Rancho or Bilstein?

gearheadesw · February 14, 2018

I took off the stock Ranchos and put on their RS9000 adjustable shock, they work great. The adjustments are real and you can feel the difference when playing around with the dial, 2 clicks are defiantly felt. The 5160 Bilsteins where better, but I bought 4 of these Ranchos for the price of 1 and a half 5160's. I turn them up when the 4 wheeler is in the bed, and it dampens the extra weight no problem, no bouncing.

GMC4Zee · February 26, 2018

I just put a set of FOX 2.0 on the rear of my 2500HD. Have'nt driven it much but the wife did mention it is smoother. I opted for the FOX's because of it having a beefier construction over Bilstein.

avalonandl · November 15, 2018

Got Bilsteins on the rear. Waiting to put the fronts on at my buddies shop.

gearheadesw · November 22, 2018

On 2/14/2018 at 1:17 PM, gearheadesw said:

I took off the stock Ranchos and put on their RS9000 adjustable shock, they work great. The adjustments are real and you can feel the difference when playing around with the dial, 2 clicks are defiantly felt. The 5160 Bilsteins where better, but I bought 4 of these Ranchos for the price of 1 and a half 5160's. I turn them up when the 4 wheeler is in the bed, and it dampens the extra weight no problem, no bouncing.

Ditched the RS 9000's for Bilstein 5160's in front with the new wheels and tires. The 5160's handle the 285 75r 18's much better on the hi way bumps and canyons we have here on I-4 right now with all the construction going on.

DMAXNAZ · November 24, 2018

I've been running the 5100''s for a few months now. So far so good. There is a noticeable difference in ride quality.

avalonandl · November 28, 2018

Bilsteins are much smoother. Our crappy Ranchos suck, one of the rears I took off wouldnt even re-extend itself,,,,,,

MrChips · December 12, 2018

Where is the best place to purchase the Bilstein shocks from?

gearheadesw · December 13, 2018

Found mine on eBay.

schmolf4 · December 21, 2018

sorry for my ignorance on this subject, but I'm picking up my 2018 gmc 2500 SLT 6.6l duramax this saturday and was wondering if you could level the front with the adjustable bilsteins like you could with the 1500's?

gearheadesw · December 23, 2018

On 12/20/2018 at 10:30 PM, schmolf4 said:

sorry for my ignorance on this subject, but I'm picking up my 2018 gmc 2500 SLT 6.6l duramax this saturday and was wondering if you could level the front with the adjustable bilsteins like you could with the 1500's?

On your 2500hd, you can crank the stock torsion bar keys and get about 2 inches of lift, give or take on a truck by truck basis. Some shock extenders, and an alignment, and your almost level. The adjustable 5100's are for the 1500's, you can get 5100's for the 2500hd, just in different lengths for different sized lifts. I like running the 5160's, to me they give a better controlled smooth ride with my bigger tires.

Edited December 23, 2018 by gearheadesw

avalonandl · December 23, 2018

Cranking the torsion stiffens the ride, so be careful and test it out. A small amoubt of rake is barely noticeable. I advise about 4 turns and try it out.

schmolf4 · December 23, 2018

1 hour ago, avalonandl said:

Cranking the torsion stiffens the ride, so be careful and test it out. A small amoubt of rake is barely noticeable. I advise about 4 turns and try it out.

Thanks, I found that out...so if i want to do it the right way, I can upgrade the cams, add the shock spacers and also the differential spacers and I'm golden?

Edited December 23, 2018 by schmolf4

gearheadesw · December 23, 2018

Twisting the torsion bar, is twisting the torsion bars, no matter how you do it. Aftermarket keys just let you twist the bar further, making it stiffer. A bracket lift will let you run the torsion bars at the stock adjustment levels. They lower all the suspension components in the front, you have to cut the crossmember to install these lifts, you can go giant high with a bracket lift. Just depends on what kind of tire you want to run, anything above a 35" tire will require either, a true lift, or a lot of cutting....I have aftermarket keys and some shock spacers, my +12 offset wheels and 285 75 18 tires rubbed at full lock, stock wheels may not have rubbed. I have some Cogneto steering braces and Ready Lift upper control arms that I need to put on, any higher, and I would need to cut fenders, or get a real lift.