Need Some Recommendations

Hurstmeister · February 12, 2010

I searched other topics and found no clear answer so hopefully I can find the help here.

I have an 04 Silverado Ext cab, 2wd with the 5.3.

I bought it a few years ago, I'm the second owner. The previous owner took great care of the truck with meticulous maintenance records.

I just recently hit 100k miles and noticed that the truck is a little unstable over bumps and not quite as secure as it used to be. It still has the factory shocks, I've never replaced them,.. and up until now, I've never had a reason to. Their not leaking,.. but they dont rebound as well as they used to. So its time to replace them. Thats where I'm having a hard time.

The local parts stores have limited choices when it comes to shocks.

I'm not really looking to spend $100 per wheel for shocks. Preferably not more than $200 - $250 doing them myself. This is, I am absolutely clueless as far as truck shocks go. My truck has the Z82 package. Its similar to the Z71 with torsion bars up front,.. but I have 2wd and mine is considerably stiffer than the Z71. Came with 20" factory wheels and the twin piston PBR calipers on all 4 corners. Brake rotors are pretty large for a 1/2 ton truck in my opinion. The rear rotors are actually larger than the front,.. oddly enough. Anyway,.. I haul my car to the track almost every weekend and do some side jobs hauling cars for various people,.. so my truck sees a lot of trailer duty and some of the crap I haul is pretty severe for this poor truck. I need some shocks that will stiffen up my suspension back to where it was when I first bought the truck. Someone told me that mine came with Bilstein from the factory. I looked under there and couldnt see any name on them,.. so I really dont know.

What shocks do you guys use on your trucks? I want something a little better than Monroe Gas-matics or (Un) Sensa-traks. What about KYB, Koni or Tokico's? I dont need an adjustable shock,.. just a stiffer heavy duty shock that wont empty my wallet.

Thanks,

Hurst

Bish · February 12, 2010

I searched other topics and found no clear answer so hopefully I can find the help here.

I have an 04 Silverado Ext cab, 2wd with the 5.3.

I bought it a few years ago, I'm the second owner. The previous owner took great care of the truck with meticulous maintenance records.

I just recently hit 100k miles and noticed that the truck is a little unstable over bumps and not quite as secure as it used to be. It still has the factory shocks, I've never replaced them,.. and up until now, I've never had a reason to. Their not leaking,.. but they dont rebound as well as they used to. So its time to replace them. Thats where I'm having a hard time.

The local parts stores have limited choices when it comes to shocks.

I'm not really looking to spend $100 per wheel for shocks. Preferably not more than $200 - $250 doing them myself. This is, I am absolutely clueless as far as truck shocks go. My truck has the Z82 package. Its similar to the Z71 with torsion bars up front,.. but I have 2wd and mine is considerably stiffer than the Z71. Came with 20" factory wheels and the twin piston PBR calipers on all 4 corners. Brake rotors are pretty large for a 1/2 ton truck in my opinion. The rear rotors are actually larger than the front,.. oddly enough. Anyway,.. I haul my car to the track almost every weekend and do some side jobs hauling cars for various people,.. so my truck sees a lot of trailer duty and some of the crap I haul is pretty severe for this poor truck. I need some shocks that will stiffen up my suspension back to where it was when I first bought the truck. Someone told me that mine came with Bilstein from the factory. I looked under there and couldnt see any name on them,.. so I really dont know.

What shocks do you guys use on your trucks? I want something a little better than Monroe Gas-matics or (Un) Sensa-traks. What about KYB, Koni or Tokico's? I dont need an adjustable shock,.. just a stiffer heavy duty shock that wont empty my wallet.

Thanks,

Hurst

Bilstein HD's are EXCELLENT IMO. Not under $50 but you may find them for around $250-$300 for all 4.

Z'06 · February 12, 2010

Bilstein HD's are EXCELLENT IMO. Not under $50 but you may find them for around $250-$300 for all 4.

Bilstein 5100 can be procured online for a little over $300 shipped for all 4, but if you don't want to spend that much, find a good monotube shock like KYB makes.

csheatz · February 12, 2010

bilstein would be my choice.

Off the path but did they even offer 20" wheels in 04?

Hurstmeister · February 14, 2010

bilstein would be my choice.

Off the path but did they even offer 20" wheels in 04?

Yes,.. they sure did.

Its part of the Z60 "High performance suspension package". (Thats how the RPO is listed)

20x8.5" wheels, 36mm front and 33mm rear stabilizer bars, mono tube shocks.

Its also the same exact RPO as the Silverado SS suspension. No AWD like the SS though,.. ( I wish ).

Front torsion bar suspension instead of coil springs.

Not the best looking wheels. But I think the ride with them is better than with the 16" or 17" wheels.

Hurst

Hurstmeister · February 14, 2010

Thanks guys.

If I can find Bilsteins for $300 I will definitely get them.

Some guys locally recommended Monroe Reflex shocks. Never tried them before,.. but the price is right.

Hurst

P.S.

Do you have to have a certain number of posts in order to post images or are they just not allowed other then adding them as an attachment?

rogerf · February 14, 2010

Thanks guys.

If I can find Bilsteins for $300 I will definitely get them.

Some guys locally recommended Monroe Reflex shocks. Never tried them before,.. but the price is right.

Hurst

P.S.

Do you have to have a certain number of posts in order to post images or are they just not allowed other then adding them as an attachment?

Just as important as replacing shocks are the sway bar connecting links and "D" blocks where the sway bar attaches to the frame. On my old C1500 with 100K miles, simply replacing these with stiffer urathane parts along with new Gas-matics made a world of difference in handling. These are relatively cheap to replace and not much extra time if already under the truck to replace shocks.

Stex · February 14, 2010

I searched other topics and found no clear answer so hopefully I can find the help here.

I have an 04 Silverado Ext cab, 2wd with the 5.3.

I bought it a few years ago, I'm the second owner. The previous owner took great care of the truck with meticulous maintenance records.

I just recently hit 100k miles and noticed that the truck is a little unstable over bumps and not quite as secure as it used to be. It still has the factory shocks, I've never replaced them,.. and up until now, I've never had a reason to. Their not leaking,.. but they dont rebound as well as they used to. So its time to replace them. Thats where I'm having a hard time.

The local parts stores have limited choices when it comes to shocks.

I'm not really looking to spend $100 per wheel for shocks. Preferably not more than $200 - $250 doing them myself. This is, I am absolutely clueless as far as truck shocks go. My truck has the Z82 package. Its similar to the Z71 with torsion bars up front,.. but I have 2wd and mine is considerably stiffer than the Z71. Came with 20" factory wheels and the twin piston PBR calipers on all 4 corners. Brake rotors are pretty large for a 1/2 ton truck in my opinion. The rear rotors are actually larger than the front,.. oddly enough. Anyway,.. I haul my car to the track almost every weekend and do some side jobs hauling cars for various people,.. so my truck sees a lot of trailer duty and some of the crap I haul is pretty severe for this poor truck. I need some shocks that will stiffen up my suspension back to where it was when I first bought the truck. Someone told me that mine came with Bilstein from the factory. I looked under there and couldnt see any name on them,.. so I really dont know.

What shocks do you guys use on your trucks? I want something a little better than Monroe Gas-matics or (Un) Sensa-traks. What about KYB, Koni or Tokico's? I dont need an adjustable shock,.. just a stiffer heavy duty shock that wont empty my wallet.

Thanks,

Hurst

Bilstein HD's are EXCELLENT IMO. Not under $50 but you may find them for around $250-$300 for all 4.

+1 I run them on my 90 sub and they are great and last...talked to Bil rep at distribution site, he looked at the specs and told me the HDs and 5100 are valved very close and most could not tell the difference in ride...4 wheel puts them on sale time to time..HD

Main reason for 5100s is for lift...