dogcatcher

I have a 2013 EcoBoost SCREW 4x4 and am interested in improving it's off-road capability and ground clearance. My primary goal is to increase suspension travel and price is not really a consideration.

I was looking at a 6 inch BDS lift but I am concerned that this will simply raise the truck without increasing the wheel travel. tires will be 35s on 18" wheels

Would I be better off with coilovers like Icon, Fox, or King and some upper control arms. I think this option will give me less overall height but more useable wheel travel and a better ride. May be able to get away with 34s on 18" wheels

I intend to keep the wheels light for best milage.

Can anyone with any experience give me some advice?

dogcatcher

no love yet

Colby450xc

Just from the looks of that BDS kit it won't do the handling or ride comfort any good. I would go the coilover route. More adjustability with nice aftermarket coilovers. They can be built just for your own needs also. Most can also be rebuilt when they wear out too.

uzikaduzi

most lifts (not sure if BDS is included) don't replace the upper control arm, and I'd think it's gonna be a limiting factor. I think to really increase travel effectively, you're gonna have to increase track width so... upper and lower control arms, longer half shafts, and new coils overs are likely gonna be your best bet. I'm assuming the stuff designed for the desert is gonna be the only place to look but unfortunately they are normally not overly concerned with lift and looking to increase droop

Eco-BEAST 28

If this is true then your best bet is to go with at least a 2.5 shock all the way around. In addition a UCA will net you some additional travel. That is only the beginning of what can be done to the front. You can go as far as say a bolt on mid travel kit like this one from Dirt King

http://shop.dirtkingfabrication.com/...-DK-923908.htm

While that comes with a little sticker shock it is actually extremely affordable.

The rear end is much easier to improve travel. Pick up a bump stop kit if you plan on really hitting it hard off road, upgrade the shocks, add a +2" leaf pack, and a LT shackle and you will be done in the rear. Of course i guess you could always go REALLY big in the rear and do a bed cage lol

My set up can be seen in my build thread and I've been overly happy with the results off road. It handles anything i can throw at it and i love the ride quality as this truck is also my daily driver.

Dr.B

Eco beast I read through the dirt Kings of site it states capable of 13 inches of travel. However when reading further below the king shocks state there is roughly 8 inches of total travel between fully compressed and fully extended. How does this equates to a total of 13 inches of travel possible?

Z7What

Although full suspension lift kits give you more ground clearance most keep the OEM UCA and install a spacer on top the OEM coil. Those are your two biggest limits of travel. With that being said I would either drop the coin on a nice full suspension kit with aftermarket coils and UCA. But that could get VERY expensive.

Or you can do a aftermarket coil with aftermarket UCAs and have just about the same amount of travel but with less ground clearance.

Icon makes a great set up, F150Lifts.com also has a few different kits.

Or as it was said you could go with a mid or long travel kit but now your talking even more money. The sky is the limit, just depends how much you wanna spend.

Wayne

uzikaduzi

geometry... since the shocks mount about mid way the LCA it doesn't need to travel as far as the full wheel travel. if you continued to increase the length of the control arms, you could continue to increase the wheel travel while keeping the same 8" travel shocks

dogcatcher

Now I'm considering a 4" BDS w/ King or Icon coilovers and Icon UCA's. This will give me a little height and more travel, right? I plan to keep the tires under 35" for fuel economy. Just waiting on the $.

uzikaduzi

do the icon UCA's come with uniballs replacing the ball joint? if so you'll get a little more travel but still be limited by the tie rods, lower control arm, and the factory cv joints... this will likely be a game where you solve one problem and find another but I think you're plan is a perfect start... more height, a little more travel, good shocks, and the other things can be changed out as money and time allows if you decide you don't have enough travel