2004 Ford F-150 Bolt-On Air Suspension - Bolt-On Adjustability

1. As you can see by this photo, the ShockWave is a direct replacement for the strut Ford uses. The Stillen technician told us there was no cutting necessary to install this bad boy. Just bolt in the upper plate, slide in the lower bolt, and you're done.

2. The ShockWaves are not just a regular shock with a 'bag strapped to it. They feature adjustable valving, so you can dial in the ride to suit your needs. If you think these are just used to lower the truck, you are wrong. ART designs them to be used on the track, as well as the street.

3. Here is a close-up of the upper area of the ShockWave, and as you can see, the air line has a clean path to exit to prevent leaks and possible damage.

4. The LevelPro system uses a combination of air pressure sensors and ride height sensor arms to accurately monitor the 'bags. The sensors mount to the frame and the upper control arm. As the suspension cycles, it moves the sensor arm and tells the brain box where everything is at. Once you've aired the truck to ride height, you push a button on the controller to set it, kind of like a preset on your radio. From then on, it will only take one button to bring it back to the proper ride height. The control box gives you three of these preset buttons.

5. Here is the four-link system installed on the Ford. The whole setup fits nicely under the back of the truck and is constructed of beefy materials.

6. These brackets attach to the rearend housing, much like a flip kit does, and provide the shock and lower link bar mounts.

7. There is an upper plate that gets bolted to the framerails and provides the upper 'bag and shock mounts. The shocks are the proper length, and the 'bags are rated just for the F-150, so there is no guesswork involved with this stuff.

8. Here is a shot of the top of the axle brackets. The upper link bar runs from there to a bracket installed on the frame next to the factory shock mount. Also, you can see the LevelPro sensor setup and how it is installed in the rear.

9. The lower link bars run from the axle bracket to the factory leaf spring hanger. How's that for a simple design?

10. To prevent the rearend from flopping from side to side, a Panhard bar is included in the kit. Just like the rest of the kit, it bolts right on.

11. The tank and valve system were mounted where the spare tire used to reside. The RidePro setup features bubble-tight air valves, a 5-gallon air tank, and an 1/4-inch DOT air line, which provides a slower more controllable action. If you are looking for a fast system, ART also offers a BigRed setup that features 3/8-inch air line or the BigRed Max that uses 1/2-inch line to get things moving pretty quickly.

12. The kit also includes two 327 Thomas compressors that are rated at 150 psi and flow 0.50 cfm at 150 psi. The Stillen guys mounted the compressors in the rear leaf spring hangers, since they weren't being used anymore.

13. The control panel features a VFD (vacuum florescent display), three one-touch ride height presets, with backlit soft-touch silicone buttons all in a nice clean box. Programming the box is just as simple as touching a few buttons, and it has a Ride-Height-On-Start option, so each time the vehicle is started, it will automatically go to highway ride height.