Bilstein shocks thread

2kwik4u · December 14, 2018

10 hours ago, KJS Sullivan said:

I just saw the Bilstein 5100 set of 4 for $294 free shipping on Amazon oh, FYI all you guys

Got a link to it? I can't find them anywhere on amazon as a set. Especially for that price.

Yondu · December 14, 2018

54 minutes ago, 2kwik4u said:

Sounds like the 5100's are the way to go. Would I just leave them on the lowest setting, or is there a "middle setting" that results in no lift/drop?

My biggest complaint with the Ranchos is the "bounce" after the hit. Most noticeable on sharp edged bumps like expansion joints and things like that. It's almost as if there is NO rebound damping, and only bound damping. Hit the bump and there is a noticeable procession after the initial hit. Feels like there are 3-4 more oscillations in the suspension before it comes to rest. The low shaft speed damping seems OK as the truck doesn't float or bounce excessively, but the high shaft speed damping is off and makes the truck to stiff overall.

With any luck the 5100's will cure some of that. I'm nervous on going to a P tire as I tow a LOT in the summer. 2 trips a week on average to the lake with a 5,200lb boat, 4 people, coolers, etc. Don't want to get a set of tires that tow "squishy". Had P tires on my '03 Yukon, swapped to LT tires and the towing got much better immediately.......I'll go read some other threads on that though

The lowest setting will give you 0 lift or drop. In theory it should give you the best and softest right as well, but I've only tried the third setting which is a 1.25 inch lift.

The Bilstein will fix that bounce and wallow you get after you had a big bomb. They didn't work miracles like some people reported in my opinion, but they were a definite improvement. My truck also had under a thousand Miles when I put them on.

As for LT tires even a p rated tire exceeds our trucks rated capability, but I'm sure not all tires are created equal as far as ride quality and towing confidence. I'd only want LT tires if I offroaded and was afraid of my tires getting cut by sharp rocks, or I had a 3/4 ton. I don't have a ton of experience towing though what size tire and rim size were you using? Extra wide tires would definitely describe the problem you were having as well.

2kwik4u · December 14, 2018

2 minutes ago, Yondu said:

The lowest setting will give you 0 lift or drop. In theory it should give you the best and softest right as well, but I've only tried the third setting which is a 1.25 inch lift.

The Bilstein will fix that bounce and wallow you get after you had a big bomb. They didn't work miracles like some people reported in my opinion, but they were a definite improvement. My truck also had under a thousand Miles when I put them on.

As for LT tires even a p rated tire exceeds our trucks rated capability, but I'm sure not all tires are created equal as far as ride quality and towing confidence. I'd only want LT tires if I offroaded and was afraid of my tires getting cut by sharp rocks, or I had a 3/4 ton. I don't have a ton of experience towing though what size tire and rim size were you using? Extra wide tires would definitely describe the problem you were having as well.

Thanks for the info on the shocks.

I can't remember the tire size on the Yukon. They were stock size as best as I can tell. I also moved to a 17in rim from a 16in rim at the same time. That might also have contributed to the increased stiffness, hadn't thought about that until now. I'll have to check the axle ratings and the tire ratings to see where I land on a set of P tires. I do very little off-roading around sharp rocks. Lots of gravel and mud trails around a friends farm, and then the wet boat ramps dictated the 4wd.

KJS Sullivan · December 14, 2018

1 hour ago, 2kwik4u said:

Got a link to it? I can't find them anywhere on amazon as a set. Especially for that price.

Bilstein 5100 Front 0-2.5", Rear 0-1" Lift Shocks Kit for 99-10 Chevy Silverado 1500HD 2500 2500HD 3500 3500HD 2WD / 4WD 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EXJDLAE/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_zF7eCb9KAXQ3Q

SquireSCA · December 14, 2018

The Ranchos seem to have a decent compromise on the compression damning, for soaking up bumps, but as others have noted, it is the rebound damping that is too little, so it rebounds fast and gives that "sproingy" feeling when you go over a speed bump. When I hit a speed bump at a decent speed it does an ok job of soaking up the hit, but then the shocks, especially the rear, spring back too fast and causes the rear to hop. Suspension that is properly dialed in will soak up movement in BOTH directions, not just the initial hit and downward stroke.

The upward or rebound stroke is where the stock Rancho shocks seem to really fall short.

KJS Sullivan · December 14, 2018

One part of the ad says 294 when you click on it it says 304.

KJS Sullivan · December 14, 2018

When I replace my Ranchos I was able to compress two of the shocks with one hand on and they wouldn't even rebound one of them is still compressed in a box for trash and it still has never rebounded yet. So you can imagine the difference in my ride quality with new bilstein's

Yondu · December 14, 2018

27 minutes ago, 2kwik4u said:

Thanks for the info on the shocks.

I can't remember the tire size on the Yukon. They were stock size as best as I can tell. I also moved to a 17in rim from a 16in rim at the same time. That might also have contributed to the increased stiffness, hadn't thought about that until now. I'll have to check the axle ratings and the tire ratings to see where I land on a set of P tires. I do very little off-roading around sharp rocks. Lots of gravel and mud trails around a friends farm, and then the wet boat ramps dictated the 4wd.

I've put tires too wide for the wheel on my GTO before and it made it a bit squirmy on the highway. You could also look for p rated tires that are XL for extra load they'll be a little bit stiffer than a p but not like an LT tire.

What wheels do you have?

2kwik4u · December 14, 2018

16 minutes ago, Yondu said:

I've put tires too wide for the wheel on my GTO before and it made it a bit squirmy on the highway. You could also look for p rated tires that are XL for extra load they'll be a little bit stiffer than a p but not like an LT tire.

What wheels do you have?

Running the factory 10-spoke 20" wheels that came on it.

Here's a pic from the day I bought it. Not a great picture, but the only one I have on my office PC.

2kwik4u · December 14, 2018

40 minutes ago, KJS Sullivan said:

When I replace my Ranchos I was able to compress two of the shocks with one hand on and they wouldn't even rebound one of them is still compressed in a box for trash and it still has never rebounded yet. So you can imagine the difference in my ride quality with new bilstein's

How old were they when you replaced? I'm sitting at ~63.5k miles right now and I've put the last 30k miles on the truck with little change in the ride/handling that I can tell. Wondering if mine were busted when I got it?

KJS Sullivan · December 14, 2018

40 minutes ago, 2kwik4u said:

How old were they when you replaced? I'm sitting at ~63.5k miles right now and I've put the last 30k miles on the truck with little change in the ride/handling that I can tell. Wondering if mine were busted when I got it?

I had 45,000 miles on them, however I noticed something thousands of miles ago where I was just getting his extra clanking noise up front try to research it and everybody said the crossmember at the calipers check all this as soon as the shocks were replaced no more noise, I believe I had two blown out shocks for about 30,000 miles these Rancho things are garbage. When I was reading my window sticker on my truck they made it sound like the Ranchos were such a wonderful thing that they were doing for us LOL, I am running a 3/4 ton however so I know I'm going to have a much rougher ride but these bilstein's make the ride really really good even for a 3/4 ton truck. So replacing them was probably the best thing I could have done and should have done many thousands of miles ago but I only learned about the shocks on this site

2kwik4u · December 15, 2018

19 hours ago, KJS Sullivan said:

I had 45,000 miles on them, however I noticed something thousands of miles ago where I was just getting his extra clanking noise up front try to research it and everybody said the crossmember at the calipers check all this as soon as the shocks were replaced no more noise, I believe I had two blown out shocks for about 30,000 miles these Rancho things are garbage. When I was reading my window sticker on my truck they made it sound like the Ranchos were such a wonderful thing that they were doing for us LOL, I am running a 3/4 ton however so I know I'm going to have a much rougher ride but these bilstein's make the ride really really good even for a 3/4 ton truck. So replacing them was probably the best thing I could have done and should have done many thousands of miles ago but I only learned about the shocks on this site

Thanks for the info. Looks like the 5100 are the way I'm going to head. Hoping for a year end blowout sale from somewhere to pick them up from.

Anyone have a recommended dealer/shop to purchase from?

RHStansbury · December 15, 2018

8 hours ago, 2kwik4u said:

Thanks for the info. Looks like the 5100 are the way I'm going to head. Hoping for a year end blowout sale from somewhere to pick them up from.

Anyone have a recommended dealer/shop to purchase from?

After upgrading to 275/60r20s last week, I'm hoping for a year end blow out on 5100s as well. Don't seem to need the extra height, but an inch or so certainly wouldn't hurt, right?

Also, totally unrelated to this post, but are you the same 2kwik4u from way back on SSF?

2kwik4u · December 15, 2018

5 minutes ago, RHStansbury said:

After upgrading to 275/60r20s last week, I'm hoping for a year end blow out on 5100s as well. Don't seem to need the extra height, but an inch or so certainly wouldn't hurt, right?

Also, totally unrelated to this post, but are you the same 2kwik4u from way back on SSF?

I feel like there is a "That's what she said" joke in there somewhere.

And yeap, same 2kwik4u from SSF. Still post over there once a month or so. Only about 6 of us left that are actually active though

JCKustoms · December 16, 2018

Thanks for the info. Looks like the 5100 are the way I'm going to head. Hoping for a year end blowout sale from somewhere to pick them up from.

Anyone have a recommended dealer/shop to purchase from?

FYI - Autopartswarehouse has the front Bilstein for $75 each (today only), and Amazon has the rears for $62 each. Pretty darn good deal!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk