Perch Mod vs Leveling Kit Discussion

[Icecobra]

I can tell you even with all the hoopla the spacers are fine on mine I watch closely and have had no adverse wear pattern on anything more than anyone I have seen with a perch mod. So I say to each his own, the ready lift are solid and far better than the ones in the above caption. That's my two cents worth for free and I have the ready lift.. So do what makes you feel good.....

 

[pirate air]

Funny the dealer said leveling kit. Ford put a tsb out even before that raptor was in production that stated leveling kits voided steering and suspension warranty on f150s. Do the perch mod. If you need warranty work done, lower it back down to stock. No one would know the difference.

 

[ntm]

I've had zero problems with warranty on mid perch.
I'm two hours to the east of Edmonton.

 

[bstoner59]

I can tell you even with all the hoopla the spacers are fine on mine I watch closely and have had no adverse wear pattern on anything more than anyone I have seen with a perch mod. So I say to each his own, the ready lift are solid and far better than the ones in the above caption. That's my two cents worth for free and I have the ready lift.. So do what makes you feel good.....

How many miles do you have on yours? How often do you take the front end apart to check? I was there with Big J when he took his front end apart and it was pretty apparent the excessive wear that was caused in such a short period of time.

 

[Icecobra]

How many miles do you have on yours? How often do you take the front end apart to check? I was there with Big J when he took his front end apart and it was pretty apparent the excessive wear that was caused in such a short period of time.

I am over 10k miles, been looking at things from the outside and listening... Of course I don't drive my on pavement in 4wd. I am careful what I do and know of this issue so my experience is from the education Big J went through. I can also tell that the ready lift is a much better system than the one used by Big J. I can tell you also that it only really raises it 1.25 inches because that's the size of the block from ready lift. Versus mid perch it sits slightly lower and so the angles in the front end are less than mid perch also.. All in all when I hit 50k miles I will remove the cv boots and do a full inspection of all the parts inside. My opinion is the worst thing you can do to these trucks is drive them on pavement in 4wd. It really does not matter if it is totally stock the worst thing is all the grinding in 4wd on pavement. If you use a tape measure you will find first thing is that with the spacer lift the front drops no more than a mid perch lift. The spacer does not create more travel it just moves the top down so the truck sits about 1.25 inches taller. The front end travel is limited by other factors and do not change those factors. For everyone the more angle in the CV shaft the harder it is on the parts. Big J can attest to this from his write up. Those on top perch are having a heck of a time and are far worse than anything else. You just have to know going in that its a trade off mid perch actually raises the front more, and effects the ride some. The spacers raise it less and do not effect the ride at all. So its a trade off... For me I don't mind replacing the cv axles both sides 500 and new axles and boots. If I don't have to great but figure going in the smoother ride I get is it worth it to me.... Just ask me at 50,000 mile how things are going...

 

[Hockster]

I am over 10k miles, been looking at things from the outside and listening... Of course I don't drive my on pavement in 4wd. I am careful what I do and know of this issue so my experience is from the education Big J went through. I can also tell that the ready lift is a much better system than the one used by Big J. I can tell you also that it only really raises it 1.25 inches because that's the size of the block from ready lift. Versus mid perch it sits slightly lower and so the angles in the front end are less than mid perch also.. All in all when I hit 50k miles I will remove the cv boots and do a full inspection of all the parts inside. My opinion is the worst thing you can do to these trucks is drive them on pavement in 4wd. It really does not matter if it is totally stock the worst thing is all the grinding in 4wd on pavement. If you use a tape measure you will find first thing is that with the spacer lift the front drops no more than a mid perch lift. The spacer does not create more travel it just moves the top down so the truck sits about 1.25 inches taller. The front end travel is limited by other factors and do not change those factors. For everyone the more angle in the CV shaft the harder it is on the parts. Big J can attest to this from his write up. Those on top perch are having a heck of a time and are far worse than anything else. You just have to know going in that its a trade off mid perch actually raises the front more, and effects the ride some. The spacers raise it less and do not effect the ride at all. So its a trade off... For me I don't mind replacing the cv axles both sides 500 and new axles and boots. If I don't have to great but figure going in the smoother ride I get is it worth it to me.... Just ask me at 50,000 mile how things are going...

The CV boots on the truck are not serviceable. If you remove them you will have to replace with aftermarket parts. Ford only sells teh complete haflshaft.

 

[Icecobra]

The CV boots on the truck are not serviceable. If you remove them you will have to replace with aftermarket parts. Ford only sells teh complete haflshaft.

Yep your correct I had to replace the shaft on my 2010 F150 broke it being stupid..

 

[pirate air]

I am over 10k miles, been looking at things from the outside and listening... Of course I don't drive my on pavement in 4wd. I am careful what I do and know of this issue so my experience is from the education Big J went through. I can also tell that the ready lift is a much better system than the one used by Big J. I can tell you also that it only really raises it 1.25 inches because that's the size of the block from ready lift. Versus mid perch it sits slightly lower and so the angles in the front end are less than mid perch also.. All in all when I hit 50k miles I will remove the cv boots and do a full inspection of all the parts inside. My opinion is the worst thing you can do to these trucks is drive them on pavement in 4wd. It really does not matter if it is totally stock the worst thing is all the grinding in 4wd on pavement. If you use a tape measure you will find first thing is that with the spacer lift the front drops no more than a mid perch lift. The spacer does not create more travel it just moves the top down so the truck sits about 1.25 inches taller. The front end travel is limited by other factors and do not change those factors. For everyone the more angle in the CV shaft the harder it is on the parts. Big J can attest to this from his write up. Those on top perch are having a heck of a time and are far worse than anything else. You just have to know going in that its a trade off mid perch actually raises the front more, and effects the ride some. The spacers raise it less and do not effect the ride at all. So its a trade off... For me I don't mind replacing the cv axles both sides 500 and new axles and boots. If I don't have to great but figure going in the smoother ride I get is it worth it to me.... Just ask me at 50,000 mile how things are going...

There's a few points technically wrong with this ^^^

If the spacer is 1.25 inches thick, you gain more than 1.25 inches of lift and droop. Can't deny geometry, or else why would the front 7 inch stroke shocks on the raptor cycle 11 inches of wheel travel?

The front end travel is limited by the front shocks. Nothing more, nothing less. If some other "factor" is limiting your travel, you have issues. Unless that "factor" is limiting straps. Most likely your upper ball joints are binding against the cup and the pin, resisting the droop. Tension is the worst force you can put on a ball joint.

Spacers aren't worth the trouble. I've said it since the beginning, argued with BigJ when he first put his on, and will still continue to argue the point.

 

[Icecobra]

Physics applied, your saying the only thing that attaches the front suspension to the truck is the shock mounts.. Mine has more attachment points, 1.25 inches is still 1.25 inches and it does not bind more than a mid perch but less. If you have ever tried to remove the shock you know that if you just remove the bolts that hold the shock on you still cant remove the shock... You more bolts to remove before the shock comes out.. You can not get the suspension to drop enough with just removing shock bolts.

But since you don't have any evidence that I am experiencing any odd wear your going to have to wait for me to tell you....

 

[pirate air]

Physics applied, your saying the only thing that attaches the front suspension to the truck is the shock mounts.. Mine has more attachment points, 1.25 inches is still 1.25 inches and it does not bind more than a mid perch but less. If you have ever tried to remove the shock you know that if you just remove the bolts that hold the shock on you still cant remove the shock... You more bolts to remove before the shock comes out.. You can not get the suspension to drop enough with just removing shock bolts.

But since you don't have any evidence that I am experiencing any odd wear your going to have to wait for me to tell you....

Physics applied; you have "more attachment points" because the front tires have six degrees of freedom. Roll (torque/friction), left/right (active trac width), pitch (camber), forward/backward (caster) are four degrees of freedom that are restricted by the combination of the six attachments between the chassis, upper control arms, lower control arms, and knuckles. This leaves the last two degrees of freedom, yaw and up/down. Yaw is your steering degree, it is restricted by your steering rack/steering stops. The last degree of freedom is up/down. Up and down is suspension travel. This degree of freedom is restricted by your shock. Isn't physics fun?

Again, 1.25"s when applied to a lower control arm acting as a class three lever doesn't end up only being 1.25"s. Conservation of energy tells us that input energy (your shock moving 1.25"s) applied to a lever between the fulcrum and the resistive point, must equal energy out. Because of the lever ratio, the input force (shock) is greater then the output force at the resistive end (ball joint cup). In return, the distance of motion has amplified at the resistive end (ball joint cup) so that work in = work out. You can't get around this. Again, why does a 7 inch stroke shock, cycle 11 inches of wheel travel??

Yes, I've removed the front shocks on the raptor. The reason you can't just unbolt it and have it fall right out, is because its a mechanical safety redundancy. You'll be pressed to find a coil over shock in a mass produced double A arm design vehicle, where the coil over supports the weight of the vehicle, that just falls right out when un bolted. It's for safety, several other vital components are built the same in vehicles.

I don't need any evidence to prove me otherwise when a general understanding of steering and suspension design will tell me all I need to know. You can keep your waiting to tell me information, because in the end, I really don't care what you do with your truck. Mines doing just fine thank you.