Desert Dawg,

Your truck look great and is exactly the look I'm going for in my truck. I have the platinum silver 5.0 version of yours and am going to steal most of your ideas, except for the topper. Thanks for the specs

Nunya

 

Cool....glad I can help! I really considered the Platinum and silver was my favorite color for that model. Had they had (silver) one with the EcoBoost when i decided I couldn't wait any longer on my order I am pretty sure I would have bought it. Now we need to see pics once you're done!

 

Yeah I'm deff geting 2.5 lift and same size tires but I'm getin 20x8.5 with 10mm offset .... U didn't have to trim anything and have no tires rubbing issues?

 

Desert Dawg-
Your truck looks very tasteful. Good job.

I really wanted the white but settled for silver since the EcoBoost FX2s were hard to come by in my area.
I like every mod you have done.

 

That is going to look good. I have absolutely no rubbing and did not have to trim a thing.


Thanks Bschld1; actually, silver was my favorite color to start especially when I was considering another FX4 (which I actually ordered) or the Platinum. But really liked the white with the chrome package on the XLT when I saw it, combined with the fact that it was one of the remaining EcoBoosts left in town at the time, I bought it (because I was too impatient to wait on my FX4 Eco order). But silver looks great IMHO!

 

Desert Dawg,

Question for you, I've been thinking about lifting my 2009, doing some research and ran across a couple of yours. Looks like you have had a couple different set ups and they all look great. I'm really digging your fx4 rancho 4" w/35. What set up is your favorite and why?

Thanks

 

Thanks for the compliment! Since you asked about my favorite setup, I have to say that my favorite was my 2013 FX4 with the Fox/Icon coil-over/UCA setup for the following reasons;

1. Since I didn't go with a drop bracket lift, there was no cutting or welding of factory driveline, frame, or other components.
2. If needed, I could return my truck back to factory specifications.
3. Much better on-road handling and ride with lower center of gravity and better quality/tuned, more responsive coil-overs while retaining factory alignment.
4. Still enough lift to fit larger tires for actual off-roading.
5. Much better ride, control, and all-around performance when off-roading, especially for higher speed trekking due to better performing components.
6. Truck gets a very aggressive stance but still extremely usable and accessible for daily family/business use.


The downsides;

1. Do not get as much lift; I honestly like the height and stance of the 4-inch systems over the lower coil-over or higher +6-inch lifts.
2. Limited to under 34-inch tall tires (and still have enough room for decent off-road performance).
3. Quality, high-performance coil-over systems are just as pricey, if not more, than the standard lift offerings.

Coil-over system set at 2.5-inches of lift with 33.5-inch tires:



If you're set on going with the 4-inch lift, my favorite was the Rancho system over the Fabtech as the Rancho was better engineered and stronger with its one-piece subframe versus the typical 2-member crossover pieces that Fabtech uses. Also, Fabtech had issues with their alignment cams (I experienced that as well but not sure if they have since addressed).

If I was going with a 4-inch system now, I would heavily consider the BDS system with the Fox remote reservoir coil-overs as a good compromise between a full out coil-over system and standard drop bracket system. Fabtech also has something similar using their Dirt Logic coil-overs.

Rancho has a new system (4.5-inch lift) but requires new strut assemblies that keep the factory springs.

My 4-inch Rancho system with 35-inch tires:



My 4-inch Fabtech system with 34.5-inch tires:

 

Desert Dawg,

Thanks for your insight. Gosh all three of those trucks look great! I asked for the very reason it is going to be a daily/family/business vehicle and even though I love the look of the 4" set up , I didn't want to regret it afterwards. Want to get it right the first time.

Are those the stock wheels with the fox/icon coil-over set-up? Could I go with a wider wheel without rubbing(I Was planning on those same Moro metal wheels in black/chrome) What tires do you recommend for daily use, without having to rotate and get 50k miles.

Do you have a link with info on the fox/icon coil-over or did you purchase it all from a off-road shop.

Thanks again

 

Thanks; had fun with all the builds!

Yes, on the grey FX4, I went with the factory FX4 wheels except I used 1.5-inch bolted wheel spacers from Fred Goseke (WheelAdapters.com) to push the wheels and tires out towards the fenders to give me the stance I wanted and to clear the UCAs and other components. Fred manufactures his hub-centric and wheel-centric adapters/spacers here in the US (not Chinese made) using Timken bearing steel. Solid.

I had very minimal trimming. You could go with a 20x9 wheel without any issues but I recommend keeping your offset to under +14mm or so (unless you like the tires really sticking out but that looks kind of hokey IMHO without a higher lift), but you also don't want to push the wider wheels too far into the fenders so I would keep the offset more than +30MM. Typically +24MM to +18MM works very well under 3 inches of lift and provides a great stance without looking overdone.

If you go with a 4-inch lift, then you can easily go with a 0MM offset or more (negative offset) that will still look balanced under the higher lift. But lots of folks are making the 0MM fit under lower lifts with more trimming and right tire pick.

As far as tires go, I am a big fan of the Cooper ST MAXX and Wrangler Duratracs for an aggressive hybrid AT; both have great looks with my nod going to the Coopers for slightly better dry/wet road and trail/rock performance. My third pick would be the new Goodrich KO2s but the Toyo AT II is also a really good tire; the Toyos are not as aggressive looking (even in Xtreme form) compared to the Coopers, Wranglers, or BFGs but you may really like them for all around, quiet duty.

If you go with a MT-biased tire, I really like the new Cooper STT PROs that I am currently running on my built up Tundra; they perform very well for both on- and off-road duty and look great but you do want to rotate every 5000-7500 miles as they are heavier than the At-biased options. The Nitto Trail Grapplers were too heavy and really began to turn noisy after some miles but look great and did well off-road and I didn't feel confident under wet/icy conditions. Same for the BFG KM2s.

I purchased my Fox/Icon setup from Full Race along with their EcoBoost exhaust system that was killer. Great guys to work with. I had Desert Rat in Albuquerque install the suspension and exhaust systems. http://www.full-race.com/

 

*cough*

 

lol...still not ready to pull the trigger until after the first year run (and maybe some follow-on upgrades in the second year). But I love the fact you're keeping on me from an old thread...lol.

 

Full disclosure, I'm following this thread because your truck has inspired and is inspiring me as I outfit my recently procured "winter ride":

 

Congrats on the new ride...never go wrong with white too!