Earlier this year, I traded my Frontier for a '15 Silverado. I wanted a bit more truck for towing, and really needed a larger bed for hauling all my spares and tools to the racetrack. I like the truck so far, except for the ride quality, especially from the rear axle. Someone mentioned upgrading the shocks to Bilstein 4000 or 5100s, and that it would make a world of difference in ride quality. Does anyone have real experience with the Bilsteins? The factory shocks almost feel like the rebound is cranked up to max speed, so the rear end wants to hop over uneven pavement.
I put BFG K02's on my 2016 Silverado with newer orange Koni shocks and I noticed as the tires wore they rode hard when hitting bumps or potholes. Tires worn?
But they looked cool and all 4WD like.
In reply to dannyp84 :
I like my 5100 on my F150, but if you set the height adjusters up in the top two positions to get more height out of them it is a bit harsh on road and off-road it will bump you out of the seat and into the roof at speed.
Set appropriately they are very nice but the extra 350$ for the adjustables is good money to spend. It will feel much firmer then worn out shocks and I have the same shocks in the rar and they still behave even with 5-6K of trailer attached.
In reply to wearymicrobe :
I don't want to add any height to the truck, it's hard enough to reach stuff on the bed floor as it is. are the 5100s adjustable?
The best ride I've ever had out of a SUV was on an XJ with Fox 2.0 shocks. They made an enormous difference.
I'll be ordering a set for the H3T in the next week or so.
That said, I just put 4 Bilstein B6 shocks on the front of my motorhome. They are pretty damn good too.
I had 4600s on my 07 F150. I think they were a pretty good upgrade from stock. I put a set of 5100s on the rear of my 23 f-150 and didn't like them. They are designed for oversized wheels/tires. Even with 33's I could feel every crack and stone on the road. They did improve the handling though.
I put 4600s on my "1st gen Colorado" and they were infinitely better than dead KYBs. That's totally relevant and helpful, right?
In an ideal happy world, Bilstein would make it easy to search all their shocks by extended/compressed dimensions and compare valving across all series. We do not live in an ideal happy world.
Here's an image of a partial table of part#s for 5125s from a few years back (see Dodge Raider thread or original 355nation thread).
[Edit: the highlighted 255/70 was 'recommended' for a Colorado. You likely will want something firmer for a full-size that tows?]
