Fox 2.5 HTO

I think 40-50K miles on these is realistic. I’m at 15K miles now, once I hit 20K I’ll swap to these shocks and then swap em every 40K miles or so.
 
Sludgemonkey44 said:
Here are the part numbers for fronts and backs on a non lift non level (stock replacement) set. @Nick@ApolloOff-Road is the guy to talk to about getting the correct ones for you. He took great care of me, and he’s always good about giving you a bit of a “forum discount” if you mention this place.View attachment 206928
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Thanks buddy! Appreciate your support as always!
AZsurveyor said:
@Nick@ApolloOff-Road

Care to put together a qoute for me so that I can get them in the budget within the next month or two?

Sitting on 4.5" Icon system

Thanks
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Yes sir, sending you a message now.
 
This past weekend I got some time and swapped out the rears on Saturday and the fronts on Sunday. If you’re doing this project on your own, 21mm and 18mm wrenches, sockets, impacts, etc will become your best friends. The rears are super easy to switch. I also suggest mounting the tops without cutting the strapping from packaging, and then cutting and catching the bottoms as they expand to fit the bottom bolts.
The fronts are a bit more of a challenge and that’s only because you have to come in through the top of the engine bay to land a deep 21mm on the stud for the front tops. I suggest using some combination of extensions, wobble extensions, or double universal adapters to make it easier. The passenger side is the most difficult. Also, my stock front tops had the bushings crushed so tight that I couldn’t fit a normal sized open end wrench on the middle nut. If you have a low profile 21mm it should fit, or in my case my smallest fitsall (aka crescent wrench) at completely open just fit enough to give me the hold needed to get the top nut off.

As far as mounting the fronts, you’ll need to cut the strap to mount the tops. I cut it, let them expand, jacked the truck up until the wheels were just off the ground, mounted the tops and then used a floor jack and a piece of wood to push and align the bottoms. You might be able to get away with doing the opposite of the backs, mount the bottoms, cut the straps, and try to align the stud on top with the hole in the frame as the shock expands. I didn’t try that way, but it might be possible.

I’ve driven the truck a few times since the swap, and honestly I should have done it a long time ago. The truck has a much more “solid” feel to it, and the new shocks are definitely soaking up more bounce and shutter than the worn out originals.

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How are these holding up? I have a set of Bilstein B8 5160s that are starting to rust on the bodies pretty bad.
 
Only had mine in a couple months and maybe 10,000 miles and still think they are better than stock. No corrosion or anything but I put them on after the wet weather
 
stryker6040 said:
How are these holding up? I have a set of Bilstein B8 5160s that are starting to rust on the bodies pretty bad.
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I have to send one of mine back, out of the box the Nitrogen charge was depleted. Getting a set of Carli/Deaver rear leaf springs put on soon will address it then. Mine have only been on the truck for a few months, could not give a definitive answer how they are holding up as they are still new. Ride quality is better than stock, the original shocks were just pure garbage. For a stock replacement, hard to beat the 5100s for cost. For myself, I will stick to Accutune Offroad tuned shocks. My truck will end up with full Carli suspension by next year. Will most likely be Kings built by Accutune Offroad. Reason being....I will have to have them rebuilt at some point, and if you buy your shocks from Accutune, they give you a substantial discount on the rebuild cost. Great guys, and Ryan is developing there own shock line called RIDE. Good stuff to follow..

I do however have Bilstein 5160s on my wifes F150, it's a Ford Performance Part, in collaboration with Bilstein. Holding up well so far in Texas with about 18 months of service.
 
I have had the HTOs up front for about 6000 miles. They get better as they break in and are noticeably better than stock FX4 package shocks. Where they really shine is towing since they are designed for preventing top outs. I would do them again in a heartbeat. I have the 2.5 Perf Elites in the rear.
 
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@Nick@ApolloOff-Road can i get a quote please for a stock height 22 tremor.

My 5160s are in rough shape as previously mentioned. Shock bodies almost completely rusted, and noticed today while doing a tire rotation that the rear shock bushings on the upper frame mounts are almost completely blown out I was really surprised there was no metal sleeve in the bushing like the lower.
 
stryker6040 said:
@Nick@ApolloOff-Road can i get a quote please for a stock height 22 tremor.

My 5160s are in rough shape as previously mentioned. Shock bodies almost completely rusted, and noticed today while doing a tire rotation that the rear shock bushings on the upper frame mounts are almost completely blown out I was really surprised there was no metal sleeve in the bushing like the lower.
Click to expand...
Sending you a message now.
 
Sludgemonkey44 said:
This past weekend I got some time and swapped out the rears on Saturday and the fronts on Sunday. If you’re doing this project on your own, 21mm and 18mm wrenches, sockets, impacts, etc will become your best friends. The rears are super easy to switch. I also suggest mounting the tops without cutting the strapping from packaging, and then cutting and catching the bottoms as they expand to fit the bottom bolts.
The fronts are a bit more of a challenge and that’s only because you have to come in through the top of the engine bay to land a deep 21mm on the stud for the front tops. I suggest using some combination of extensions, wobble extensions, or double universal adapters to make it easier. The passenger side is the most difficult. Also, my stock front tops had the bushings crushed so tight that I couldn’t fit a normal sized open end wrench on the middle nut. If you have a low profile 21mm it should fit, or in my case my smallest fitsall (aka crescent wrench) at completely open just fit enough to give me the hold needed to get the top nut off.

As far as mounting the fronts, you’ll need to cut the strap to mount the tops. I cut it, let them expand, jacked the truck up until the wheels were just off the ground, mounted the tops and then used a floor jack and a piece of wood to push and align the bottoms. You might be able to get away with doing the opposite of the backs, mount the bottoms, cut the straps, and try to align the stud on top with the hole in the frame as the shock expands. I didn’t try that way, but it might be possible.

I’ve driven the truck a few times since the swap, and honestly I should have done it a long time ago. The truck has a much more “solid” feel to it, and the new shocks are definitely soaking up more bounce and shutter than the worn out originals.

View attachment 207518
View attachment 207519View attachment 207520View attachment 207521View attachment 207522
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Just installed all 4. Your jack with little piece of wood suggestion was golden! Made the front install super easy. Did both on less then an hour.

Interestingly I was able to access the top nut from the gender well with tires turned. Hardest part was getting on the second but to keep the sick from spinning. Like yours mine were on so tight and had the bushing compressed so much i couldn't even get my 21mm wrench in there. So I ended up using a set of thin meme noise vice grips.

Passenger side was much easier bc I had enough room to get my power tools on. Driver side had that silver metal piece for all the electronics in the way. So it was wrench only the entire time in the top bolt.

Either way, your write up saved me a lot of time and effort. 🍻
 
Fleece82 said:
Just installed all 4. Your jack with little piece of wood suggestion was golden! Made the front install super easy. Did both on less then an hour.

Interestingly I was able to access the top nut from the gender well with tires turned. Hardest part was getting on the second but to keep the sick from spinning. Like yours mine were on so tight and had the bushing compressed so much i couldn't even get my 21mm wrench in there. So I ended up using a set of thin meme noise vice grips.

Passenger side was much easier bc I had enough room to get my power tools on. Driver side had that silver metal piece for all the electronics in the way. So it was wrench only the entire time in the top bolt.

Either way, your write up saved me a lot of time and effort. 🍻
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Glad I could help. I’ve learned so many lessons about my truck on here from others, so I’m thrilled to be able to share some insights that were helpful to you and others as well.

Any feedback on the feel of the road between stock and 2.5’s?
 
Sludgemonkey44 said:
Glad I could help. I’ve learned so many lessons about my truck on here from others, so I’m thrilled to be able to share some insights that were helpful to you and others as well.

Any feedback on the feel of the road between stock and 2.5’s?
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I will agree with others in that the truck feels more planted. It's softer in some ways and not in others but all in a good way, in my opinion.

The biggest thing I notice is big bumps, potholes, etc, no longer feel like I ran over a human or large cinder block. Things are more subdued and a bit smoother. Also on highway, the transitions or "whoops" where I live that would have the truck bouncing around like I was in a baja 1000 are now just a nice up, down, and settled.

Overall I'm happy with them. I have nothing to compare them to other than my Raptor. I honestly didn't care for the suspension on the Raptor. Way too soft and wallowy. Made my wife car sick everytime she rode in it. Which I guess, looking back, could have been a good thing depending on the day! 😆
 
Fleece82 said:
I will agree with others in that the truck feels more planted. It's softer in some ways and not in others but all in a good way, in my opinion.

The biggest thing I notice is big bumps, potholes, etc, no longer feel like I ran over a human or large cinder block. Things are more subdued and a bit smoother. Also on highway, the transitions or "whoops" where I live that would have the truck bouncing around like I was in a baja 1000 are now just a nice up, down, and settled.

Overall I'm happy with them. I have nothing to compare them to other than my Raptor. I honestly didn't care for the suspension on the Raptor. Way too soft and wallowy. Made my wife car sick everytime she rode in it. Which I guess, looking back, could have been a good thing depending on the day! 😆
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Drop the tire PSI and it floats like a cloud. My wife thinks my super duty rides just as good as the Gen 3 raptor. It’s close- and honestly I like the more brute feeling of the super duty
 
Mtnduty said:
Drop the tire PSI and it floats like a cloud. My wife thinks my super duty rides just as good as the Gen 3 raptor. It’s close- and honestly I like the more brute feeling of the super duty
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I agree 💯. I like my SD way better. I was running 50 front and 45 rear. But it's single digits outside now. So I'm down to 45 front and 40 rear. Lol
 
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