Anyone wanting to lift/level a Ranger Raptor should read this!

[stovall977]

Man this hurt my brain to read

My names Ned and I own G.O.A.T Offroad in Australia.

We have been making strut top spacers for the next gen Ranger Raptors for 2 years now.

When it comes to lifting Ranger Raptors, strut spacers are the best option. The factory shocks are internal bypass and the bypass zone is set for the shock piston to be at factory position. This bypass zone allows more oil to flow around the piston, giving the plush ride. A spring or perch lift moves the piston out of this bypass zone, making the ride stiffer and negating the big benefits of the Fox shocks.

A strut spacer lift doesn't do that. It makes your overall strut length longer. This has a double positive effect. It gives you more droop for better performance offroad and it also stops bigger tyres from travelling up as far at full compression, giving needed clearance to stop rubbing and or guard damage. Overall wheel travel stays the same.

After significant testing of perch and springs lifts, strut top was the clear winner. Our 2" lift spacers are 32mm thick. We tested up to a 40mm thick, just to stress test CVs and tie rod ends. But at 32mm there is still plenty of angle left for solid reliability.

The Raptor uses an in shock bumpstop, so the strut top spacer doesnt change the relationship between shock travel and bump stop engagement. This is an added benefit for lifting the raptor with spacers over springs or perch collars, as its moving the travel downwards, giving more clearance to the guards with bigger tyres at full compression.

Definitely still need to do a ride height recalibration with a spacer too.

Our spacers have specifically designed for the raptor, so you dont have to cut studs or rotate the shocks. They are by far the strongest design, bolting through the factory shock top.

https://goatoffroad.com.au/products/ranger-raptor-lift-kit

Thanks for educating

Man this hurt my brain to read

My names Ned and I own G.O.A.T Offroad in Australia.

We have been making strut top spacers for the next gen Ranger Raptors for 2 years now.

When it comes to lifting Ranger Raptors, strut spacers are the best option. The factory shocks are internal bypass and the bypass zone is set for the shock piston to be at factory position. This bypass zone allows more oil to flow around the piston, giving the plush ride. A spring or perch lift moves the piston out of this bypass zone, making the ride stiffer and negating the big benefits of the Fox shocks.

A strut spacer lift doesn't do that. It makes your overall strut length longer. This has a double positive effect. It gives you more droop for better performance offroad and it also stops bigger tyres from travelling up as far at full compression, giving needed clearance to stop rubbing and or guard damage. Overall wheel travel stays the same.

After significant testing of perch and springs lifts, strut top was the clear winner. Our 2" lift spacers are 32mm thick. We tested up to a 40mm thick, just to stress test CVs and tie rod ends. But at 32mm there is still plenty of angle left for solid reliability.

The Raptor uses an in shock bumpstop, so the strut top spacer doesnt change the relationship between shock travel and bump stop engagement. This is an added benefit for lifting the raptor with spacers over springs or perch collars, as its moving the travel downwards, giving more clearance to the guards with bigger tyres at full compression.

Definitely still need to do a ride height recalibration with a spacer too.

Our spacers have specifically designed for the raptor, so you dont have to cut studs or rotate the shocks. They are by far the strongest design, bolting through the factory shock top.

https://goatoffroad.com.au/products/ranger-raptor-lift-kit

Ned, on your website I see that you guys do not recommend only using the 2" strut spacer unless we pair it with your UCA. I can see that the shape of the stock ford uca could contact the coil at droop. I assume this is what you are referring to correct? Thanks!

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[ag02m5]

Thanks for educating

Ned, on your website I see that you guys do not recommend only using the 2" strut spacer unless we pair it with your UCA. I can see that the shape of the stock ford uca could contact the coil at droop. I assume this is what you are referring to correct? Thanks!

Yeah it isn't very clear what year that comment about needing the UCA applies to. Also, I'd like to see some install instructions or more details on how this varies from the other kits that require a rotation of the top hat.

Also interested to know more about alignment with and without the UCA on the 24/25 RR.

 

[Johnny 5]

So do I have to replace my live shocks even if my rr is a pavement princess?

 

[nedmo]

Thanks for educating

Ned, on your website I see that you guys do not recommend only using the 2" strut spacer unless we pair it with your UCA. I can see that the shape of the stock ford uca could contact the coil at droop. I assume this is what you are referring to correct? Thanks!

So our spacers fit both the Gen 1 Ranger Raptor (which the US did not get) and the 2022+ Next Gen Ranger Raptor. The Gen 1 has a poorer factory UCA design which does contact the coil mount at full droop with the 2in spacer, damaging the arm and potentially causing a catastrophic failure, so that message is for that model.

For the 2022+ Next Gen Ranger Raptor, the UCA does not hit the coil bucket, so the billet UCA is not necessarily required. But, the wheel alignment that is achievable on the factory UCA with a 2in lift is only passable. Our adjustable UCA gives the ability to achieve a perfect wheel alignment, improving handling and tyre life.

 

[nedmo]

Yeah it isn't very clear what year that comment about needing the UCA applies to. Also, I'd like to see some install instructions or more details on how this varies from the other kits that require a rotation of the top hat.

Also interested to know more about alignment with and without the UCA on the 24/25 RR.

You can find install instructions on our site here https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...-_Ranger_Raptor_Strut_Spacer.pdf?v=1706656963

Our design is much stronger than the style that makes you flip the top hat. As we bolt right through the top hat and spacer. It also means you dont have to cut the factory studs like that flip style.

 

[ag02m5]

For the 2022+ Next Gen Ranger Raptor, the UCA does not hit the coil bucket, so the billet UCA is not necessarily required. But, the wheel alignment that is achievable on the factory UCA with a 2in lift is only passable. Our adjustable UCA gives the ability to achieve a perfect wheel alignment, improving handling and tyre life.

Thanks for this and the install link!

Sorry to belabor the point but I am curious how far out the alignment is with stock UCA. I assume the issue is with camber.

I drive the truck hard on the pavement so I want a little bit of negative camber for performance.

I don't know offhand what the stock alignment specs look like but I definitely want to do it right!

Cheers.

 

[stovall977]

So our spacers fit both the Gen 1 Ranger Raptor (which the US did not get) and the 2022+ Next Gen Ranger Raptor. The Gen 1 has a poorer factory UCA design which does contact the coil mount at full droop with the 2in spacer, damaging the arm and potentially causing a catastrophic failure, so that message is for that model.

For the 2022+ Next Gen Ranger Raptor, the UCA does not hit the coil bucket, so the billet UCA is not necessarily required. But, the wheel alignment that is achievable on the factory UCA with a 2in lift is only passable. Our adjustable UCA gives the ability to achieve a perfect wheel alignment, improving handling and tyre life.

Understood, thank you for the info! Does the ride height need calibration with your coil bucket spacer as well? I know it needs to be done after installing an aftermarket perch collar.

 

[E40]

Further to the above. Lets talk about load carrying.

If you have added weight to your Raptor, from accessories for overlanding etc, and you ride height has sagged, then using strut spacers or perch collars is the incorrect method. This is where springs are required. Your goal should be to increase the spring rate enough to return the ride height to factory with your added load. Then if you want a lift, add strut spacers.

This is exactly what I comfirmed from my last Colorado/Utah overlanding trip. With RTT and gears loaded in the truck bed and rear seat, there was about 2” sag for rear axle side resulting near same amt of fender gap for front and rear.

Is there any manufacturer making springs for our rear Fox shocks? Also anyone know the OEM spring rates for our shocks front and rear?

My plan is to combination of front strut spacer and stiffer rear spring (10-15% stiffer rate) for a mild & balanced lift.

 

[nedmo]

Understood, thank you for the info! Does the ride height need calibration with your coil bucket spacer as well? I know it needs to be done after installing an aftermarket perch collar.

It sure does. Any change to ride height, regardless of method, requires recalibrating the ride height sensors for optimal performance of suspension and other systems in the car.

 

[10-4 Overland]

Disappointing that Fox is only doing stock level shocks.

If I want to build a pre-runner, I guess I'll have to fork over 1/3 the cost of the truck for portals

 

[nedmo]

Thanks for this and the install link!

Sorry to belabor the point but I am curious how far out the alignment is with stock UCA. I assume the issue is with camber.

I drive the truck hard on the pavement so I want a little bit of negative camber for performance.

I don't know offhand what the stock alignment specs look like but I definitely want to do it right!

Cheers.

Its most apparent when you try to chase more forward camber, to give clearance at the rear for 35s.

 

[Deepsea619]

Hello everyone,
So I just got off the phone with a very knowledgeable tech at Fox Factory NA. I specifically asked him if Fox signs off on any existing Lift/leveling kits on the market for the new Ranger raptor platform. He said that, although some drivers won’t feel the difference, it absolutely negatively affects the performance of the suspension on these trucks. The 2.5 live valve shocks on these trucks are designed with a “droop” zone, “static sag” zone, and “compression zone”. When you add a lift kit or spring perch spacer the shock then statically rides outside of its factory sag zone. This throws everything off about the compression and rebound circuits throughout the positive and negative travel.
The external “ride height” sensors don’t really care about actual ride height, they care about how fast any particular shock is compressing or rebounding. This is what gives feedback to the computer to make instantaneous adjustments to the damping circuits. The only way to correctly calibrate these OEM live valve shocks for a change in ride height is to dismantle them completely and modify those zones internally within the shock. There is no “Recalibrating” to be done software wise. He did say that if you send your shocks in to Fox, they can do it as part of a standard service.

More excitingly he did tell me that they are working on an aftermarket kit for this new platform. It would be a complete shock replacement, which would allow you to change ride height and compression/rebound damping adjustments on the fly but still have 100% plug and play compatibility with the factory drive modes and live valve system. He said that it was probably a year out and would be a factory level shock.

So I went to SEMA 2024 last year and spoke with FOX. They showed me the platform that is coming for the R/R and was amazing, it is a plug in play aftermarket OEM fit just like you said. There also releasing a FOX UCA. I will attached the 2024 F150 Raptor's new shock. IT will look just like this,

 

[Daweism]

So I went to SEMA 2024 last year and spoke with FOX. They showed me the platform that is coming for the R/R and was amazing, it is a plug in play aftermarket OEM fit just like you said. There also releasing a FOX UCA. I will attached the 2024 F150 Raptor's new shock. IT will look just like this,

$10k easy

 

[AlpineBike]

So I went to SEMA 2024 last year and spoke with FOX. They showed me the platform that is coming for the R/R and was amazing, it is a plug in play aftermarket OEM fit just like you said. There also releasing a FOX UCA. I will attached the 2024 F150 Raptor's new shock. IT will look just like this,

Be careful! To a lot of people on here, it’s more important to prove me wrong and spread misinformation than it is to spread factual information with evidence that backs it up.
They might start blocking/ignoring you now too.

 

[Deepsea619]

$10k easy

Yea probably but YOLO!

Be careful! To a lot of people on here, it’s more important to prove me wrong and spread misinformation than it is to spread factual information with evidence that backs it up.
They might start blocking/ignoring you now too.

Alpine, was the directed towards me?

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