[scfreeman66]

Load E
KO2's

Rides awesome. On and Off road. Empty, At about 38-40lbs cold. Not Buick smooth. But very nice for a truck.

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Just some background, I am actually a mechanic. I own and run a general repair/tire sales/service garage. I drive many, many vehicles in a week's time. I have driven many of my customers F150's (along with about everything else on the road). My truck has the "harshest" ride of any that I have driven.
Nothing is broken, suspension wise and everything is adjusted (alignment) within spec.
I read reviews of the Bilsteins having a more-firm ride than stock and that sways me from wanting to try them. Like I mentioned, I put 5100's in the rear and didn't notice any difference better or worse.
I would really like to soften the ride without going full suspension build...been there, done that.
This truck is my daily driver/hunting/camping/off-road rig. I would like to keep the BFG's on it (they are E/10's)
But like I mentioned, when I swap out the stock wrangler's back on, the ride isn't noticably improved....I'm not convinced that the tires are my problem...

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[snakebitten]

"Firm" is a misfortunate word in our language. It could be considered a synonym of harsh, thus seem like going in the wrong direction.

But, if you couldn't tell the difference between oem and the 5100's on the back, I gotta admit I don't know what to say. If you had both of those dampers on a workbench, it'd be pretty obvious that they aren't that similar in damping characteristics.

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[RaptorOne3]

Hm... I'd have to agree with snakbitten here.

If softer tires and softer shocks dont improve anything I'm not sure there's much else you could just replace that will have the dramatic difference it seems you're after.

Have you inspected your bushings? Seems like a long shot there but thats the next inner-most component of the suspension. Aside from that.... 🤷‍♂️ ?

Have you looked into the cost of air-ride?

What are the exact symptoms you want to reduce? Jarring the cabin? Rear end side stepping?

 

[Mikem3574]

Hm... I'd have to agree with snakbitten here.

If softer tires and softer shocks dont improve anything I'm not sure there's much else you could start replacing that will have the dramatic difference it seems you're after.

Have you inspected your bushings? Seems like a long shot there but thats the next inner-most component of the suspension. Aside from that.... [emoji2369] ?

Have you looked into the cost of air-ride?

What are the exact symptoms you want to reduce? Jarring the cabin? Rear end side stepping?

If my bilstein 5100's are extended all the way up 2" to level the truck, would that effect how it rides?

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[snakebitten]

I thought you only had Bilsteins on the rear?

But yea, even if you used the Bilsteins up front to also raise the truck, (nice feature) 99.9% of the reviews are "great improvement in ride".

In fact, Bilstein enjoys perhaps the closest to unanimous thumbs up than any other aftermarket manufacturer I know of.



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[Arkansas Eco]

Im going by the dash also.

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LOL

 

[RaptorOne3]

Using preload on coilovers to lift the vehicle stiffens the ride. Yes. Absolutely. It can be quite dramatic too, depending on the shocks and their preferred operating ranges.

I used a small amount of preload on my king coilovers to bump my front end up a little myself. If you go too far with your suspension it will make the front end feel "perched" or "pigeon toed". It'll tend to be a bit more jarring. Too much preload on front coil overs will also make it more difficult to align the vehicle. Toe and camber will both be affected.

Only use small amounts of preload. I wouldnt recommend using preload for anything over 1.5".

 

[GearHead_1]

I’ve found you can use the full 2” inches the Bilstein’s offer and still have plenty of adjustment room in the lower control arms to have the Caster and Camber where you want them. The Toe is a non-issue, plenty of room to set properly. I guess what I should say is this worked for me and a friends I put some on.

 

[Dennisbir]

My only complaint since owning my truck for 3yrs is the ride. It's rough.
I am currently running 275/70/18 BFGoodrich AT K02' s but honestly it doesn't affect it much as I have a set of stock wheels and tires that I swap over frequently.
I have driven many other F150s and mine has the most harsh ride.
I added Bilstein rear shocks last fall with little to no improvement. I have been thinking about doing the fronts just to try to mellow it out a little bit.
Is there anything besides that to try?

It's bad, any little bump or divit in the road has the whole interior rattling and the truck violently shaking for a second. My previous truck was a 2nd gen Ram 2500, straight front axle and it ride very similar to the F150 just for comparison.

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My 15 XLT SCREW rides like a Cadillac. When I get in my wife’s Camry it rides like a wagon. I have a size larger than OEM Michelin tires on my truck and run 40 psi in my tires.

 

[scfreeman66]

Just got back from a 1200mi round trip...I have to fix this thing. It's annoying...the ride is so bad. Any suggestions for decent shocks/struts for under $1500?

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[Chris Edwards]

Just got back from a 1200mi round trip...I have to fix this thing. It's annoying...the ride is so bad. Any suggestions for decent shocks/struts for under $1500?

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The issue is that F-150's have entered into the payload/ towing capacity wars with GM and Dodge, and Ford always comes out ahead. As a result, the rear leaf springs are absurdly stiff and extremely uncomfortable without a load on them. If you want to feel like what your truck should ride like, go take a test drive in a Raptor or hook up a 5000lb trailer to your Ecoboost and see how it feels. It's not the shocks or tires, it's the leaf spring rate. Shocks and tires account for small 5% differences.

 

[snydmax]

Or throw a camper shell on it [emoji6]


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[meaz93]

Talk about a harsh ride....lol

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[Arkansas Eco]

@meaz93 FTW OOOHRAHHH !!!

 

[scfreeman66]

The issue is that F-150's have entered into the payload/ towing capacity wars with GM and Dodge, and Ford always comes out ahead. As a result, the rear leaf springs are absurdly stiff and extremely uncomfortable without a load on them. If you want to feel like what your truck should ride like, go take a test drive in a Raptor or hook up a 5000lb trailer to your Ecoboost and see how it feels. It's not the shocks or tires, it's the leaf spring rate. Shocks and tires account for small 5% differences.

I think you are onto something here. If I hook my tandem axle, steel deck car hauler up, my truck rides much better...even with nothing on the trailer.
My issue is, how are other F150s (my customers as previously mentioned) riding noticably better than mine? Same roads, same speeds, stock for stock....
I have a Leer cap on mine, so I have a little extra weight back there.
What is the difference in raptor rear leaf packs?
I have a couple customers with them and they really do ride like a dream. Maybe I should upgrade [emoji857]


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[Jchallis]

I’ve also got a rough riding f150. I purchased a used 2017 f150 XLT sport SCREW and its got an awful ride. The previous owner, from what I was told, used to for a lot of towing all over the country. He installed an air lift system to help while at max tow capacity. It doesn’t matter if I have the air bags at 0 or 100 psi, the ride is very rough and it doesn’t change with speed changes. Even small bumps in the road will buck me out of my seat. Any insight on what I can do? And as far as the mpg discussion, if I get over 17 I’m pretty thrilled.

 

[Arkansas Eco]

17 mpg is outstanding for a halfton pickup.
Does it have E rated tires with alot of pressure in them ?

 

[Jchallis]

17 mpg is outstanding for a halfton pickup.
Does it have E rated tires with alot of pressure in them ?

17 mpg is outstanding for a halfton pickup.
Does it have E rated tires with alot of pressure in them ?

I’ve got load range D tires. And some more explanation, over winter I had a weight in the bed for better traction. It was about 300 pounds and the rear suspension didn’t budge at all, and it feels like it’s bottoming out over every bump.

 

[Jchallis]

I’ve got load range D tires. And some more explanation, over winter I had a weight in the bed for better traction. It was about 300 pounds and the rear suspension didn’t budge at all, and it feels like it’s bottoming out over every bump.

And I keep my tires at about 37-40 psi depending on the ambient air temperature

 

[snydmax]

Perhaps it would be informative to know which of us have fx4, max tow, etc... do the springs change between packages?

My ‘11 fx4 was pretty comfy stock, with air bags... currently running 5100 bullies and it’s downright dreamy! I do have a leer cap that adds a little weight and typically have a couple hundred pounds of gear give or take but empty I just let a little out of the bags and it’s good... 30-40lbs empty... 60 loaded... up to 80 or 90 when towing as required to restore ride height


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