When Mopar said that Jeep Gladiator owners spend on an average roughly $1,000 on accessories for their cars, Ford listened. It also took note that most of those parts comprise of lift kits and rock rails, so it complied.

That’s why today we can tell you more about the lift kits and tuned suspension setups Ford Performance has just introduced for the Ford Ranger and Ford F-150 pickup trucks.

Tell me more about those Ford Performance leveling kits

Ford says that the majority of Ranger and F-150 trucks it sells come with all-wheel drive, which sounds right as rain. With that in mind, the Blue Oval concocted the said leveling kits that, besides the extra ground clearance, also bring truck-optimized Fox shocks. And in case you’re not the mechanical savvy type, fret not. Ford says the kits can be installed at its dealers, so you’ll save both time and nerves. The thing is, you’ll have to wait a bit because order books don’t open until later this fall.

Ford Ranger and F-150 Leveling Kits - What do they include?

Regardless of what leveling kit you pick - that is for your Ranger or your F-150 - the components are the same but adapted for the vehicle they’re meant to equip. For starters, you get new aluminum Fox shock bodies which Ford says have been designed to offer better cooling over rough terrain, when the levels of stress are incrementally higher than on smooth ground or asphalt.

In addition to those, the kits also include new front coilover springs and upper front mounts with polyurethane bushings (with sizes tailored in such a way that they suit the Ranger and the F-150). These are particularly important because they work towards isolating noise and vibrations. That’s particularly useful if your Ranger of F-150 is fitted with a plow or a winch that’s attached to the front end, or if you simply want a better attack angle from your pickup truck.

Speaking of which, Ford says that once installed, the leveling kits improve the front ground clearance, as well as approach and breakover angles for both the F-150 and Ranger. Ford bases that claim on its computer-generated simulations, but at the same time does provide some figures to back it up. For example, the Ranger’s approach angle gets a 21 percent increase coupled by a 10 percent increase for the breakover angle. Subsequently, the 145-inch-wheelbase F-150 sees its approach angle boosted by 22 percent. Its breakover angle also goes up by seven percent.

With the lift kit on, these numbers change into 34.7 degrees for the approach angle and 23.6 degrees for the breakover angle. As far as the 4x4 F-150 pickup truck is concerned, with the lift kit in place and in 145-inch-wheelbase guise, the new ability gains are 31.4 degrees for the approach angle and 22.5 degrees for the breakover angle.

Ford also cares to mention that it developed and tested the leveling kits in Borrego, California, and Arizona. These phases included high-speed off-roading and low-speed rock-crawling sessions. With that said, let’s talk turkey: the leveling kits are priced at $1,495 before installation, which means the dealer will charge you to have them mounted on your pickup truck. They also come with a limited Ford Performance Parts warranty - again, the dealer will provide more details on that.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 Ford Ranger.

Read our full review on the 2018 Ford F-150.