06F150CFCT

I have been researching lifts like a madman recently and would like to get some info from members on here about what they know of either the 6" Zone or the 6" Rough Country. If you have either of the kits, please put up a picture or direct me to your albums. I have talked to both places already (Tech) and just want to see if I am overlooking something. I believe they both use the same bracketry for their 4" and 6". They just achieve the extra lift from the 6" strut spacers. Both utilize a 5" rear block and possible AAL additions. They are priced the same unless you can get a "deal" from a shop or talking to the company specifically. Here is my assessment of the 2:

Zone:

-Made in USA (tech support guy Jeremy made this real clear to me 1st thing about being different than RCX)
-I can use my 20x9 wheels with a 5.5" BS (according to Jeremy calling a R&D Engineer and him saying "definitely")
-optional driveshaft spacer (Jeremy said most trucks dont need it though; for what that is worth. I am still wondering about this)
-No kicker braces (RCX has them optional for $89)
-Optional steering stabilizers


Rough Country:

-Nicer looking front crossmember (Only for aesthetics)
-Potential to use 6" Bilstein struts (Not sure if Zone can)(Jeremy at Zone wanted to know the measurements of the Bilstein before he can say they would fit or not)
-Was told by someone at Topguncustomz I could use my 20x9's with a 5.5" BS (Tech at RCX said I couldnt)


Anything else anyone can think of?? Like stated above, I would appreciate any input from owners of either or something someone has come across. I have seen threads/posts about the 09-12 trucks with each but I am looking for just the 04-08 trucks. My truck is a 2006 FX4.

Thanks!

shadowrider

i went with zone because every rough country one I have seen the rear was always lower. Zone is perfectly level. Plus I got a smoking deal, $1382 with nitro shocks and the DS spacer to the door.

06F150CFCT

Yes, thanks for replying. Perfect. Exactly what I was looking for. I saw yours a little while ago and that you installed it and liked it. I couldnt remember your SN. haha. I actually have noticed the same thing with the rears being lower. Did you order the extra AAL that you could get? Also, did you get the kit straight from Zone? As in you called them and asked whats the best you can do for me type of deal? I noticed that they will ship their kits for free to any member on here (commercial address) so that is also a plus.

Glad you like the Zone so far. Makes me more interested.

bonez

Check out this thread for my build...RCX 6"

https://www.f150forum.com/f4/pics-6-...yo-m-ts-87472/

I went with the RCX 6" and the Bilsten 4-6" lift struts/shocks to replace the strut spacers that came in the kit and the shocks that came with it. Overall, I have been pleased with my decision. The only minor complaint I have is that the rear on mine was lower than the front. I bought AAL's for an extra $75 to fix that, although I haven't installed them yet. I never had the strut spacers on mine, so I can't say for sure if the rear would still be lower if I would have used them or not, but I can tell you that for a 6" lift on our trucks, you need 6" in the front and 4" in the rear. This kit only lifts 3" in the rear and with the Bilstein stuts that I purchased, I got 6" in the front. The front drop brackets are only 5" as well, so by my calculations, this is really a 5" lift for what it's worth.

All that aside, I would say that you could use your current rims (5.5" bs) with this kit as well. It says 4.5" max, but I'm running rims with 4.76" bs and I have room to spare as far as clearance between the tire and steering knuckle. I'm fairly certain that I have more than .75" extra clearance so you should be fine there. Part of being able to do that is by having larger rims (20").

Hope this helps...if you have any questions, just let me know.

06F150CFCT

This is excellent info as well. Thank you very much. Glad I now have 1 of each to compare although yours bonez is a step above since you have bilsteins at all 4 corners. I like the look of both your trucks.

I am also glad to hear from you bonez that you think my wheels will indeed fit. Thats a huge relief and just justifies what I heard from TGC. I think the kit is still a 6" kit even though the drop down bracket is 5". The extra 1" is made up by your 6" struts. It is like having a 5" lift with a 1" level. That is what it is like on your CV's and all that. This is what I gather from researching all over the internet.

I got a couple questions for you even after reading your thread:
- I see you got your kit and bilsteins for $1800. Where did you end up getting this from if you dont mind me asking?
- Was it a pain in the butt to take apart the struts and put the new Bilsteins in? I was wondering how difficult this would be to do own my own w/ a buddy.
- What brand AAL did you end up getting? Long or short?
- Did you consider getting the kicker braces?

Thanks again for the great info!

bonez

Yeah, the front might be 6" either way, spacers or longer struts, but I know the rear setup that comes in the kit is only 5". That's probably why most people end up with the rear lower than the front. The stock rear block is 2" and the block in the kit is 5". You need an addional 4" in the rear to make 6" of lift, so the block in the kit is 1" shy of that. I got the short AAL for mine. It might have been a smarter move to go for the long one so the ride was a litle softer because I've heard the short one makes for a rougher ride, but I guess I'll have to see what happens when I get some time to install it.

As for your questions...

I got the kit from TGC. I worked a deal with them on the lift because I found it cheaper elsewhere, so they knocked off a little $$ because I told them I would buy the lift and Bilsteins from them. Otherwise, I would have only bought the Bilteins from them and the lift from another site.

Taking the struts apart, in theory, is not hard at all. However, I ran into issues because the nuts that hold the strut caps on both froze on me when I got them about halfway off. It was hard to find any shops open on the weekend because it was Saturday night before I got to that part. I found one shop open on Sunday, and the "master mechanic" didn't even know how to put them in their spring compressor the right way, so he told me that he couldn't do it. I was just planning on compressing them enough with their compressor and cutting them off. I ended up going to my buddies father-in-laws house, using the cheap compressors you get from autozone to compress it, and used a torch to cut the rods so that I could get them apart. If the nuts would have just come off, it would have been easy, so just keep that in mind. I would recommend having someone with a torch available in case you have the same issue that I did.

I got the Rough Country short AAL and no, I didn't consider getting the kicker braces.

KingRanch4Life

iTrader: (2)

Same questions I was asking a month ago.. Couldn't decide and neither zone or RCX could tell me about my 5.5bs.. They test their kits on 17-18 inch rims... I have 22's... Purchased the RCX 6" because of the design and no kicker braces.. Before installation my Rancho 4" arrived with the 9000xl strut/shocks... Sent the RCX back.. It's a pretty good kit in my opinion..

06F150CFCT

Thats right. I remember you answering a couple of my previous questions as well. It's a shame they discontinued that kit. I feel like depending who you get on the line at Tech support you will get a different answer.

KingRanch4Life

iTrader: (2)

Exactly... No way I was going to buy more rims just to fit that kit.. Come to find out the kit will work with 5.5bs

06F150CFCT

TGC...okay thats who I was looking at. I was thinking of doing a few things for the price. If I was to go the RCX route, which I am leaning towards the more I think about it, I want to go to ebay and find Rough Country's listing for the 6" kit and do the "make an offer" choice. Then if that comes back a no-go I will call Rough Country directly and see what they can do. Finally, I will call TGC and ask what they can do. I emailed someone at TGC, a girl, Jody McNeely responded to me and said they could ship the bilsteins for free if I pay for the kit and bilsteins and then shipping on the lift kit....that clearly isnt going to happen so hopefully I can get a good deal like you did from them. For the AAL, I was looking at the Pro Comp 2" AAL for $100. It is a long type which is nice and is from Summit Racing.

That sounded like the strut install was a nightmare for you...I hope that wouldnt happen to me. I wonder why the top nut froze like that and needed to be torched off. It is good to hear that the cheap compressors will work. I heard mixed stories on them, so I know i will have to be especially careful.