Level kits

osiris

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Hey guys looking for opinions on leveling kits. Looking at doing some type of coil and then using bilstien, icon or fox. I like kings but I'm not sure I like them for 1600 dollars lol. What have you guys ran and how was the ride and handling afterwards?
 

Justinlw

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I'm running carli's back country kit. Coils in front, with new brake lines, adjustable track bar, and caster shims. Mini packs in the rear. Tuned fox 2.0 resi's all around. Best ride you can get in my opinion, as they tune the whole kit to work together.
 

JRLott

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I'm running Carli coils, a 4" block, and regular Bilstien shocks. It rides much better than factory. The general consensus is Fox is much better Bilstien, and Kings are much better than Fox. Likely the best ride would be a Carli system with their custom tuned shocks. Only your wallet and physics would limit the ride quality/capability. Like Ford/Chevy, 9mm/45ACP, tastes great/less filling, the Carli or Icon question comes down to your choice of Kool-Aid.
 

Justinlw

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I've never run kings, but I've heard they're pretty stiff on pavement. I had icons on this F250 briefly, didn't like the ride so I switched to carli. Night and day difference, but like said above you pay for it.
 

osiris

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My dad has kings on his 17 and it's amazing, like I said I just don't wanna spend that much mo eh on just shocks. I've been looking at stage 1 icon and fox stuff which is what led me to this thread.
 

NCSU dirt man

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stage 1 icon 2.5" kit here. rides a lot better than readylift. i think a 3-link kit from PMF or OUO would compliment it nicely though
 

Justinlw

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Any way you go will be better than Stock. My only thought is if you're going with fox, go with a system that was tuned to the truck as opposed to their shelf units.
 
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griz700rocket

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I just did 2in blocks in the front and 5 inch blocks in the back with bilstein shocks. I'm sure there are better kits but this was the economical way to go and is greatly improved over stock. Also bought caster/camber adjusters but haven't added them yet. Truck still drives great but I'll probably add them anyway just for piece of mind.

Cost breakdown:
$62.84 - 2 of Specialty Products Company 24220
$24.99 - MotoFab Lifts 2" Front Leveling Lift kit
$128.86 - ReadyLift 66-2015 5" Rear Block Kit
$294.99 - 2 of 24-185776 and 2 of 24-062466 bilstein shocks
$511.68 Total
 
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NCSU dirt man

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i've seen this one on ebay. never heard any feedback on it but it all appears to be made by Bilstein. $370 for Bilstein shocks and leveling coils isn't that bad if they ride good. I have their Rear 3-5" shocks currently and they ride much better than the stock ranchos with my F350's factory rear leafs and an empty bed. I was encouraging my friend who has a stock height F250 with 35's to look at this kit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FITS-05-16-FORD-F250-4WD-BILSTEIN-5112-SERIES-HIGH-PERFORMANCE-LEVELING-KIT-/142373467029?hash=item21261eb395:g:zQQAAOSwhvFZDLHu&vxp=mtr
 

osiris

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I'm leaning towards the icon springs, so I guess I would be better off doing the icon sho is as well?
 

Tom@BigTimeKustomz

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I'm running Readylift 2.5" spacers up front and a 5" rear block, Bilsteins at all 4 corners. To me, truck rides great for being a 1 ton 172" wheelbase truck. Let me know if I can help you with pricing.


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Jomax

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I've never run kings, but I've heard they're pretty stiff on pavement. I had icons on this F250 briefly, didn't like the ride so I switched to carli. Night and day difference, but like said above you pay for it.


They're stiff if you don't buy shocks tuned for your truck.


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Justinlw

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They're stiff if you don't buy shocks tuned for your truck.


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To clarify, a couple friends are running Carli tuned kings on their trucks. They are a firmer shock than fox or bilstein on the road, but more controlled in the dirt where they're built for.
 

TrickTruck

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I'm running the Icon springs, Icon steering stabilizer mount and King shocks and dampers.

The Kings are piggybacks w/ adjustable compression. IMHO they are fantastic.
Spendy though. But worth it in my experience.

I put 70,000 mi on them on my '12 and just finished installing them on the '16. I was going to get them rebuilt just because, but didn't have time & $.

Took the truck for a ride last night and it's a night and day difference compared to Stock.

Day to day I run them at 15 clicks from full hard, and when towing I run them full. Work great.



The Bilstein 5100 is another popular shock. We put them on Wifey's 4runner and they work pretty nicely. If $ is tight, you may want to look into this option too.
 

dsmracing1

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I'm running carli's back country kit. Coils in front, with new brake lines, adjustable track bar, and caster shims. Mini packs in the rear. Tuned fox 2.0 resi's all around. Best ride you can get in my opinion, as they tune the whole kit to work together.



Exactly what I plan to do with full leaf pack swap in the back. My readylift 3.5" kit with Bilsteins rides like garbage in my opinion...
 

JRLott

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Dang, dsm. I had a spacer kit in my 05 with Bilstiens. The shocks made it better. This one rides much much better with Bilstiens and Carli coils. I can only imagine how much better it'll be with Fox or a King shocks.
 

Justinlw

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Exactly what I plan to do with full leaf pack swap in the back. My readylift 3.5" kit with Bilsteins rides like garbage in my opinion...



The deavers are nice. I didn’t go with them because I tow heavy and don’t want to have to add airbags. I did, however, swap to the 11+ leaf springs and appropriate add-a-pack. The new 2-leaf springs are much smoother than the 08-10 stuff.
 

dsmracing1

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Dang, dsm. I had a spacer kit in my 05 with Bilstiens. The shocks made it better. This one rides much much better with Bilstiens and Carli coils. I can only imagine how much better it'll be with Fox or a King shocks.



Wonder if it's because the valving in the bilsteins is generic in mine and doesn't work well with the factory coil springs?
 

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