Anyone wanting to lift/level a Ranger Raptor should read this!

[AlpineBike]

Hello everyone,
So I just got off the phone with a very knowledgeable tech at Fox Factory NA. I specifically asked him if Fox signs off on any existing Lift/leveling kits on the market for the new Ranger raptor platform. He said that, although some drivers won’t feel the difference, it absolutely negatively affects the performance of the suspension on these trucks. The 2.5 live valve shocks on these trucks are designed with a “droop” zone, “static sag” zone, and “compression zone”. When you add a lift kit or spring perch spacer the shock then statically rides outside of its factory sag zone. This throws everything off about the compression and rebound circuits throughout the positive and negative travel.
The external “ride height” sensors don’t really care about actual ride height, they care about how fast any particular shock is compressing or rebounding. This is what gives feedback to the computer to make instantaneous adjustments to the damping circuits. The only way to correctly calibrate these OEM live valve shocks for a change in ride height is to dismantle them completely and modify those zones internally within the shock. There is no “Recalibrating” to be done software wise. He did say that if you send your shocks in to Fox, they can do it as part of a standard service.

More excitingly he did tell me that they are working on an aftermarket kit for this new platform. It would be a complete shock replacement, which would allow you to change ride height and compression/rebound damping adjustments on the fly but still have 100% plug and play compatibility with the factory drive modes and live valve system. He said that it was probably a year out and would be a factory level shock.

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[Tr1tium]

I’m surprised people don’t know this. Adding spacers or perch or whatever they feel like calling them today will absolutely wear your shocks out prematurely. I learned the hard way with a TRD pro 4runner that at 50,000 miles the Fox shocks were toast because I had a Westcott lift. They say they aren’t spacers but they are spacers, just called something else for marketing.

 

[John E Davies]

Thanks, that verifies my suspicions about simply adding preload, I couldn’t see how that would retain all the excellent factory features and adjustability that represent countless hours of Ford lab and field testing. I guess I will keep the front end stock, and not lift it as I was hoping to do…. OTH I do like the raked look. I just wish there was a little more ground clearance under the skid plate….

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[Rousseb90]

I’m surprised people don’t know this. Adding spacers or perch or whatever they feel like calling them today will absolutely wear your shocks out prematurely. I learned the hard way with a TRD pro 4runner that at 50,000 miles the Fox shocks were toast because I had a Westcott lift. They say they aren’t spacers but they are spacers, just called something else for marketing.

Fox/Toyota recommends a complete shock service at 50k miles with 50/50 on-road/offroad use. I’d say you got the anticipated lifespan of your shocks. I had a Westcott lift on my 21 TRD Pro Tacoma w/ 61k miles when I traded it in on my RR. I had no premature failure but did plan on replacing them if I decided to keep it.

 

[jeffers]

This doesn't apply to non RR, except for the part about losing droop, which ultimately reduces articulation. When you lift a truck you gain ground clearance but lose articulation, you can kind of solve this with a long travel kit. Ultimately I think the RR suspension is pretty complex because its computer controlled so if you modify it you confuse the computer. FX4 suspensions are dumb, not computer controlled, so will be less finicky. Cool might be an FX4 with the control arms from the RR, and some reservoir Bilsteins when they come out.

For reference I stole all this information on lifts, droop, and articulation from: Tinkerer's Adventure. So if he's wrong, I'm wrong.

I'm honestly tempted to get some pizza cutters 255/80R17 and a 1" spacer lift so I can go offroading while waiting for the aftermarket industry to start supporting the US market Ranger. The stock FX4 just doesn't have enough ground clearance for me as is. There is already tons of support outside of North America.

 

[AlpineBike]

This doesn't apply to non RR, except for the part about losing droop, which ultimately reduces articulation. When you lift a truck you gain ground clearance but lose articulation, you can kind of solve this with a long travel kit. Ultimately I think the RR suspension is pretty complex because its computer controlled so if you modify it you confuse the computer. FX4 suspensions are dumb, not computer controlled, so will be less finicky. Cool might be an FX4 with the control arms from the RR, and some reservoir Bilsteins when they come out.

For reference I stole all this information on lifts, droop, and articulation from: Tinkerer's Adventure. So if he's wrong, I'm wrong.

I'm honestly tempted to get some pizza cutters 255/80R17 and a 1" spacer lift so I can go offroading while waiting for the aftermarket industry to start supporting the US market Ranger. The stock FX4 just doesn't have enough ground clearance for me as is. There is already tons of support outside of North America.

Did you completely miss the part in my post where the change in ride height has nothing to do with the electronic part of this suspension system??

it absolutely applies to non-raptor models!
I have first hand experience with this with my last truck. A 2020 Ranger Lariat w/ the ford performance/Fox 2.0 suspension that I then “leveled”.

 

[jeffers]

I'm going to want to git rid of my front shock before 50,000 miles. I'm just waiting for the aftermarket. I can't imagine the shocks on the FX4 cost that much anyways, RR yeah those are going to cost a pretty penny. My struts are going out on my 2015 GTI, oh well, its a normal wear item. The bummer is you need a spring compressor to do the job and the shade tree mechanic spring compressors are fairly dangerous.

 

[jeffers]

I will say the FX4 drives very well for street use and dirt roads, I have not complaints at all for those uses. Ford did a nice job tuning the suspension. By the time I'm done its going to handle much worse on the street. Of course my GTI will drive circles around it on the street. My GTI -> annoying other drivers since 2015.

 

[AlpineBike]

@jeffers not sure if anything you’ve said has anything to do with my post, but ok.

 

[jeffers]

@jeffers not sure if anything you’ve said has anything to do with my post, but ok.

I guess what I'm saying is I'm ok with the shocks wearing out faster.

 

[ag02m5]

The top hat spacer won't affect the shock performance but I do have concerns about bump steer. Of course you do lose some travel at full droop.

 

[AlpineBike]

The top hat spacer won't affect the shock performance but I do have concerns about bump steer. Of course you do lose some travel at full droop.

That is incorrect. A top hat spacer will absolutelyaffect the suspension performance of the entire truck.
Not only are you changing the geometry of the linkage, you’re changing the weight distribution of the entire truck.

If looks are more important to you than the actual driving performance of your truck, then go right ahead and lift/level your truck.
Taking away from what this truck was engineered to do so that you think it looks better sitting in a parking lot is certainly not on my list of “upgrades”

 

[ag02m5]

That is incorrect. A top hat spacer will absolutelyaffect the suspension performance of the entire truck.
Not only are you changing the geometry of the linkage, you’re changing the weight distribution of the entire truck.

If looks are more important to you than the actual driving performance of your truck, then go right ahead and lift/level your truck.
Taking away from what this truck was engineered to do so that you think it looks better sitting in a parking lot is certainly not on my list of “upgrades”

But towing doesn't change the weight distribution? Pretty sure they are ok with that.

What I said was that the top hat spacer doesn't affect the shock. I didn't say that it didn't change any geometry of the suspension.

The engineers at Ford may know what they are doing. It doesn't mean the bean counters let the best engineering designs pass.

 

[AlpineBike]

But towing doesn't change the weight distribution? Pretty sure they are ok with that.

What I said was that the top hat spacer doesn't affect the shock. I didn't say that it didn't change any geometry of the suspension.

The engineers at Ford may know what they are doing. It doesn't mean the bean counters let the best engineering designs pass.

You aren’t looking for off-road suspension performance if you are towing… Towing also isn’t a permanent change to your suspension.

Yes, a top hat spacer negatively affects the shocks themselves.
They are no longer sitting at their factory sag therefore compression and rebound damping will not work as designed.

 

[ag02m5]

You aren’t looking for off-road suspension performance if you are towing… Towing also isn’t a permanent change to your suspension.

Yes, a top hat spacer negatively affects the shocks themselves.
They are no longer sitting at their factory sag therefore compression and rebound damping will not work as designed.

Ok. Tell me you aren't an engineer without telling me you aren't an engineer.

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