Bilstein shocks thread

Zasker1 · November 2, 2018

Found this on their website. I would call and confirm with them about wheel figment before ordering the kit if you do decided to pull the trigger. This is their leveling/control arm combo kit but it uses the same control arms.

I would be pretty leery of putting on wheel spacers I had them on my Sierra for a while and it was impossible to get the wheels properly balanced and ended up taking them off

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Zasker1 · November 2, 2018

So I raise the shock perch to the third highest setting over the weekend and I'm now sitting at just under 38 in on both sides, and at 40 in the rear with Cooper AT3 275 70 r18's (39psi)

So then drove from Dallas to Houston and before I even got halfway there I literally found myself getting nauseous from the vibrations as I feel almost everything as I drive the truck certainly feels more planted when going down a country road then on the second setting but hit any kind of bump or expansion joint on a bridge and the impact is enough to make the headlight Shake, music playing over an SD card pauses for 3 seconds, like back in the day when you hit a bump in your CD player with skip.

I'm not sure what to do at this point as the second lowest setting does not provide enough rebound but the 3rd setting seems as harsh as the fourth. The front end of the truck literally bunny hops going over a Walmart speed bump at 5 miles an hour.

Is anyone else struggled with finding a happy medium between the 2nd and 3rd snap ring perch's?

I've also noticed that the front driver side is now anywhere between a quarter and a half inch lower than the passenger side

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parshal · November 2, 2018

Zasker, I guess I’ll find out if I have the same thing. I’ve had my truck on the 2nd ring from bottom for the last 1500 miles. I pulled them yesterday and just picked up the springs after having a shop move it to the 2nd highest setting. Your experience has me a little freaked out!

Oregon_GMC1500 · November 2, 2018

16 minutes ago, Zasker1 said:

So I raise the shock perch to the third highest setting over the weekend and I'm now sitting at just under 38 in on both sides, and at 40 in the rear with Cooper AT3 275 70 r18's (39psi)

So then drove from Dallas to Houston and before I even got halfway there I literally found myself getting nauseous from the vibrations as I feel almost everything as I drive the truck certainly feels more planted when going down a country road then on the second setting but hit any kind of bump or expansion joint on a bridge and the impact is enough to make the headlight Shake, music playing over an SD card pauses for 3 seconds, like back in the day when you hit a bump in your CD player with skip.

I'm not sure what to do at this point as the second lowest setting does not provide enough rebound but the 3rd setting seems as harsh as the fourth. The front end of the truck literally bunny hops going over a Walmart speed bump at 5 miles an hour.

Is anyone else struggled with finding a happy medium between the 2nd and 3rd snap ring perch's?

I've also noticed that the front driver side is now anywhere between a quarter and a half inch lower than the passenger side

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Oregon_GMC1500 · November 2, 2018

I'm embarrassed, i don't know how many settings there are

What i do know, is the shop set mine one click from the top setting ... I enjoy perfect harmony (lol) at this setting with the 275x65x20 BFG KO2 setup

Your Mileage May Vary of course

- but at highway speeds the ride is smooth, truck tracks nicely and is very responsive + comfortable

TXGREEK · November 3, 2018

Gentlemen,
I've read about 4 pages and realized there is just way too much on here to read it all. I'm a little confused, I have a 2018 1500 Z71 midnight edition. I'd like to fit 33's, so I was going to level my truck using one of the kits online. From what I gather, its possible to do this using the Bilstein adjustable 5100's? Where is everyone buying these?

Cliffs anyone? Sorry for the laziness but 112 pages man, holy hell.

From mid 2015 GM switched our Upper Control Arm (UCA’s)to stamped steel, leveling them causes our tires to get closer to the UCA’s.

You may rub going from 32’s to 33’s. With my 2.25” up front and added 1” to the rear, I had to buy new custom wheels with different offset and now my 285/60/20’s fit

Switched from stock wheels to custom +1 offset wheels

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TXGREEK · November 3, 2018

Now I’ve got Nitto Ridge Grapplers

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z71skywalker · November 3, 2018

12 hours ago, TXGREEK said:

From mid 2015 GM switched our Upper Control Arm (UCA’s)to stamped steel, leveling them causes our tires to get closer to the UCA’s.

You may rub going from 32’s to 33’s. With my 2.25” up front and added 1” to the rear, I had to buy new custom wheels with different offset and now my 285/60/20’s fit

Switched from stock wheels to custom +1 offset wheels

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Well my plan is to get 20x10 -19 wheels with 33x12.50 Ridge Grapplers and the Bilstein kit.

Where is everyone buying their bilsteins?

TXGREEK · November 3, 2018

Well my plan is to get 20x10 -19 wheels with 33x12.50 Ridge Grapplers and the Bilstein kit.

Where is everyone buying their bilsteins?

4wheelparts has awesome deals on 5100’s. Be careful though, going into 10 wide very much limits fitment due to the wider tire and has caused lots of headaches with rubbing issues and that’s why I went with 9 wide, zero issues. My CST lift is scheduled 9 days from now and interesting how much requirements there are prior to suspension modifications. I never thought I’d ever do a lift until the positives outweighed the very little negative and BOOM [emoji95], here I am.

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parshal · November 3, 2018

Drove mine to the alignment shop this morning after moving from the 2nd to 3rd setting and I feel no difference in roughness.

Oregon_GMC1500 · November 3, 2018

7 hours ago, z71skywalker said:

Well my plan is to get 20x10 -19 wheels with 33x12.50 Ridge Grapplers and the Bilstein kit.

Where is everyone buying their bilsteins?

Somewhere in there must be a "thank you" to everyone for helping answer your call to offer Cliff Notes from this thread ... and to take the time to offer sensible choices.

+1 to TXGREEK posting regarding the 9" vs 10" wheel width option. Hey if you can make it work, without a lift, we hope you post photos with honest feedback about rubbing and required alterations to your suspension.

Personally, If there was anything I'd change regarding my setup it's the tire width (10.8") ... but to "get" one apparently has to "give" and I wasn't interested in a lift on this truck, I already have a lifted short-distance vehicle in our lifted Jeep.

Oregon_GMC1500 · November 3, 2018

While digging for a photo of our Jeep (oooh shoot, this is SO off-topic) ... well I came across the Jeep Pickup prototype truck.

It's just ... it's just ... it's just lovely to me.

(wiping tear from my eye now) ...

I really love this truck, especially in a diesel powered mode.

I apologize in advance for my shameful off-topic diversion

Yondu · November 4, 2018

18 LT Z71. After 500 miles I see why people hate the Ranchos.

What I'm confused about is everyone agrees that the Z71 rides rough. I feel all the road imperfections and bumps make the truck shudder. What I don't get is everyone agrees the Bilsteins are firmer...how is that better? I stuck with P rated 275/65r18s to maintain a good ride.

If I went Bilstein I'd go with the 1.25" lift up front (I've read is more like 1.5" lift).

Oregon_GMC1500 · November 4, 2018

We all know “ride” is difficult to describe, and “firmness of ride” is subjective I suppose.

If l were forced to answer your question - I would try to convey the difference as:

Bilstein offers a more sophisticated, “taut” “firm-yet-flexible “response to uneven terrain under the tires vs a “jolt” or “shudder.”

Personally, I’m not someone who usually switches a suspension from stock0 (except our Jeep project + lift) but I promise I’ll go down this Bilstein path again with our next truck - regardless of the truck brand. It’s worth every penny to me to switch struts.

Oh, also I mis-spoke earlier about the cost of the 5100’s ...

4 wheel parts invoice enclosed...

Edited November 4, 2018 by Oregon_GMC1500

8086BRUCE · November 5, 2018

On 11/2/2018 at 2:55 PM, Zasker1 said:

I have almost and identical set up to you except I'm running the Cooper 275 70 r18 and I'm curious if you like the handling I just adjusted my bilsteins from the second to the bottom to the 3rd setting and driving to Houston yesterday I found myself getting carsick from the constant vibration it just seems like setting to is too soft and there's not enough rebound in setting 3 it is a brutal ride

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I have had 3 rigs with 5100's all of them on the 3rd setting. I tow a boat alot or I'd do the 4th. The ride is awesome from the 5100's! I would say something is wrong if you notice a big difference in ride between the 2nd and 3rd notch.