The ULTIMATE guide to lifting your Ranger Raptor

[Lion77]

So no one knows exactly what shocks they were running, but we know they definitely werent factory. This is proven by the threaded bodies. That class has no restrictions on shocks, as long they can be bolted in with out modifying the chassis.
All they would have need to be is 1-2in longer in overall length to move the stroke range enough to give proper clearance at full compression for 35s. Same concept as fitting strut spacers.

The fact is though, 315/70r17 rub on the uca and the chassis in the rear on factory p55 offset wheels. So you need to have at least a p40 offset for the wider width (i did a whole thread about this.

As you said, trying to emulate a factory race truck is never going to translate, as true specs are hidden.

what we have found on production vehicles that to safely fit 35s , you need a 2” front and 1” rear strut spacer.

The shocks were factory Fox shocks with an updated custom calibration specifically for Finke and perch collars were custom machined by fox to allow them to compensate for the additional weight. Specifically, the collars were adjustable vs. fixed.

1. They used factory springs + adjustable collars to compensate for the weight gain of the cage, parts and fuel.

2. We know that by using perch collars there is a loss in overall travel, so the shocks will bottom out sooner. The adjustable perch collars also acted to limit travel up into the wheel well, so they didn't have to increase ride height (thus a higher CG) aside from the small increase from tire size, thus serving a dual purpose of limiting travel to accommodate the 35" KO2's and allowing for proper ride height with increased weight.

3. In 2025 they used a custom shock cal just for Finke along with their adjustable collars.

4. Perch collars also prevented as much increase in CG as strut spacers + 35" tire (you're talking almost 3 inches in added CG, that's not necessarily good for racing applications as you have to balance CG and clearance, it's not a crawler), so their use of perch collars makes sense for its very specific application.

I think it's safe to say that if you want to copy the RR race truck, use perch collars with FP spec K02's in 315/70R17 and wheels with a +35mm to +25mm offset, but know you're losing some travel and a bit less articulation, so you'll bottom out a bit sooner on travel.

The stock setup has the lowest CG for road / smoother-faster terrain, maximum travel and minimizes rotating mass and final drive. It's actually a very good general-purpose setup.

I would say per collars + 315/70R17's is more of a "race / baja / track" specific setup where 2" strut spacer lift + 35s is more of a 4x4 optimized setup. Stock ride height and 33" K03's is a good all-around setup with the best road handling and 95% of the race setup capability.

In fact, they said in the FP videos covering the pre-running of the race team that the stock RR chase trucks and pre-runners were just as fast, the driver even like the stock pre-runners on the woops BETTER than his race truck and couldn't get it dialed quite like the stock pre-runners, so the settled for "as close as you can get and i'll adjust).

My guess is the combination of weight and LESS overall travel due to their use of perch collars, it was likely bottoming out much more frequently but given their need for adjustability and probably what was available to them, they worked with what they had.

The ONLY reason for running 35"s on the race truck was primarily ground clearance on the Baja 1000, not so much Finke, since Baja can get pretty rutted and rocky, but it's also much slower average speed than Finke, so there was more of an emphasis on clearance than travel and handling.

Seems to me that it was actually working against them at Finke since the driver liked the stock pre-runners better! Just goes to show, you can make a truck do a lot of stuff, but when it comes to racing, it's always optimized for a specific task. Jack of tall trades, master of none, or master of one trade, but useless elsewhere.

So, figure out what YOU want to use your truck for the most. If it's mostly 4x4 optimization, 2" GOAT spacers + 35's is the WAY TO GO. If it's mostly dirt fire roads, gravel roads, highway and sand dunes, STOCK is actually the best. If it's a hybrid use case where you do a wide mixture of things, maybe the race setup might be a good option, just know it's limitations in travel.

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[Lion77]

Anyone have pics with 2in (32mm) spacers front and rear with 35in tire mounted?

The folsom lake realty RR higher up on this thread has 2" GOAT spacers on 35" tires (MT's), I think +25mm offset wheels.

 

[Lion77]

BTW, look at how much clearance there is from the skit plate to the ground, but how far those tires are up in the wheel wells:

I think the perch collars are definitely limiting travel and that's why it wasn't as smooth on the whoops as the chase trucks. It all fits and make sense how they got 35"s without a lift and just minor trimming. They settled for the trade-off in travel for the benefits of slightly more clearance and moderate gain in CG just from the tires alone.

So, the setup works ONLY because they needed to add pre-load to compensate for weight, so by necessity, they had to counteract the weight gain. Since the larger tires needed more limited travel to prevent hitting inside the wheel well, it worked to also limit travel enough for the tire size.

If the truck didn't need more pre-load, the concept wouldn't have quite worked out as they would have needed to increase ride height with spacers or collars (while also loosing travel), and other methods would have been needed. So, it's VERY specific to the race truck application.

So, it kind of gave them a nice balance of trade-offs and maybe could be an option for overlanding rigs that want to run 35's but not necessarily lift too much.

 

[CrustyNoodle]

BTW, look at how much clearance there is from the skit plate to the ground, but how far those tires are up in the wheel wells:

I think the perch collars are definitely limiting travel and that's why it wasn't as smooth on the whoops as the chase trucks. It all fits and make sense how they got 35"s without a lift and just minor trimming. They settled for the trade-off in travel for the benefits of slightly more clearance and moderate gain in CG just from the tires alone.

So, the setup works ONLY because they needed to add pre-load to compensate for weight, so by necessity, they had to counteract the weight gain. Since the larger tires needed more limited travel to prevent hitting inside the wheel well, it worked to also limit travel enough for the tire size.

If the truck didn't need more pre-load, the concept wouldn't have quite worked out as they would have needed to increase ride height with spacers or collars (while also loosing travel), and other methods would have been needed. So, it's VERY specific to the race truck application.

So, it kind of gave them a nice balance of trade-offs and maybe could be an option for overlanding rigs that want to run 35's but not necessarily lift too much.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but done correctly, perch collars do nothing to change the amount of travel of the shock and therefore wheel articulation.
Done incorrectly, they force the spring to fully compress and go solid before the internal bump stop compresses. In this situation they would indeed reduce travel. No one in their right mind would adjust the perch to point where the spring was the limiting factor - that would break things the first time you bottomed.

 

[nedmo]

Would a 1.5/1" lift be good enough to fit a 255/85r17 skinny "35s"

It would be right on the edge of adequate clearance at full compression.

 

[Daweism]

It would be right on the edge of adequate clearance at full compression.

If using only a 1" front spacer with stock rears, would you still need to recalibrate using forscan or is it minimal enough to retain factory tolerances in the ECU?

 

[Lion77]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but done correctly, perch collars do nothing to change the amount of travel of the shock and therefore wheel articulation.
Done incorrectly, they force the spring to fully compress and go solid before the internal bump stop compresses. In this situation they would indeed reduce travel. No one in their right mind would adjust the perch to point where the spring was the limiting factor - that would break things the first time you bottomed.

Not necessarily. It depends on how the shock is designed. On some shocks the perch collar is also the stopping point for the bump stops on the bottom end of the shock, so it could limit travel that way. If the ball joint end with its lip is the stopping point, then no, it wouldn't unless it's adjusted so high up that the spring limits travel.

Please do explain though, if what I'm saying is incorrect, how the race team got 35's to fit on a stock ride height without the tire tearing up the entire wheel well / fender liner? Unless they had different bump stops that were perhaps longer and limited travel, that might have been something they did since they did swap them out for different designs, who knows if they were factory length or extended to accomodate the 35's.

 

[nedmo]

If using only a 1" front spacer with stock rears, would you still need to recalibrate using forscan or is it minimal enough to retain factory tolerances in the ECU?

Yes any change to ride height should have a recalibration done.

 

[nedmo]

Not necessarily. It depends on how the shock is designed. On some shocks the perch collar is also the stopping point for the bump stops on the bottom end of the shock, so it could limit travel that way. If the ball joint end with its lip is the stopping point, then no, it wouldn't unless it's adjusted so high up that the spring limits travel.

Please do explain though, if what I'm saying is incorrect, how the race team got 35's to fit on a stock ride height without the tire tearing up the entire wheel well / fender liner? Unless they had different bump stops that were perhaps longer and limited travel, that might have been something they did since they did swap them out for different designs, who knows if they were factory length or extended to accomodate the 35's.

Yeah this is the reason I dont really put much stock on trying to emulate the race car. There is so many areas of the suspension they can tweak and still call it "factory" that its not really relevant to the daily user.

 

[GLW]

Yeah this is the reason I dont really put much stock on trying to emulate the race car. There is so many areas of the suspension they can tweak and still call it "factory" that its not really relevant to the daily user.

@nedmo, where can I get your Fordscan instructions for recalibration after adding leveling kit?
Thank you for all your help.

 

[nedmo]

@nedmo, where can I get your Fordscan instructions for recalibration after adding leveling kit?
Thank you for all your help.

Its available in our Tech Talk section on the site. https://goatoffroad.com.au/blogs/tech-talk/next-gen-ranger-raptor-ride-height-calibration

Its also linked via QR code in the install guide for the strut spacers

 

[GLW]

Its available in our Tech Talk section on the site. https://goatoffroad.com.au/blogs/tech-talk/next-gen-ranger-raptor-ride-height-calibration

Its also linked via QR code in the install guide for the strut spacers

This is awesome. You’re very helpful. Thank you.
Gary

 

[GLW]

Its available in our Tech Talk section on the site. https://goatoffroad.com.au/blogs/tech-talk/next-gen-ranger-raptor-ride-height-calibration

Its also linked via QR code in the install guide for the strut spacers

A dumb question. My neighbor and I used forescan earlier to recalibrate my RR after having a leveling kit installed. I’m just not sure we did it correctly. So, any harm if we did the recalibration again following your instructions?

 

[embedded rock]

How would one know if the RR was successfully releveled/calibrated?

 

[GLW]

How would one know if the RR was successfully releveled/calibrated?

The instructions Nedmo provided above provides a pre and post look over.
we didn’t do a pre look and a couple of other things during the recalibration that makes me question if we in fact recalibrated. Thus the desire to do it again.

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