still stuck at 2" of lift to get under my garage door. I dont really need a cut and turn so i guess the question is: at what point do coilovers become beneficial? Is there any difference between 5100s and coilovers at 2"of lift?
User avatar
ChaseTruck754
Spy/Ninja
Posts: 9194
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:46 am
Bronco Info: Don't have one - just old Ford trucks
Location: Huntington Beach, CA

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by ChaseTruck754 »

The nice thing about colovers is the adjustability they give. Guys typically go 2.5 or even 3.0 shock body coilovers so the benefit there over the 5100s among many other things is sheer volume of shock oil keeping the shock cooler & reducing shock fade over long, hard runs. It doesn't sound like you will be doing a ton of that, but then again I don't know how long the drive up to your cabin is.

To fit the 10" FOA's you mentioned originally you'd have to do a custom shock hoop. Most guys to do this take the stock coil buckets off & either fab off them or do something completely custom which integrates a shock hoop. To take the stock buckets off you're removing a lot of rivets = PITA. At that point if you are doing that & making a custom shock hoop you might as well make a bit stouter hoop & go to coilovers.



My unsolicited $0.02 on the whole thing:

If you don't want to go any bigger than 33's just put them on stock. As others have said - they fit. No need for the 2" lift & the 33's on stock vs. 31's & a 2" lift (which may look a little goofy IMO) should still fit in the garage theoretically.
I'd say keep stock coils and try a 5100. See if you get any shock fade on the drive to the cabin. If so then you can re-assess. At that time if you boil the 5100's and want to upgrade I'd probably go for the 10"-12" coilovers (used quality shock brand may be about the same as new FOA & may be worth looking for). You'll have almost as much into a good 2.5" shock and a custom mount vs. the coilover & mount depending on the route you take for that. You will gain ride height adjustability with the coilover though & can tweak the truck to your exact needs.
Owner of only dead and forgotten projects
300
Posts: 647
Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:44 pm
Bronco Info: 1979 Class 3 Race Bronco. Built in 2000.

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by 300 »

If you are only looking for 2" of lift, I would consider shimming under the stock springs in the front. That is essentially a zero cost option. You should not even need extended shocks if you are only going that far. I would prefer re-arching leaf springs over blocks if you are only going for 2". It is impossible to expect an exact height change from any springs you purchase because there are a thousand variables involved with what your truck weighs and what the new springs were designed for.
You are going to get the biggest initial change over stock configuration by going to bigger tires. Going from to 31 to 33 and then 35" tires are each a significant change you will notice most.
The primary reason to go to coil overs is the ability to have infinite adjustments. Easy to adjust height, easy to adjust spring rates, a little harder to change valving but it remains an option.
Shocks are directly proportional to what you spend on them. If you want good control when you are doing jumps and whoops, you have to spend the $$$ and then tune them. Tuning is time consuming and expensive but essential to getting the most out of what you have. If you aren't doing jumps or whoops, you can get by for a lot less. Good shocks remain one of the things that are the easiest to get your money back out of when you upgrade. Good shocks hold their value.
Joecrewz
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:56 am
Bronco Info: 1990 XLT Bronco. 5.0L, AOD, stock all around... For now

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by Joecrewz »

Does anyone have the part number for the 5100 bilstiens I would need to do a 2"? Also I have quad shocks.
e2e2
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 10:21 am
Bronco Info: Stock height 1992 f150.

Re: Building a 2" leveling kit

Post by e2e2 »

I don't think they make 5100s for 2" lifts
Post Reply