F150 Lift Kits

Finding the right lift kit for your truck

With so many lift kits to choose from, finding the one that's right for your truck can be a daunting task. Your choice is really going to come down to your budget, what size tires you want to fit, and what kind of driving you're doing. That being said, here's some things you ought to know:

3" vs 4" vs 6" vs +7" Lift Kits
The first choice you're going to have to make is ride height. 0-3" Lift Kits technically aren't "true" lift kits, since they don't come with dropped crossmembers and new knuckles to correct all your suspension geometry (not to mention, many can be set a 0" ride height and not give you any lift at all). 0-3" lift kits usually include new front strut or coilover assemblies, new rear shocks, and either larger rear blocks or add-a-leafs at times. These kits are extremely easy to install, but they can only clear a 33" tall tire on most wheel options (though you may be able to squeeze on a 34" tire with the right wheel offset and backspacing). 4" lift kits are the first of the "true" lift kits, and they included crossmembers, knuckles, and differential drop brackets to correct your truck's suspension geometry at their 4" ride height. Like all true F150 lift kits, 4" lift kits require cutting and drilling your truck's subframe for installation, making them more difficult than leveling kits or coilovers. Still, at 4" of front ride height, you can fit 35" tall tires on pretty much any wheel you want without any issues. 6" lift kits are similar to 4" lifts, but offer a little bit more ride height. At 6" of front ride height, you'll still only clear 35" tires, but if you swap to an aftermarket front bumper and you're careful about your offsets, then you may be able to stuff a set of 37" tires on your truck. 7" and taller lift kits are the only reliable way to fit on 37" tires, but you'll pretty handily clear a set of 37" tires on most wheel options without issues.

Ride Quality and Performance
While a 4" , 6" , or 7" lift kit is a quick way to a big ride height, a lot of lift kits don't do much for your truck's ride quality or suspension performance. Many basic lift kits use strut spacers on top of your factory coilover assemblies to achieve their ride height. They also usually only come with pretty basic rear shocks that are "okay" but don't do much beyond that. The good news is that there are a few coilovers and coilover lift kits that come with upgraded 2.5 coilovers and 2.0 rear shocks so that your truck gets awesome performance and ride quality. Granted, you can also just go with practically any 0-3" lift kit with coilovers and rear shocks and get a bump in ride quality and performance, as long as you're willing to sacrifice ride height and tire clearance.

Wheel Backspacing Requirements
One of the most common points of confusion about all lift kits is their wheel diameter and wheel backspacing requirements. Most 4" , 6" , or +7" lift kits that include new knuckles require at least an 18" diameter wheel and a maximum of a 5" to 5.50" backspace to clear a 12.50" wide tire. Now, the key phrase here is "to clear a 12.50" wide tire". You can absolutely use a wheel with more backspace than what a lift kit requires, but you'll be limited in regards to tire width. For example, our 2015 F150 5.0L Desert Runner Project Truck had 18x9" Method Double Standard Wheels with +18mm offsets that resulted in 5.75" of backspace. Its BDS 4" Fox Coilover Lift Kit requires a maximum of 5.50" of backspace, so what gives? Well, we simply used a narrower tire, in our case it was a 305/70R18 Baja ATZ P3. Since the tire was only 12" wide, we were able to use it without issues with our wheels and lift kit.