Black Diamond lift/suspension upgrade

[kodiakisland]

i've followed your dissertation on hitachis > bilsteins, i expect to hear the full report about the icons vs the other two!

First off, the Badlands Bilsteins are great. It was a very good upgrade for my Black Diamond over the Hitachis. Anyone who has gone out with me will attest to how well my Bronco works, even with 33s. They were always a stopgap in my mind though. I knew I wanted to upgrade over the Hitachis from day one, but there just wasn't anything on the market. I'm not replacing the Bilsteins because of deficiencies, but just because it's the quest of upgrading and improving. I can't wait to compare the Icons.

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[D-R0CK]

So I've done some pretty good trails and rock crawling in my bone stock non-SAS BD 4-door in MD/VA (Union Springs Road up to Flagpole Knob, Wolf Den Run, etc)...it did everything the SAS and lifted Broncos did, just with more rubbing on the skid plates. That said, those trails are probably the extent of what I feel comfortable doing without some added clearance, but if you all you're doing is fire roads and such, then the stock BD is plenty. Personally, I'm going to get the Ford Performance coilover lift since my wife works at the dealership and she can get a discount for me, and I like the Ford warranty aspect. I'm debating on 34 vs 35 inch tires still.

 

[TallDude]

I’m in a similar situation with my stock BD. Will be putting on 35’s (the skinny Kenda’s) and thought I read the SAS take offs will give you about an inch lift. Might also be better suited to handle the heavier tires vs the stock BD suspension. I’m just not sure if I should do the SAS take offs for $800 or spend double for the Eibach C/O’s or the Ford Performance C/O’s…

 

[daveb007s]

So I've done some pretty good trails and rock crawling in my bone stock non-SAS BD 4-door in MD/VA (Union Springs Road up to Flagpole Knob, Wolf Den Run, etc)...it did everything the SAS and lifted Broncos did, just with more rubbing on the skid plates. That said, those trails are probably the extent of what I feel comfortable doing without some added clearance, but if you all you're doing is fire roads and such, then the stock BD is plenty. Personally, I'm going to get the Ford Performance coilover lift since my wife works at the dealership and she can get a discount for me, and I like the Ford warranty aspect. I'm debating on 34 vs 35 inch tires still.

Did you get the Ford Performance C/O yet? I am about to pull the trigger on ordering some myself, just wondering if you liked them.

 

[Snacktime]

SAS take offs or 5100 Bilsteins would be the starting point. So far I am happy with my 5100 and they may be the best bang for my buck mod to date.

 

[D-R0CK]

Did you get the Ford Performance C/O yet? I am about to pull the trigger on ordering some myself, just wondering if you liked them.

Not yet...I'm in Korea right now, gotta wait til I get back to the good ol' USA.

 

[daveb007s]

Not yet...I'm in Korea right now, gotta wait til I get back to the good ol' USA.

I'm assuming in Korea as a member of the military, if so thank you for your service!! I ordered mine today and should have next week. Looking forward to getting them installed and trying them out!! I am the parts manager of a Ford Dealer out here in California, so i get a pretty good deal on them too..

 

[TallDude]

I'm assuming in Korea as a member of the military, if so thank you for your service!! I ordered mine today and should have next week. Looking forward to getting them installed and trying them out!! I am the parts manager of a Ford Dealer out here in California, so i get a pretty good deal on them too..

Can you get us a good deal on them too?

 

[daveb007s]

Can you get us a good deal on them too?

Retail $2100. I could do them at my employee rate at $1850. That’s 10% over cost.

 

[Beach_Bum]

Can you get us a good deal on them too?

You need to set up an account with Ruxer. @flip extended a discount to B6G members on parts ordered. A while back, he posted in the Sponsor's Marketplace Suspension sub-forum that he was targeting a price of $1700 for the Ford Performance 2" lift.

 

[Bronco B]

This is exactly what I have on my BD.
33” KO2s (285 70-17)

I didn’t make any other mods…no lift no level no coil over.
Gives it a more aggressive look and I think the BD can do 90% of off-roading.

I can second that. I had 33s put on prior to delivery and love it. That being said, it proves to me that if I do want to run 35s someday, I can get away with a 2" lift and be just fine. Here's what she looked like on day 1:

 

[BroncoHI]

As someone waiting on their non-SAS BD (built but waiting on a rail from MAP), I am surprised that there is a need for coil overs for your intended purpose. OP, are you saying your current setup isn’t capable of fire-roads, hunting and creek crossing right out of the box? We have similar needs from our rigs and I’m not sure what we are doing here if a stock BD needs to be upgraded to handle it. Surely it’s sufficient (although I like the look of 33’ KO2s on the BDs). Following the thread.

It'll be fine stock for any of those things you'd like to do. I think OP just wants more of a lift. The Stock Black Diamond seems to be lower than other Broncos but it's kinda deceiving. I haven't swapped tires yet, but I'm pretty sure I can run 35s if I remove the crash bars and definitely can run 33s without any modifications.

 

[daveb007s]

Just an FYI.... If you do get the Ford Performance Bilstein coil overs part # M-18000-B1 (4dr) check hardware. In the kit we received the upper mount nuts that came with the kit are the wrong thread pitch. With that being said the bolts are a finer thread than the nuts that came off the Bronco and the ones that came in the kit. We had to use upper mounting nut from a 2020 Mustang, as they are the correct thread pitch.

 

[Dirtrider]

It'll be fine stock for any of those things you'd like to do. I think OP just wants more of a lift. The Stock Black Diamond seems to be lower than other Broncos but it's kinda deceiving. I haven't swapped tires yet, but I'm pretty sure I can run 35s if I remove the crash bars and definitely can run 33s without any modifications.

I have a non-sas BD. I'm planning to put 33" tires on it (on the stock rims) when the 32" wear out and I'm thinking about going to Bilstein 5100 with stock springs and use the 1" lift position. I'd like to get a little more clearance. I drove a non-sas Badlands at the Texas Off-roadeo and it certainly went anywhere I wanted to go. The 1" lift and 33" tires should make my BD equivalent to the BL (minus the front locker and disconnecting sta-bar). I'd like to retain the crash bars and don't want to get into any issues with the tie rods or CV joint angles (although I don't think the CV joints are an issue unless you go over 2" of lift).
Thoughts?

 

[BroncoHI]

I have a non-sas BD. I'm planning to put 33" tires on it (on the stock rims) when the 32" wear out and I'm thinking about going to Bilstein 5100 with stock springs and use the 1" lift position. I'd like to get a little more clearance. I drove a non-sas Badlands at the Texas Off-roadeo and it certainly went anywhere I wanted to go. The 1" lift and 33" tires should make my BD equivalent to the BL (minus the front locker and disconnecting sta-bar). I'd like to retain the crash bars and don't want to get into any issues with the tie rods or CV joint angles (although I don't think the CV joints are an issue unless you go over 2" of lift).
Thoughts?

The 5100s are a real good value. You could probably level the front 1 1/2" and have a real nice stance. The 33s will fit easily.

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