Do you prefer lifted or stock Gen2 Raptor?

I like the factory package. But I rather have a leveled truck. I even leveled 2WD trucks in the back, as it just reminds me of an old jacked up muscle car, back in the day on air shocks! All wrong in every way.

But I do understand with trucks it’s for several reasons and the factory is trying to preserve tow numbers and functionality. I can respect individuality and a persons needs and wants in a truck. Doing it Mickey Mouse I can never quite get.

I like the stock stance on my 20.
Im still just getting used to the Fox live suspension, which I like so far.
(I don’t want to mess with it yet, lol)
But I do get that everyone has a different style and need, so just do what works best for you.

I like the stock stance of a factory fresh unladen Raptor w/ a 170 lb dude driving it. While the suspension I'm sure settles some over time - my '18 now has 19.5k on it - I dislike how its droops a good bit if you had 400+ lbs in the bed, tow anything over 2500 lbs, & when I had my truck loaded up w/ 2 kids/car seats, 75 lb dobie, wife, kayak & 10 days worth of clothes/gear in bed + a 3k lb dual jet ski trailer - it rides lower than a ******** 2wd Tundra lol!!! Maybe not that bad, but def not the stance of the ultimate offroad truck.

Also - the design of the cab/body makes me feel like it should be riding higher to begin with - and I get that it has a "tucked in" longer travel suspension setup & its designed to have heavy rake & be "hunkered down" & all that - but my '15 Sierra 4x4 after adding Bilstein 5100 leveling shocks top notch in front & adding 1" taller block in rear riding on 33"s had the doors sitting much higher up than my Raptor does stock despite the Raptor still having better ground clearance than the "lifted" GMC I believe. Part of that is especially due to the door design they're quite big stampings & the way the curve & fold vs. just cutting off straight @ 90 degrees like my GMC is part of the problem.

Example of why this bothers me - I park my truck in driveway 90% of the time tight next to a retaining wall on the right side of my driveway. I can't open the rear door to load my dog/kids in w/o scraping the bottom of it on the retaining wall b/c it sits too low. My GMC w/ 2" lift had the doors clearing w/ like 1/2"!!!

So while the ground clearance is definitely acceptable in stock form, you don't get as much benefit from the "factory lift" of the Raptor as you would think in some ways.

So I mainly prefer the "small lift w/ factory rake" look the most - leveled looks great when you & the truck are on a diet, but the second you start USING it as intended & loading up the fam/gear for trips it sits lower than a regular 1/2 ton again or nose high - no thanks.

I have the Eibach leveling springs sitting in my garage, but waiting to install for when I save enough additional $$$ for a set of Deaver +3 or +3 HD's

Just hoping I don't dislike the firmer ride.....its alot of $$$ to gain 2" in front & 1" in back....but as long as it helps save the rear shocks from increased wear during heavy payloads/towing AND prevents that terrible sag/nose-high look I'll be happy. Less wheel hop would be nice too.

When it comes to the leveling kit which is the best one to get for the money?

There are two ways to do it. With springs or with collars. I have heard of good results with both, but decided to go with Eibach springs. I got mine for 195.00 shipped Black Friday direct. Collars are close in price give or take 50.00. Geiser springs probably more than the eibach’s. Again it has been preference, but for me just replacing the whole spring instead of doing a modification to the factory one’s just sounded better. I read a lot here and talked to many, along with Eibach themselves.

I've added Eibachs and Icon delta joints to the front, gave it about 1 and three quarters attitude adjustment in the front which Inwas going after. The rear is Icon springs with SDHQ 1" drop shackle effectively giving it zero lift over stock. I dont lift my trucks in the traditional sense, I prefer performance enhancements.

Lifting a Raptor with say a Fabtech lift or equivalent is just a waste.

2019 with Deaver plus 3's in the back. That gets rid of the crappy stock spring and the hop that goes along with it and the cheesy 2" block. SVC Adjustable coil system up front levels the truck and believe me does not affect how the truck handles on or off road. The deavers are a huge improvement for me because they add payload capacity and they smooth out the rear end off road. This truck is my daily but also used as a chase truck/pre runner for our Bike team in Score events.

I have put Ibach springs in front to level the front and love the ride and the way it firms up the front end just a bit. It also handles very well offroading. I use my truck for DD and high speed offroading. Rear springs are stock at this point, but i'm thinking of replacing them with dever springs stock height.

elindley01 said:

I think there's a lot of confusion on this thread. I absolutely understand everyone has a personal preference of how their ideal Raptor looks cosmetically. Some prefer the OEM look and some prefer a modified look. But throughout the discussions, it sounds as if we're only considering three options: it stays OEM, performs as designed and is a good daily driver, level it, or you lift it to the sky and it is useless. Myself, I like a more robust and wider stance than stock, but I refuse to lose the usability of the OEM setup. So for those that want a more aggressive look than OEM, but still retain all usability I'd recommend Geisers and Deavers. I've given mine a taller and wider stance plus 37x13.50s, while still maintaining it's off-road usability and daily drivability. Plus, it still fits in my garage. I'm just saying it doesn't have to be bone stock, levelled or lifted to the sky.View attachment 130838 View attachment 130839

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I absolutely LOVE your truck. Mind me asking exactly which Geiser/Deavers setup you went with? Also what size is your wheel? Absolutely phenominal. Also, you feel the added weight from tires are noticable in the drive?

Factory stock rocks! I don’t like aftermarket wheels, lift kits, etc on Raptors.