Bilstein shocks thread

jimmyboy8301 · January 14, 2019

Burns gmc did my 2 fronts for $120.

Do the rears yourself, literally takes 5-10 minutes if you have an impact gun.

Really? Burns did that? That’s a good price too. We got my wife’s Denali there lol

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truckguy82 · January 14, 2019

43 minutes ago, jimmyboy8301 said:

Really? Burns did that? That’s a good price too. We got my wife’s Denali there lol

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Yes, but all I said was “how much to change my front shocks out if I have the shocks” service advisor said “oh no biggie 1/2 hour labor each one.”

I don’t think they realized they had to convert the spring over to the new one. Probably assumed I had the whole assembly to swap out or something. I too got much higher estimates from other places.

that did not include alignment because I left it at factory height

jimmyboy8301 · January 14, 2019

Yes, but all I said was “how much to change my front shocks out if I have the shocks” service advisor said “oh no biggie 1/2 hour labor each one.”

I don’t think they realized they had to convert the spring over to the new one. Probably assumed I had the whole assembly to swap out or something. I too got much higher estimates from other places.

that did not include alignment because I left it at factory height

Hahahahaha that’s funny

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Yondu · January 14, 2019

2 hours ago, truckguy82 said:

Yes, but all I said was “how much to change my front shocks out if I have the shocks” service advisor said “oh no biggie 1/2 hour labor each one.”

I don’t think they realized they had to convert the spring over to the new one. Probably assumed I had the whole assembly to swap out or something. I too got much higher estimates from other places.

that did not include alignment because I left it at factory height

HD trucks use front shocks like the pre 2007 trucks. Those trucks are really fast the front shocks are very similar to the rear shocks and how easy they are to install. I could see a shop charging 2 hours her front strut, but I don't know what the book time is. Rear shock would probably be half hour.

chuckworkb · January 21, 2019

Has anyone replaced the fronts on a 2015 Sierra themselves? I think I'm going to get the 5100's for my truck and replace the stock Ranchos. If so how hard was it to do in the driveway?

Yondu · January 21, 2019

I did on a 18 Silverado, same process. I feel like both took 4 hours. I found it easiest to use my jack to compress the strut setup as I installed it after I loosely bolted in the top. Jack stands under the truck. That and a pry bar and it wasn't too bad.

To compress the existing spring to fit it on I used 3 spring compressors, usually you use 2 but I had to really compress it and the 3 compressor seemed a lot safer.

FlipZ71 · January 22, 2019

On 12/8/2018 at 8:11 AM, Yondu said:

Mine had some gap when they were assembled and not installed. The weight of the truck compressing it further took that gap away. It's kind of a pain to check for installed and the truck on the ground, but I did last night.

Hey , Yondu... I found I have the same problem... but mine is multiplied with an additional issue..

First off I noticed the billies helped the ride significantly but had harshness with up travel and the truck would spring off....

Everyone I spoke too said... hard tires , lifted , gonna ride that way.... I refused to believe it.... research, researched....

And checked... my bump stop is resting as you stated yours is..... the bump stops are an important part of the suspension system , but my truck should not be sitting on them....

Bilstein... 24-238304 is 15" collapsed and 18.860 extended... nets only 3.860 worth of shock travel , then the bump stop slows down the hard upper hit to keep from bottoming the shock. The shock is supposed to be designed in conjunction with our truck spring rates....

But I'm finding out that isn't necessarily optimized for the quality of ride I was looking for. As to why um resting on the bumps ?? Not sure yet... I've been told by 2 separate suspension companies that the 5100 on our trucks on the lowest setting is not true factory set up.... they said it is in height , but the valving set up in conjunction with our spring rates does not allow for the 5100 to soak up the hard hits correctly.... I felt the 5100 certainly improved over stock issues.....

To compound my issue is that I have a zone 4.5 lift. I found out from zone the other day that this lift nets in 3/8 worth of loss in total shock travel in the front ...

So... I'm currently waiting on info back as to why my set up is sitting against bump stop.

Anyway ... I'm rambling..... but curios to hear if you found any info as to why yours is hitting the bump stops????

Yondu · January 22, 2019

I had considered removing them to cut the bumpstops back some, so there is a gap. In the past I did this when I lowered a car. I ended up throwing weight in the bed (started with 240lbs, I think - terrible memory) and my highway bounce got significantly better and the ride was a lot nicer. This told me the front wasn't the issue, so I kind of forgot about the front struts and their bump stops.

I'm not sure if I have the energy to disassemble everything to see if it ride any better after taking an inch or so out of the stops. Unless of course you tell me how great it rides after...hahaha

FlipZ71 · January 22, 2019

Ha... no.. not gonna cut mine... I'm gonna go different set up

MBSierra17 · January 23, 2019

22 hours ago, FlipZ71 said:

Hey , Yondu... I found I have the same problem... but mine is multiplied with an additional issue..

First off I noticed the billies helped the ride significantly but had harshness with up travel and the truck would spring off....

Everyone I spoke too said... hard tires , lifted , gonna ride that way.... I refused to believe it.... research, researched....

And checked... my bump stop is resting as you stated yours is..... the bump stops are an important part of the suspension system , but my truck should not be sitting on them....

Bilstein... 24-238304 is 15" collapsed and 18.860 extended... nets only 3.860 worth of shock travel , then the bump stop slows down the hard upper hit to keep from bottoming the shock. The shock is supposed to be designed in conjunction with our truck spring rates....

But I'm finding out that isn't necessarily optimized for the quality of ride I was looking for. As to why um resting on the bumps ?? Not sure yet... I've been told by 2 separate suspension companies that the 5100 on our trucks on the lowest setting is not true factory set up.... they said it is in height , but the valving set up in conjunction with our spring rates does not allow for the 5100 to soak up the hard hits correctly.... I felt the 5100 certainly improved over stock issues.....

To compound my issue is that I have a zone 4.5 lift. I found out from zone the other day that this lift nets in 3/8 worth of loss in total shock travel in the front ...

So... I'm currently waiting on info back as to why my set up is sitting against bump stop.

Anyway ... I'm rambling..... but curios to hear if you found any info as to why yours is hitting the bump stops????

Could you take a picture of the contact you have? I've also got Bilstein 5100 at stock height with zone 4.5. I don't think I've got any contact like you're describing.

Edited January 23, 2019 by MBSierra17

FlipZ71 · January 23, 2019

8 minutes ago, MBSierra17 said:

Could you take a picture of the contact you have? I've also got Bilstein 5100 at stock height with zone 4.5. I don't think I've got any contact like you're describing.

My replacement upgrade should be here in a couple of days. If I have a chance for install il get some pics

Mozzer · January 29, 2019

5100s compared with non Rancho original GM.

Having read through hundreds of posts I haven't seen much in the way of comparison between standard GM shocks (not Rancho, Black shock). Mine is a 2014 5.3 WT.

I don't feel the jitters over small joints in the road etc that most describe for their Ranchos but I hate the feel over big bumps/undulations at high speed & speed bumps at low speed. The front wheels feel like they're actually bouncing off the ground when they rebound.

Any feedback on this application would be greatly appreciated.

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Grjfer · January 30, 2019

@Mozzer I had the Bilstein 5100's on my 2015 GMC sierra 1500. Original setup was RC 2.5 level / lift with the Ranchos. I had about 30000 miles on that set up and switched to the Bilstein's. The overall feel of the Bilstein's was a firmer more precise ride. It was a bit harsher over bumps, but settled out much quicker.I found the trade of to be well worth it.

Fast forward to my current truck. 2018 GMC Sierra 1500. It has the z60 suspension package (aka black shocks) the overall ride quality is much softer. It still has some bounce, but not as bad as the Ranchos on the 15 had. I will say when I put a load on the black shocks the bounce over bumps is pretty bad. That being said I'll probably put Bilstein's on the 18, but I may just go with the 4600's.

Mozzer · January 30, 2019

Thanks very much for your input.

I think I'll give the 5100s a try, difficult to see if my standard shock is the same or similar to your 2018 as oem sites list 4 or more different standard front shocks depending on model reference (6A1, 6A7 etc, etc) & I haven't found what those codes relate to yet.

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Sierra Dan · January 30, 2019

12 hours ago, Grjfer said:

@Mozzer I had the Bilstein 5100's on my 2015 GMC sierra 1500. Original setup was RC 2.5 level / lift with the Ranchos. I had about 30000 miles on that set up and switched to the Bilstein's. The overall feel of the Bilstein's was a firmer more precise ride. It was a bit harsher over bumps, but settled out much quicker.I found the trade of to be well worth it.

Fast forward to my current truck. 2018 GMC Sierra 1500. It has the z60 suspension package (aka black shocks) the overall ride quality is much softer. It still has some bounce, but not as bad as the Ranchos on the 15 had. I will say when I put a load on the black shocks the bounce over bumps is pretty bad. That being said I'll probably put Bilstein's on the 18, but I may just go with the 4600's.

The trade-off is well worth it