F150 Shocks
The factory rear shocks on basically all 1997-2018 F150s are a huge letdown. They jounce and bounce over bumps and don't keep the bed under control during hard driving both on and off the road. That's why one of the first handling upgrades you should make to your F150 is a new set of rear shocks. Performance shocks will help keep your F150's entire back end under control and greatly improve your truck's ride quality. Also take a look at our F150 Leveling Kits. Ford F-150 Fitments: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Ford F150 Submodel Fitments: FX2, FX4, King Ranch, Lariat, Limited, Platinum, STX, XL, XLT. Some Exceptions apply, please see individual product pages for specific fitments.
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F150 Rear Shock Breakdown
The factory F150 rear shocks are hot garbage. The bounce about six times after going over even the smallest bumps, make the truck wallow through even the slightest corners, and let the bed do whatever the hell it wants whether its loaded or unloaded. Given all that, it's not surprising that aftermarket rear shocks are some of the first things new F150 owners grab to give their truck the handling, ride quality, and control it should've had from the factory. The only bad news is that there's more than a few F150 performance rear shocks to choose from, and a few things you need to know before making a purchase. Steel Bodied vs. Aluminum Bodied ShocksUnsurprisingly, rear shocks are made out of metal, with most budget-oriented stock replacements being made out of steel, while more off-road-oriented shocks are made of aluminum. There is a reason. While steel-bodied shocks run a bit less expensive, steel is not the best conductor of heat in the world, which means they're more fade-prone that aluminum-bodied shocks. Granted, the downside to aluminum-bodied shocks is that they tend to be more pricey (especially when make the jump into 2.5s), but if you're taking your F150 off-road with a lot of rapid and violent shock compression. Now, there's nothing wrong with steel-bodied shocks, and they're perfectly adequate for 90% of F150 owners out there, but is something to be aware of.
This is a question we get a lot, but it's a very apples-to-oranges comparison. 2.0 and 2.5 Rear Shocks are built for two very different purposes, which is why there's a huge price discrepancy between the two. 2.0 rear shocks are designed as general-purpose performance replacements for the factory rear shocks, and while they generally perform better off-road than steel-bodied shocks, they still have a nice on-road ride quality without much stiffness. 2.5s on the other hand, are purpose-built and bred off-road shocks that are designed to handle extremely violent and fast articulation off the beaten path. While they perform that task to an astonishing degree, they can be a bit stiff on the street, though they will still keep your F150's rear end under better control than the stock shocks.
