Bilstein 5100 adj shocks (front and rear)

5RWill · March 18, 2015

I'm at 38.3-38.5ish in the front and 39.5ish in the back. Back left is 2 PSI under all the other tires ever since the flat.

Truck looks like it's sitting nose high almost. Looks level though.

I agree the shocks are a great improvement over stock. No more bouncing around. They do feel more firm so if your not after that i can't recommend them but they're so much more controlled, especially over harsh bumps. Gotta remove the air dam and the running boards tomorrow.

I'm pretty satisfied overall.

Edited March 18, 2015 by 5RWill

sugarjohnson · March 19, 2015

Use caution on the alignment....after reading about the steering wheel angle sensor alignment requirement (for the electric power steering to correct for road crowns) I started asking local shops if they had the ability to do that procedure. In every case I was told no. So I ended up at the dealer.

My local guy who did mine has a big rig shop. He made no mention of any special alignment issues or concerns?

Skeeter McSkeet · March 19, 2015

My local guy who did mine has a big rig shop. He made no mention of any special alignment issues or concerns?

I've always been under the impression when taking the fronts off that an alignment is next in line. Granted my last truck I leveled was just barely out, but still wasn't perfect. I drove around in it without an alignment for about 100 miles or so and couldn't really tell it was out. If I hadn't just always heard that an alignment was necessary, I would have never known the difference Id say.

-Skeet

sugarjohnson · March 19, 2015

I'm sorry I meant I did get an alignment after because mine was out but no mention of anything special due to the electric power steering.

calgator73 · March 19, 2015

http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/TechConnect_SepOct_2013.pdf

Page 3, column 3, top.

fondupot · March 19, 2015

Just emailed my mechanic to set up an appointment. I got my 5100's in the mail the other day. Going to try to get these installed next week while I am out of town on a business trip.

I think I am going to go with the .75" setting. I don't want to go to the max setting because I do not plan on doing new tires/wheels anytime soon. But I figure i might as well use a little bit of the lift capability on these babies on the first run.

I was originally going to swap the rear shocks myself, but decided to just have my shop do all four corners.

5RWill · March 19, 2015

Just emailed my mechanic to set up an appointment. I got my 5100's in the mail the other day. Going to try to get these installed next week while I am out of town on a business trip.

I think I am going to go with the .75" setting. I don't want to go to the max setting because I do not plan on doing new tires/wheels anytime soon. But I figure i might as well use a little bit of the lift capability on these babies on the first run.

I was originally going to swap the rear shocks myself, but decided to just have my shop do all four corners.

I honestly suggest doing the rear yourself, will save you a so-called hour of labor time. Or that's what they charged, of which i didn't think it would take that long. I digress.

What level are you running now? Do you plan to get new tires? I would go ahead and set them to maximum height honestly. Will save you the trouble/money of having to readjust if you ever want to.

Jackseric · March 19, 2015

I've always been under the impression when taking the fronts off that an alignment is next in line. Granted my last truck I leveled was just barely out, but still wasn't perfect. I drove around in it without an alignment for about 100 miles or so and couldn't really tell it was out. If I hadn't just always heard that an alignment was necessary, I would have never known the difference Id say.

-Skeet

I can tell you that any adjustment with the front end will require an alignment. Even just minor ones! I've got a story to back it up:

I had a 1998 Durango. After a few years, I got new tires (Bridgestone Dueler Revos, greatest tires I've ever owned!) Because the new tires looked much more aggressive than the factory tires, I realized I wanted to get rid of the factory rake, too. I climbed under and cranked the torsion bars just enough to raise the front end an inch. That's all I needed to level front to rear... just a measly 1" and it was perfect. I couldn't tell a single change when driving. I thought everything was great until around 3 months later I notice that my new tires were getting louder... and a month after that, the whole damn truck vibrated while driving anything faster than about 35mph.

I took my Durango back to the tire shop, and they informed me that the fronts were jacked up due to an alignment issue. I never saw it until they showed me, but the tires looked like a saw blade from the side. I leveled up with the service manager about what I'd done, and asked for help. He offered to order me 2 new tires under warranty if I'd agree to pay for an alignment. I thanked him and took him up on the offer, of course. Never had another issue with those tires again... smooth and quiet till the end and the most grip I've ever experienced in a tire. I plan to run those on my Denali when the factory tires wear out.

Bridgestone has a pretty informative page about alignments and how important they are. I am now a firm believer! :-)

calgator73 · March 19, 2015

Just emailed my mechanic to set up an appointment. I got my 5100's in the mail the other day. Going to try to get these installed next week while I am out of town on a business trip.

I think I am going to go with the .75" setting. I don't want to go to the max setting because I do not plan on doing new tires/wheels anytime soon. But I figure i might as well use a little bit of the lift capability on these babies on the first run.

I was originally going to swap the rear shocks myself, but decided to just have my shop do all four corners.

I did the exact same setup...can barely tell anything has changed.

fondupot · March 19, 2015

I honestly suggest doing the rear yourself, will save you a so-called hour of labor time. Or that's what they charged, of which i didn't think it would take that long. I digress.

What level are you running now? Do you plan to get new tires? I would go ahead and set them to maximum height honestly. Will save you the trouble/money of having to readjust if you ever want to.

I might, maybe this weekend if I have time. My garage is all dirty from salt and road grime, and I haven't had a chance to clean it yet.

I am not running any level right now. I am 100% stock. I don't really mind the rake the truck has now. And I will be doing a cross country move in a few months pulling a trailer and wanted to keep it close to stock for towing reasons. Plus I will keep the stock tires/wheels until they are ready to be swapped out. I really don't mind having to readjust in the future.

I did the exact same setup...can barely tell anything has changed.

Cool thanks for the reply. I figured .75" is not much. I want to keep it as close to stock...without actually using the stock setting. If that makes any sense.

5RWill · March 19, 2015

I can understand that, honestly i towed a trailer and fourwheeler and it leveled my truck. Makes me think that towing the same thing now it would sag.

sugarjohnson · March 20, 2015

http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/TechConnect_SepOct_2013.pdf

Page 3, column 3, top.

Thanks for the link. I get the new technology but assume a regular alignment should be fine assuming you have none of the conditions they reference.

Zasker1 · March 20, 2015

I have been rolling around for 2 weeks with the 5100 at the max height setting and today had time to take it into my mechanic to have the 5100 snap rings dropped one level it makes all the difference in the world you have the max height setting my front end would actually bunny hop over small speed bumps at 8 miles an hour now it handles fantastic

calgator73 · March 20, 2015

Thanks for the link. I get the new technology but assume a regular alignment should be fine assuming you have none of the conditions they reference.

I agree with you on the regular alignment.

On the Ford forum a supposed Ford suspension engineer gave some insight into their theory of operation. Effectively what he said is that their system monitors sensor position and when it senses a constant input in one direction it provides enough assist to remove most of the workload from the driver. If our system functions in much the same way and your wheel is slightly out of kilter (without the sensor being aligned) then it would make sense that your vehicle might drift.

nadrojcote · March 20, 2015

I have been rolling around for 2 weeks with the 5100 at the max height setting and today had time to take it into my mechanic to have the 5100 snap rings dropped one level it makes all the difference in the world you have the max height setting my front end would actually bunny hop over small speed bumps at 8 miles an hour now it handles fantastic

This is because the 5100's preload the spring so much, I had the same issue with max setting on my tacoma. I am still undecided which route I want to go with this truck. I am thinking I will probably get some 4600's and use my bottom spacer. I didn't like how the 5100's over time compressed the stock coils and actually made them shorter on my tacoma, I replaced them with new coils and I gained an inch of height in the front. With the 4600's I will get the ride quality of the 5100 but without the added length for a lift.