Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum banner

Newbie first post - BDS or Carli - torn

20K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  ZMANN 
#1 ·
OK...Done a lot of searching but nothing specifically comparing these two lifts. Need a little help for a newbie to the site.

So I am really torn between the BDS 2.5" coil over conversion w/ radius arms or the Carli Backcountry 2.5".

I know there are lot of Carli lovers on this site, but the BDS looks pretty decent also. Any opinions?

I have a 2015 F250 CC 4x4 KR. Total stock with 15k on the clock. Truck is used mostly for daily driver and for hunting trips. I pull an 18 ft enclosed trailer on a few hunting trips a year...but don't pull anything really heavy. Mostly a glorified dog taxi. I just want to run 35" tires with either 18 or 20 inch rims.

Any input would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!
 
#2 ·
Between the two, the Carli.

Loss of travel by going to a coilover setup with that small of a lift is one reason why I wouldn't go with that BDS lift.

Your budget will determine the lift your install, but if absolute best ride (without going over the top) is the goal, there are other options.

example;
Icon 2.5" dual rate springs
OUO Adjustable Link Arms
OUO 4" traction blocks
Fox Performance shocks
Icon or Carli panhard bar
 
  • Like
Reactions: layson
#5 · (Edited)
As stated, a coilover conversion will give up significant travel at a 2.5" lift height. The Backcountry includes lighter rate linear coil springs, add-a-packs to clean up the rear and keep the rear block as short as possible (minimize wheel hop and axle wrap). Icing on the cake, the in-house, custom tuned Fox 2.0" Remote Res shocks add a ton of control while allowing the axle to move.

We recommend modifying the leaf springs for a more supple ride while maintaining capacity. The taller the block, the higher the chance of axle wrap/wheel hop. The only way to combat this is a traction aid which locks the rear end to one plane of travel which stiffens the ride. There are ways to prevent the traction bar bind (floating ladder bars) but that's a lot of money spent to maintain the stock rear ride. If you only change a shock in the rear, you're only going to change how reactive the suspension is; without softening the leaf spring, you're not going to get a more supple ride.

Also, in a 2.5" lift, we prefer the linear coil spring. The amount of available travel in a 2.5" lift doesn't allow enough travel in the initial rate before it ramps us so the on-road ride suffered. For this reason, we kept our 2.5" lift coil linear rate and went progressive on the 4.5" coil given the extra couple inches of travel.
 
#7 ·
You won't be disappointed in one of those kits. You might want to consider the full leaf upgrade. For the 11-16 trucks it's under $500 and makes a huge difference in ride quality when empty and eliminates the factory lift blocks altogether. In the Backcountry System, Carli actually has specific shock tuning for the full leafs as opposed to the mini packs that come standard.

As far as pricing goes, all of us Carli dealers will be priced the same and many of us include free shipping. When you upgrade to the full leafs, the system will ship on a pallet via a freight truck but we still absorb the shipping costs.

If you buy outside of your state you'll also save on the taxes. Give us a shout if you have any questions. :thumb:
 
#10 ·
I have never really weighed it.....but it can't be much....I would say 300-500 lbs max. I haven't towed with the 2015 yet, but with my 2008 F350, it made it squat a bit with the stock springs, so if I loose 15% with the carli full springs, I would assume it will squat more?
 
#12 · (Edited)
I think that you will be fine if you aren't towing very often. I have the full leafs on my '11 and I keep about 400 lbs in the bed at all times and the truck is pretty much level. I did add air bags as I carry 2 snowmobiles on a sled deck sometimes with a total weight of around 2000 lbs in the bed.

I would personally go with the full leafs for the better ride when empty. Then hook up your trailer and see if you need to add anything like air bags or Timbrens.

Here's my truck with full leaves and over 400 lbs in the bed and no air in the bags:

 
#16 · (Edited)
I am going to throw in my two cents worth on the springs. I have had Fabtech rear springs and I did some mods to my factory springs which basically lifted the overload 1/2" away from the spring pack to get more travel before hitting the overload. Then I went with the Carli full leaf spring pack in 4-1/2" and there is no comparison. The Carli Leaf springs will change the entire ride of the truck. I compare my truck to our Chevy Tahoe and that's saying something. Trust me they are worth every dollar.

They are softer then the stock springs so they will not hold as much weight. But if you want to improve the ride its what you want to do. If you feel you need to add air bags later you will still be happy to do it because the payoff is in the ride. You won't be disappointed.

8Lug Gear is my choice on buying gear. George is a great guy and will take care of you.
 
#17 ·
By design, leaf springs will be susceptible to wrap. Increasing torque load, softening the rate, or raising the leverage will make them wrap more. Traction bars help control the wrap but most do so at the expense binding the suspension travel. Floating design ladder bars address the binding issue when both left and right springs are in parallel motion, but most on the market do not allow for articulation. One Up Offroad's patented traction bars address the binding issue and also allow for full articulation.

I won't own a leaf sprung full size diesel truck without them.

 
  • Like
Reactions: layson
#18 ·
I myself don't like traction bars because they look bad and degrade the ride. The videos I watched looked like the truck was being pushed pretty hard. I have had 6" of blocks on my old truck with 38" tires and I honestly had no issues with axle wrap. I think it depends a lot on how you drive your truck on how bad your axle wrap is.
That said blocks are not a good mix especially when towing. But that truck in the video was being punished, at least by my standards.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Skyd Ram
#19 ·
What is funny is alot of people don't even know they have axle wrap or even something such as bump steer....LOL. Then some of the 6.4 guys don't even know that some of their shifting issues can be from axle wrap. Or even the 45 mph HOP. I have been in several CCLB trucks that guys straight up say they don't have it and I tell them to drive 45 and by golly its there. LOL

I disagree about the traction bars. A good set of bars are not going to affect the ride quality. There really isn't any real negatives to adding a good set of traction bars to a truck. Especially when you TOW. Then if you really want to set up the rear of one of these trucks for ride quality. You can add a set of traction bars, remove some leafs (or get some soft replacement springs), add some air bags and it rides fantastic, kind of similar to a linked rear end. The bags pick up the extra load. Some of the leafs that are in the pack are there to deal with axle wrap and where the stops are located.

What do you think happens when you run softer springs? That is why when you buy a set of fabtech, superlift, tuffcountry, procomp, readylift... etc.. leaf springs they are stiffer. If you made them real soft and raised the truck you will be dealing with thousands and thousands of people complaining about towing their trailers. When you buy a cheap lift kit, it is made so someone can still try hook up to a trailer.

These newer trucks now have longer softer springs then what they had before. They have more power. I don't feel it is a good comparison to compare an older Superduty that had (guessing) the shorter leaf (possibly stiffer aftermarket) springs then to the newer trucks that have longer softer springs.

So in my mind I would always recommend (if I am helping a friend of mine out) to anyone that tows or uses his truck to run a good set of traction bars. Especially if he lifts it, or adds more power, or even just tows alot.

Think about adding bags to your truck and no traction bars. When the leaf springs are loaded (towing) they are naturally trying to fight axle wrap. Now you air up the bags. Once you air up the bags you now unload the leaf springs. So now the leaf springs will have a tougher time dealing with axle wrap. Then you combine that with having a tuned/d#$@%ted truck that is lifted and may even have some softer replacement springs then stock. You are going to have some issues. But I think alot of people that do this probably don't even know what a good lifted truck drives or tows like.

Its probably too late to make a suggestion about the lift for the OP. But I think it is actually a waste to run a coilover for such a small lift. No way can it compare to a good spring and a properly tuned shock. For the money you could have a really nice coil spring and an adjustable shock. So if you want it to ride stiffer or softer or fine tune it you can. You can't do that on a coilover. You are stuck with whatever valving is in it. A coilover is more at that lift height to just look cool. Think about the fact that if you don't replace the coil spring buckets and you just stick a coilover in place of a coil spring. You will have less travel then a comparable spring and shock, even though you probably would never need it or even care but the point is at that lift height it isn't worth it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Betaracer
#20 ·
I will say your comments are interesting. But I still stand behind traction bars look like hell and I would rather have a boot up my a$$ then bars hanging off my truck. I know for fact I don't have axle wrap with the Carli/Deaver rear springs. There are 13 leafs in that spring pack and I thought for sure it was going to ride rough. Not the case at all, and I can floor my truck with no shimmy of any sort.
Some trucks can pull off traction bars and still look good. But for trucks lifted 6-10" they look like crap. Then compound that look with 35" tires and it really looks stupid.

That's just my opinion which is often worth around two bits. The guy in that video was thrashing on his truck that's a given. His leaf springs are likely the least of his problems.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top