New shocks for lifted truck

[ryanhardy]

Hey y'all, Would like to upgrade the shocks on my 15. I currently have Rough Country's 3.5" lift kit on, with their original shocks. The ride is MUCH worse than I expected it to be, and after 25k miles I decided I'd like to throw some new shocks on and call it a day. Rough Country released their new "Vertex" shock which I thought about trying but am weary about quality, as I haven't been all that impressed with their other products, and at ~$1400 for the kit I'm not willing to take a chance. As of right now I've narrowed it to Bilstein 5100/5160's or a set of Fox. My main issue, is that neither has a shock rated for a 3.5" lift. Can I run a shock that's for a 4-6" lift? and with my rear having a 1.25" block, can I run a 0-1" shock? open to suggestions and other brands as well!

[jerseytaylor]

i cant speak to your question regarding running the appropriate sized shock, however, I will say that I am at 8" of lift and switching to Bilstein 5100's this weekend. I'll let you know how they ride

[avalonandl]

Bilstein 5100 for sure. You will need a shock mount extender in the lft kit.

[Icutmetl]

Could the reason your truck rides like dump now be due to poor front end geometry more so than your shocks? Is that lift kit a true lift or a key kit?

[jerseytaylor]

Hey Ryan

So update on the Bilstein 5100's

All four sides are super easy to install. As I'm lifted 8", it made it even easier to reach everything. The ride definitely improved and even more so after taking about 10-15psi out of each tire. Now that I'm at 50/55psi, it is much more pleasant to drive and feels more planted over bumps in the road.

[ryanhardy]

On 4/17/2019 at 5:49 AM, Icutmetl said:

Could the reason your truck rides like dump now be due to poor front end geometry more so than your shocks? Is that lift kit a true lift or a key kit?

it's a true lift, and front end geometry is still very good. came with spacers for the diff, new UCA, etc to maintain stock geometry.