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Hey guys. As the title states, I am looking for your input on lowering kits. I have a 2018 RCSB 2WD 2.7 ecoboost. I have read countless threads and comments on here about lowering these trucks, and honestly, I am still just as uncertain now, as I was before reading. I have determined that majority of members that run the bell tech kits are unhappy with them, but what about the guys running crown, maxtrac, and the other kits on the market. At the moment I feel certain I want to go 3/5, and I’m tossing back and forth the crown suspension parts and the maxtrac kit. If anyone has advice or words to the wise, that would be a huge help. This is my first f150, and I am still not very well versed in them. I plan on sticking with my factory 20” lariat wheels with the 275/55/R20 Michelin’s. I have added a recent photo as this is the current status of my truck. I think we can all agree it needs more low 😂 Thanks for any suggestions or advice given.
I've had the suspension out from under my truck probably a half dozen times trying to get it where it was dependable and offered an acceptable ride. I think your perception of the available kits is pretty good, at least from my experience. If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely use the Maxtrac spindles for the front. As far as the back is concerned, I don't think there's a huge difference from one flip kit to another. You need to be prepared to struggle with drive shaft vibration in the wake of lowering your truck though. Sometimes the drive shaft shudder is never completely resolved. I was lucky as I was able to eliminate it, but it's not always the case.
I'll add to your list of negatives by including the djm drop control arms. Mine interfered with the steering links and also had a tire shake problem. I occasionally put the front of the truck on jack stands and retighten the mounting bolts to make sure everything is ok. I love the way my truck looks and rides, but it's been a struggle to get it here and keep it dependable.
Before anybody gets their panties in a wad this is just my opinion that I've formed from my experience.
edit: I'm going to add in that as far as the djm arms are concerned, the interference was cause by running the front a little lower than designed. The bushing set up however in my experience however leaves a lot of room for improvement.
Last edited by rojizostang; 09-10-2018 at 07:16 AM.
Thanks for the advice! Ive read where some people have had trouble getting the front end aligned after the maxtrac 3” install. This is my biggest concern. And I’ve heard people say the spindles may cause rubbing depending on which wheels you run. How were you able to eliminate your driveline vibrations?
Originally Posted by rojizostang
I've had the suspension out from under my truck probably a half dozen times trying to get it where it was dependable and offered an acceptable ride. I think your perception of the available kits is pretty good, at least from my experience. If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely use the Maxtrac spindles for the front. As far as the back is concerned, I don't think there's a huge difference from one flip kit to another. You need to be prepared to struggle with drive shaft vibration in the wake of lowering your truck though. Sometimes the drive shaft shudder is never completely resolved. I was lucky as I was able to eliminate it, but it's not always the case.
I'll add to your list of negatives by including the djm drop control arms. Mine interfered with the steering links and also had a tire shake problem. I occasionally put the front of the truck on jack stands and retighten the mounting bolts to make sure everything is ok. I love the way my truck looks and rides, but it's been a struggle to get it here and keep it dependable.
Before anybody gets their panties in a wad this is just my opinion that I've formed from my experience.
edit: I'm going to add in that as far as the djm arms are concerned, the interference was cause by running the front a little lower than designed. The bushing set up however in my experience however leaves a lot of room for improvement.
Thanks for the advice! Ive read where some people have had trouble getting the front end aligned after the maxtrac 3” install. This is my biggest concern. And I’ve heard people say the spindles may cause rubbing depending on which wheels you run. How were you able to eliminate your driveline vibrations?
relocating the carrier bearing solved it for me. The pumpkin however is tipped upward in relation to the drive shaft instead of slightly downward as it would have been originally. Most say this is bad as far as lubricating the pinion bearings are concerned, but I've been driving it like that for probably 4 years without any apparently negative effects.
I trimmed the mount completely away and the bearing is mounted right to the cross member. My truck is a '13 though. You may have a single piece drive though, I'm not sure. I had a 07 mustang that I lowered a few years back and the only thing I could do to get rid of the drive shaft vibe was to install a custom built drive shaft from dss that had a constant velocity joint at the back instead of a ujoint. Just saying that because that might be an option if you have a one piece drive shaft and wind up with a drive line vibe that you can't eliminate with adjusting the pinion angle and relocating the carrier bearing, if you have one.
I'm going to throw in that as much as I love the way my truck looks (included is it rides pretty good for a lowered truck), it's been a headache getting it and keeping it here.
Put it this way, I also have a '17 supercab that I would love to lower, but my experience keeps me from doing it. It's just so much easier to drive it as it is and not have to deal with everything that goes along with altering the stock suspension.
oh btw another member said the spindles won't work on an ecoboost truck
Last edited by rojizostang; 09-10-2018 at 07:44 AM.
Be careful when you lower an RC. I've heard if you go too far in the rear you "could" run into issues where the drive shaft can bottom out and hit a cross member. The drive shaft "may" also need to be shortened.
If I was going to do it again, I would use the maxtracs and then look for a different 20" spare wheel/tire. That is why I didn't do the spindles is because I didn't want to spend the money for the larger spare tire. Seems like the spindles are the better way to go. I currently don't have any issues with my struts but I have only gone about 5k miles so far.
09-09-2018, 10:21 PM
Recommendations on lowering kits
