2021 1500 Sierra Elevation X-31 ride quality

im4snow2000 · February 28, 2021

Hi, I have the above truck, with about 2k miles. Rear end seems unplanted when hitting small bumps and/or very small ice heave-type road imperfections.

Basic research suggests some guys say the factory Rancho rear shocks should be replaced with Bilstein 5100's, and to ensure tire pressure is set to factory specs, if dealer overinflated the tires beyond factory specs.

Curious if other's here have same issue, and if you tried different rear shocks, what has been your experience? Also, if you did replace the shocks, what mfg and part number did you purchase?

RStrain56 · February 28, 2021

There's a whole thread about the ride quality on these trucks on here you can find here with a little digging, apologies for not providing a link. I have a '19 Silverado 4x4 and have the same complaints. The back end hops around and the front end on mine floats for an eternity after a big enough bump at speed. If you find the thread, the Bilstein 5100 series you mentioned was a fan favorite and made folks much happier with ride quality. Other brands from Fox and a few others can be found there as well.

Here are the Bilstein 5100 part numbers for my '19 Chevy, which I would assume would likely be the same for yours, but you would have to verify:

24-293297(front)

24-293471(rear)

I'm planning to do this sometime this year and am hopeful it will make the ride more at ease.

Hope this helps!

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

im4snow2000 · February 28, 2021

24 minutes ago, RStrain56 said:

There's a whole thread about the ride quality on these trucks on here you can find here with a little digging, apologies for not providing a link. I have a '19 Silverado 4x4 and have the same complaints. The back end hops around and the front end on mine floats for an eternity after a big enough bump at speed. If you find the thread, the Bilstein 5100 series you mentioned was a fan favorite and made folks much happier with ride quality. Other brands from Fox and a few others can be found there as well.

Here are the Bilstein 5100 part numbers for my '19 Chevy, which I would assume would likely ve the same for yours, but you would have to verify:

24-293297(front)
24-293471(rear)

I'm planning to do this sometime this year and am hopeful it will make the ride more at ease.

Hope this helps!

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

Thank you.

redwngr · February 28, 2021

Have you tried lowering the cold rear tire pressures to match the pressure the doorpost label recommended for fronts?

im4snow2000 · February 28, 2021

20 minutes ago, redwngr said:

Have you tried lowering the cold rear tire pressures to match the pressure the doorpost label recommended for fronts?

Thx for the reply. Lowered PSI a bit today, will try it this week.

Dunn · February 28, 2021

just bought this truck......you have to understand OEM use best cost to profit ratio when outfitting these trucks, these shocks while relatively smooth are not meant for offroad as marketing suggest......these are pretty much bottom of barrel shocks

but the X31 comes with features that would be tough to add on so its still a good package imo.......have to replace a set of shocks but we get a transfer case, tires, exhaust, some protection underneath is well worth the tradeoff.....

just get a set of new boingers of your choice.....most any reputable companies shocks will be an improvement

shanemoon · March 1, 2021

X31, Z71, AT4 and Trailboss is very bouncy. Common complaint with those "upgraded" ranchos.

Swap them for the Bilsteins and you'll see a huge difference. The rears are really all you need to do.

econometrics · March 1, 2021

Also, OP, I would check on your Ranchos. My RST Z71 was very bouncy when I first got it. I lowered my air pressure a little, and that helped some, but it was still concerning to me.

After looking at the GM Performance Exhaust the dealer put on my truck about 1.5 yrs after owning it, I saw one of my twin-tube Ranchos was leaking oil. The dealer replaced it, and the ride got noticeably better. Not as good as a Bilstein upgrade, I'm sure, but better.

Labrador_1971 · January 11, 2022

I can't believe GM put such a crappy shocks on the X31 package. Do they test the driving characteristics before deciding which shocks they will put on the truck?

poppy510 · January 28, 2022

Just bought an X31. Test drove multiple Sierras without the X31 package - they all drive the same.

2016 Sierra Owner · January 28, 2022

On 1/11/2022 at 5:45 PM, Labrador_1971 said:

I can't believe GM put such a crappy shocks on the X31 package. Do they test the driving characteristics before deciding which shocks they will put on the truck?

GM has been using the Rancho shocks on their trucks for some time now. They were on the Z71 packages to. The marketing team/engineers probably picked Rancho for the name brand recognition or may have gotten a good deal from Rancho back in the day and have just stuck with them.

cansled · January 29, 2022

On 2/28/2021 at 11:30 PM, shanemoon said:

X31, Z71, AT4 and Trailboss is very bouncy. Common complaint with those "upgraded" ranchos.

Swap them for the Bilsteins and you'll see a huge difference. The rears are really all you need to do.

Not the same:

x31 and z71 come with twin tube ranchos......AT4 and Trail boss come with different monotube Ranchos (upgraded).

shanemoon · January 29, 2022

17 minutes ago, cansled said:

Not the same:

x31 and z71 come with twin tube ranchos......AT4 and Trail boss come with different monotube Ranchos (upgraded).

Never said they were the same.

The Z71 and X31 have different (upgraded) shocks from the non-Z71/X31 trucks. And the AT4 and Trailboss have different (also upgraded) shocks from the Z71 and X31.

But my point was that this is a very common complaint with Z71, X31, AT4 and Trailboss. But not as much of a widespread complaint with the regular shocks.

Wiggums · January 29, 2022

On 2/28/2021 at 5:07 AM, im4snow2000 said:

Hi, I have the above truck, with about 2k miles. Rear end seems unplanted when hitting small bumps and/or very small ice heave-type road imperfections.

Yes, I have the Z71 in my RST which has the same twin-tube shocks. It sucks, my back end fishtails a LOT for a truck. I am already in the process of getting rid of it rather than replacing it. The Z71 in LT are not twin-tube though.

I was actually the first to report it way back in 2019 and got flak from it here. Stupid, they didn't have RST Z71 like mine and questioned my driving ability.. now it's common knowledge.

And it's Elevation with X31 that's similar to RST with Z71. BOTH have problems with fishtailing even when gas or brakes aren't being pushed. It is clearly a safety issue and I was really pissed about that.

Edited January 29, 2022 by Wiggums

Carlos1213 · February 1, 2022

On 1/28/2022 at 9:14 PM, Wiggums said:

Yes, I have the Z71 in my RST which has the same twin-tube shocks. It sucks, my back end fishtails a LOT for a truck. I am already in the process of getting rid of it rather than replacing it. The Z71 in LT are not twin-tube though.

I was actually the first to report it way back in 2019 and got flak from it here. Stupid, they didn't have RST Z71 like mine and questioned my driving ability.. now it's common knowledge.

And it's Elevation with X31 that's similar to RST with Z71. BOTH have problems with fishtailing even when gas or brakes aren't being pushed. It is clearly a safety issue and I was really pissed about that.

Im new here and i recently bought a 2019 sierra slt has the x31 package i been checking everything one it because like you said it fish tails with some bumps i thought it was tires since im riding on 285/60/20 mudtires ive lower the tire, even thought it was suspension issues got it aligned, but can you confirm changing the rear shocks helped?