Just shock upgrade..

Londart2020 · December 3, 2020

Has anyone on here just upgraded their shocks to either the Bilstein 5100 or Fox 2.0? I have no real need to lift or level my truck, my go with a little bigger then the stock 275/65R20 but nothing huge in the feature. If I do go just a little bigger I can get 1/2" out of the keys. So I am asking if anyone on here has just changed out their shocks and did nothing else? I have heard the Rancho the trucks come with are garbage and that when putting on say a Kryptonite level the ride gets better, I am guessing that is from the shocks, not just changing out the UCA. So any help would be awesome as I try to figure out a route to go. I know there 3/4 ton trucks and they ride stiffer then the 1/2 tons, but if putting on $400-$700 in shocks gets a better ride day to day and towing its an investment I am willing to make. Thank you.

Njmurvin · December 3, 2020

I don't know. I have a 3500 with the Z71 package and it rides a lot better than my 04.5 Dodge Ram 3500 did ... although both ride smoothest when towing.

gSwift · December 4, 2020

2 hours ago, Njmurvin said:

I don't know. I have a 3500 with the Z71 package and it rides a lot better than my 04.5 Dodge Ram 3500 did ... although both ride smoothest when towing.

I'm sure it rides better than a 04 Dodge, but if you've got the stock Rancho's, then you don't know what you're missing with a set of quality shocks. The Rancho's on my AT4 would just about rattle your teeth out if you hit any imperfection on the road. My new Fox shocks with adjustable external reservoirs have make this truck ride/drive like a dream now.

Londart2020 · December 4, 2020

15 hours ago, gSwift said:

I'm sure it rides better than a 04 Dodge, but if you've got the stock Rancho's, then you don't know what you're missing with a set of quality shocks. The Rancho's on my AT4 would just about rattle your teeth out if you hit any imperfection on the road. My new Fox shocks with adjustable external reservoirs have make this truck ride/drive like a dream now.

Why did you go with the adjustable ones. Do you off road a lot? On road better too with them or you just speaking of off road comfort? Thanks.

gSwift · December 4, 2020

2 hours ago, Londart2020 said:

Why did you go with the adjustable ones. Do you off road a lot? On road better too with them or you just speaking of off road comfort? Thanks.

I don't really off road but I just like having the ability of choosing how firm or soft my ride is.

For example, theres a few bumps on the highway near my house and every time I would hit them with the stock shocks it jar the truck so much that it would feel like the back end came off the ground. Just extremely harsh, and that was with 10psi less in the stock tires. Once I added the Fox and set them on the middle setting, I no longer feel those harsh bumps in the road, they just absorb them and keep rolling.

ApertureX · December 4, 2020

Personally I’m very curious about peoples’ experience with the Bilstein shocks both the 4600 and 5100. I’ve heard a lot of good things about them, but I’ve never tried them myself. Apparently the 5100 are better if you are loaded with payload and the 4600 are better for SRW and the 5100 are better for dually. Does anyone have experience with either of these, and on which truck?

motorcare · December 6, 2020

5100's for me. I had 4600's on my 08 2500HD and was happy with the control although the ride was fairly firm. Switched to 5100's and had an immediate improvement in ride with pretty much the same control. The 4600 dampening is the same compression and rebound and the 5100 has slightly less compression than rebound. For comparison the stock Ranchos on my 2020 2500 that I replaced with 5100's at 4000 miles had almost no compression dampening and very little rebound dampening; crazy amount of bobbing when pulling!

Londart2020 · December 6, 2020

On 12/6/2020 at 8:29 AM, motorcare said:

5100's for me. I had 4600's on my 08 2500HD and was happy with the control although the ride was fairly firm. Switched to 5100's and had an immediate improvement in ride with pretty much the same control. The 4600 dampening is the same compression and rebound and the 5100 has slightly less compression than rebound. For comparison the stock Ranchos on my 2020 2500 that I replaced with 5100's at 4000 miles had almost no compression dampening and very little rebound dampening; crazy amount of bobbing when pulling!

Thanks, that's just the kind of feed back I was looking for. I am so on the fence as I do not need to level as I said, which getting the Kryptonite stage 3 installed is $1550 from a local shop. I can get Fox 2.0 for around $700 and install those myself, then to get a little extra power also get the Banks Derringer which I have heard good things about, runs about $800 with the mounting pod. So for $50 more I can get a better ride and a better towing experience. As a matter of fact, I just did some searching while writing this, and ordered that Fox 2.0 from 4Wheelparts.com and using my Honey app on my computer saved $67.96 or 10% with free shipping. So a total of $611.84 shipped. That's a great deal I think for Fox. So $777.33 more for the Banks totaling $1389.17 I will even save almost $200...

Edited December 7, 2020 by Londart2020

gSwift · December 7, 2020

8 hours ago, Londart2020 said:

Thanks, that's just the kind of feed back I was looking for. I am so on the fence as I do not need to level as I said, which getting the Kryptonite stage 3 installed is $1550 from a local shop. I can get Fox 2.0 for around $700 and install those myself, then to get a little extra power also get the Banks Derringer which I have heard good things about, runs about $800 with the mounting pod. So for $50 more I can get a better ride and a better towing experience. As a matter of fact, I just did some searching while writing this, and ordered that Fox 2.0 from 4Wheelparts.com and using my Honey app on my computer save $67.96 or 10% with free shipping. So a total of $611.84 shipped. That's a great deal I think for Fox. So $777.33 more for the Banks totaling $1389.17 I will even same almost $200...

Do you ever use the app to unlock doors or start your truck? I do, pretty regularly, and i've read that with the Derringer plugged into the OBD port, you can no longer use those features or get any monthly OnStar reports.

Londart2020 · December 7, 2020

5 hours ago, gSwift said:

Do you ever use the app to unlock doors or start your truck? I do, pretty regularly, and i've read that with the Derringer plugged into the OBD port, you can no longer use those features or get any monthly OnStar reports.

I do especially during this time of year..non if the reviews I read said anything about this. I will have to contact Banks Power. Thanks for the heads up.

kylant · December 7, 2020

I have a set of Fox 2.0 front shocks for the 2020s that are coming off the truck today. I have decided to do something different.

They are part number 985-24-240

They have less than 1K miles on them.

Looking to sell, and give a decent deal

gSwift · December 7, 2020

9 hours ago, Londart2020 said:

I do especially during this time of year..non if the reviews I read said anything about this. I will have to contact Banks Power. Thanks for the heads up.

Here is the thread... Hopefully its just a fluke cuz i'd like to have one too. They don't mention the Derringer, only the iDash, but we'd have to have that with the Derringer

Edited December 7, 2020 by gSwift

Londart2020 · December 7, 2020

3 hours ago, kylant said:

I have a set of Fox 2.0 front shocks for the 2020s that are coming off the truck today. I have decided to do something different.

They are part number 985-24-240

They have less than 1K miles on them.

Looking to sell, and give a decent deal

Thanks for the offer, but 1 I already ordered the 0"-1" shocks and 2 that part number says if for trucks with 1.5"-2.5" of lift and requires UCA's. But hopefully someone will come across this and want them.

Londart2020 · December 7, 2020

16 hours ago, gSwift said:

Do you ever use the app to unlock doors or start your truck? I do, pretty regularly, and i've read that with the Derringer plugged into the OBD port, you can no longer use those features or get any monthly OnStar reports.

Well I reached out to Banks and this was their response:

Since we are plugged into the OBD port Onstar is not able to do the diagnostics check. You can only have one device asking for this info and since we stay plugged in we take precedence. Same goes for the remote start via the app. Engineering is aware of this. This is not Derringer iDash specific issue, it is any type of device plugged into the OBD port. Monitor, Digital gauges etc. If we can work around this we will, as of right now you would need to unplug the OBD cable so Onstar can run its monthly report.

gSwift · December 7, 2020

27 minutes ago, Londart2020 said:

Well I reached out to Banks and this was their response:

Since we are plugged into the OBD port Onstar is not able to do the diagnostics check. You can only have one device asking for this info and since we stay plugged in we take precedence. Same goes for the remote start via the app. Engineering is aware of this. This is not Derringer iDash specific issue, it is any type of device plugged into the OBD port. Monitor, Digital gauges etc. If we can work around this we will, as of right now you would need to unplug the OBD cable so Onstar can run its monthly report.

Well that sucks! I use the app too much to give up that feature. I don't know how many times in the past with this truck and other GM trucks I had that i'll drop it off somewhere and lock my keys in it and tell the mechanic or girlfriend or whoever to call me and i'll unlock it for them.

Not to mention heating it up or cooling it off. I travel about every week for work, so when I'm about 10-15 miles from being back to my truck, i'll start it and have it ready.