FX4 vs Bilstein 6112 Stage 1 Package

[K-Rob3]

Whenever I placed my order on Friday it was at zero stock and as of Sunday night, it's at -2. Hopefully the wait won't be too long but we'll see

I ordered mine on Monday through Les Schwab - hopefully they come in by the end of this week.

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[Savannah Power]

My PB with a 6.5' bed wallowed like a boat crossing diagonal irregularities like driveway entrances. Nice and smooth on the highway but terror-inducing making sharp maneuvers at 65+mph. Put Bilstein 5100's on this weekend, what an improvement. Waiting for fronts to arrive. Also bought a Hellwig (overpriced) rear sway bar but came incomplete and can't install yet. The rear shocks solved 75% of bad suspension habits. FX4 is a joke.

 

[Snakebitten]

My PB with a 6.5' bed wallowed like a boat crossing diagonal irregularities like driveway entrances. Nice and smooth on the highway but terror-inducing making sharp maneuvers at 65+mph. Put Bilstein 5100's on this weekend, what an improvement. Waiting for fronts to arrive. Also bought a Hellwig (overpriced) rear sway bar but came incomplete and can't install yet. The rear shocks solved 75% of bad suspension habits. FX4 is a joke.

I've put that Helwig rear on a couple of my previous F150's. I LOVE what it does and how it transforms the truck.
But dang if they didn't almost DOUBLE the price for the Gen14 trucks.

I'm still tempted, of course, but "tempted" shouldn't be the word for a repeat customer.

 

[Mladen5375]

Got my rears delivered yesterday and installed today. The installation was straight forward, bunch of YouTube videos out there. I'm not sure when my fronts will be in but hopefully very soon but I will my local shop install those and get the alignment done as well. Haven't gone for a test drive but I had the same ones on my previous F150 so I know what to expect.
Only thing that I realized was they are made in Mexico? I thought Bilstein is a German company and their stuff is actually made in Germany. Hopefully these are not some knockoffs lol

 

[9663mu]

Got my rears delivered yesterday and installed today. The installation was straight forward, bunch of YouTube videos out there. I'm not sure when my fronts will be in but hopefully very soon but I will my local shop install those and get the alignment done as well. Haven't gone for a test drive but I had the same ones on my previous F150 so I know what to expect.
Only thing that I realized was they are made in Mexico? I thought Bilstein is a German company and their stuff is actually made in Germany. Hopefully these are not some knockoffs lol

Looks awesome mate. Looking forward to seeing your Fronts installed and your review. Lastly cheap labor is cheap labor. Every country does it.

 

[Lippy]

Got my rears delivered yesterday and installed today. The installation was straight forward, bunch of YouTube videos out there. I'm not sure when my fronts will be in but hopefully very soon but I will my local shop install those and get the alignment done as well. Haven't gone for a test drive but I had the same ones on my previous F150 so I know what to expect.
Only thing that I realized was they are made in Mexico? I thought Bilstein is a German company and their stuff is actually made in Germany. Hopefully these are not some knockoffs lol

What a nice, clean, unrusty truck you have. Unlike mine.

 

[JohnMcClane]

I've put that Helwig rear on a couple of my previous F150's. I LOVE what it does and how it transforms the truck.
But dang if they didn't almost DOUBLE the price for the Gen14 trucks.

I'm still tempted, of course, but "tempted" shouldn't be the word for a repeat customer.

So at one point, the gen 12/13 sway bar was listed to fit the 2021, Stage3's website even reflected that, it has since changed.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/2015-2021-f150-hellwig-adjustable-rate-rear-sway-bar.4036/

I have the 7743 Helwig in the garage already, it will be going on my gen 14 (I will report back for those interested).

 

[Billy231]

I too, am curious about this set up and upcoming reviews from the OP.
I test drove a demo at a dealership last year prior to buying and it was a FX4 Sport with the 20" wheel package. The roads around the area were good and I purposely went out of my way for the 'pothole prone zone'. I checked tire pressure on the screen and they were high @40psi. Too much for my liking but either way the truck rode pretty hard and bounced around a bit. That alone turned me off to 20" wheels, knowing the issues with NY roads would be a common event. I ended up with a Lariat with 18" wheels. The ride was noticeably better, then I went up 1 size tires (33") with more sidewall and the ride on OEM suspension is very smooth.
I see you are running 22", assuming that tire pressures you require to protect those wheels has to be up near 40 psi.
That alone will cause a harsh ride that hopefully a better strut/shock combo will tame slightly, but I dont think you will ever see plush when running wheels that big, it just comes with the territory so to speak.
Hope that does work a bit better in your favor though.

 

[Snakebitten]

So at one point, the gen 12/13 sway bar was listed to fit the 2021, Stage3's website even reflected that, it has since changed.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/2015-2021-f150-hellwig-adjustable-rate-rear-sway-bar.4036/

I have the 7743 Helwig in the garage already, it will be going on my gen 14 (I will report back for those interested).

That's interesting. I have my rear Helwig from my 2018 KingRanch in the barn. I might have to go check the fit and see if it's possible. Thanks for mentioning that tidbit.

As for 22's, I kept 2 sets of wheels/tires. The oem 20's had ~35" KO2's for towing the RV and some occasional off road. The 22's were for when I was home for a stretch and wanted some sticky street prowess. And yea, the 22's were how you describe except I had the truck sitting on Fox 2.5 DSC suspension and I could dial it in with a twist of the DSC controls. Man that truck was composed no matter what mission-mode it was in. In fact, it set the bar pretty high for what I know is possible and now I'm on a quest to improve the 2022.

 

[PaulO]

I ordered mine on Monday through Les Schwab - hopefully they come in by the end of this week.

How did your Les Schwab do with the install? Did you buy the kit from them?

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