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After adding new Anzo lights and a rolling tonneau cover to his 2010 F-150, this owner had a severe case of the custom truck itch. Seeing other trucks cruising and towing with a taller stance, bigger wheels, and knobby off-road tires had him searching through Truckin’ for the latest in leveling and lift technologies. Wanting a truck that would still ride nice but look tough isn’t a pipe dream, and we helped him find the best of both worlds in just a few hours. ICON Vehicle Dynamics has recently released a complete leveling kit system that improves ride quality, helps the ½-ton clear 34s, and adds impressive off-road capability of the new-body-style F-150. The kit comes with a tubular, uniball upper control arm, 2½-inch coil overs for the front, and 2-inch aluminum series monotube shocks for the rear. Adding rugged good looks and functionality, we wrapped a set of BMF 20×9-inch Novakane wheels in BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A rubber, size 275/65R20 (34 inches tall). We’ll show you how simple it was to increase the height of this Ford while increasing the outward appearance and performance, both on- and off-road.

The 2010 Ford F-150 before the build begins

 

1. The first step was to remove the front wheels and tires. Then the

upper ball joint nut could be loosened with an impact gun.

 

2. Next, the sway bar was disconnected from the endlink to allow the

lower control arm to flex down and accommodate the longer

ICON F-150 coil over shock

 

3. A little persuasion was necessary to free the spindle from the upper control

arm, which was left attached until we were ready to remove it.

 

4. With the spindle loose, the next step was to remove the

three nuts holding the factory coil over in place

 

5. The air impact gun was again used to remove the lower bolt from the strut.

 

6. Finally, the two bolts holding the upper control arm

were removed and the control arm

 

7. Here is the difference between the factory strut and the new Icon 2 1/2-inch

coil over. This kit is adjustable, offering one to three inches of lift.

 

8. The new control arms were much beefier as well. They are a tubular

design with uniball ball joints and polyurethane bushings.

9. Installing the new coil over is a breeze since it fit perfectly

where the coil over was removed.

10. Aluminum spacers were included in the kit and were placed inside

the lower control arm mount to center the ICON coil over.

 

11. Since there was nothing wrong with the factory hardware, it was

reused to bolt in the new upper control arm.

12. Included in the kit was new Grade 8 hardware for the

coil over, which was bolted onto the truck.

13. Grade 8 bolts were also used to bolt in the top of the coil over to the bucket.

 

14. The spindle was re-attached to the upper arm and

tightened to the recommended torque.

15. The last step was to reattach the sway bar to the

end link and bolt on the wheels and tires.

16. ICON Recommends a 34″ maximum tire size, or 315/70/r17. For this install we

wrapped the 20 x 9 inch BMF Navakanes in BFG All-Terrain rubber, size 275/65/r20.

That tire is about 34″ tall and fit perfectly inside the Fords arched fender wells.

17. Not only does the new kit outperform the factory parts, they look really good under the truck as well.

 

18. Not shown being installed, the factory rear shocks were also replaced

with these 2-inch aluminum series monotube shocks from ICON.

 

Icon Vehicle Dynamics has their stuff together. They really brought their A game with this leveling system. The install only took 2 hours, and when the kit was on, we couldn’t wait to get on the road to test it out. We started on the freeway, where the truck rode even better than it did before the kit. The coilovers up front and 2-inch monotube shocks out back really give the truck a better ride. The tires were louder than the factory Michelins but not obnoxious. Once we had the on-road testing done, we headed for some off-road testing. At speed on a rough dirt road, the truck rode almost as smooth as on the freeway. Over the more technical dips and ruts, the truck never rubbed, and even though it is a two-wheel-drive, it handled everything we brought it through. All in all, we loved the stance, ride, and ability that the Icon kit has given the truck. We liked it so much, we almost didn’t give the keys back to the owner.

 

 

BFGoodrich Tires

P.O. Box 19001

Greenville

SC  29602

877-788-8899

www.bfgoodrichtires.com

Icon Vehicle Dynamics

7929 Lincoln Ave

Riverside, CA 92504

951-689-4266

www.iconvehicledynamics.com

BMF Wheels

1401 N. Batavia Street

Suite 107

Orange

CA  92867

888-313-2580

www.bmfwheels.com