BoostGhost

I posted this in the 15-19 section but not sure I will get any looks over there.

ok so I currently have a 6” strut spacer lift and want to go to a bds/fox 2.5 coilover setup. I am contemplating going from the 6” lift down to a 4”. Just a personal preference but I think the 35’s are more proportional with the 4” kits. It looks like bds/fox has the 4” lift coilover Part#: BDS-88302134 which is apparently found in the 4” suspension kit and also have the 4-6” coil over Part#: FOX883-02-114 which comes preset at 6” and can go down to 4” am I right? I think these are the ones offered in the 6” suspension kit, but I could be wrong? I don’t want to ever go any higher than 6” on my truck so with that being said, if I want to possibly go down a little (4 to 5”) do I get A. the 4” coilover that I guess can be adjusted up to 6” or B. The 4-6” coilover that can be adjusted down to 4”? Which way, up or down, degrades the ride quality of the coilover the most? I hope this all makes sense.

jdunk54nl

I've wondered if they are the same shock just pre-set to the different height. Same part numbers except one ends in 134 one ends in 114. If they aren't the same, you will almost always be better off going with the 6" and lowering it, as long as you can still have preload on the spring at 4". Less pre load is usually a cushier ride. This does have some drawbacks though if you need the pre-load because you are driving it hard enough to need it off road to stop your shock from bottoming out.

I have the 4" version with DSC (GET DSC EITHER WAY!!!!) and like them quite a bit. My installer said I could probably go up about 1" before it gets to rough though...so that does make me think that they are set up slightly different.

Either way I have the front set up at 4" of lift and the rear has 3.25" of lift over stock height. It leaves me with 1" higher rear rake which I wanted for trailer towing.

BoostGhost

thats a lot of good info that you just provided. I think if I don’t like the 4” height I’d more than likely be ok with 5”. I’m at 6” now and think it needs to come down an inch or 2 to be right. You definitely gave me some things to think about with the preload etc.

Steelhead 6.2

I put the 4" BDS on my truck and added the Fox coilovers from the 6" kit they offer. All that had to be done was to back down them down 3/4" and ...Boom... Good to go! I found this out by contacting BDS directly , by email, and they responded right away.

BoostGhost

You wouldn’t happen to remember the part number for those coil overs, would you? So you are now at the 4” lift height? Also, how is the ride now with them backed down from the 6” height? Oh and one more thing, did those coil overs also have the ability to go up from the 6” ride height? Sorry about all of the questions. Thank you for responding!

yokev

I dealt with 'em on my '12 F150 and '16 Colorado, and IIRC, their(the extended-length CO's) length is set for +4", and the extra 2" for the 6" lift is done by cranking down on the preload
FWIW, you can also run stock-length CO's, and just use the spacer. If you're unsure whether or not your truck will always stay at that height, running the stock length CO's would be the better choice since you can run stock, +2", +4", or +6" with 'em

Steelhead 6.2

I don't remember the part number, but can only tell you it's the coilover's that they offer with the 6" kit. I am at the 4" lift height and they are amazing! Night and day difference.Washboard logging roads and getting to the river to fish are such a pleasure.I believe they would have the ability to go up to the 6" mark but may not be compatible with the 4" kit to do so. With BDS, either you get the 6" kit or the 4" kit. They are not interchangeable. I found my 4" kit to be big enough. In fact, to my surprise, when i went to pick up my truck after the install was done. I really thought they made a mistake and put on the 6" lift kit. I do not regret anything about my set up and worth every penny spent.

Florida_F150

Stage 3 has two different versions, one for 4" and one for 6":

4": https://www.stage3motorsports.com/88...Lift-Kits.html

6": https://www.stage3motorsports.com/88...Lift-Kits.html

Maybe it's possible they're the same coilover just adjusted differently, but I don't think so. I have the 6" version and they're pretty long. They could probably answer that question.

BoostGhost

Right, and I see some with the 6” going up to 8” with them but maybe those are not the ones that back down to 4”. Hmm...

BoostGhost

the 4” and 6” kits use the same drop crossmembers and components. Both are around a 4.5” drop. The only difference between the 2 kits are the different sized coil overs/strut spacers and the rear blocks. Changing those 2 things and you can go from 4 to 6 or vice versa. I had BDS give me that info but waiting on them to respond about the coil over thing.