You stated that you need a V8 in the Gen 3, but the rant above has nothing to do with engine, only shocks. Your modded/custom shocks vs the stock Gen 2 shocks.
I agree with the general concept that because these trucks, all trucks really, can be heavily modded, it's not uncommon for the modded truck you own to be a better truck than the latest and greatest truck option.
But really stock vs stock is the only way to compare, unless a particular mod is particularly easy/cheap on one Gen, and not possible/expensive on another.
I choose the v8 if is was supercharged from factory. So yeah, if I had a choice over a v6 turbo vs a v8 supercharger, I am taking the supercharger. That’s all I meant by that.
And as far as suspension. All I was trying to say was if all I did on my GEN1 is upgrade the shocks to 3.0’s (granted with reservoirs) but still just 3.0’s then I would of thought that a stock GEN2 with 3.0 live shocks would of given me a comparable ride off-road. It does not which honestly was somewhat surprising. Power with the GEN1 when off-roading was never an issue. The difference of just 40hp isn’t that overwhelming, its barely a butt dyno. Granted on take off the torque makes a difference but I cannot stand how the GEN2 shifts.
Yes if you compare stock to stock the GEN2 is better but I think the rear end is worse than the GEN1. The back end of the GEN2 is definitely noticeable different and not in a good way, around corners it seems to kick out and kicks more over bumps and holes. Perhaps because its lighter.
So for someone to have a GEN1 and spend about $7k on suspension to be a lot better than a stock GEN2, I would of thought the difference would of been more overwhelming.
So now I am buying again suspension upgrades. I haven’t installed but sitting in my garage is Deavers +4HD, RPG shackles, upgraded Fox Live shocks (reservoirs again and especially adjustability) and ICON UCA’s just to get back to hopefully what my GEN1 was.
And I have also considered not installing any of this and instead just sell it while its new and stick with stock until I can see if Ford makes the GEN3 finally with something with an overwhelming difference. And the only mods I need to do is add lights and some bed accessories