Bilstein 5100s are a HUGE upgrade!

[bearded_warrior]

Yeah it needs to be removed again to change. Cant adjust in place.  A bit of advice I read was to measure from the fender to the middle of the hub instead of the ground to account for uneven ground/tire differences. I'm sure others here have helpful advice too but it was more accurate than the ground measurement in my case.

[Dunn]

am doing AT4 5100s with eibach springs on my Elevation....should be 3"-3.2" in front on lowest setting, will add rear 2" block.....install shortly also will do the arm/small drop on half shafts.....bit of rake is fine with me, 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Dunn

[Dunn]

dbl post

Edited April 14, 2021 by Dunn

[ms6040]

Got my front Bilstein 5100's installed on my 21' RST Z71 5.3L yesterday. I did the front and the rears both. I did the install for the rear's myself but didn't feel comfortable with doing the fronts.

 

First impressions - Quite noticeable difference/improvement in ride quality over the stock Rancho's. I understand the "more planted" feel that other guys are saying now, but I was confused about what that really meant, but the 5 mile trip home I caught on. I was torn between going with the 1.5" or 2" setting. I went with the 2" setting.

 

Measurements from level cement to top of wheel well before were as follows for stock: Front - Driver 38", Pass 37 7/8" Rear - Driver 39 1/8", Pass 39 1/4". Once swapping the rear shocks for the Bilsteins, the front measurements didn't change, but gained a 1/4" on the rear on each side exactly. I'm thinking that may settle out with time.

 

Measurements after adding the front struts to the 2" groove are as follows: Front - Driver 39 5/8", Pass 39 5/8" Rear - Driver 39 1/8" Pass - 39 1/8". I also had stock size (275/60/20) Ridge Grapplers installed to replace the stock tires. I wanted to go 285/60/20, but the cost increase/difference of over $400 from stock size, I decided not to for that small difference.

 

So on my setup, the 2" groove yielded 1 5/8"-1 3/4" on the front, which I am happy with because I was torn between the 1 1/2" and 2" setting, so in the middle is great. From the measurements, the front is now 1/2" higher than the rear and it does appear to be higher from an eye test. I will be adding a 1" block in the rear to hopefully get it back to at least level or a slight rake to the eye test. Just my initial thoughts. I will post photos over the weekend.

Edited April 16, 2021 by ms6040

[romclean1]

25 minutes ago, ms6040 said:

Got my front Bilstein 5100's installed on my 21' RST Z71 5.3L yesterday. I did the front and the rears both. I did the install for the rear's myself but didn't feel comfortable with doing the fronts.

 

First impressions - Quite noticeable difference/improvement in ride quality over the stock Rancho's. I understand the "more planted" feel that other guys are saying now, but I was confused about what that really meant, but the 5 mile trip home I caught on. I was torn between going with the 1.5" or 2" setting. I went with the 2" setting.

Nice write up!  I'm sure it will benefit others looking to do the same 

[Msol]

If I upgrade the front shocks to the Bilstein 5100s on my 2020 RST 2wd, will the preload spacer still fit on the shock and all other strut components from the lift? In other words is the body size of the Bilstein 5100 thicker than stock shocks on a 2wd?

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[LakeAnna72]

On 4/16/2021 at 9:20 AM, ms6040 said:

Got my front Bilstein 5100's installed on my 21' RST Z71 5.3L yesterday. I did the front and the rears both. I did the install for the rear's myself but didn't feel comfortable with doing the fronts.

 

First impressions - Quite noticeable difference/improvement in ride quality over the stock Rancho's. I understand the "more planted" feel that other guys are saying now, but I was confused about what that really meant, but the 5 mile trip home I caught on. I was torn between going with the 1.5" or 2" setting. I went with the 2" setting.

 

Measurements from level cement to top of wheel well before were as follows for stock: Front - Driver 38", Pass 37 7/8" Rear - Driver 39 1/8", Pass 39 1/4". Once swapping the rear shocks for the Bilsteins, the front measurements didn't change, but gained a 1/4" on the rear on each side exactly. I'm thinking that may settle out with time.

 

Measurements after adding the front struts to the 2" groove are as follows: Front - Driver 39 5/8", Pass 39 5/8" Rear - Driver 39 1/8" Pass - 39 1/8". I also had stock size (275/60/20) Ridge Grapplers installed to replace the stock tires. I wanted to go 285/60/20, but the cost increase/difference of over $400 from stock size, I decided not to for that small difference.

 

So on my setup, the 2" groove yielded 1 5/8"-1 3/4" on the front, which I am happy with because I was torn between the 1 1/2" and 2" setting, so in the middle is great. From the measurements, the front is now 1/2" higher than the rear and it does appear to be higher from an eye test. I will be adding a 1" block in the rear to hopefully get it back to at least level or a slight rake to the eye test. Just my initial thoughts. I will post photos over the weekend.

Thanks for sharing! I have an appointment this Thursday to have mine done and will probably  go with the 1.5 

Thanks!

[ms6040]

On 4/16/2021 at 9:20 AM, ms6040 said:

Got my front Bilstein 5100's installed on my 21' RST Z71 5.3L yesterday. I did the front and the rears both. I did the install for the rear's myself but didn't feel comfortable with doing the fronts.

 

First impressions - Quite noticeable difference/improvement in ride quality over the stock Rancho's. I understand the "more planted" feel that other guys are saying now, but I was confused about what that really meant, but the 5 mile trip home I caught on. I was torn between going with the 1.5" or 2" setting. I went with the 2" setting.

 

Measurements from level cement to top of wheel well before were as follows for stock: Front - Driver 38", Pass 37 7/8" Rear - Driver 39 1/8", Pass 39 1/4". Once swapping the rear shocks for the Bilsteins, the front measurements didn't change, but gained a 1/4" on the rear on each side exactly. I'm thinking that may settle out with time.

 

Measurements after adding the front struts to the 2" groove are as follows: Front - Driver 39 5/8", Pass 39 5/8" Rear - Driver 39 1/8" Pass - 39 1/8". I also had stock size (275/60/20) Ridge Grapplers installed to replace the stock tires. I wanted to go 285/60/20, but the cost increase/difference of over $400 from stock size, I decided not to for that small difference.

 

So on my setup, the 2" groove yielded 1 5/8"-1 3/4" on the front, which I am happy with because I was torn between the 1 1/2" and 2" setting, so in the middle is great. From the measurements, the front is now 1/2" higher than the rear and it does appear to be higher from an eye test. I will be adding a 1" block in the rear to hopefully get it back to at least level or a slight rake to the eye test. Just my initial thoughts. I will post photos over the weekend.

Here's a couple photos for reference.

[GearheadSS]

On 11/12/2020 at 3:58 PM, jddealer said:

Anyone put the ride height adjustable Bilsteins on a 6.2L?  Wondering if you have a before and after measurement to see how much it raised the front.  Heard it might not raise it as much a a 5.3L because of weight?  Just wondering if you can get by with putting these on instead of the 2" spacers for a leveling kit and gain the same rise to fit tire sizes that also fit a level.  

 

In my instance, this would be for a High Country

You're only talking about 50-70 pounds difference max between the 5.3 and 6.2 in identical trucks.  

[Dunn]

Agreed, not alot of difference on weight....1/4 in if that

[Offroadman00]

Hello everyone

so i recently got a 2019 AT4 which already came with Ridge Grapplers 35x12.50 R20 along with a RC 4" lift kit

Love how the car sites, but totally hate how it rides. EXTREMELY ROUGH and everything shakes in the car include my kids carseat which is a pain in the neck

 

So...looking to see how I can smooth the ride.....

 

Will upgrading the front and back to Blisten 1500 do the trick or will I need to go with coilovers and adjustables in back?

 

cant shell out a few grant for a BDS system, so will stick with the RC one I currently have, but if I can upgrade some things to make it smoother without breaking the bank, I'd be willing to do so.

 

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[Thejet07]

I have 2” spacers on my fronts. If I installed the bilsteins at 2” would I need another alignment?


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[Dunn]

35 minutes ago, Thejet07 said:

I have 2” spacers on my fronts. If I installed the bilsteins at 2” would I need another alignment?


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spacers compress the shock and makes them ride in a harsher part of the travel, it also reduces the available travel and reduces ride quality....you could buy a bilstein or eibach kit and use their spring to get you to 3.5/4 ... control arm could be binding if its stock too....bigger tires dont help either so just a matter of what your willing to compromise.....you basically scrap out the RC front portion of the kit....

 

anytime you adjust the suspension height you need alignment and if truck was bought used maybe not a bad idea anyway.....

 

 

[ms6040]

On 4/19/2021 at 4:09 AM, LakeAnna72 said:

Thanks for sharing! I have an appointment this Thursday to have mine done and will probably  go with the 1.5 

Thanks!

Please post a photo once it's done! Are you doing anything with the tires?

[Msol]

I have a few questions regarding the 5100 shocks for front and rear of my 2020 Silverado 1500 RST 2WD. 


1) If I'm not mistaken the 2wd and 4wd shocks are the same part?


2) If I am lifted with 4 inches in the front and 3 inches in the back with a Readylift kit, will this work for me? I wanted to upgrade both front and rear shocks for a better ride quality using 5100 series. Since I would be already lifted , I am not seeking any height increase just better ride handling. Will leaving the front shocks setting at 0, work for my application? 


3)Since the rear would be lifted 3 inches by rear lift blocks, will I need shock extenders for the rear shock or will the 5100 be ok without an extender?


4) Does the 5100 front shock set at 0 already have some height increase over the stock height strut (shock)?


These are my questions regarding the 5100 series shocks for my truck. 


Any help would be greatly appreciated.




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