Bilstein shocks thread

Rawyzf · July 17, 2015

Not gonna remove the 2" level. So, I'll probably just ride out the Rancho's and get some nonadjustable Bilsteins down the road.

cdh027 · July 17, 2015

I hope they're in production again, I really want to get my hands on some 6112's

Agreed. I'm waiting on these too. Dont want to waste my time with a RC 2.5 and then have to do it over again when these come out.

Edited July 17, 2015 by cdh027

cdh027 · July 17, 2015

If you are removing the 2" level your billies will sit a bit lower, they're 1.8" up front. It's not recommended to use both together.

I know the 6112 says 1.8" in front as well. I was gonna run a 1/4" spacer with the 6112 when they come out to get it close to a RC 2.5. How would that cause any problems?

ncorry · July 17, 2015

I got tired of waiting on Bilstein to get production back up and ordered the Quick Lift front shocks from Rancho. Yeah, they were more than the 511's, but since the Ranchos come with a strut, I'll do the installation since I won't have to screw with a spring compressor. Local place quoted me $367 for the Bilstein 5100s or adjustable ProRunners installed and I got the Ranchos for $320 from Amazon.

nadrojcote · July 17, 2015

I got tired of waiting on Bilstein to get production back up and ordered the Quick Lift front shocks from Rancho. Yeah, they were more than the 511's, but since the Ranchos come with a strut, I'll do the installation since I won't have to screw with a spring compressor. Local place quoted me $367 for the Bilstein 5100s or adjustable ProRunners installed and I got the Ranchos for $320 from Amazon.

I too have the quicklifts and Im not too thrilled with the ride quality, too much spring and if I lower the settings too much they become too bouncy and allow too much body roll. Currently have them set at 5 front 4 in the rear after messing around with them for months. I'm just going to leave them here until I can afford some 6112's when they come out.

Not that they're a bad setup, defintely better than stock. I just want something smoother. I want it to ride like a ram 1500.

Edited July 17, 2015 by projectsummit

jeff_94 · July 23, 2015

I ordered 2 sets of 5100's last week for a 2015 Silverado on ebay and just received them today. they are out again but if looking keep an eye out. Someone also said suspensionconnection.com had them for a while not sure if they still do.

WendysOrBust · August 3, 2015

So I posted up some pics on another thread but really wanted to come in here and do a more thorough review.

I had these installed last week with the fronts at max setting, I didn't want a completely level ride as I occasionally carry stuff in the bed or tow and having a truck that points up is a pet-peeve. Plus, I like the slight rake on it now.

Anyways, the ride quality has definitely improved. My truck is a 2wd with the z60 suspension package which I've always though rode stiff. There just didn't seem to be enough suspension travel and rough roads were a pain to drive through. On a scale of 1 to 10, one being Mercedes sedan and 10 being Dodge 2500 empty stiff, I would give the stock suspension a 7.5 in stiffness.

The new 5100's definitely improved ride quality but not as much as I would of liked. I would give it a 6.5 in overall ride quality, but in off-road situations I would give it 2-3 points better than the stock black shocks. It does seem flatter during cornering and doesn't bounce nearly as much as it did when hitting dips or big un-even surfaces.

Overall for $350 it was a great investment and I have no doubt that a new set of 275/60r20 tires will greatly improve ride quality.

Also, does anyone know if this black piece inside the springs, is a bump stop?

I don't remember seeing in the instructions that it needed to be transferred into the new shocks, if so I might take them apart and cut/remove them as I think its hitting them quite frequently.

Jon A · August 3, 2015

Also, does anyone know if this black piece inside the springs, is a bump stop?

I don't remember seeing in the instructions that it needed to be transferred into the new shocks, if so I might take them apart and cut/remove them as I think its hitting them quite frequently.

The black piece is just a dust cover. The actual bumpstop is tan colored. You should be able to pry up the bottom of the dust cover and see the bumpstop to verify it's there. You do want to keep it there.

DeePa · August 3, 2015

Ive been waiting for mine since early may

WendysOrBust · August 3, 2015

Ive been waiting for mine since early may

Where did you order them from? I ordered mine late May and didn't receive them till Mid-July.

BlackZ71Silverado · August 3, 2015

The black shocks ride a lot nicer than z71's. My friends silverado LT with black shocks is night and day difference compared to mine.

The AcDelco Black shocks used to be standard on the Z71 suspension trucks.

The Z71 Appearance Package only came with the AcDelco Rancho sticker shocks. Now it seems all of the new model Z71 get stuck with them, bad move on GM's part because they are terrible.

BlackZ71Silverado · August 3, 2015

These do not ride anything like the 5100, its a much smoother riding shock. Ive been testing the development set for 6 months now and I am loving them - a nice improvement for me over the 5100s. The suspension travel length is slightly different too to maximize travel.

The 5100s are a great OE replacement shock that will provide a bit of lift, where as this is a tuned Bilstein BTS suspension that is designed for the weekend offroader and will provide much more dampening and control.

800 is the MSRP price, the sets that have been out and selling now are going for under 675ish

People may read this and get confused..........Shocks don't actually give your truck any lift, that's not how vehicles are lifted. Only the adjustable ride height 5100's allow lift by moving the snap ring to set the perch height. There are several brands out that allow for increased ride height by having the coil spring set higher up on the shock.

Shocks alone will in no way lift a truck. The rear 5100's are not ride height adjustable and do nothing for the rear ride height. They are simply a direct replacement for OEM shocks.

Crf450r420 · August 5, 2015

Are the 6112 coming out any time soon? Forgot about it for a while and figured they'd have at least info by now.

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southern_sierra · August 5, 2015

Are the 6112 coming out any time soon? Forgot about it for a while and figured they'd have at least info by now.

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I talked with Bilstein about 2 months ago and they said it would be the end of the year before the 6112 would be available. Just waiting here I think the softer spring is what its going to take to make these trucks ride better. I cuss my sierra every day just to stiff up front I have even changed out the stock ranchos to the stock black shocks they helped the jarring alittle and thats about it.

nadrojcote · August 10, 2015

I talked with Bilstein about 2 months ago and they said it would be the end of the year before the 6112 would be available. Just waiting here I think the softer spring is what its going to take to make these trucks ride better. I cuss my sierra every day just to stiff up front I have even changed out the stock ranchos to the stock black shocks they helped the jarring alittle and thats about it.

I feel the same way, just don't know if I can justify spending more money when they do come out. If I do decide to go that route my quicklifts will be for sale. I wish I know what rate the stock springs are.