How to make a 500hp Reg cab F150 Handle.

So I bought another truck to use as a DD / Parts hauler. 2001 F150 Lightning. Specifically this Lightning, well we have a price set and I will take delivery in a few days and pay the man. I got bored looking at expensive cars that are not me. I am a jeans and tee shirt guy and I loved my F250 but it never fit anywhere in the city and it did not have power anything or good seats. Plus it was slow. This seems to fix a lot of the issues. 

Mods are as follows. 

• bassani high flow mids and bassani exhaust.
• K&N intake
• Punisher race valve body, 2400 stall converter,
• JDM electric fan 
• oil separator
•  JLP 4’ drop shackles in the back, Ford racing springs front.
• Front tires are Hankook Ventus ST, rears are Mickey Thompson 305 Drag Radials. B
• Lakewood traction bars and driveshaft loop 
• Upgraded brake pads and rotors. 

Truck is running stock boost and stock ECU, I will port the blower and add a #2 pulley, tune and light street cam in the next month or so. So think 420ish wheel hp and 540ish torque at 3400 rpm. 

So real question is how the heck and I going to get this thing to corner. Conventual wisdom is to call up Hotchkins and order up a kit. This already has the shackles, bars and springs in the front (need to replace the fronts as they have a coil cut).

I can order up the lowering springs for the front, and a set of 4 bilsteins for about 550$. Upgrade sway bars are another 300$. Chassis bracing is another 250$. I can order rear leafs that match the other package for about 250$. 

The Hotchkins kit without the shocks is ~1300$ delivered.  I get sways springs and end links. but no shocks and no bracing. I know the Hotchkins stuff will work though as a package.  

Anybody try and autocross a truck around here that might have some suggestions. Also tires, any ideas what I can run that are around 200-240 wear rating, same with alignment on trucks. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2001-Ford-F-150-SVT-Lightning/132741983770?hash=item1ee809ee1a:g:MqgAAOSwrtFbVSqV&vxp=mtr

first, define "handle".  for some people that just means flat cornering (1).  for others it means ultimate lateral G's (2).

• CG height as low as you and your usage profile can tolerate (1) (2)
• Adjustable-height Panhard (2)
• All the front bar (1) (2)
• Sticky tires (2)

sorry, i don't have specific component or supplier recommendations.   just wanted to throw out the basic parameters we have available for achieving your goals.

I believe drop shackles are going to increase understeer, because they incline the leaf spring the wrong way. I'd start there, drop the rear some other way.

If money and ability permits, I'd go with a watts link instead of a panhard due to curb weight.

the biggest front sway bar you can find and good shocks.  and some real tires meant for cornering.

I believe F150 Lightning frames are boxed at SVT. Would they require further bracing?

AngryCorvair said:

first, define "handle".  for some people that just means flat cornering (1).  for others it means ultimate lateral G's (2).

• CG height as low as you and your usage profile can tolerate (1) (2)
• Adjustable-height Panhard (2)
• All the front bar (1) (2)
• Sticky tires (2)

sorry, i don't have specific component or supplier recommendations.   just wanted to throw out the basic parameters we have available for achieving your goals.

I want level flat cornering on the street and the ability to brake without diving the front into the ground. Lots of front bar and sticky tires. I am not trying to set ultimate track, some compliance but I think a thick enough sidewall will do that for me. 

Panhard is not something I had though of. 

just go to hotchkiss.. it's going to cause you more headaches to do it the other way.

So the CL flake job finally called you back, huh? 

all i know is i've seen a lightning try to autocross, i say try because i dont think he ever got one clean run that he didnt spin it around

We autocrossed my buddies lightening with the full hotchkis suspension, but no chassis bracing. 

He never made a clean run, and that was due to him trying to steer with the gas pedal. Damn drag racers.

As a street performance vehicle, it was fantastic and fun through the tight and twisted roads up in the mountains. Very neutral. 

Add weight.

I wouldn't just throw parts at it.  I'd start with good tires, see what it does and then tune from there.

Appleseed said:

So the CL flake job finally called you back, huh? 

His three year old wanted attention. Totally acceptable answer. 

In reply to wearymicrobe :

So, you haven’t actually driven this truck yet?

SVreX said:

In reply to wearymicrobe :

So, you haven’t actually driven this truck yet?

Driven plenty of my friends they are the ones who kind of talked me into it. Though they are all stock or SLAMMED to the ground. It was so cheap that even if I have to throw the entire suspension away I am good. They all dive under braking, that is my only real serious concern. I have been in one at an autocross and it was right foot steering the whole way and that appeals to me on a deep and personal level. 

The motor is stock internally, the boost is stock, its been running an oil separator since it was built and its on a stock tune and all the plugs are still attached to the heads. For me that is a good enough start. Could care less about anything else, its cheap for the mileage. 

Hopefully will be here soon so I can start playing around. Got a bunch of old stereo stuff I want to stuff in it that is era appropriate as well. A few early eclipes mono blocks and some  components I picked up on craigslist a few months back when I was upgrading the stereo on the prowler. 

Add some ant-dive to the front.

what did colin chapman say..  "Any suspension, no matter how poorly designed, can be made to work reasonably well if you just stop it from moving. "

I autocrossed a friend's (stock) Lightning once.  It was quite a ways off the pace in F stock, but it was a ton of fun.  The course we ran had a big right-hand sweeper in one corner, I remember going around it steering with the throttle, getting around the next 180 corner, and then realizing I'd left a huge smoke cloud all the way around the sweeeper.  Good fun. :)

I love Lightnings!

Front, all the spring rate.  Rear, Nascar trailing arms with coil overs , with enough spring rate to balance the pig.

"Any suspension will work if you don't let it" is the way its told.

I vote for 1/4" thick steel plates bolted to the bed.

It's never going to be a Miata. The goal should be to maximize what it can do well, and try to minimize what it struggles with.

Cram as much tire under it as you can.

Lower it.

Play with the weight balance by relocating things from front to rear (battery,  fuel cell, etc), and lightening the front where possible by removing unnecessary stuff or switching to lighter body panels. Lighter seats can't hurt either.

I also like tons of brake. This truck is good at going straight. The more time you spend doing that, the faster you'll be. Late braking helps to capitalize on that.

So got an answer from someone who actually tracks there lightning. Again just for fun not for times. He had some really funny photos I am going to ask to share. He was very adament the truck is much more fun this way but in no way competitive in any class or even in stock classes. It will get whooped but it has high giggle factor and it is safe.   

325/40-18 square setup fits on the truck,, he has 2 inch drop in the rear with a seriously stiff front spring that is made to level out the truck with a small spacer.  This is for the bigger tire. He gave me the name of a company that makes lightning sway bars ~500$ all in front and read. He likes the Hotchkins rear leafs and I can get them as part outside of the package. 

He has factory shocks on his and bump stops cut he says it transitions just fine. That is also what Hotchkins recommenced to him. 

Panhard or  link have very little effect on the truck he says. Lots of people have tired but due to the weight and the tire selections its just not needed. There is a 4 link kit for airbags though that they are looking into. 

• 500$ for sway bars. 100$ for links. 
• 240$ for new rear leafs. 
• 350$ for new bilsteins as mine are likely short due to how low the truck is. 
• 145$ set of front springs with the stiffest rating that will level it out with a 2 inch drop. 
• Set the rear to 2 inch drop and then install bars and driveshaft hoop. 
• Already has upgraded rotors. Need to find aggressive street pads. 
• Port the blower ~600$ with shipping at Jokerz
• Maybe 2# pulley and canned tune.  150$ pully ~400$ dyno tune locally. 

I don't have a answer but there are ways to make it handle better.  Back some years ago (Early 2000's) I instructed for SVT Owners Association and one of the other instructors had a Lighting for a track vehicle.  He fitted larger wheels and tires and bigger rotors and calipers.  I know he did other things as well but what I don't  know. What I do know was that the truck was fast, for a truck!  On track I would catch him but only under braking and cornering. On the straights I could only stay with him. My car was a 1993 Cobra R with mods!

I've also ridden in a few as an instructor and they are a hoot!  Not that practical as a truck but fun to drive although I did know a guy who used his to tow a trailer with his Mustang track car.

This will be fantastic on any of the combinations.  Love a rowdy truck that still does some truck stuff.