Strutteks installed....serious rake

I recently installed Struttek strut assemblies on all four corners of my 02. They feel good so far and you cant beat the $330 price tag. But man these things add a lot of lift. Big time on the rear. The lift on the rear is almost 4 inches. Looks like a lift kit was installed. And from what Ive read on here they wont settle much at all.

Here are some quick pics I snapped to show. Not great quality, but they get the point across.

I am not quite sure what to do yet. Not sure if I like it or hate it? Or if I should do something to raise the front? Lower the back? I am getting 265's installed soon so I will wait till then before making a decision.


Let me know what you think, or what you would do?

I think raise the front and then with the 265's on its' going to look bloody awesome.

Just a quick question, can you use lift spacer's with struttek?

Whoa are those supposed to be a lift strut or an OEM Replacement? What the heck do the axles look like with it that far up in the rear?

jcsaathoff said:

Whoa are those supposed to be a lift strut or an OEM Replacement?

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I am curious to know myself also, seeing I am in the market for all new struts and from all the searching I could find on this forum, quite a few point towads the strutteks as descent replacement for the low price.

You definitely need to do something to level it out. The way it sits now, with the nose down rake, is dangerous. It will lead to substantial oversteer under heavy braking and/or hard cornering. Under those circumstances, excessive weight transfer will occur, from the rear to the front, taking weight off the rear tires, and causing them to slide/lockup (under braking) This can be an unpredictable and sudden event, otherwise known as "snapping loose". Ask me, and my bent b-pillar how "we" know this.
I would go w/ lowering the rear. Unless, you NEED increased ground clearance,then lifting serves no useful purpose, and only compromises handling (higher CG), and fuel economy (more air under vehicle, more drag). Granted, the nose down stance MAY slightly reduce aerodynamic drag, by allowing less air under the vehicle; but the handling tradeoffs aren't worth it.

imo id just run it for a week and see IF and how much it settles, hopefully a little bit.
Can you even get the front/rears mixed, I don't think so, just tossing that out there.

I have the Strutteks installed in the rear and plan on installing them in the front. Driveability has improved 10 fold. I had broken springs in the rear before they were installed. Here are some pics:

Before:



After, gained 3":

Wow, I was planing of getting these, 4 full assemblies (for xlt) and 4 regular ones (for xls), then choose the best springs for the xls.
I wouldn't mind the "free" lift, but I wouldn't want to make my truck unsafe

Can you take a picture of your old springs and the new ones? When I saw the picture of the Strutteks in the other thread, the coils seemed thicker? For the amount of height you gained, I doubt they will settle down back to stock height. At least you can now throw some 265's on

jad2411 said:

Wow, I was planing of getting these, 4 full assemblies (for xlt) and 4 regular ones (for xls), then choose the best springs for the xls.
I wouldn't mind the "free" lift, but I wouldn't want to make my truck unsafe

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IMHO, changing just the springs is not cost effective. I recommend using one of the "quick-struts".

Limited02 said:

Can you take a picture of your old springs and the new ones? When I saw the picture of the Strutteks in the other thread, the coils seemed thicker? For the amount of height you gained, I doubt they will settle down back to stock height. At least you can now throw some 265's on

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I don't have the old assemblies. I will take pictures of the fronts when I swap them out.

BigRondo said:

IMHO, changing just the springs is not cost effective. I recommend using one of the "quick-struts".

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I have 2 trucks, my plan is to get 4 quick struts for one, and 4 regulars for the other truck, then I would have 8 springs to choose the best ones for the 2nd truck and still have 4 spare ones, any flaws in my plan?

Ok, so if I understand correctly: you are going to get both sets and install the best ones. The only flaw I see is if you decided to install the "quick-strut" type and keep the other "just springs" as spares is: possibly you can't replace just the springs on the installed "quick-strut" units.

I hope this isn't too confusing. I had to read it a couple times myself, lol.

BigRondo said:

Ok, so if I understand correctly: you are going to get both sets and install the best ones. The only flaw I see is if you decided to install the "quick-strut" type and keep the other "just springs" as spares is: possibly you can't replace just the springs on the installed "quick-strut" units.

I hope this isn't too confusing. I had to read it a couple times myself, lol.

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You are correct. The Strutteks did not look like the springs could be swapped out. The "unit" is just that. A one piece unit. Thats how they looked to me.

jcsaathoff said:

Whoa are those supposed to be a lift strut or an OEM Replacement? What the heck do the axles look like with it that far up in the rear?

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Nope, they are supposed to be an OEM replacement. I will try to snap a photo of the axles and post back here for all to see.



But heck, if your looking for free lift here you go. You could raise your rear for about $160 all in. I assume you could then throw a spacer in the front to raise that too.

I am going to get my 265's installed and ride on thm for a while. Worst case scenerio, i buy some monroes for the rear and even things out some day.

Rondo- How did they perform in the winter for you with the rear lifted like that?

chitown1211 said:

Rondo- How did they perform in the winter for you with the rear lifted like that?

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Absolutely amazing!!

BigRondo said:

Ok, so if I understand correctly: you are going to get both sets and install the best ones. The only flaw I see is if you decided to install the "quick-strut" type and keep the other "just springs" as spares is: possibly you can't replace just the springs on the installed "quick-strut" units.

I hope this isn't too confusing. I had to read it a couple times myself, lol.

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I will be getting 4 quick struts that will go in the xlt truck
and 4 regular ones (http://www.primechoiceautoparts.com...-strut-direct-fit-mmy-ford-explorer-2002.aspx) that will go on the xls

I will then have 8 springs to choose from to use on the XLS and will have 4 "spares"
hope this makes more sense

rondo and chit what tire size are in those pics 245 or 235? i have 255 general grabber A/T 2's and think it would fill in the wheel well nicely there pretty nubby. Could I use say an inch or 2 leveling kit in the front with these? And would it just be a set of blocks for the front? this would be the perfect setup for me casue i need new struts and want to gain some height.

fedyfedz said:

rondo and chit what tire size are in those pics 245 or 235? i have 255 general grabber A/T 2's and think it would fill in the wheel well nicely there pretty nubby. Could I use say an inch or 2 leveling kit in the front with these? And would it just be a set of blocks for the front? this would be the perfect setup for me casue i need new struts and want to gain some height.

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Mine are 235/70.

what about the leveling kit already stock the front sits slightly lower....

fedyfedz said:

what about the leveling kit already stock the front sits slightly lower....

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I don't have a leveling kit installed. The front of my Ex is stock with the old struts. I haven't installed the Strutteks on the front yet.