Opinions on my suspension upgrades

[Gumby]

Ford spent a lot of money on R&D developing the Raptor to be good on road and off so replacing parts with factory original is the safest bet. When you start chasing rabbits the costs can escalate in a hurry as changing one item can lead to having to change three more to make it work right. This is just my opinion on modding the Raptor.

This was my point ^^^^^ Just said way better. Stock with a set of springs is all you need.. really. IMO. Want better shocks? Set of kings will do nicely. As far suspension components. If you do them. Do them all upper, lower, shock buckets. I would go with "known stuff that works together" Hoge Poge wouldn't really work for me. because now you/I are the engineer.
icon, deavers, eibach, geyser and a set of shocks. IMO.

 

[mtnghost]

The Born in Baja documentary shows the build Foutz Motorsports did. They used 3 tube bypass 3.0 shocks, (Kings without stickers), that were mounted just below the hood on an engine cage (instead of in the stock coil bucket). And Foutz's tubular chromoly LCA's, UCA's, & 4WD spindles. The axles had to be upgraded for the increased angle at droop. Steering was reinforced. Custom billet tie rods. And in back, the Kings were hung from the rear cage up by the window instead of to the frame. They used hydraulic bump stops instead of the cheesy rubber production ones. Instead of the 3+1 overload leaf pack, Deaver probably built the custom 14 leaf spring packs. Custom traction bars, shackles, and limit straps were required to get the most travel possible without binding the driveshaft. And a trussed custom axle with bigger, heavier tubes and housing.

I have been looking for the info on what exactly Foutz did to the raptor R to get it race ready, even went on their website where you can commission them to build you one. Couldn’t find any of the above info. Thanks for the detailed parts list.

 

[mtnghost]

This was my point ^^^^^ Just said way better. Stock with a set of springs is all you need.. really. IMO. Want better shocks? Set of kings will do nicely. As far suspension components. If you do them. Do them all upper, lower, shock buckets. I would go with "known stuff that works together" Hoge Poge wouldn't really work for me. because now you/I are the engineer.
icon, deavers, eibach, geyser and a set of shocks. IMO.

Hodge podge would also give me OCD.

 

[mtnghost]

Ok so my initial thoughts are Foutz for the upper arms, and tie rods, for now stock lca with new bushings and ball joints (whatever is bad on it), Icon or Deaver rear springs, stock swaybar endlinks.

If it’s possible I would like the live valve shocks when those need replacing. If not then I will be back here asking about where to go there. Maybe even call Foutz to get their opinion since I will likely have some of their stuff on the truck by then.

Thank you all for the great responses, and if you all have more opinions, facts, ideas, please keep them coming. Conversations are free buying the wrong stuff is expensive.

 

[TomDirt]

Keep in mind that since your Raptor parts also fit F-150's, you can always sell them in a heartbeat when you step up to the Big Boy version.

 

[mtnghost]

Keep in mind that since your Raptor parts also fit F-150's, you can always sell them in a heartbeat when you step up to the Big Boy version.

What do you think the resale on them would be? I would think anyone with a F150 would just go straight to aftermarket?

 

[Jhollowell]

WHat year is your truck? I have a 2011 and when I talked to SDI about live their system it sounded like i wouldn't get much value out of it. The 2010-2012 have different electrical than the 2013-14 and basically what i understood was that the system wouldn't adjust based on truck movement, meaning it wouldn't stiffen up under hard cornering or jumping. I may not have understood it fully so definetly talk to SDI before cutting the truck up to install live valves

 

[TomDirt]

The solution to any suspension problem is to throw more money at it. But if the 2011's require an extra cost than the 13-14's, I'd wait until I could get a ride in one before committing to a bigger spend.

 

[mtnghost]

WHat year is your truck? I have a 2011 and when I talked to SDI about live their system it sounded like i wouldn't get much value out of it. The 2010-2012 have different electrical than the 2013-14 and basically what i understood was that the system wouldn't adjust based on truck movement, meaning it wouldn't stiffen up under hard cornering or jumping. I may not have understood it fully so definetly talk to SDI before cutting the truck up to install live valves

Sorry for the super late response. I have a 2013, with as far as I know all the upgrades and options available to any first gen. I looked into SDI, and also read a very detailed and informative thread on here about live valves working on a members truck. It was not without issues though. Now I’m curious what makes the 2013+ different suspension wise than the older ones. My understanding is they are the same. Perhaps there is some height sensor added due to the HID, although I have throughly checked the housings out and there is no motor in them.

 

[stevenstommyboy1]

The suspension is the same as far as I know. I have used 2010 shocks on my old 14 and there is nothing different. Maybe something internal as an upgrade from the factory so not sure bout that part. But the shocks were the exact same and all suspension parts look the same.