adelafuente4

I have a 2016 F-150 XLT 2WD Jean Blue. I will post pictures of it tomorrow. The first 3 months of driving my truck I noticed the rear end would seem like it was not planted. The steering wheel would jerk very quickly when hitting bumps or even train tracks. I put larger MT Toyo Open country tires and noticed that it got even worse. I constantly had to slow down for bumps while on the freeway or hitting train tracks because the rear end felt like it was losing control. I understand driving a truck that the rear end will jump around a bit due to the vehicle being lighter in the back. However, for buying a brand new 2016 I would assume that it would have better handling than this. I believe it has to do with the back of the F150 being even more lighter due to the material of the bed.

So I looked online to see if any one else was having this same issue. Many people were having this same problem. There was a lot of recommendations on how to correct it, such as shocks, sway bar, less tire pressure. It was unclear to me what the true answer is to fix this problem. No one clearly stated how they corrected it.

So I am here to spell it out for other F150 drivers who are having this same problem.

UPGRADE THE REAR SHOCKS!!!!!!!
I do not understand why Ford puts crummy rear shocks on their trucks.

I purchased the Bilstein 5100 from Stage 3 Performance for Roughly 170$ for the set. Wow what a huge difference with these two shocks. I didn't want shocks that were to stiff or strictly for off-roading. I mainly drive on the highway with some occasional off-roading. The 5100 from reviews were suppose to be a great balance of the two.

It took me about 45 minutes to install the two shocks in the rear. Very simple process that you can do by your self with two wrenches. Remove the rear tires to begin. Then each shock only has two bolts that you need to remove. Place the new ones in with the bolts exactly how you found them and be amazed.
My truck drives like how I expected it to off the lot. It removed that rear end from trying to come around when hitting bumps on the highway or train tracks. The rear end feels more planted and I'm not worried about going 75+ on the highway now. The shocks it self look great on the truck. I recommend to everyone now the first mod that should be done are the rear shocks.
Very happy with the purchase!


My Truck
2016 F150 XLT Jean Blue Super Crew
- 275/70/18 MT Toyo Open Country
- Tonneau Cover
- Bilstein 5100 Rear Shocks

Coming Soon
-Front window tint
-Front Bilstein 5100
- Dvd System

Posting pics tomorrow

Apples

Yessir... quality tuning in a good shock absorber/MacPherson strut/damper... whatever anyone calls them, remain! a black art. They are key! to a good chassis setup.

While the stockers are fine for the first 15,000 miles depending on how heavy your choice of tire and wheel are, there is absolutely a need for better damping of your trucks springs as time goes on. Bilstein has a global rep for being about the best there is, with Koni right alongside. Sure, there are others... Fox, for one. I'm speaking of road-going vehicles; racing is another category altogether, especially severe offroad.

I have a set of 5100s due within the next two weeks. Can't wait! to install them.

Thanks for your post. Though it confirms, again, what we already know, it's still nice to hear.

:-)

Dirtfreak

Sulastic leaf spring shackle.

dedalus5550

Automobile shocks of any quality at all for just $170 a set? Seems like it's similar technology to the shock I get for my mountain bike and just one starts out at like $300. I gotta look into this when my truck comes home--tomorrow.

Martian

Totally different industries (and the bike market has far fewer buyers). I can buy a set of OEM replacement shocks for $110 total or a set of Bilsteins for $170. They're both excellent quality.

Siskiyou

I went another route, First I never had bad rear hop to start with just very minor. I have a canopy on my truck which I think helps dampen it anyway, it wieghs about 200 lbs. I swapped out the stock tires with stock size, 275/65 R18 LT 6 ply tires because I tow and I was getting too much mushiness in the corners. I am running 40 PSI all the way around. The last thing I did was installed a Hellwig sway bar which really helps the handling. This truck handles very well and is also very smooth and not harsh. I may change the shocks but only if I have towing issues because they feel very good right now.

SixShooter14

yep, Mine made it to about 19k miles feeling nice and even, the tires hit a bump and you could feel the 'bounce' dissipate on the first rebound. But now at 22k, I am getting a little sideways hop and some speed bumps feel like the tires come off the ground on the first rebound. I will be going with a pair of 5100s soon.

mtbman1127

Yeah the fork on one of my mountain bikes is over a grand $1k an I just paid under $400 for Bilstiens on all 4 corners. Doesn't seem to make much sense but I guess that is supply and demand. Also the Bilstiens ride great, but unlike my mountain bike fork don't have Hi/low Compression; Hi/Low Rebound; bottom out; and adjustable spring rate, LOL

Also to do the rear shocks you don't have to take the rear tires off. I did mine, with a air impact, in about 12 min for both sides.

shortride

iTrader: (1)

Two (2) recommendations. Keep in mind that the newer generation F-150 is approximately 700 lbs. lighter. You may be driving too fast for road conditions. You can add a few hundred pounds of weigh in the bed. I noticed with my 2016 that my truck rides significantly better with 4 to 5 hundred pounds of added weight. You could experiment with different shocks but I don't think you will accomplish much.
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dedalus5550

I learn something new everyday here. I totally thought there was a typo and the set was $1,700. But nope. It wasn't just the price of mountain bike shocks but the idea that someone can charge a lot more for truck components because the truck overall costs a whole lot more than a mountain bike.

Now I gotta ask this about 200# in the bed. I have a 36-gallon tank, but my intention all along was to fill it up to about 20 pounds unless I was on a road trip or towing. This was to save some weight. The extra gas might be 100 pounds, at 6 pounds per gallon. And this was all so I didn't use extra fuel hauling around another useless 100 pounds. Now you're thinking an extra 200 pounds in the bed on a daily basis? I'm guessing is the trade off of a better handling truck outweighs fuel economy?
Mike Todd