Bilstein shocks thread

LDM · March 14, 2021

On 3/3/2021 at 4:21 PM, swoleymammoth said:

What prices are you guys paying for a full set front/rear of bilstein 5100s? I’m seeing prices from $380 to $450. Also how much should I expect to pay to have the fronts installed?

Just ordered mine this week and got them yesterday. They were $400, shipping was free. I plan on putting them on after April 1st when I can drive my Camaros again.

14LTZ-1LZ · April 6, 2021

On 12/11/2020 at 9:43 PM, 14LTZ-1LZ said:

Edited April 28, 2021 by 14LTZ-1LZ

Chris Stierman · May 6, 2021

I can't find the 5100 fronts in stock ANYWHERE. I also can't figure out where people are finding these for $350- for the set of 4. Best price I can find that is out of stock is $94 each for the rears and $132 each for the fronts.

OffTheAir · May 6, 2021

2 hours ago, Chris Stierman said:

I can't find the 5100 fronts in stock ANYWHERE. I also can't figure out where people are finding these for $350- for the set of 4. Best price I can find that is out of stock is $94 each for the rears and $132 each for the fronts.

Yeah, when I was in the process of swapping my Ranchos this past Fall (this was early Sept.) I went to my nearby 4x4 place to have them ordered (5100s OR 4600s) and Bilstein basically told the guy they would not be in for two months. Flash forward to late November and he was only able to find 3 4600s (Both rears, one front) from nearby suppliers. I told him to get them and I would do my best to find the last one, and thank god there was one left on Amazon.

Man those things were a pain to find. They were totally worth the effort though! It's crazy that this is still going on.

Edited May 6, 2021 by OffTheAir

Dunn · May 11, 2021

I would think it be easier for older gens....I found em for newer gen fairly easily......bilstein lifts

truckguy82 · May 12, 2021

On 2/15/2021 at 6:30 PM, ducklawyer said:

Just did the 4600s on my 96 and made a world of difference. Maybe bc the originals were 21yrs old!! Either way will be adding the 5100s to my 18 Silverado soon.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I bought my k2xx after my ‘97 tahoe caught on fire

i wish they still road like that. There was no balance of handling and ride comfort, it was only ride comfort. I doubt there is a car on the road today with as soft and comfortable suspension.

i didnt realize how good it was when i owned it honestly.

90’s american boats will go down in history as the best riding cars ever built

Chris Stierman · May 12, 2021

I got my rears from Amazon. Still trying to find a set of fronts somewhere. I have a set ordered, but they are 2-6 weeks out. Did the rears a few days ago. My truck has 90K on it, has never towed before ever. The factory shocks were completely shot. Everyone should be changing these at 75K or earlier.

14LTZ-1LZ · June 1, 2021

2014 Silverado LTZ 4x4 Crew cab regular bed (6'6"). It was time to replace the shock at 100,000 miles, with all having a good review on the 5100 decided to replace the shock with them. Ordered from Amazon the rears came in first, installed them then waited until I had time for the front and need a spring compressor. The rear were about 2 in longer than the OEM shock. Did not think this would make a difference. The drive in town was improved, but on the Interstate on smooth road was quite and smooth. When you get to an inperfection on the road meaning not smooth or have little speed bumps. I get the worst trampoline effect the bigger the bumps the harsher the effect.

Installed the front at the lowest sitting thinking this would solve my problem, nope same result when going over the bumps. Going off road I have no problems with cause I expect these things, but on the highway its different. Raised it to its highest setting the 4 which leveled the pickup liked the look very much. An again this did not solve my problem. I have these on for about 22,000 miles and every time on the same stretch same result the trampoline effect.

I also have clamp the leaf springs 5 in forward of the axle. This helped less trampoline effect. This make me think that I need to add a leaf to my rear springs.

Has any body else have or had this problem? What did you do to fix it? Am giving these another 10,000 miles and going back to stock an just use blocks to level the truck or go with Eibach or another brand.

Thank you.

Edited June 2, 2021 by 14LTZ-1LZ

summitcounty99 · June 6, 2021

Hello,

Anyone think the Bilstein 6112 series shock would be to much for just a simple replacement over the original Rancho shocks? I do not plan on lifting the truck; just asking and researching what other people have done and are happy with.

Thanks,

Rob

Red_5 · June 7, 2021

22 hours ago, summitcounty99 said:

Hello,

Anyone think the Bilstein 6112 series shock would be to much for just a simple replacement over the original Rancho shocks? I do not plan on lifting the truck; just asking and researching what other people have done and are happy with.

Thanks,

Rob

I had my 6112s on the truck for over 1.5 years now and am still very pleased with them. I have E load rated KO2s on it and they’re currently at 65 psi, truck is still comfortable. I have a Max Tow so I can’t compare to the Ranchos or cheaper Bilsteins but the 6112s have been great so far.

SWOYER · July 6, 2021

wrong issue addressed

Thanks for the replies

Edited August 9, 2021 by SWOYER
wrong issue addressed

Red_5 · July 7, 2021

23 hours ago, SWOYER said:

I've had my 6112 Front / 5160 Rear setup for about 2-3 years now. At first it was great but now, especially on the highway, the front end feels like an old Cadillac or a boat.. If you hit a decent dip or bump in the road the front end goes up and down several times before finding equilibrium. It's not super fast like it has no shocks at all, but it doesn't have the control that I feel like it should. I do have them on the highest setting without any control arms.

Are the shocks toast or is this just something I need to live with on these trucks?

Since they’ve only been available for our trucks for about 2 years that’s a pretty short time for failure. I think the 6112s have some sort of lifetime warranty but the 5160s have a 90 day warranty. I would reach out to Bilstein and see what they have to say. I’m coming up on 2 years of my 6112s/5160s and I’m still happy so it sounds to me like you have a failure.

SWOYER · July 7, 2021

Your right I'm probably right around the 2 year mark. They were hard to find for a long time.

Cupton · July 7, 2021

Thinking the 4600 will be the route I go when I see some in stock. I don’t plan on lifting or leveling but I occasionally hit the hunting trail, gravel road, or road to the camp site. I don’t tow anything (yet) and am a little worried about the 5100’s being a little too harsh for my 20 inch snowflakes under an empty bed. Might go up on the next set of tires to a 275/60/20 instead of the stock 275/55/20 that I have now as well.

I wish I could say my truck spent more than 95% of its time off the pavement but I’d be fibbin.

Amcguy1970 · July 16, 2021

On 5/11/2021 at 7:28 PM, truckguy82 said:

I bought my k2xx after my ‘97 tahoe caught on fire

i wish they still road like that. There was no balance of handling and ride comfort, it was only ride comfort. I doubt there is a car on the road today with as soft and comfortable suspension.

i didnt realize how good it was when i owned it honestly.

90’s american boats will go down in history as the best riding cars ever built

Go ride in a new Full Size SUV from GM with adaptive suspension and air ride, you will probably think otherwise. They rode nice back in the day but were a little floaty over larger bumps which off set the nicer ride on the smaller stuff (don't forget cars back then creaked and rattled over bumps). Our 2021 Yukon Denali is amazing at how well it rides. We have had all the GM flavors over the years including a 1975 Pontiac Grandville (talk about a massive boat with a 455) to Bonnevilles and Le Sabres/Park Avenues until switching to vans/suvs and trucks the last few decades and this new SUV rides incredible compared to anything else.

I would not be surprised if on the next gen the trucks adapted a IRS from the SUV's for the high end versions or the half tons as one of the engineers pointed out it was tough enough for truck stuff. With all these suburban dads buying the box checker trucks not to tow and haul but just drive to work and complain about the ride, well something like an air ride IRS with adaptive suspension will fix those complaints (until they start complaining about not having massaging seats or some other luxury car feature).

Tyler