Okay...I'm coming from the Super Duty realm, so bare with me here.

I've been doing a lot of research on the forum the last few days trying to get a feel for the F-150's, the different motors, and aftermarket options. I was once in an F-150 (way back in 2006-2007), but have since been in a 2008 Ford F-250 with the 6.4L Power Stroke. I'm leaning heavily toward getting back into an F-150 because I like the trucks and I'm getting tired of paying the amount in fuel cost I currently am.

One of the things I have been researching has been leveling kits. Yep, I'm one of those guys that can't leave a truck alone. I couldn't tell you the amount of changes my 6.4L has gone through. It's fun and I think a man's truck shows who he is. It's our identity. LOL

Back to the leveling kits. I notice that most guys choose to go with the cheaper options; leveling spacers and the adjustable Bilstein setup. I haven't seen very many guys running the more expensive setups from ICON and King. On my current truck, I have quite a bit invested in the suspension setup because I want the ride quality. Some would say that if I were to put stock tires and wheels back on, my truck would ride better than stock because of the suspension setup I chose to go with. It's just that smooth, even with 35" Toyo MT's. Not to mention it handles like a dream off-road.

So the gist of this thread, other than formally introducing myself, is to ask the question: are the more expensive options from ICON and King worth the money? I think we can all agree that $1500 for a leveling kit (adjustable or not) is expensive. If you can maintain a dang good ride with just a simple 2" spacer and a nice set of shocks, why pay the coin for the coilovers?

And if there are other threads on this exact topic, please feel free to scold me for wasting your time. I don't mind. LOL

 

Bilstein is the way to go. You'd be overpaying for Icon or king. Remember it's a level, not a full blown lift. The spacers won't allow downward travel where as a Bilstien shock would. The Icon would do the same as Bilstein, but for a whole lot more scratch!

 

If you want quality, Icon and Kings are the way to go, Fox also makes a top notch product. Bilstein has had some quality issues in the past and don't hold up well in off road use.

 

Icon is a great setup. I came from the Toyota world where icon is a front runner. They used to be Donahoe racing until.... Well, you can google that, it's quite gross. Not sure of radflo and camburg make cool overs for our frot ends, but it would be worth looking into as they are a high quality product.

 

There are a lot of Bilstein issues with the heavier trucks as well, even though the 5100 series are valved for the Super Duty. I run their 5160 shocks on my truck currently and have no issues.

ICON is a front runner in the Super Duty world as well.

Camburg does make a 0-3" adjustable coilover kit for the F-150's but it is crazy high. It makes the ICON kit and the King kit look cheap. It does, however, include several more parts. They consider it more of a "lift system" than a leveling kit because of the parts included, even though it only goes up to 3" in height for the front.

 

Bilsteins would be fine if you're staying on-road. As would a spacer kit. It's off-road where the stresses are much higher that the difference between them comes out.

That said, I only wish I could afford the Icons. If you can, from what I have been able to find out, they are the best. I was going to try and buy a set. Instead I decided to pay off the truck first, then start putting money into more expensive things.

If you want details, look up the type of valving they use. Strictly comparing coil-overs here, Icons use Digressive valving. King and Fox shocks use Progressive valving. You could spend days online reading about the differences, but the summation seems to be that for anything short of a race truck, Digressive works better. And even that is not the whole story, because they do race the Digressive shocks as well.
The other thing I like about Icon, is they will do an anti-corrosion plating for you. It's not just a paint, it's electrically applied like Anodizing. Being in Georgia you don't get salt like we do here in MN, so that's probably not as much of a concern.

Here's a bunch of information I compiled awhile back
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/compil...lovers-155934/
With links and such.

And one guys ride review of the Icons
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/icon-c...-review-84822/
After breaking the Bilsteins doing just minimal off-roading.

 

I personally, am looking into the RPG kits...

http://www.rpgoffroad.com

They use fox shocks. I think Fox and King are the two industry leaders as far as off road racing is concerned.

 

Yep. They are pretty awesome if you are racing. I don't feel that Progressive valving is what you really want on the street though. Because you are not going to be jumping your truck. Even if you are taking it off-road, and going fast for a street truck off-road, most of us are not going to be jumping it.

 

This setup (Camburg) looks quite nice.....and expensive. lol

http://www.trucktoyzstore.com/realm/...idcategory=463

 

Given your taste in ride quality, look no further than Fox (Camburg). I have the Camburg system and the ride quality is second to none! Word of warning, don't crank the coilovers to max lift or you'll impact the ride quality significantly. Instead, pull the factory 4wd lift block if you want the truck to be slightly higher in front (my preference), or leave it in for a mostly level look!.

Good Luck!!