Shock Absorbers

[gixxer]

I vote for bilstein 5100.

Improved the ride quality without sacrificing performance.

My friend had fox for his f150 and great for niche offroad or a weekend warrior.

His had the exterior reservoir and it started leaking. He had to ship the shock to California and wait for warranty. In the meantime he had a down truck.

 

[Sturoc]

Bilstein 4600, if stock truck w/ no lift.
You will be glad you put 'em on !

 

[kurek]

It should be mentioned that for any given application where both are available, 5100 and 4600 series Bilsteins are structurally identical. Same diameter piston, same diameter rod, same volume of oil, same seal material, same bushing type and all that stuff.

Different paint definitely & possibly different valving but Bilstein doesn't publish their damping graphs or numbers for OE replacement parts. On the struts for 4wd 1500's there are more grooves cut into the body of a 5100 vs. a 4600 to account for different ride heights but otherwise the size, length, stroke etc are identical. I think there might be a very slight difference in total length for the Ram 1500 rear shocks, 4600 vs. 5100 but I would have to look that up. I have a suspicion that if you have a RCSB 1500 and use the rear 5100's with stock rear springs & no spacer you might be coming really, really close to fully unloading the springs & risk dropping one. That produces a bad day typically so... anyone reading this if you're in that camp you might want to pay close attention to rear shock length.

 

[Burla]

I agree that everyone has their preference. On my 2003 Ram SC 4WD I decided to change the factory shocks out cause they were wore out. I ordered up the Bilstein 4600HD's.
The truck rode rough, very rough, and they never broke in! Even worse when I hooked up my travel trailer and towed it. I would have been better off keeping my worn out shocks. Maybe I like a smoother ride. Probably should have ordered the 5100's?

I believe so, if they are the same which I would like to see the evidence, the ride isn't the same, maybe the fact of where the truck sits before it uses the shock, really makes 5100's perform better then bill HD's, that I do not know, but I had the same exact experience as you. Even though for me bills HD were rough, I feel like they are great quality, I just think the heavier the truck the better for those. And I don't like gushy shocks AT ALL, literally the reason why I change oem shocks as one of the first upgrades to any vehicles I buy and always have. But, I also don't like driving on marbles, so there are firm shocks out there that aren't too firm. I have a feeling it wont be one size fits all, so many things come into play like weight and tire size, suspension characteristics, etc. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and eat the cost, usually you can sell old shocks on craigslist, something I couldn't do back in the day.

 

[EdGs]

Is your truck 2wd or 4wd? Some recommendations arent available for for both, and the set-up is different depending on which you have.

I have 2wd and replaced my factory shocks at around 70k with KYB Excel G shocks. They are an incredible improvement over the worn out stockers, and were quite inexpensive.

Might have to give these a try myself.

 

[clint440]

I have air suspension so used these on the rear.

https://eibach.com/us/1917/E60-27-001-04-01-RAM-1500-pro-truck-sport-shock

Made a big difference. The factory shocks were shot at 50k. I considered Bilstein but could never get a straight answer on compatibility on air suspension.

 

[patmanz28]

I went with the kyb monomax. they are a good bit stiffer unloaded, but when loaded down they seem to control sway and bob much better.

 

[dagoof]

Anybody tried the Bilstein 6112's?

 

[Marine Les]

I have a 2000 4wd 2500 Cummins W/camper suspension pkg. and 200k on it. Stock shocks were gone @ 45k and I put Rancho 5000 on. Horrible ride but used those until they were gone @ 60k on em and since they had a lifetime guarantee I put them on again. Long before they were shot (25k) I put a set of Bilsteins (odo @135) on it and realized my truck and big cabover could ride very nice. At 65k on them they are still excellent and will put them on my 2018 1500 when it needs shocks.

 

[Regcabguy]

Bilsteins are the best bang for the buck.

 

[Regcabguy]

I have a 2000 4wd 2500 Cummins W/camper suspension pkg. and 200k on it. Stock shocks were gone @ 45k and I put Rancho 5000 on. Horrible ride but used those until they were gone @ 60k on em and since they had a lifetime guarantee I put them on again. Long before they were shot (25k) I put a set of Bilsteins (odo @135) on it and realized my truck and big cabover could ride very nice. At 65k on them they are still excellent and will put them on my 2018 1500 when it needs shocks.

On my 2007 Raam 2500 i replaced the stock shocks the 2nd week I owned it. My wife could easily compress them and she's not a weightlifter. I got a great deal on some of Thuren's King 2.5's,but to be honest if I got another truck(highly unlikely) I'd just get some Bilsteins. Lot of shock for the money.

 

[theblackduck87]

Thanks Everyone..I went with Bilsteins 4600 series.

 

[caltx01]

Thanks Everyone..I went with Bilsteins 4600 series.

I believe you chose wisely. I put Bilstein B6 4600's on my 2WD Ram 1500 a year ago and have been extremely pleased with them all around.

 

[JB Demaris]

I put on Rancho 9500's when I had 95k on my 2007 4x4 diesel Ram. At first I thought that they improved the ride but a couple of months later they started thumping. When I checked I found that the top nuts had backed off and some if the threadd were damaged so had to tap and die them to retighten. I then put a lock but over the original nutd to keep them from backing off again. I'll go Blitz next round

 

[huntergreen]

Thanks Everyone..I went with Bilsteins 4600 series.

Hope you write review after you have driving on them a bit.

 

[theblackduck87]

So far I'm loving the Bilstiens.
The ride over the worn out stock shocks is noticeably improved.
Further review and updates after I get new tires.

 

[theblackduck87]

Still on the old tires and still loving the ride with my Bilstiens