adjusting bilsteins after 50K miles?

[Dryates]

So my ram 1500 2014 has been on bilstein 5100s in the front on stock coils for around 40-50K miles and they are set at the 2.7 setting. They aren't really causing me problems on normal roads, but on backroads that are rough my truck shakes and vibrates excessively. Admittedly I need new front tires which I will be getting soon. What I was thinking about doing is lowering the struts to a lower position to lessen the preload on the springs to hopefully get a better ride. Would this even be advisable to do considering the miles on the struts? I'm sure new tires will help some, but we will just have to see. Also I have almost 90K on the truck, and I have been looking at replacements, but it's just a daily driver so no need to break the bank. Thanks in advance.

 

[olyelr]

So my ram 1500 2014 has been on bilstein 5100s in the front on stock coils for around 40-50K miles and they are set at the 2.7 setting. They aren't really causing me problems on normal roads, but on backroads that are rough my truck shakes and vibrates excessively. Admittedly I need new front tires which I will be getting soon. What I was thinking about doing is lowering the struts to a lower position to lessen the preload on the springs to hopefully get a better ride. Would this even be advisable to do considering the miles on the struts? I'm sure new tires will help some, but we will just have to see. Also I have almost 90K on the truck, and I have been looking at replacements, but it's just a daily driver so no need to break the bank. Thanks in advance.

Lower the retainer to the next setting dosnt really “lower the preload”…it just lowers the ride height. It should operate the same.

 

[minotto]

Im looking for install bilstein 5100 on my truck and It is evident that the more you raise the level disc at 2.1 or 2.7 maximum , the more the spring is preloaded, why do you say that is not true ?

 

[olyelr]

Im looking for install bilstein 5100 on my truck and It is evident that the more you raise the level disc at 2.1 or 2.7 maximum , the more the spring is preloaded, why do you say that is not true ?

Because its not true.

Look at the pic…picture moving the adjustment ring up on the shock body….essentially all it does is move the bottom shock mount down a little lower, stretching the shock out slightly more. It does not “compress” the spring anymore or any less, when moving the ring up or down, it just shortens or lengthens the shock (the mounting locations) which changes the ride height.

 

[minotto]

I can not understand. If in the upper part the spring is fixed with bolts, if you move the ring upwards it is normal that the spring compresses ... it always makes sense to me, I can't understand your explanation from this pic .
Then in this forum I read my own opinion 1000 times, i.e. the lift is created by the spring preload ...

 

[huntergreen]

Not sure which one of you are correct. Why don’t you lower the shock adjustment and see if your ride improves ?

 

[minotto]

I will order them next Monday and as soon as they arrive I will have them assembled ... unfortunately I am not practical and therefore I will entrust myself to a workshop and the various adjustments will cost me a lot of money :-(

Some friends advised me to set the bilstein to 0" with stock spring and put 2.5" space strutter ( motofab or similar ) over the strut and replacing the ucas stock arms with ucas zone (very good for leveling between 2" and 3" )

what do you think ? Better bilstein at 2.1"/2.7" with preload spring or set at 0" + space strutter and new ucas?

 

[olyelr]

I can not understand. If in the upper part the spring is fixed with bolts, if you move the ring upwards it is normal that the spring compresses ... it always makes sense to me, I can't understand your explanation from this pic .
Then in this forum I read my own opinion 1000 times, i.e. the lift is created by the spring preload ...

The part the spring is “bolted to”, at the top of the shock, is the shock…it just stretches the shock shaft. It dosnt compress the spring.

Its not like a true coilover, where you can actually compress the springs.

 

[crazykid1994]

Preloading the spring only changes ride height because when the weight of the truck is on the springs, the spring will still sit at the same compressed length as if the spring was not preloaded. The only reason you will feel any ride difference is because of where your ride height is in the actually strut. Closer to topping out the strut will feel harsher because the wheels cannot travel down as far on uneven roads. Same as lowering the truck, bottoming out will feel harsher because the wheels cannot compress the suspension as far to dampen the ride. The only time spring preload makes a difference is jumping a truck or the front wheels coming off the ground for any reason because when the wheels make contact with the ground again it will take more force to start compressing the spring compared under more preload. Do not run top spacers that’s the entire reason for leveling struts. Top spacers can allow overextension of travel and can damage the cv axles or upper control arms. You could try lowering the truck which will allow a better wheel travel ratio. You will need to get an alignment. The next thing you could try is done eibach struts and springs up front. The eibach front springs will ride slightly softer than the stock springs due to them being longer to begin with but you will notice they are also slightly firmer due to being a higher spring rate over stock.

 

[crazykid1994]

Also try looking into jba or icon upper control arms. They are a lot better angled for leveling or lifting compared to the zone upper arms. Ask me how I know.

 

[crazykid1994]

The part the spring is “bolted to”, at the top of the shock, is the shock…it just stretches the shock shaft. It dosnt compress the spring.

Its not like a true coilover, where you can actually compress the springs.

It does compress the spring same as a coilover. Just in a different manner. The strut does not magically get longer when you raise the lower spring mount. The spring is compressed more when you raise the lower spring mount.

 

[olyelr]

It does compress the spring same as a coilover. Just in a different manner. The strut does not magically get longer when you raise the lower spring mount. The spring is compressed more when you raise the lower spring mount.

Nope. It is indeed magic lol.

Tell me this…how could it possibly compress the spring? The bottom perch is connected to the bottom of side of a shock absorber. The upper spring perch is attached to the upper portion of a the same shock absorber. The only thing between the two…is a shock absorber. The only thing raising the bottom perch mount does is extend the mounting length of the sock absorber.

 

[olyelr]

Of course…this is referring to the spring when compressed at ride height…not necessarily when the the unit is out and fully extended with no weight on it.

 

[crazykid1994]

Nope. It is indeed magic lol.

Tell me this…how could it possibly compress the spring? The bottom perch is connected to the bottom of side of a shock absorber. The upper spring perch is attached to the upper portion of a the same shock absorber. The only thing between the two…is a shock absorber. The only thing raising the bottom perch mount does is extend the mounting length of the sock absorber.

The lower spring mount being raised or lowered does not adjust the actual strut mounting length. The length of the strut cannot change no matter how much you change the lower spring mount as the spring mount is located on the body of the strut. You may want to crawl under your truck and take a look. Otherwise I’ll take a picture and draw on it for you how it works.

 

[olyelr]

The lower spring mount being raised or lowered does not adjust the actual strut mounting length. The length of the strut cannot change no matter how much you change the lower spring mount as the spring mount is located on the body of the strut. You may want to crawl under your truck and take a look. Otherwise I’ll take a picture and draw on it for you how it works.

Of course the upper spring mount wont move. It pushes down the lower a-arm.

At ride height, with the lower spring perch moved to the upper position, all it does is push the bottom mount of the shock down further. It dosnt compress the spring more. Thats what im saying.

 

[crazykid1994]

Of course the upper spring mount wont move. It pushes down the lower a-arm.

At ride height, with the lower spring perch moved to the upper position, all it does is push the bottom mount of the shock down further. It dosnt compress the spring more. Thats what im saying.

At ride height yes. Preload only adjust where the vehicle sits at ride height by relocating the spring mounting points. And does not change the spring characteristics. The spring still compresses to the same length under the weight of the vehicle. I think we may have been misunderstanding what each other was saying.

 

[olyelr]

At ride height yes. Preload only adjust where the vehicle sits at ride height by relocating the spring mounting points. And does not change the spring characteristics. The spring still compresses to the same length under the weight of the vehicle. I think we may have been misunderstanding what each other was saying.

Yes. At ride height.

 

[olyelr]

I guess what im trying to say is, at ride height, with the weight of the truck sitting there on the ground holding itself up, the spring is not compressed anymore at any of the settings…it just moves the bottom mount of the shock down (when raising the lower spring perch), hence lifting the vehicle.

 

[minotto]

Perhaps the best solutionfor me would be to remove the spacer from the rear spring and set the front bilsteins to 1.4" getting a very good leveling and the shock would not be too extended, I think the ride quality will improve a lot compared to my current situation .

I will lose about 3cm of lift all the way around but the truck will drive smoother.

I can't find any other way to make a decent lift of at least 2-3" without compromising the ride too much...

If I install a complete 4" kit I will have to update the wheels to the 35" size but in Italy this is not possible, it is different than in the USA. Here you have to ask for authorization to mount larger tires and it is almost always denied.

 

[olyelr]

Perhaps the best solutionfor me would be to remove the spacer from the rear spring and set the front bilsteins to 1.4" getting a very good leveling and the shock would not be too extended, I think the ride quality will improve a lot compared to my current situation .

I will lose about 3cm of lift all the way around but the truck will drive smoother.

I can't find any other way to make a decent lift of at least 2-3" without compromising the ride too much...

If I install a complete 4" kit I will have to update the wheels to the 35" size but in Italy this is not possible, it is different than in the USA. Here you have to ask for authorization to mount larger tires and it is almost always denied.

Wuhhhhhhh?! You have to ask to put larger tires on your own truck?! Who do you ask lol