**** VIDEO UPDATE**** At 20:07 in the video I mentioned torque specs of u-bolts. I messed up in video editing and didn't finish with the torque specs. Stage 1 25ft/lbs Stage 2 52ft/lbs Stage 3 75ft/lbs Stage 4 98ft/lbs
Thanks I appreciate that. I only did the video because I couldn't find a single video at the time that was helpful. Just wanted to be helpful to others.
Nice and thorough install! Hope you find the vibration and report back. Could be just lube for the driveshaft or pinion angle adjustment. Good luck with your beautiful truck!
Well here is my report. Operator error. go figure. I had the Traction Bars to tight to begin with. I loosen them up drove around for a day. vibration was gone. everything is good now
@@fast5.0l18 do you have much knowledge on RideTech lowering kits. I read that they are adjustable. I have a 2021 f150 FX4 KR edition. I like the thought on a 3/5 adjustable drop.
yes I had to buy a different traction bar kit. because I flipped the leaf springs below the axels. Then I sold my standard traction bars on Facebook marketplace for $250. had it sold in less than 1 hour.
yes everything was included in the kit. the only thing extra I did to the truck was get the front end alignment done. and had to get the bearing carrier angle adjusted to eliminate the slight vibration in the drive shaft. been great ever since.
The kit has done exceptionally well. At first, I had a little trouble with bottoming out due to a few rough spots on a road where I live. I learned that the spare tire being in the stock location was my biggest problem. when I took the spare tire out and put in the bed up against the cab, I was able to drive the speed limit of that road and had no more bottoming out issues. When I took the tire completely out of the truck, I could go a lot faster than that, and it was even better. Playing with the Compression and Rebound settings is alot of trial and error. I wound up not using any of the settings that was suggested. For my truck this is what worked for me. Front 7-compression 9-rebound rear 9-compression 5-rebound It handles corners like a dream. It launches at the drag strip with zero wheel hop And at 150mph the truck is planted to the ground. it doesn't float. All in all I have zero regrets and would recommend is suspension to anyone. Side note we just put this same suspension on my dad's 2023 f150 a week ago and will be make a short install video on how to install upper adjustable control arms.
it will bottom out on some rough roads if the compression/rebound is to soft. it took some dialing in to make it work for where I live. good rule of thumb is for every 1 compression do 2 rebound. I believe mine is set on 8 compression and 16 rebound. ride is pretty awesome now. Hope this helps.
Overall excellent video!! I’ve been eye balling because I like the idea of being able to set you own ride comfort along with coils! How you been like the kit so far after install? How’s ride quality & did you have any issues with camber after installation? Would love to hear some feedback ya!
The short and sweet answer is after you lower the truck you absolutely must go to the alignment shop because the front end will need it or you will be replacing a set of tires in no time. The ride quality is really pretty good. once you learn the right adjustments. Truck is smooth as silk when you want to cruise down the road and will lauch awesome when you want to race. Something else I did learn is that some trucks but not all of them will have a vibration in the driveshaft after lowering. mine did. went to a local accessory shop and that fixed the problem for me since I couldn't figure it out myself. What they did was actually pretty easy to to yourself but I didn't know any better. The bearing carrier where it bolts to the frame has to be relocated to get the driveshaft angle right. They unbolted the carrier from the factory bracket. Then cut that bracket off the truck frame and grinded it completely smooth. Then painted the area to keep from getting rust. Then took a piece of ¼ inch flat plate with holes in it, took a coat hanger and fished it through the frame so that the holes would line up where the bearing carrier originally bolted. installed the carrier with grade 8 bolts through the frame to the flat plate. and that's it. basically what that does is raise the bearing carrier and pinion angle of the driveshaft to the correct degree needed for lowering the truck. The whole job took them less than 30 mins. cost me $105 / labor and $8 / parts. I'm not complaining it was worth it. Hope this helps.
@@fast5.0l18 Definitely helps a lot, appreciate it! So for alignment did you end up notching out the lower control arm brackets or buy the adjustable arms? I definitely have heard really good stuff about the Viking coils & shocks gonna look into those & some point too! Also good to know about the carrier bearing part. Have you had any issues with bottoming out at all since you didn’t install helper bags?
I went to the alignment shop immediately after to check everything and I got lucky and was able to get camber and toe perfect without doing anything else. I've heard some people buying the upper control arms with camber adjustment to make it easier.
@@fast5.0l18 I actually don’t tighten all lug nuts on a wheel. I Snug them as good as I can in a star pattern because with the wheel off the ground it spins. Set it down and torque to spec. Wasn’t trying to be rude or anything I just have been contemplating doing a shackle kit on mine with a block removal and everything always says wait to tighten u bolts particularly with vehicle on the ground. They bind up from one side to another if torqued before weight of the vehicle is on the suspension. Don’t let me bother you though I really wasn’t knocking anybody
I’m curious if anyone knows… Are the aftermarket shocks on this ride the reason for the drilling and grinding on the bracket? Why would vas give you a bracket like that? Is it not required with the factory shocks? Very nice vid
Can somebody tell me what the distance is from the bottom of the leaf spring to the bottom of the traction bar bracket on the front side? I have a sharp incline in my driveway before it levels off and am afraid i will scrape. Trying to find out how far that bracket comes down when it sits.
been great so far. Ones I got the pinion angle set correctly everything has been fine. I have my suspension set on about a middle of the road as far as adjustments go. I can launch pretty good and it's a fairly smooth ride. Not plush but smooth. Zero issues with suspension parts. Definitely handles the road way better than it did when it was stock.
What process did you do to correct pinion angle? Did you mount the carrier bearing bracket directly to the cross member and shim the axle? Want to lower mine as well. Thanks.
honestly yes there is a slight vibration in the driveshaft. I am currently looking to see what the cause is. maybe have to change the shackles slightly which can change the leaf springs and rear end angle. That's one option. another is taking ubolts loose and adjusting pinion angle on driveshaft. I will be talking to VAS about this very soon. side note.... I don't drive this truck very much because I work away from home and use a work truck most of the time. Just made a trip to Houston yesterday and didn't like the way it vibrated from a stop. so I will be finding out very soon what the cause is. I'm probably going to make an updated video to explain what I found and how I fix the problem.
@@fast5.0l18 did you solve the issue? I’ve been having vibrations once i hit 40 mph, i installed some shims to help with the pinion angle which it seemed to make it a bit better but i still have the vibrations
@@SuperXxModderxX So as of now I'm just found out yesterday that the bearing carrier needs to be raised. I went to a local shop that that does lifted trucks and lowered truck. found out its very common. I talked to him about shims and he said "they can work, but if you do any hard acceration it will spit the shims out. The best way to fix the problem is to have the bearing carrier modified. " he told me they have done countless amounts of truck. So I am scheduled to bring my truck to them in a couple of weeks when I get home from work. I'll be making a short video showing what takes place. Side note.... I have taken my rear end apart on my truck 3 times trying to adjust the angle. No matter what I tried it didn't fix the problem. It helped it but not fix it. I've also found out that it doesn't matter what lowering kit you buy, they all have this potential problem. Very few people have actually gotten lucky and didn't have any problems. Like I said soon as I can I'll be making an update video on what takes place.
my understanding is that you don't need a C notch kit until you do a 4/6 drop As for the 3/5 drop... if your on the softest settings for "ride confort" then you will feel the rear hit the bump stops. I adjusted my shocks for a middle of the road setting. Not drag racing but not total comfort either. and it doesn't bottom out anymore. I've heard of plenty of people doing helper bags for the comfort ride and love them. I'll be setting mine up for higher horsepower later this year.
@@lightningdad13 thanks looks great! so all the shops quote me 800 to 1000$ for labor so basically they are charging 100 $ + an hour for labor. That's hard to swallow but I want my truck lowered lol
**** VIDEO UPDATE****
At 20:07 in the video I mentioned torque specs of u-bolts. I messed up in video editing and didn't finish with the torque specs.
Stage 1 25ft/lbs
Stage 2 52ft/lbs
Stage 3 75ft/lbs
Stage 4 98ft/lbs
Fellas, i think this is the best video I've ever seen with dling an install of a drop kit and cals. My hat off to yall.
Thanks I appreciate that. I only did the video because I couldn't find a single video at the time that was helpful. Just wanted to be helpful to others.
Great job filming all the details. Nice having your dad with ya too!
Thanks. Yeah I try to include my dad in everything. Making memories 💯
I appreciate you taking the time to do this video. It was very informative.
I couldn't believe there wasn't a single how to video online so I figured why not make one for others. Glad I could help.
26:30 that's a damn good creeper :)
been using that creeper for a long time. love it.
That's called the "BONESTER". I've also had one for many years. 👍 Not sure they make any better ones.
@@2GUNMASTER Yessir, one of the best creepers. Been having mine for almost 10 years only thing that goes bad on em is the wheels
I feel way more confident about installing my kit myself after watching this , thank you
glad to help!!! 👍
saved this video because i know soon imma have one and will do the same exact thing 🙏🏾
Awesome.......Enjoy
Great looking truck you have there brother.
Thanks I appreciate it
Nice job! Thanks for sharing this video, I'm buying this kit.
awesome. definitely worth the investment.
Nice and thorough install! Hope you find the vibration and report back. Could be just lube for the driveshaft or pinion angle adjustment.
Good luck with your beautiful truck!
Well here is my report. Operator error. go figure. I had the Traction Bars to tight to begin with. I loosen them up drove around for a day. vibration was gone. everything is good now
@@fast5.0l18 Fantastic!
Y'all did a great job. If you are in the DFW area, let me know, I will swing mine thru.
Thanks
i drive thru dfw on my way to work every 2 weeks but I live in Nacogdoches. oldest town in texas.
@@fast5.0l18 do you have much knowledge on RideTech lowering kits. I read that they are adjustable. I have a 2021 f150 FX4 KR edition. I like the thought on a 3/5 adjustable drop.
Great job. Just bought the same set up. I'll be installing this weekend.
thanks glad I can help.
Great vid, I’m about to change my rcsb from a 2/4 to a vas 3/5. You live close by I’m over in Tyler
yeah I live in Nacogdoches
I just put the full vas 3/5 on yesterday with weld in relocated shocks, going to have to get upper control arms my negative camber is bad
Also do you have a Facebook or anything that’s easier to message
@roudycates371 is yours 4x4 or 4x2?
When you went from stock to 3/5 did you have to buy a whole new VAS traction bar kit? I don’t want to buy it again if I don’t have to.
yes I had to buy a different traction bar kit. because I flipped the leaf springs below the axels. Then I sold my standard traction bars on Facebook marketplace for $250. had it sold in less than 1 hour.
All bushings should be tightened with the weight back on them maybe I’m wrong?
Did you not need to change your upper control arms?
Nice video!!!
Apparently it's not needed if you are doing a 3/5 drop on a 2wd truck. the 4wd trucks are a different story.
Does the hardware for the rear shocks come with the kit? Washers and the sleeves for the eyelets?
yes everything was included in the kit. the only thing extra I did to the truck was get the front end alignment done. and had to get the bearing carrier angle adjusted to eliminate the slight vibration in the drive shaft. been great ever since.
I didn’t get no washer but I did get the eyelets
Very good job thank you.
Thanks. Glad I could help.
Would you mind sharing the what the replacement bolt specs are for the one you cut off thank...great video.
So how about an update now.. hows rhe eidw been and how has the kit held up?
The kit has done exceptionally well. At first, I had a little trouble with bottoming out due to a few rough spots on a road where I live. I learned that the spare tire being in the stock location was my biggest problem. when I took the spare tire out and put in the bed up against the cab, I was able to drive the speed limit of that road and had no more bottoming out issues. When I took the tire completely out of the truck, I could go a lot faster than that, and it was even better. Playing with the Compression and Rebound settings is alot of trial and error. I wound up not using any of the settings that was suggested.
For my truck this is what worked for me.
Front 7-compression
9-rebound
rear 9-compression
5-rebound
It handles corners like a dream. It launches at the drag strip with zero wheel hop And at 150mph the truck is planted to the ground. it doesn't float.
All in all I have zero regrets and would recommend is suspension to anyone.
Side note we just put this same suspension on my dad's 2023 f150 a week ago and will be make a short install video on how to install upper adjustable control arms.
@fast5.0l18 I appreciate the feedback ..👊🏻
Nice video. How do you know where to set the front? Do you measure the threads on both sides to get them both the same?
How is the ride on this kit?
Looking to put a 3/5 drop on a regular cab.
Has it bottomed out any?
it will bottom out on some rough roads if the compression/rebound is to soft.
it took some dialing in to make it work for where I live. good rule of thumb is for every 1 compression do 2 rebound.
I believe mine is set on 8 compression and 16 rebound. ride is pretty awesome now. Hope this helps.
You cut only one bolt to get it out where is the gas tank right? And did you get an other oem bolt or just the same size bolt
A new bolt came in the kit. It's stronger than OEM.
Overall excellent video!! I’ve been eye balling because I like the idea of being able to set you own ride comfort along with coils! How you been like the kit so far after install? How’s ride quality & did you have any issues with camber after installation? Would love to hear some feedback ya!
The short and sweet answer is after you lower the truck you absolutely must go to the alignment shop because the front end will need it or you will be replacing a set of tires in no time. The ride quality is really pretty good. once you learn the right adjustments. Truck is smooth as silk when you want to cruise down the road and will lauch awesome when you want to race. Something else I did learn is that some trucks but not all of them will have a vibration in the driveshaft after lowering. mine did. went to a local accessory shop and that fixed the problem for me since I couldn't figure it out myself. What they did was actually pretty easy to to yourself but I didn't know any better. The bearing carrier where it bolts to the frame has to be relocated to get the driveshaft angle right. They unbolted the carrier from the factory bracket. Then cut that bracket off the truck frame and grinded it completely smooth. Then painted the area to keep from getting rust. Then took a piece of ¼ inch flat plate with holes in it, took a coat hanger and fished it through the frame so that the holes would line up where the bearing carrier originally bolted. installed the carrier with grade 8 bolts through the frame to the flat plate. and that's it. basically what that does is raise the bearing carrier and pinion angle of the driveshaft to the correct degree needed for lowering the truck. The whole job took them less than 30 mins. cost me $105 / labor and $8 / parts. I'm not complaining it was worth it. Hope this helps.
@@fast5.0l18 Definitely helps a lot, appreciate it! So for alignment did you end up notching out the lower control arm brackets or buy the adjustable arms? I definitely have heard really good stuff about the Viking coils & shocks gonna look into those & some point too! Also good to know about the carrier bearing part. Have you had any issues with bottoming out at all since you didn’t install helper bags?
How did you avoid extra camber ? I never a good alignment with belltech
I went to the alignment shop immediately after to check everything and I got lucky and was able to get camber and toe perfect without doing anything else. I've heard some people buying the upper control arms with camber adjustment to make it easier.
nice ride
Thanks!
I didn’t think you were supposed to torque everything til the truck was on the ground but I’ve also never done one of these installs
nothing said one way or another. I just figured if you tighten lugnuts on a wheel before all the weight is on the ground then same rules apply.
@@fast5.0l18 I actually don’t tighten all lug nuts on a wheel. I Snug them as good as I can in a star pattern because with the wheel off the ground it spins. Set it down and torque to spec. Wasn’t trying to be rude or anything I just have been contemplating doing a shackle kit on mine with a block removal and everything always says wait to tighten u bolts particularly with vehicle on the ground. They bind up from one side to another if torqued before weight of the vehicle is on the suspension. Don’t let me bother you though I really wasn’t knocking anybody
What tire size are you using on your factory rims
Currently it's what came on the truck. 275/55 R20 my next set will be 275/50 R20. or 285/50 R20. haven't made up my mind yet.
I’m curious if anyone knows… Are the aftermarket shocks on this ride the reason for the drilling and grinding on the bracket? Why would vas give you a bracket like that? Is it not required with the factory shocks? Very nice vid
That's a good question. I believe the original shocks were bilstein so there is a slight difference I'm guessing.
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks!!! Your welcome.
@2:24 dez nuts
IYKYK
Can somebody tell me what the distance is from the bottom of the leaf spring to the bottom of the traction bar bracket on the front side? I have a sharp incline in my driveway before it levels off and am afraid i will scrape. Trying to find out how far that bracket comes down when it sits.
Does anyone know if it’s necessary to get a shock relocation kit ? 🤔
I'm guessing it's not necessary because I didn't install that. I've only seen those on high horsepower setups.
after 11 months or so? how do you like the ride quality? How has the VAS parts been so far? thanks!
been great so far. Ones I got the pinion angle set correctly everything has been fine. I have my suspension set on about a middle of the road as far as adjustments go. I can launch pretty good and it's a fairly smooth ride. Not plush but smooth. Zero issues with suspension parts. Definitely handles the road way better than it did when it was stock.
What process did you do to correct pinion angle? Did you mount the carrier bearing bracket directly to the cross member and shim the axle? Want to lower mine as well. Thanks.
Can you still tow with a 3/5 drop ?
I guess that depends on what you want to tow. A jetski or trailer with lawnmower..... sure. I wouldn't tow a travel trailer. Just my 2 cents.
@@fast5.0l18 it would be a car , once in a great while ..
Will this work on king ranch 4x4 ?
this particular kit was for a 2wd but they do make a kit for the 4x4 as well and it uses basically the same setup.
I got mine installed, and ended up with a fair amount of camber. Did you just use the stock upper and lower co trol arms?
yes I still have the stock control arms. when I went to the alignment shop they said it barely fit within the tolerance.
Did you experience any vibration from the driveshaft or carrier bearing?
honestly yes there is a slight vibration in the driveshaft. I am currently looking to see what the cause is. maybe have to change the shackles slightly which can change the leaf springs and rear end angle. That's one option. another is taking ubolts loose and adjusting pinion angle on driveshaft. I will be talking to VAS about this very soon. side note.... I don't drive this truck very much because I work away from home and use a work truck most of the time. Just made a trip to Houston yesterday and didn't like the way it vibrated from a stop. so I will be finding out very soon what the cause is. I'm probably going to make an updated video to explain what I found and how I fix the problem.
@@fast5.0l18 did you solve the issue? I’ve been having vibrations once i hit 40 mph, i installed some shims to help with the pinion angle which it seemed to make it a bit better but i still have the vibrations
@@SuperXxModderxX So as of now I'm just found out yesterday that the bearing carrier needs to be raised. I went to a local shop that that does lifted trucks and lowered truck. found out its very common. I talked to him about shims and he said "they can work, but if you do any hard acceration it will spit the shims out. The best way to fix the problem is to have the bearing carrier modified. " he told me they have done countless amounts of truck. So I am scheduled to bring my truck to them in a couple of weeks when I get home from work. I'll be making a short video showing what takes place.
Side note.... I have taken my rear end apart on my truck 3 times trying to adjust the angle. No matter what I tried it didn't fix the problem. It helped it but not fix it. I've also found out that it doesn't matter what lowering kit you buy, they all have this potential problem. Very few people have actually gotten lucky and didn't have any problems.
Like I said soon as I can I'll be making an update video on what takes place.
Wanting to do a 3/5 drop on my 16 F-150 and I’m being told it’ll bottom out without a C notch kit. Have you had this problem?
my understanding is that you don't need a C notch kit until you do a 4/6 drop
As for the 3/5 drop... if your on the softest settings for "ride confort" then you will feel the rear hit the bump stops. I adjusted my shocks for a middle of the road setting. Not drag racing but not total comfort either. and it doesn't bottom out anymore. I've heard of plenty of people doing helper bags for the comfort ride and love them. I'll be setting mine up for higher horsepower later this year.
Did I hear 25ftlbs for the U bolts? It should be 100 to 125ft lbs at least!
I did some research. thank you for the message. I finally found the torque specs. and will update in the info section.
How long did it take you from start to finish?
it took less than 8 hours from start to finish.
@@lightningdad13 thanks looks great! so all the shops quote me 800 to 1000$ for labor so basically they are charging 100 $ + an hour for labor. That's hard to swallow but I want my truck lowered lol