Upgrading Shocks On My Nbs Z71

[Jameson]

I was thinking while I put my levling kit on, maybe I should go ahead and replace the stock shocks/struts. Any ideas on the best brand/ model #? I was thinking Rancho, Bilstien, or Edelbrock. What do yall think?

[wlvrn1215]

Whats wrong with your z71 shocks now?

[Jameson]

Nothing, I just heard upgrading the shocks can help with the bounciness of the susp. Firming the ride up a bit.

[Rocco715]

If your going to replace your shocks then i'd go with bilstein. I've got Bilstein HD on my other truck and love em'. But I wouldn't replace the shocks this soon, Let them get beat up a little bit before you change out the stock z71's

[rayy79]

i am intersted in why my 98 Z-71 had the big yellow bilstein shocks; my new 04 z-71 came with a red colored shock; and now the nbs 07 i have looks to have the same shock as my dads nbs 2wd WITHOUT Z-71 package. i thought the Z-71 package had the stiffer suspension and different shocks to start with; maybe the package "Z-71 has changed somewhat over the years. supposedly Bilstein has a shock that lifts/levels the front end on these trucks now; but i havent seen them. i noticed the "bounce in my truck a little too; dealer says it comes from dueler at tires. im not sure he is correct on that

[C & A s Dad]

Ray, I am not disputing you on the new Bilstien offering that "supposedly lifts and levels". I realize you said you have not seen them. I find this to be all but impossible. If a shock had enough pres. to lift the front end the truck would ride like a Freighliner. I cannot imagine this can be true. Also, remember shocks are there for ride control and not lift. Last but not least, shock mounts are not designed to support the weight of the vehicle or lift it, this is the problem with airshocks.

 

As far as Jamseson's question about brand. I sure do not want to take anything away from Bilstien because I know they are good shocks. However, I would strongly suggest he take a look at KYB's MonoMax. We have been selling the entire KYB line for 2 years and the warranties are all but non existent. They are excellent quality and the Mono Max works great on heavy pick ups and large SUVs.

[rayy79]

Ray, I am not disputing you on the new Bilstien offering that "supposedly lifts and levels". I realize you said you have not seen them. I find this to be all but impossible. If a shock had enough pres. to lift the front end the truck would ride like a Freighliner. I cannot imagine this can be true. Also, remember shocks are there for ride control and not lift. Last but not least, shock mounts are not designed to support the weight of the vehicle or lift it, this is the problem with airshocks.

 

As far as Jamseson's question about brand. I sure do not want to take anything away from Bilstien because I know they are good shocks. However, I would strongly suggest he take a look at KYB's MonoMax. We have been selling the entire KYB line for 2 years and the warranties are all but non existent. They are excellent quality and the Mono Max works great on heavy pick ups and large SUVs.

i know it seems wierd and unrealistic; check this link http://www.bilstein.com/Height_Adj_5100-Feb06.pdf

[rayy79]

oh well; not made for new chevy suspension anyway; but it probably would mke for a stiff ride 4 sure

[hubbycap]

I'm thinking of taking out the spacer above the axle on my '07 GMT900 as posted elsewhere (1-1/4" bed lowering) so that side access to the bed is easier on a 5'10' human when picking up something off the bed floor without requiring the dropping of the tailgate. But after about 6 weeks of unloaded bounce, I've also noticed that a 300-400 lb. load makes "Silvia" ride like a luxury car. The shock action on the Z82 (I think) suspension seems fine.

 

The un-credentialed engineer in me sez that the micro-bounce experienced at all speeds in this truck are due to the springs being at the top of their extension when unloaded. That said, when a slight raise in the road height, such as when the asphalt spreader's forward motion is interrupted, the bed is kind of tossed up in the air and lands on the fully topped-out (and unforgiving) leafsprings. With a moderate cargo load, the springs are within the travel extremes and the inertia of the bed and its load provide the ability of the axel to travel UP and down whilst the bed remains essentially stable.

 

Not knocking GM, for they designed a p'up to carry a load, but all of us do "bobtail" a lot and the unloaded spring position is NOT in the sweet-ride spot. The Sulastic (velvet ride) rubber spring is probably the route I'm gonna take. Its design seems to place the unloaded bed weight in a point of equilibrium (sweet spot) so that smooth-road variations are absorbed by the Sulastic shackle in both travel directions but additional cargo weight bottoms out the down travel of the shackle (spring) to the point of direct weight transfer to the leaf springs as any stiff shackle would.

 

I am not thrilled on spending $300 for the product, but the ride improvement would be worth it. Anyone out there using the Sulastic? Comments would be welcome.

[arzinet]

Ray, I am not disputing you on the new Bilstien offering that "supposedly lifts and levels". I realize you said you have not seen them. I find this to be all but impossible. If a shock had enough pres. to lift the front end the truck would ride like a Freighliner. I cannot imagine this can be true. Also, remember shocks are there for ride control and not lift. Last but not least, shock mounts are not designed to support the weight of the vehicle or lift it, this is the problem with airshocks.

 

As far as Jamseson's question about brand. I sure do not want to take anything away from Bilstien because I know they are good shocks. However, I would strongly suggest he take a look at KYB's MonoMax. We have been selling the entire KYB line for 2 years and the warranties are all but non existent. They are excellent quality and the Mono Max works great on heavy pick ups and large SUVs.

i know it seems wierd and unrealistic; check this link http://www.bilstein.com/Height_Adj_5100-Feb06.pdf

 

 

That's a pretty common setup on cars with a coil-over-shock front suspension. Should work the same way on a truck with front coil springs, too.

 

It's not that the shock is super pressurized to somehow jack up the truck - in fact, I'd expect the shock internals to be exactly the same as any other Bilstein 5100 - it's just that the spring seat can be adjusted up or down along the outside of the shock body. As you move the truck's spring up or down relative to the shock, you also raise or lower the truck's ride height.

[C & A s Dad]

I think I got it now. The spring seat is actually attached to the shock and as you raise the seat you are increasing the tension on the spring and providing more lift. If I am correct, I did not realize the bottom of the spring actually attaches to the bottom of the shock body.

[onac255]

Ray, I am not disputing you on the new Bilstien offering that "supposedly lifts and levels". I realize you said you have not seen them. I find this to be all but impossible. If a shock had enough pres. to lift the front end the truck would ride like a Freighliner. I cannot imagine this can be true. Also, remember shocks are there for ride control and not lift. Last but not least, shock mounts are not designed to support the weight of the vehicle or lift it, this is the problem with airshocks.

 

As far as Jamseson's question about brand. I sure do not want to take anything away from Bilstien because I know they are good shocks. However, I would strongly suggest he take a look at KYB's MonoMax. We have been selling the entire KYB line for 2 years and the warranties are all but non existent. They are excellent quality and the Mono Max works great on heavy pick ups and large SUVs.

i know it seems wierd and unrealistic; check this link http://www.bilstein.com/Height_Adj_5100-Feb06.pdf

 

 

That's a pretty common setup on cars with a coil-over-shock front suspension. Should work the same way on a truck with front coil springs, too.

 

It's not that the shock is super pressurized to somehow jack up the truck - in fact, I'd expect the shock internals to be exactly the same as any other Bilstein 5100 - it's just that the spring seat can be adjusted up or down along the outside of the shock body. As you move the truck's spring up or down relative to the shock, you also raise or lower the truck's ride height.

 

 

 

Exactly.