The second critical component of the Topo 2.0 kit addresses one of the downsides to the Ford Transit platform which is the lack of any real camber or caster adjustment built into the front suspension design of the van. This comes into play when trying to lift the vehicle for more ground clearance and improved ride quality since nearly any amount of lift will put the vehicle out of alignment specs and increase tire wear. An additional hurdle presented with the AWD Transit platform is the extremely short passenger side CV shaft. This CV joint will go into a bind if it is over-extended by more than 1" of additional droop over stock. To remedy the alignment issues as well as not over-extend the passenger side CV shaft on AWD models, we developed a 3/4" strut spacer with built in camber and caster correction for the 2.0" of total lift gained when installing the 1.0" lift coils and strut spacer to have a complete front end upgrade that won't accelerate wear on other critical suspension and steering components such as control arm bushings, tie rod ends and front axle shafts on AWD models. Front sway bar link extensions are included to maintain proper sway bar position.
For optimum ride quality improvement, pair the Topo 2.0 front kit with a Bilstein B6 strut for an additional 3/4" of lift and a great improvement in damping control. The Bilstein strut has the coil spring perch welded onto the strut body at a 3/4" higher height than the factory strut which preloads the coil spring an additional 3/4" for slightly more lift. The one disclaimer we must specify for AWD models is the Bilstein strut shaft is approximately 7/8" longer than the OEM strut which means at full droop the suspension is at a total of +1-5/8" of extended downward travel which does put the passenger side CV joint into a bind at droop. We cannot guarantee optimum CV life with this setup and do not recommend running Bilstein struts on AWD vans.
We recommend running a maximum tire size of 265/75R16 with this suspension package. This tire size will require some slight trimming of the inner pinch seam, details of which are covered in the instructions for this kit. With a Bilstein strut, an astounding 12-3/4" of ground clearance is achieved under the center of the front suspension cross member with this tire size.
**NOTE** Tire sizes vary greatly between manufacturers. Trimming of the body will vary because of this and some contact with the suspension subframe is possible at full steering lock with 265/75R16 tires. Additionally, some 265/75R16 tires will require the use of a 3/16" thick wheel spacer to clear the strut body. If necessary, we offer an AWD specific spacer for this scenario, available for purchase here:
Videos
