Yet more Bilstein Shock Questions

dewfpo · December 9, 2005

First of all, sorry to ask yet another shock question......but my questions are fairly specific (I hope).

O.K., like many on this forum I too want to raise the front of my truck (05 2500HD) to level it out. I want to do it right and use the Cognito kit but don't have the cash for it right now. But, I may have an opportunity to get new shocks for the truck for Christmas. So, in light of the fact that I will be raising the truck some time next year, and, if I am purchasing new Bilstein shocks now, which ones should I buy (that will work fine now, and then with the cognito kit).

Stock Bilstein FRONT replacements : BE5-6081 HO

2 inch longer FRONT replacements : BE5-6140 HO (actually for a F250 but they fit)

or...5100's or 5125 ( I don't really know what the P/N number is for the 5100 series for the front of my truck) and I'm not sure what the benefits of this series shock is over the 6081 other than being longer.

ANyone have the actual P/N for the 5100 series shock for the front?

Or, should I just wait until I put the cognito kit in? (I'd really rather get the shocks in sooner than later.)

Thanks for any thoughts.

DEWFPO

mello98zss · December 16, 2005

Dew,

You could just get the stock length Bilsteins and use the extended Cognito lower shock mounts when you but the kit. I recently installed the Cognito kit on my truck and still have my stock shocks with the Cognito mounts.

dewfpo · December 16, 2005

Are you pleased with the Cognito set-up? Is the ride about the same as stock or better? Did you install the kit yourself? Any tricks?

Thanks, DEWFPO

mello98zss · December 16, 2005

I installed the kit myself, the instructions were good and the install went smooth. The only "speciality" tool needed is a pickle fork to separate the ball joint. It probably took me 3 hours not rushing. I am pretty happy with the kit, my T-bars were already cranked so the ride is smoother after the kit. If you were going from stock to this kit I would think the ride would be comparable to stock. I have 285/75/16 BFG's on the stock aluminum rims and there is no rubbing. You will definitely need to align the truck ASAP because the camber will be way off due to the longer UCA's. You may also need to switch to green keys if you don't have enough adjustability left in the stock keys. There is another post about the kit in this site FYI http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=46383 , I also had an alignment issue but can't say for sure that it wasn't the fault of the alignment shop I used.

dewfpo · December 16, 2005

Thanks mello98zss,

DEWFPO

Mattt · December 18, 2005

First of all, sorry to ask yet another shock question......but my questions are fairly specific (I hope).

O.K., like many on this forum I too want to raise the front of my truck (05 2500HD) to level it out. I want to do it right and use the Cognito kit but don't have the cash for it right now. But, I may have an opportunity to get new shocks for the truck for Christmas. So, in light of the fact that I will be raising the truck some time next year, and, if I am purchasing new Bilstein shocks now, which ones should I buy (that will work fine now, and then with the cognito kit).

Stock Bilstein FRONT replacements : BE5-6081 HO

2 inch longer FRONT replacements : BE5-6140 HO (actually for a F250 but they fit)

or...5100's or 5125 ( I don't really know what the P/N number is for the 5100 series for the front of my truck) and I'm not sure what the benefits of this series shock is over the 6081 other than being longer.

ANyone have the actual P/N for the 5100 series shock for the front?

Or, should I just wait until I put the cognito kit in? (I'd really rather get the shocks in sooner than later.)

Thanks for any thoughts.

DEWFPO

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The BE5-6140-H0 is the 5100/5125 series shock. You will be hard pressed to find the -H0 version of that shock any longer. The -H0 was a yellow bodied shock. What you will most likely find is the -T5 version which is the zinc body. BE5-6140-T5.

The valving is different from the 6081 to the 6140. When I spoke with a guy at Bilstein he lead me to believe the valving of the 6140 would feel smoother for on road driving. There is also another shock now available only from Off Road Unlimited. It is in between the length of the stock 6081 and the extended 6140. However, if you are going with the Cognito kit, I would think it is too short for that. Its for Off Road Unlimited's "leveling kit" that includes shocks and torsion keys. I tried to find out more info on it, but they werent giving much up. The Bilstein guy told me it was roughly 16" long and has the 6140 valving.

If you go with the 6140, save yourself some $$ when you get the Cognito kit,,,,order just the upper control arm kit. That is the leveling kit without the shock riser.