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2011 F250 with newly installed Carli 2.5" leveling kit

23K views 23 replies 14 participants last post by  OCVeloMan 
#1 · (Edited)
So I got the new Carli 2.5" leveling kit installed on my F250 crew cab. I went with new Bilstein 5100s on all four and 4" blocks in the rear. The truck fender is 10" above the top of the front tire/tires and it's 9 1/2" above the top of the rear tires. Basically, the front of the truck is 1/2" higher. Perhaps that's level, but If I put ANY weight in the rear or tow the *** is sagging. Not cool. I can't stand pulling my boat or trailer and having people flash me at night cause the front of my truck is pointing at the sky. Worse, the truck rides really rough now! Going down the highway on the roads in Texas it shakes everything in my truck. Going down city roads at 35-40 my truck bounces all over the road. My girlfriend says it rides like my 11' F350 dually. I'm running 295/60/20 Nitto Trail Grapplers at 60 psi front, 57 psi rear. I ran them at 57,55 but they seemed to soft and ride didn't seem to improve. It's so bad I don't want to keep my truck anymore. I have new Toyo AT2 35's on Fuel Boost arriving in the next few days to replace the stock tires and Nitto Trail Grapplers. It's not a good feeling when I don't want to drive my truck anymore! Will changing out the shocks to upgraded Carli shocks or a different brand improve the ride or am I selling this rig?
HISTORY--- I've had Fords my whole life (96' F150, 99' f350, 00' F350, 05' F350, 11' F350, 11 F250). I've been a diehard Ford man. It's in our family. In 08' I switched to a GMC dually because I had heard so many bad reports on the 6.4. The truck drove great, loved the D/A combo but the truck rattled like crazy on the inside. I traded out to an 11' F350 dually and the F350 was very rough. I traded it back in on the F250. Flame me, but the GMC dually rode way better than the F350 and better than my F250.
 
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#3 ·
:agree: This is the first time I've ever heard anything bad about Carli.
 
#5 ·
The measurements you're stating are correct. Note the front wheel wells are larger than the rear to give the truck the appearance that it's sitting more level than it is from the factory. As for the sagging, that's the nature of the beast... If you purchased a leveling kit, your rear wasn't addressed so it's not sagging anymore than your stock truck would; the only difference is that you're starting from level rather than the rear 1.5" taller so it appears to be sagging more.

As for the ride quality, the 5100s and linear rate springs are a nice improvement over stock as they provide more travel and control with the softer springs we provide with the system. The tire pressures are really high... I would tell you to throw on the Toyo ATII that you have in the 35" and run them at 40 psi front and 35 psi rear. That will work wonders to compliment the suspension. Upgrading to a commuter or pintop 2.5" shock will make a world of difference, yes, but I would recommend putting the tires on, lowering the pressures and seeing how you like it.

We normally tell customers to expect stock ride quality on the road with more control and travel that will be a substantial improvement in cornering and light-off-road for the leveling/starter systems. They also substantially improve large dips and rough pavement. The others that have reviewed the 2.5" leveling and starter systems have raved about them but most changed the wheel and tire combo and ran the proper tire pressures as well. The other systems improve every aspect of the daily drive.
 
#6 ·
The tire pressures are really high... I would tell you to throw on the Toyo ATII that you have in the 35" and run them at 40 psi front and 35 psi rear. That will work wonders to compliment the suspension.
you want him to run 35psi in a rear tire on a truck that weighs close to 8000 lbs even without passengers or cargo? That's a full 30lbs under the recommended pressure for 35's on a 20" rim. The NHTSA, when conducting 'low pressure' tests, considers anything more than 8 lbs below the manufacturers recommendation to be 'low' and most studies advocate for at least 80% pressure for on-road applications. In this case - at least 50 psi.

sure, lowering the pressure will allow more sidewall flex and give the impression of a better (softer) ride but it sure isn't going to help with the cornering that you mention later in your post. It will help busted beads and tread separation though.

I could improve the comfort 'aspect of the daily drive' by not wearing my seatbelt - but that would be sacrificing safety to do it. Running those pressures in a work truck to compensate for a stiff suspension set-up is dangerous - and bad advice.
 
#9 ·
For 35x12.5r18 the max pressure is 50, I assumed 35x12.5r20 was also 50 PSI.

So hearing 40 and 35 never seemed that odd. But after looking on toyo's website the 35x12.5r20 says 65 PSI max. So now 40 35 sounds bad.

(Sorry Dan, this ^^^ is my explanation of my last post)
 
#10 ·
I've got the 4.5" starter on my truck with 35 toyo mt on 17" rims and I run 50 front/45 rear...Have 2500 miles on since lift and tires are wearing great and the ride is equal to if not a slight improvement over stock.
 
#11 ·
I had that exact size wheel/tire combo on my 2010 dodge and it rode LIKE A TANK!!! Been my experience that the trail grapplers are very stiff esp. in that size and am sure your new combo will ride better...Good luck and let us know...
 
#12 ·
Thanks for all the comments. By no means am I bashing the CARLI suspension. It vary well could be the tires. As I stated, I tried running them at lower pressures but the truck's handling was a little scary around corners, especially on the highway. The new rims/tires will be here on Monday. I'm hoping that the new shoes will make all the difference.
 
#15 ·
Finally swapped out tires!! I have to say that the ride is 10 times better!! The TOYO AT2 tires are the best AT tire I've ever had! They're quiet and handle great on the pavement! All the hype about these tires is dead on!

I drove down the tollway tonight to compare the two tires. When I had the Grapplers I could barely handle the truck at 70 around small turns. If I hit a bump on the turn I literally thought I was going to lose control. I ran the same turns going 80 with the new tires and they stuck! No problems at all! It was definitely the tires. The truck rides better, handles better and just feels better. The ONLY drawback is the Grapplers looked a little more aggressive and the 295/60/20 Grapplers are actually larger than the 295/60/20 AT2s. If someone is doing a leveling kit, I would recommend the AT2 in a 35. That would be the ultimate set up to me!
 
#17 ·
You know, i'm really glad i'm reading this thread. Unfortunately i didn't buy the Carli kit, but i spent a hefty penny on the Icon springs and shocks and adjustable track bar and new steering stabilizer. I thought i was doing it right, and the ride got rougher. However, i'm running my 35 R20 Toyo M/T at the wheel recommended pressure (stock ford 20's--because I love the look of that wheel), and i think it is heavily affecting my ride. Unfortunately the (!) comes on the dash, but it doesn't really bother me. I'm gonna pressure down as recommended, and see how it impacts ride.

Thanks!
 
#20 ·
2011 F250 hopping after upgrades

Hello,

I have a 2011 F250 FX4. I put the 2" bds leveling kit on with Fox schocks (I like having the rear of the vehicle just a small bit higher than the front as I tow my boat). I had an encounter with the death wobble and it was terrible! I called ICON and they said to get rid of the factory Michelins, to install their ICON pan rod track bar, and to put in the new caster alignment shims to get the truck back to about 3-4 degrees of caster. I did all of this and put on a set of 295/60/20 Toyo AT II's on stock rims (I tried the 35's but they were too wide for stock rims and the truck floated all over!). All is great, no death wobble but I get a kind of "hopping" now from the front end on the highway. I had the tires balanced several times, road force, yada yada and I still have it. I was wondering if this new track bar could be the issue as it does not have the bushing anymore to absorb anything and is a hard fast set position. The tire and wheel and lift setup now is awesome and my mileage is no different at all than stock!!!! Validated over 1500 miles!

Any comments or suggestions would be great! Thank You.
 
#21 ·
I'm glad I read this thread as well. I have a 2011 F250 that I purchased the Carli levelling kit for. I also bought the high mount steering stabilizer, adjustable track bar and 5100 Bilsteins for front and rear. I am adding the 4" blocks....I ran across a TSB where Ford advised when changing from 2" to 4" blocks in the rear, you should change the drive shaft also? Is this correct? This is the first I have heard of this. A buddy of mine has the same truck and put the Toyo 35's XTreme on....HUGE difference on his truck.
 
#23 ·
Highway Hop is indicative of the sway bar end links not being long enough. At least it was in my RUF Porsche, as soon as i extended it to the next hole the hop went away.

This also occurred in my 05 when i went from 4.5 to 6" i lengthen the bar ends and the ride improved.

I have now removed the rear sway bar and the ride got even better than stock.

Try disconnecting your sway bar ends, front then rear then both... drive it on the highway and see if it improves, that way you won't be out anything and will know right away that's the problem.

Denny
 
#24 ·
My first piece of advise to everyone on here is to remove you rear sway bar unless you're running a slide-in camper. Usually, the culprit of wheel hop that i encounter is the factory ford blocks. Using a spacer between the axle and springs provide a leveraged fulcrum point on which the power of the motor is able to twist the springs and cause axle wrap and wheel hop. This is why I always recommend full replacement springs. Putting the spring rate directly on he axle perch takes the leverage away and removes the hop and wrap.
 
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