I have a 2008 F150 2wd Fabtech lift with 35’s. I need some help and advice please!

Me and a friend installed my kit about 3 years ago. I had 33’s at the time(Nitro Trail Grappler MT) and finally got
some Gladiator XComp 35’s. I liked how loud they are, but I also have a horrible ride, I mean rough!
I got the “death wobble” at around 45mph, so didn’t really take it on the highway. I eventually took
my truck to a diff 4x4 shop to have it aligned and balanced again(this time with road force balancing supposedly)
and the guy said he got it riding a little better(I can drive to about 50-55mph before truck starts shaking...when I asked if I could get some ladder bars or tension bar etc installed for
a better ride, he said “that won’t help, that’s for HD trucks etc — U need new tires, ur tires r cheap that’s the problem”
so I said, what about the tires, only 5k miles on them “he said scrap em”.

Now I’m slightly conflicted bc a friend of mine has the same tires as me, but never complained of violent shaking at high speeds.

i really need some advice on what I should do...I’m sure I left some info out
so just plz ask and I will answer.

i really want my truck to feel safe at highway speeds, I have 2 kids — maybe I didn’t notice the rough ride before kids, idk
any help would be greatly appreciated — thanks!

 

I'm not real sure tires cause death wobble. Have you searched YouTube? Seems like I've watched a video in past on that.

 

If the only thing you changed was the tires that wound up getting the wobble you speak of, you answered your own question, bad tires. It's not unusual for new tire(s) to be bad.

 

Yeah, but some videos said yes and some said no, — none of them explained my situation

 

If you buy a hat and suddenly get headaches wearing it. Do you change your underwear? Dude think.

 

Rotate the tires front to back to see if the vibration changes, or the front wheel wobble goes away.

 

Agreed. Especially on no-name, generic tires. And often, one set can be junk, and another are ok. That’s just a by-product of cheap tires with poor quality control in manufacturing.

Slag... How bad is the “wobble”? Some guys that have never seen a real death wobble, think that a slightly bad balance is the problem. Comparing it to a car with smaller tires than your truck and a perfect alignment, might seem harsh. It’s a relative term. But when you experience a REAL death wobble on large, offroad tires for the first time, it’ll make your heart jump out of your chest. Ever run unbalanced 44” boggers on a one-ton with a 14” leafspring suspension? Makes your forearms look like Popeye. And if you’re buying tires just because you like how loud they are... you’re priorities are whack.

I mean, it’s possible they were poorly balanced, but that can turn into a wild goose chase. My suggestion... dump them and buy some name brand, quality tires. Or at least find a set of known, good tires/wheels and take it for a test drive. If it rides right, then there’s your issue.

 

"ur tires r cheap that’s the problem” describes the trouble correctly. Un-balanceable, out of round conditions randomly occur in tire manufacturing. "Cheap" tire makers do not do the quality control nor reject out of spec product to the degree as
higher end more reputable suppliers. The price paid for obtaining "a bargain". Your buddy with the same tires just got a good set, a better bargain. KM

 

Sometimes you gotta pay to play. And sometimes you gotta realize what the most important parts of your vehicle are with regards to safey: brakes and tires.
Don't cheap out on tires. You get what you pay for.

And cheap tires, when they wear a little bit, also become dangerous as hell in the rain.

 

FWIW, even brand name tires are not perfect. Just like any mass produced product. It is certainly the first thing to try, albeit pricey unfortunately.