The Bilstein oe replacement shocks performed well for me on my gmt800 but I only used it for street duty.
For the off roading that you're describing, you might want to spring for a more off roading specific shock from Fox or others or spring for the more off road specific Bilsteins.
I'm keeping an eye on this as the new Suburban could probably use some shocks. I'm leaning towards bilstein 5100s.
This is the shock you seek
https://www.koni-na.com/en-US/NorthAmerica/Products/Cars/Heavy-Track-(Red)/
I have Rancho RS9000 or whatever on my 2wd Excursion. They're not bad.
I'm about to put some bilstein 5100 on my Expedition. It's a little soft and bouncy. I don't think they make Ranchos for that.
Keith Tanner said:Fox Racing :) It's what I've got on my Ram. But you won't get them for $360.
I've never been a fan of the ride of aftermarket Bilsteins. Too much jiggle. I actually pulled them off my Vanagon and Janel wants Foxes to replace the Billies on her WJ after experiencing my XJ.
100% this.
I put Fox on the XJ and they are awesome.
I put Blisteins on the Silverado and wasn't very impressed. They weren't much better than the 200k OEM shocks they replaced. Too much jiggle is a good way to put it. They worked well on large bumps. They do almost nothing for the small ones.
If Fox makes shocks to fit, buy them. If not, order something cheap off Amazon. At least you won't be surprised at how poorly they work.
I have fox shocks on my 80 Series Land Cruiser, and they ride great and flex well. I was a bit disappointed that Fox says they need to be rebuilt every 50k and you have to send them in, no way to DIY. I tried with a used one and even a buddy with the tools and shock rebuilding experience could not get them apart. I don't want to have my truck down for a month every few years while I send in my shocks, so I'm going a different direction on the burban
I too have fox shocks on my tundra and love them, but they are some serious coin. For an entry level performance shock Koni Heavy Tracks are the way to go. Very high quality a lot of "serious" overlanders swear by them. They are rebound adjustable, large diameter, and monotube.
I can rebuild the Fox shocks we use on the Miatas without any special tools other than a needle valve for the gas. I'll have to take a look at some of my others and see. The Miata ones are more of a hand built unit than the volume sellers so it's quite likely there are different construction methods. In my experience, factory rebuild times from Fox are closer to a day or two than a month, but I agree that you don't want to take your truck off the road if you can help it.
Most people have pretty low standards for truck shocks. Ford F150 ads show the trucks rocking back and forth on their springs after a stop, implying they come from the factory badly underdamped :) I swapped out the factory shocks on my Dodge at about 60k and felt a big difference even when towing down the interstate - but I am a little more attuned to suspension calibration than some others. So I can totally understand why people slap on a set of Bilsteins and run them for hundreds of thousands of miles without noticing any obvious faults.
80sFast said:This is the shock you seek
https://www.koni-na.com/en-US/NorthAmerica/Products/Cars/Heavy-Track-(Red)/
Koni only makes the Orange units for the Chevy Silverado.
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
Their website says different, could be a mistake.
Summit has them listed as well (with wrong picture however)
80sFast said:Summit has them listed as well (with wrong picture however)
That is weird, because Koni's site only lists the orange ones.
Summit does list the HD ones above, but doesn't list the orange ones. I'm wondering if Summit has their wires crossed.
In reply to Brett_Murphy :
So when I search 99 GMC 1500 the heavy tracks show up on konis page, but I think I might see the problem. It excludes the 99.5 Silverado so not sure what the OPs truck is exactly.
Yeah, 1999 was a split year between the Chevrolet GMT400 K1500 and the GMT800 Silverado.
I went with the Bilstein HDs for now, while I sort out the rest of the truck, since that is what originally came on it, anyhow.
Interesting note about rebuilding the Fox shocks. I had a set on my Ram diesel and had them rebuilt by a local motocross motorcycle place that sold Fox products.
Good discussion, l wish it was more personally relevant. My truck will need shocks when I start towing more. It's an 88 c2500 so none of the 4x4 shocks will work on the front, nor any rear shocks meant for a lifted truck. My other requirement is that "good enough" beats expensive.
I just recently put fairly high end Bilsteins on my '13 F150 FX4 4dr. I cant decide if I like them or if I'm unhappy enough to just go buy factory FoMoCo shocks and sell these off. Running the 6112 with matched springs up front and the 5160 remote reservoir on the back. Set to lift the front 1", so the middle setting.
On one hand, street ride has suffered. Jiggly, as Keith mentioned. small bumps setup up oscillation that feels like it's completely undamped in the first inch of travel. Medium, slow speed hits like pavement dips make the read end move a lot when unloaded - again, feels like not enough dampening or maybe not enough ramp up in the dampening. In general the front feels okay but the back is weird. I had to increase tire pressures to make it feel semi-decent - which of course means loosing some small bump smoothness now that I'm near 60PSI on E-rated ATs
But...With he boat trailer hooked up and a 150lbs or so tongue weight, the back end seems more stable than unloaded? I was concerned it would bob but it's fine. Off road - like on chunky gravel back roads - man, the suspension feels great. soaks up the rough and smooths out, truck feels awesome. I can reasonably carry more speed and be comfortable than before, although I'm not running a desert race or anything. Slowing down for railroad crossings on the street is totally optional.
So...I don't know what my opinion is. But for $1k in shocks, I feel a little disappointed? If I had to do it again I'd have bought the Fox units, but I'm not sure I'm unhappy enough to take these off and buy something else. At least not today.
1- I'm not an expert, but I did a lot of research on this last year for my 4x4
2- Take everything you know about what makes a good street shock (Bilstein, Koni, etc) and throw it out the window. That's like buying a Mercedes GLA to crawl Moab because an S-class is nice to drive on the street. Manufacturers tend to have their niches and sometimes just because KYB makes a nice shock for your Civic does not in any way suggest that they know the first thing about truck shocks.
3- Rancho is still one of the best truck shocks on the planet. They get a bad rap constantly because
Person: I bought new Rancho shocks and they suck
Me: Where did you buy them?
Person: Amazon
Me: You didn't buy Rancho shocks.
The overseas copies of Rancho shocks for some reason are nearly impossible to discern from REAL Rancho shocks. Some are obviously terrible copies, others are really convincing. People are so convinced that they got genuine Rancho shocks when they actually didn't. Even Summit Racing got duped, TWICE. They bought pallet-loads of "real" Rancho shocks only to find out after they sold them that they were crappy cheap copies. They had to refund a ton of people, so when they restocked with "real" Rancho shocks they scrutinized them to be sure.... only to find out they had been duped again. Rumors even circulated that they bought Ranchos from a local "real" rancho dealer and were sent cheap copies that the dealer didn't know were fake.
No one has really been able to figure out why Rancho was such target, but the target keeps moving and it's nearly impossible to see the difference. For a while about 5 years ago, there was a website called something like aremyranchosreal dot com and it was down to microscopically looking at the numbers stamped on the shock body for correct tooling marks.
But the short story is, there is a reason that professional off-roaders, Baja racers, and desert trucks all usually run either Fox or Rancho.
Well I have a set of Bilstein HD 4600s on the way from shock surplus. They had the lowest price I could find and I even dug up a $10 off coupon code too. 5100s were out of stock and seem to be targeted for lifted trucks with more unsprung weight. I may eventually go with one size larger tires, but these should work fine.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:3- Rancho is still one of the best truck shocks on the planet. They get a bad rap constantly because
This is why I didn't go with Rancho shocks. I saw a few of those stories when I was researching.
I also learned that the same company that makes Rancho also makes Monroe shocks- or did, at the time the piece was written. Who knows what's happened in the past couple of years.
Brett_Murphy said:Bumping this up top to get another take on it.
I think time may have added a few more contenders to this old debate in the Koni STR.T, KYB Monomax and Eibach units. I've been leaning towards just doing Bilstein 4600s, but the 5100s are just a few dollars more. Everything I've read seems to indicate that they've got a firmer ride, but the valving might help on the sand driving I mentioned up above.
What's the latest thoughts?
My current truck has the 5100s, last truck had the 4600s, both GM 2500HD.
The 5100s do feel noticeably stiffer, but the tires are also AT tires on 20" rims as opposed to highway tread on a 17" rim, so I'm sure that contributes to the stiffer ride.
They both seem to handle a loaded truck and hooking up a loaded trailer quite well, the 5100s maybe a bit better.
My previous trucks have been GM 1500 4wd, and with the Bilstein 4600, and Michelin LTX tires, it makes for a near perfect highway ride.
In reply to bgkast :
I bet the 5100 would suit your truck better. You can use them for stock height vehicles.
From what I read along the way, the Bilstein 4600 is for non lifted trucks, and the 5100 is for lifted. Apparently, Bilstein themselves says that they are valved identical, just more travel for the lifted 5100's. This doesn't sound correct, from the seat of the pants stories ya hear, but it is what some people claim Bilstein themselves told them (I've even seen the e-mail conversations that folks have posted)
I, myself, have not run either, or talked to anyone at Bilstein; just what I've learned from looking into buying shocks.
I was looking for my wife's F150 (before I totaled it) and really need shocks on the F350 FX4. The FX4 came from the factory with white body Rancho's and red lettering/boots. But I have also heard that they are also not "real" Ranchos... just something ford had Rancho put their name on.
My plan is to try the Bilsteins; I imagine the weight will soften what some people claim is a bit harsh.
I would go with Bilstein 5100s if you can find them. I had to run with Ranchos for replacements on my Sequoia because Bilsteins are backordered everywhere. They aren't terrible; but, they aren't anything to write home about.
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