I just had a 1.5" AS leveling kit installed yesterday on my 2011 FX4. I am taking it to the alignment shop on Tuesday to get a full alignment done before my new wheels/tires go on...



Here is my concern, my truck drives straight as an arrow, it still rides the same as stock, but the front end doesn't seem as stable, particularly when making quick steering inputs. The truck seems to have more front end body roll, seems to have a "looser" feel up front....Not near as tight/stable as before the leveling kit... I would be afraid to take avasive maneuvers or take it through a slalom course...LOL



I am not sure if this is just due to the increased ride height or the fact the alignment may be off, I just thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone else with leveling kits have noticed any loss steering feel/tightness...??



I really liked the tight feel of the stock height, felt like a 4x4 sports car to me, handled well, very stable around turns, even at speed etc. I am pretty disappointed about this but...maybe that is just one of the trade offs of having a leveled truck..



Thoughts?



I will report back after the alignment and see if it gets any better....



Thanks for any feedback

 

I have a ready lift 2.5" leveling kit and mine felt more stable after. i dunno what to tell ya. I do know body roll and suspension geometry well enough from my sports cars so I know what you're referring to. I just didn't have the same problem with mine.

 

Don't go trying to compare the ride quality yet without performing the alignment.

But the vehicle's center of gravity will be higher so there may be inherent tendencies for the vehicle to roll more; however, with "only" 2.5 inches higher, it just may not be perceivable enough to notice the difference in a 6,000 pound truck as I doubt you will be flinging it around like, say, a Mustang (if so, then you should be looking at lowering your truck, such as via drop shackle kit).

My truck rides just fine and like "stock" as far as I can tell!

 

Mine rides as good as stock but the EPS sometimes feel's a little weird when making sharp turn's.

 

I guess a better way to describe the difference from stock is.. If I am cruising along straight and do a quick cut to the left or right and return to center (like to avoid road debris or pot holes or something) the truck seems to have considerably more front end body roll but more importantly, it seems to sway back and forth just a bit until it settles a bit from the maneuver......it takes a very minimal amount of steering input to make this "sway" from side to side occur. It definitely was not like this before the leveling kit install. After reading the instructions again for the leveling kit, they say that after the alignment the front end should lower a bit....I hope this is true.... I used a AS 1.5" leveling kit and it picked it up every bit of 2". Almost a bit nose high when you look at it but fenderwell to ground measurements show it to be about level...

LF--39"
RF-- 39.25"
LR-- 39"
RR-- 38.75"

I am hoping the alignment will knock a .25-.5" off the front height....if not I may add a leaf to get some geometry back...I really don't want to add a leaf though because with only 33" tires I think the rear would look goofy raised up.

 

Hmm, I don't have that "swaying" characteristic at all with my 2" leveler, but I didn't drive it "hard" at all when I was bringing it to the alignment shop after installing the spacer. One thing to keep in mind is that you must leave all your suspension arms, lower strut bolts and sway bar loose until you drop it and drive it around to settle a bit, then tighten and torque with the suspension resting on the ground normally. Tightening everything at full droop (when it's up on jackstands) may be causing the condition you are experiencing as the bushings want to "rotate" back to their tightened droop position.

Also, I think 2" levelers bring the truck level, or just a tad nose higher (4WDs), so a 1.5" should be just fine, or maybe even a slight rake. Perhaps an alignment and allowing everything to settle in time should bring the truck to the stance you are looking for. Again, tightening everything at full droop may inadvertently be inducing a slightly higher "lift" than intended.

 

[QUOTE=ajrothm;4644907]I just had a 1.5" AS leveling kit installed yesterday on my 2011 FX4. I am taking it to the alignment shop on Tuesday to get a full alignment done before my new wheels/tires go on...



Here is my concern, my truck drives straight as an arrow, it still rides the same as stock, but the front end doesn't seem as stable, particularly when making quick steering inputs. The truck seems to have more front end body roll, seems to have a "looser" feel up front....Not near as tight/stable as before the leveling kit... I would be afraid to take avasive maneuvers or take it through a slalom course...LOL



I am not sure if this is just due to the increased ride height or the fact the alignment may be off, I just thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone else with leveling kits have noticed any loss steering feel/tightness...??



I really liked the tight feel of the stock height, felt like a 4x4 sports car to me, handled well, very stable around turns, even at speed etc. I am pretty disappointed about this but...maybe that is just one of the trade offs of having a leveled truck..



Thoughts?



I will report back after the alignment and see if it gets any better....



Thanks for any feedback

 

A couple pics of it with the leveling kit installed before the new wheels/tires go on.....(sorry the truck is completely filthy due to rain this week)

Looks to be sitting a bit nose high to me but.... I just remeasured and its basically 39" from the fender trim to the ground on all fours so....it measures out level but it damn sure looks higher in the front to me... I am hoping it drops a bit after the alignment...otherwise will do an add a leaf.

 

It's the optical illusion of having the front wheel opening to be more oblong (larger in some areas) than the rear wheel opening in order to allow more clearance for the front tire to accommodate all possible turning angles and articulation. Look carefully at your own photo of the truck's profile and you should be able to see the difference in shape of the wheel openings...

 

I got my alignment completed today....all it needed was a toe adjustment. The truck steers much more stable and less "twitchy" then it was before the alignment....The steering wheel tension/effort is increased now just like it was before the leveling kit went in..... I still feel a bit of body roll in turns and avasive manuevers but....I attribute that to the increased front end height....

Ironically, after the alignment, my front end height actually seems to have gone UP .25".....Now both front fenders are measuring 39.25" to the ground.

So the driveability is much improved, still not quite as good as stock. I do "feel" the bumps a little more and with the body roll, its not quite as sporty as it was stock but I guess that is just the trade off of a leveled truck...Its definitely liveable...

On another note, I went to Discount Tire to pick up my BMF Novakanes and Terra Grapplers and the tire tech noticed some weird machining marks and blotchy "stains" in the machined aluminum sections.... So we are sending them back to BMF and getting another set so it will be another week before I get the new wheels/tires installed.... Man nothing ever goes easy...

 

Do you plan on checking the alignment again after you put on the wheel's and tires?

 

No probably not... I talked to the Frame Shop owner and he said for the size tires/wheels I will be using its not going to make any difference in the alignment....

Aside from that, I don't want to take a chance scratching my new wheels up. They had the laser machines that clamp on to each wheel and they shove in between the wheel edge and the tire bead..... No way am I going to chance scratching up a $400 wheel...

All of my settings were in spec EXCEPT for toe...it was WAY off.....It made a big difference in how the truck drives now.... Not quite as good as stock but...pretty damn good.