Best suspension for onroad ride quality?

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xxaarraa

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Hello folks,

Background: 85k miles on my 2017 and still love this truck. I used to rock crawl in the early days but have since moved to a different part of the country and had two kids so the offroading is past me for a while. This is now a daily driver family hauler and tow vehicle and likely to remain that way for a while.

Which brings me to my current needs. My front shocks (stock, already replaced once at 60k now at 85k) are blown and I need to replace them.

What aftermarket coilovers are the best option for improved onroad performance? Ideally, I would retain the cushy/floaty/comfy ride quality of a stock truck for the most part but pickup a little bit of firmness (especially on the rebound) so that the truck doesn't lean or bounce around as much. I am also all ears for best option to add a rear swaybar for the same reason. Money/expense is no object.

Thanks a lot for your thoughts,
 

zombiekiller

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Hello folks,

Background: 85k miles on my 2017 and still love this truck. I used to rock crawl in the early days but have since moved to a different part of the country and had two kids so the offroading is past me for a while. This is now a daily driver family hauler and tow vehicle and likely to remain that way for a while.

Which brings me to my current needs. My front shocks (stock, already replaced once at 60k now at 85k) are blown and I need to replace them.

What aftermarket coilovers are the best option for improved onroad performance? Ideally, I would retain the cushy/floaty/comfy ride quality of a stock truck for the most part but pickup a little bit of firmness (especially on the rebound) so that the truck doesn't lean or bounce around as much. I am also all ears for best option to add a rear swaybar for the same reason. Money/expense is no object.

Thanks a lot for your thoughts,

I like King shocks. Fox works too, I just prefer King. what will make the most difference is tuning the suspension to your liking. rebound is not adjustable on those size shocks, but you'll be able to adjust high and low-speed compression. If for whatever reason, you need to, you can re-valve the king shocks rather easily.

I would not add a rear sway bar. I'd add a set of deaver +2 leaf springs.

If you do front coilovers, rear leaf springs, and rear shocks, you won't feel the need for a rear sway bar.

I'd also recommend doing outer tie rods. it will firm up the steering. ( in a good way).
 
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xxaarraa

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I like King shocks. Fox works too, I just prefer King. what will make the most difference is tuning the suspension to your liking. rebound is not adjustable on those size shocks, but you'll be able to adjust high and low-speed compression. If for whatever reason, you need to, you can re-valve the king shocks rather easily.

I would not add a rear sway bar. I'd add a set of deaver +2 leaf springs.

If you do front coilovers, rear leaf springs, and rear shocks, you won't feel the need for a rear sway bar.

I'd also recommend doing outer tie rods. it will firm up the steering. ( in a good way).

Thank you for a thoughtful response.

When you say doing outer tie rods, do you mean replacing with stock or are there aftermarket recommendations? I see RPG and SVC both make some, but they seem to be offroad specific applications. I also would like to avoid the extra NVH associated with race applications (have a track car so ask me how I know)
 

zombiekiller

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Thank you for a thoughtful response.

When you say doing outer tie rods, do you mean replacing with stock or are there aftermarket recommendations? I see RPG and SVC both make some, but they seem to be offroad specific applications. I also would like to avoid the extra NVH associated with race applications (have a track car so ask me how I know)

the factory outer tire rod ends have slop in them by design. doing outer tierods from someone like SVC will take some of the vagueness out of the steering.

NVH? that's what intercoms with noise-canceling headsets are for. :cool:
 
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xxaarraa

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OK I had the car checked out at my local shop (not Ford dealer) and they are saying my entire rack and pinion steering gear assembly (part # HL3Z3504P) is defective along with inner tie rods.

I have a Ford platinum extended warranty (OE Ford warranty not aftermarket) upto 100k miles so anyone know if a steering assembly will be covered under that? I can't imagine something like a steering assembly is a wear part correct so Ford should cover it?
 

zombiekiller

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it should be, unless the inner tie rod and seal have been replaced. If they are factory bits, warranty should cover it.

If not, its a $1600 part and takes about 30 minutes to swap out.

If the rack is gone, I would have the shop check the steering shaft joints too. ( they tend to either fail at the same time, or immediately after the EPAS rack.)
 

reptonet

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The Bilstein Shocks that I ordered from 4wheelonline gave my truck a smoother and quieter ride on highways and even in rough roads.
 
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