The 2023 Ford Super Duty update is a huge improvement over the 17-22 trucks, and we were excited to get our hands on one to give it our touch. Follow along as we dive into our 2023 F-250 High Output truck, and build our take on a leveled Super Duty with 37s! We’ll be updating this blog post as the build progresses.
Ford made some subtle and not so subtle changes for the 2023 Super Duty revision. Most notable is the newly updated interior, the facelift to the exterior with the new headlights, hood, grille, taillights and bed steps. Ford also altered the axles front and rear, and well as portions of the frame. Engine options for 2023 are also changing, with the 6.8L now becoming the base gas engine, the 7.3 Godzilla becoming the premium gas option, and the High Output 6.7 Power stroke, joining the existing 6.7 Powerstroke.
One big change for the 2023 Super Duty that’s relevant to all of us doing suspension is the radius arms and sway bar. Ford has used the same radius arm design from 2005 to 2022, but 2023 saw a departure to a new frame side bracket, new arm and a huge gain in tire clearance. It’s now possible to clear a 37/12.5 tire on the factory +40 offset wheels with NO rubbing on the radius arms or sway bar on a 2023 Super Duty. For context, the previous generation trucks could barely fit a 37/12.5 tire on a +18 offset wheel with the stock arms and sway bar. Pictured below is a 37/13.5/20 Toyo RT on the stock wheels with plenty of room turning lock to lock! We found that 13.5 wide Nitto Ridge Grapplers just kissed the radius arm at full steering lock. Once Carli high clearance radius arms become a reality for these 2023 Super Duty trucks, that issue will be resolved.
2023 Super Duty Suspension Compatibility
Carli is going to need to alter their front differential guard for the new 2023 Super Duty axle, their radius arms, and the radius arm drop brackets included in the 4.5″ height systems. For the time being, that means that only level height suspension systems will work on 23+ Super Duty trucks. Carli E-venture system electronics will also need to be adapted for the 23+ trucks, so at the current moment that system is not available for 23+ Fords. We’ll update as that changes. Here’s a link to suspension systems that fit 2023 Super Duty trucks.
Take a look at our 2023 Super Duty in stock form in this video:
Our 2023 Super Duty Build
Inspired by the new found ability to run big meats on the stock wheels of this 2023 Ford Super Duty (yep, we’ll admit that we love the bubba truck look) we decided to start simple with the first iteration of our 2023 Super Duty Build. We opted to install a base Carli pintop leveling system.
That base system includes Carli’s soft ride, linear rate front leveling coils, Custom spec Carli tuned King pintop 2.5″ diameter reservoir shocks and a Carli track bar. This kit also include smaller key parts that may other leveling kits leave out. Carli includes a caster shim to correct caster angles after the height increase, and improve steering feel on the truck. Since this system cycles over 9″ of front wheel travel, Carli also includes front brake lines as the stock lines aren’t long enough.
The only optional add ons we installed were the front sway bar drops and end links, which allowed us to retain the stock sway bar while correcting the geometry for the height increase. In the rear, we retained the stock leaf springs and blocks. This retained stock payload and towing, meaning this base system is an awesome setup for trucks seeing work usage, and towing. Keep in mind, not every truck needs to go with the King shock option, so we have a few more budget friendly choices if your truck isn’t seeing hard off road usage.
Phase Two Of the Build
If you know us, you know we don’t stay with basic for long however! Plus, we needed to test it all of the various suspension options on this 2023 Super Duty truck, so we dove into phase two of the build. This is also the perfect opportunity to showcase the upgradability of these systems.
The base Carli Suspension systems can easily be upgraded at any time. Commuter or Starter systems are just a shock package swap away from being a Pintop or E-Venture, and then you can add small parts upgrades like a torsion sway bar as time or funds allow.
In the case of this truck, we opted to add the Carli torsion sway bar, high mount steering stabilizer, and full replacement Carli rear soft ride leaf packs with Carli shackles.
The torsion sway bar is a great upgrade for the 2017 to 2023 Super Duty as it allows for easier articulation and smoother ride with single sided bumps. Instead of the stiff, stock sway bar throwing you out of your seat over ruts or in/out of driveways, a torsion sway bar will glide right over those features and allow the suspension to soak things up without transferring that energy to the cab.
The high mount steering stabilizer is crucial to reduce road feedback into the steering, especially with larger than stock tires that overpower the stock unit. if you’re tired of being pushed around by grooves in the road or feeling feedback in the wheel from small chatter, this is the solution.
For the rear of this 2023 Super Duty, we opted for Carli’s soft ride full replacement leaf pack. This pack is a complete replacement of the factory leaf packs, and also removes the factory lift block to reduce axle wrap. Ride is dramatically improved by this leaf pack as it reduces spring rate, and uses a higher count of thinner springs for better small bump sensitivity. Wheel travel is also increased to over 13″ which makes for some incredible articulation ability.
Carli offers 6 rear spring options for the 2017 to 2023 Super Duty trucks. You can retain your factory rear springs, which keeps factory payload, towing and ride quality. They also offer the add a pack for F-250s, which is designed to retain factory payload and towing while improving large impact sensitivity of the rear end of the truck. We do not recommend the add a pack on F-350s. The final base option is the full replacement leaf pack we chose, which trades a reduction to 85% of factory payload for a dramatic improvement in ride quality both on and off road. The full pack is able to absorb small and large bumps like nothing.
You can also supplement the full replacement leaf packs with this Full Travel Airbag Kit to get the best of both worlds with a smooth ride and no sacrifice payload and towing! Carli also has the HD (1,000 lbs constant load), XHD (1,800-2,000 lbs), and XXHD (3,500 lbs) leaf packs for trucks with constant payload like a camper or service body with shock valving to match. In short, there’s options no matter the use case.
For wheels and tires, we chose to go with 18″ Innov8 G500 wheels with 5″ backspace. These are a forged, made in the USA wheel, with finish quality and strength that’s next to none in the off road world. A raw machined face shows off the details of the wheel, while a gloss black powder coated Techlite simulated beadlock ring ads a little contrast and pop.
We chose to wrap the wheels in a 37/13.5/18 Toyo MT tire. These are our go to for hard off road usage and while a bit noisy for the street, the offer almost unmatched load ratings and durability in the desert. Plus, you can’t argue with the aggressive looks and presence they have which really sets the truck off.
Our final addition was a Tremor valance, which replaces the ugly factory air dam/valance that hangs so far down on these trucks. It’s a big gain for both ground clearance and looks.
We’re pretty happy with the before and after on our 2023 Ford Super Duty and we’re not done yet!
Check out this video of our 2023 Super Duty on 37s for a full walk through the current state of the build:
Still looking for more information? Reach out to us and we can help with your dream build!
