Daily College kid Suspension upgrade

[ivydirt]

Thanks in advance:

I have a raptor Bronco and I bought my daughter a Big bend SAS for college. We added a preload spacer for effect(not for off-roading). Roads where she goes to school are not well maintained, and she asked me if I could get hers riding more like the raptor on road.

Hers is Super harsh on bumps and potholes

This Bronco will not be Offroad and don’t want to break the bank , 8112’s I know are the bees knees!
Is the icon 2.5 EXP a good choice for her? Other opinions or options. Don’t want new control arms/just better ride quality.

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[Beach_Bum]

Ditch the spacer and grab a set of HOSS 3 Fox shocks. Also, tell her not to deliberately hit every pot hole and to not send it over every speed bump.

 

[DALOLA]

Drop your tire pressure to 24-26 psi, add 8-10 psi if she hits the interstate.

 

[Brian_B]

HOSS 3 would be my go-to for easy to support, since it's a Ford product (and just one short step down from what the Raptor runs - they are similar Foxes, just lack the Live Tune). Eibach I think run Progressive springs, that may be another option, but you may end up needing UCAs to run many Eibach kits, as they are mostly geared toward adding a little bit of lift as well. Fox 2.5's (not the same thing as the HOSS 3.0, but close), or the new BRBN 2.8s, would be some other options for a bit more - but again, probably looking at UCAs with those kits as well.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-18000-B2

But dropping the tire pressure is a pretty good idea to try, for free. I would probably say ~32psi (SAS normally runs like 38?) and you could just leave it there full time without worrying and it should feel a lot softer

The Icon 2.5 is a good coil over, but it tends to be Digressive - stiffer while going slow, but eases up at higher speeds. So maybe not exactly what you are looking for. There are not many Progressive options (Softer at slower speeds, but stiffens as you speed up to control body roll) for the Bronco that I'm aware of.

Fox is notorious for running Linear: similar response regardless of speed, and that's what the Raptor and Wildtrak/Hoss 3.0 coil overs are.

 

[ducksface]

No change is needed for any reason.
Simple
Harsh
Factual

200,000 people do just fine with no mods.

 

[Brian_B]

No change is needed for any reason.
Simple
Harsh
Factual

200,000 people do just fine with no mods.

Because they want to is a good-enough reason.

 

[TheKim]

Curious what year the Bronco is.
Different Sasquatch setups could have different needs to soften the ride.
The HOSS 2.0 could be as simple as needing the recall completed to replace the shocks for free

 

[Brian_B]

Want is one thing.
Recognizing the parameters of the want is the only way to fulfill the want.

Nah.

 

[ivydirt]

HOSS 3 would be my go-to for easy to support, since it's a Ford product (and just one short step down from what the Raptor runs - they are similar Foxes, just lack the Live Tune). Eibach I think run Progressive springs, that may be another option, but you may end up needing UCAs to run many Eibach kits, as they are mostly geared toward adding a little bit of lift as well. Fox 2.5's (not the same thing as the HOSS 3.0, but close), or the new BRBN 2.8s, would be some other options for a bit more - but again, probably looking at UCAs with those kits as well.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-18000-B2

But dropping the tire pressure is a pretty good idea to try, for free. I would probably say ~32psi (SAS normally runs like 38?) and you could just leave it there full time without worrying and it should feel a lot softer

The Icon 2.5 is a good coil over, but it tends to be Digressive - stiffer while going slow, but eases up at higher speeds. So maybe not exactly what you are looking for. There are not many Progressive options (Softer at slower speeds, but stiffens as you speed up to control body roll) for the Bronco that I'm aware of.

Fox is notorious for running Linear: similar response regardless of speed, and that's what the Raptor and Wildtrak/Hoss 3.0 coil overs are.

Thank you/good information!

No change is needed for any reason.
Simple
Harsh
Factual

200,000 people do just fine with no mods.

I actually think I made it worse with the small
Lift. It’s def a rough vehicle to ride in.

Curious what year the Bronco is.
Different Sasquatch setups could have different needs to soften the ride.
The HOSS 2.0 could be as simple as needing the recall completed to replace the shocks for free

Year is 2024.

 

[Brian_B]

I actually think I made it worse with the small
Lift. It’s def a rough vehicle to ride in.

I can easily see that. I would start with tire pressure though - it's free and easy, and for a lot of people that's a key thing. SAS targets a really high tire pressure, and it can result in a rough ride. You may get the low tire pressure warning (there is a way to reprogram that ~if~ you decide to keep the lower tire pressure).

If you do go with the HOSS 3, you probably don't want to re-use the spacer. The coil overs are tuned at a set height, and if you go monkeying with the spring pre-load you change all the tuning that went into it. You will lose that bit of stance though.

If you go with the aftermarket options - you still don't want to re-use the spacer, but you will keep, or maybe even gain additional stance (and hence, the need for UCAs). Most aftermarket kits will add about 0.5-1.5" above stock SAS height (and many can adjust well beyond that if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend it)

 

[ducksface]

This worries the snot out of the boulevard brotherhood but:
Myself, and plenty of others here;
Run 24psi without the slightest problems.

 

[ivydirt]

I can easily see that. I would start with tire pressure though - it's free and easy, and for a lot of people that's a key thing. SAS targets a really high tire pressure, and it can result in a rough ride. You may get the low tire pressure warning (there is a way to reprogram that ~if~ you decide to keep the lower tire pressure).

If you do go with the HOSS 3, you probably don't want to re-use the spacer. The coil overs are tuned at a set height, and if you go monkeying with the spring pre-load you change all the tuning that went into it. You will lose that bit of stance though.

If you go with the aftermarket options - you still don't want to re-use the spacer, but you will keep, or maybe even gain additional stance (and hence, the need for UCAs). Most aftermarket kits will add about 0.5-1.5" above stock SAS height (and many can adjust well beyond that if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend it)

Yea, we had dropped psi to 30 already and that did help. Just the preload spacer makes the coil over so stiff. Was hoping to keep the stance of the vehicle the same, so the factory hoss 3.0 would drop her back down to close to the stock sAS height with out spacers. If they ride that much smoother it’s probably worth it. Would a top spacer on the fox be ok for onroad and keeping the ride smooth with the hoss 3.0? Vs doing an aftermarket shock or a preload spacer?

 

[ivydirt]

This worries the snot out of the boulevard brotherhood but:
Myself, and plenty of others here;
Run 24psi without the slightest problems.

This would def help. And be a lot cheaper. She has 25k miles on stock tires and they are still in good shape, might have her drop down more and just watch the rear pattern

 

[Brian_B]

Yea, we had dropped psi to 30 already and that did help. Just the preload spacer makes the coil over so stiff. Was hoping to keep the stance of the vehicle the same, so the factory hoss 3.0 would drop her back down to close to the stock sAS height with out spacers. If they ride that much smoother it’s probably worth it. Would a top spacer on the fox be ok for onroad and keeping the ride smooth with the hoss 3.0? Vs doing an aftermarket shock or a preload spacer?

Plenty of Wildtrak owners have done lifts, so it's not unheard of. I only know of this one off-hand, but there are probably others (and no reason standard top-hat lifts wouldn't work, other than they will possibly monkey with the shock tuning).

https://www.foutzmotorsports.com/pr...ariant=43803931115732&country=US&currency=USD

A body lift is another option that may be worth looking into - adding 3/4" or 1" on body lift wouldn't affect suspension at all, and they are cheap and easy to install (you just get that tell-tale space between the bumper and body). You get all the stance you want with no bad suspension after-taste.

 

[Brian_B]

Also, for the physics-minded: professors will tell you changing spring pre-load does ~not~ affect the spring rate. And that's true. But it does change the force required for the spring to begin to react, so it can feel stiffer/harsher, even though it's still the same amount of deflection per lb.

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