ford f150 torsion key question

[hillbilly6.0]

sounds good ill stay in touch

[C-WAY]

Yup!

[hillbilly6.0]

was looking for torsion bars online couldent were did u get yours

[C-WAY]

They are on rough Countrys website. The part # is somewhere I dont remember. Its easier to call them and order it. They are Rough Country bars for OBS Trucks

[hillbilly6.0]

thanks

[1slo4.8]

dude. jus get the F150 torsion keys. crank it two inches and done. ive NEVER heard ANYONE using s10 keys at a fullsize bro! listen to aggie. he knows what hes talkin about.

[Yeager]

Well I bought the Ford keys and ordered the Bilstein shock Part #BE5-C153-HO. The Ford keys were $70 each, (not $70 for the pair) from the ford dealer. BUT before I put the keys on I got out the tape measure and did a little testing, this is what I found:

1. With one shock disconnected and the other factory shock still on (03 Z71), I put the vehicle on the lift. The side with no shock dropped 3/4" farther then the other, so the shock IS the limiting factor in the suspension. People often say it's not the shock and the suspension design is what stops the droop, but in my case it is definitely the shock.

2. I cranked the stock keys all the way in and the bolt bottomed out before the key did, so I got a longer bolt (M12x85mm- I have the part number if anyone needs it @ $1.85ea) and bottomed out the stock key, then backed it out 2 turns to leave some adjustability for alignment purposes. When I put the truck back on i's wheels the suspension only compressed 3/4". (without the shock attached)

SO if I am at the point that the suspension only has 3/4" of drop left, I don't want to go any higher because the performance would be crap. Unless the stock torsion bar is limiting the drop (i.e.- it's past it's free floating state and now holding the suspension up- which I doubt is possible) the Ford keys would be useless!?

Has anyone else seen this?? If I'm within 3/4" of max lift possible (and still have 2 turns on the key for adjustment) the $140.00 F150 key will gain me nothing and I'm going to return them! Has anyone else had a different experience or did 2 longer bolts for under $4 do the same thing as $140 worth of F150 keys?

[1slo4.8]

ok bud... i didn't even wanna finish reading all that. put in the ford keys. they do the same amount of lifts as maxing your stock keys out without having to crank on them so much. i personally would prefer that over bottoming out my stock keys. don't make it more complicated that it should be

[Yeager]

i personally would prefer that over bottoming out my stock keys

Why? If you can get the same lift, at the same torsion bar angle- which also means the same spring rate (who cares about the key angle???), and still have room for adjustment, then what would the Ford key gain me? The key angle means nothing, it's the preload in the spring that matters.

[jsprevat]

dude you only need the ford keys IF your stock keys can't lift it to where you want it. Take mine for example my stock keys wouldn't level out my truck so I had to get them. But my shocks still had a ways to go. if you're cranked so high to have to get new shocks they don't extend far enough you are too fvcking high and its gonna ride like crap IMO. Lift it with the stock keys and see how high you can get. If you are satisfied take the ford keys back. Also whenever you lift the truck pay attention to the boots it more than three ribs are touching youre probably to high.