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Another Knotch In Bilstein's Belt

jro909

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jro909 Senior Enthusiast

jro909

Posted
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i recently put bilstein hds on my 1500 all the way around, and my god the truck rides so much better, its alot stiffer but thats what i wanted..i payed a little under 300 for all four and it was worth it. the factory shocks look like pencils compared to the HDs

csheatz Senior Enthusiast

csheatz

Posted
Posted

So it changed the ride, but what about the ride height? Sounds like a good price, I could get them and paint them red to not throw off my color. :shakehead:

jro909 Senior Enthusiast

jro909

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So it changed the ride, but what about the ride height? Sounds like a good price, I could get them and paint them red to not throw off my color. :shakehead:

 

 

yeah no ride height change, althrough they seemed alot taller then the factory shocks

csheatz Senior Enthusiast

csheatz

Posted
Posted
^^^ shocks dont change ride height.

 

 

Thats what I thought. I have always understood that shocks control rebound, So what really does a HD shock gain other than a rougher ride?

 

Hey Matt, I have noticed you know quite a bit about suspension, mind if I PM you with a few questions?

jro909 Senior Enthusiast

jro909

Posted
  • Author
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the HD part i'm not sure of, i'd assume it rides alot better loaded or towing maybe?

Matt_ Senior Enthusiast

Matt_

Posted
Posted
^^^ shocks dont change ride height.

 

 

Thats what I thought. I have always understood that shocks control rebound, So what really does a HD shock gain other than a rougher ride?

 

Hey Matt, I have noticed you know quite a bit about suspension, mind if I PM you with a few questions?

 

 

yeah man feel free to PM me anytime.

 

 

as far as the rougher ride is concerned, thats one of the tradeoffs to having better offroad performance.... you need those increased damping rations to counter the high frequency input from offroad terrain. without the "stiffer" shock your cab will be all over the place on "rough" surfaces....

wild willy Enthusiast

wild willy

Posted
Posted

"Shocks" = shock absorbers = DAMPERS. More H.D. shocks are stiffer, to provide more damping. The springs in your suspension, which are the parts that control ride height, and stiffness or spring rate, would oscillate in a harmonic or pendulum-like rate- perhaps you have seen cars with bad dampers going down the road- when they go over a bump they continue to bounce for several oscillations afterward- shock absorbers dampen that motion, usually by the friction of forcing oil through small orifices.

 

New H.D. shocks, by their nature, make your suspension feel stiffer, more resistant to making small movements- rather than floating over small imperfections, the shock may resist being quickly moved, and you will feel the impulse in the chassis-

 

One more way to visualize what a shock does- have you ever had an inflated tire and wheel, rolling around? You can take one and bounce it like a large, heavy basketball. Imagine the rebound off the ground you would get with some 700lbs/inch springs slamming that into the ground after you drove over a bump- the shock's job is to dampen that out and to keep the tire in contact with the ground, rather than bouncing up and down for several cycles.

music Senior Enthusiast

music

Posted
Posted

I'd like to replace the rears on my truck for towing, to help dampen or eliminate "porpoising" on concrete expansion joints. I've only experienced it a few times, but it's something on my "list" that I want to consider. Any suggestions regarding shocks for towing. I have the stock Z71 shocks on their now, which frankly don't have any bounce when not hooked to the camper. It may be that my only real option is to tighten the WD bars a notch.

Matt_ Senior Enthusiast

Matt_

Posted
Posted

check out:

http://www.bilsteinus.com/ProductDescriptions.pdf

 

for towing, the same principle applies that you want a higher damping coefficient.... so the HD are probably the way to go.

 

 

fwiw, i personally would never recommend putting different shocks on the front & rear. if you're going to upgrade for a particular reason (such as towing), do all 4....

nickvrebel Senior Enthusiast

nickvrebel

Posted
Posted

 

 

fwiw, i personally would never recommend putting different shocks on the front & rear. if you're going to upgrade for a particular reason (such as towing), do all 4....
and that goes double for someone using a weight distributing type hitch that is spreading the load across the entire chassis of the tow vehicle.
tomasg921 Enthusiast

tomasg921

Posted
Posted

Depending on the type of shock you replaced with, it might be an option to have the ride height altered. the Bilsteins 5100 Series are pretty much HD with the additional option of having the shocks pre loaded at different heights. there are a few shocks that do this but its not likely that they will be under the 300 range for all 4.

Matt_ Senior Enthusiast

Matt_

Posted
Posted
the Bilsteins 5100 Series are pretty much HD with the additional option of having the shocks pre loaded at different heights.

 

This has been confusing people on this board so much lately. ... there is a model of the 5100s that can be used to level GMT900 trucks. However it is not the "shock" that does the lifting; this is a coil body that has an adjustable perch that preloads the coil spring.

 

Here are the part numbers for the GMT900:

 

1) Standard 5100 coil body (does not preload coil spring/ does not increase ride height) = F4-BE5-E376-H1

2) 5100 HD coil body (does not preload coil spring/ does not increase ride height) = F4-BE5-D971-H0

3) 5100 Leveling Shock (NON-HD, preloads coil spring to increase ride height) = BE5-E376-H0

 

 

Tom, this may have been exactly what you were referring to... just worded differently... so i just wanted to clarify with a bit more info since too many people lately have been referring to 5100s as "leveling" shocks, even for GMT800 trucks where that's not the case at all. It's only GMT900s, and its only 1 model... there's two other 5100 models for GMT900s that won't level the truck (as shown above)

texasblueline Enthusiast

texasblueline

Posted
Posted
the Bilsteins 5100 Series are pretty much HD with the additional option of having the shocks pre loaded at different heights.

 

This has been confusing people on this board so much lately. ... there is a model of the 5100s that can be used to level GMT900 trucks. However it is not the "shock" that does the lifting; this is a coil body that has an adjustable perch that preloads the coil spring.

 

Here are the part numbers for the GMT900:

 

1) Standard 5100 coil body (does not preload coil spring/ does not increase ride height) = F4-BE5-E376-H1

2) 5100 HD coil body (does not preload coil spring/ does not increase ride height) = F4-BE5-D971-H0

3) 5100 Leveling Shock (NON-HD, preloads coil spring to increase ride height) = BE5-E376-H0

 

 

Tom, this may have been exactly what you were referring to... just worded differently... so i just wanted to clarify with a bit more info since too many people lately have been referring to 5100s as "leveling" shocks, even for GMT800 trucks where that's not the case at all. It's only GMT900s, and its only 1 model... there's two other 5100 models for GMT900s that won't level the truck (as shown above)

 

Actually, the 5100 Leveling Shock's current part number is BE5-E376-H1 according to Bilstein. I know because I've got them installed on my Sierra set to about 1.2" worth of lift/level.

 

I had ordered BE5-E376-H0 shocks in January to level my Sierra, and 4WheelParts shipped me the -H1 part number. I couldn't find that part number on the Bilstein website section for the 5100 Series Leveling Shocks, so I emailed Bilstein to make sure it was the correct part for my application. They said the -H1 is the current one and that the part number had changed from the -H0 number which is no longer in production, but the -H1 shock itself was identical to the -H0 shock.

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