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Bilstein 5160 Shocks. Should I or shouldn't I? Any input?

I work at CTC building prototype Rams,we work with Fox and Bilstein,Fox is easier to rebuild but they need it frequently
 
So Fox are junk because you think they need to be rebuilt frequently?
If you are running any shock hard, they will need to be rebuilt or replaced frequently.

I ran Kings on my daily driver/Sand dune runner/Baja runner Blazer with no issues and they worked great.
A race team WON the Baja 1000 3 years in a row running Fox.
 
Did I say junk,Bilstein and Ohlins rebuild frequency is a lot longer than Fox,I have 2 snowmobiles with Fox shocks that get rebuilt every off season and the fluid is nasty due to aluminum in the oil,they work great when valved for the job,there is not a race truck out there that does not have the shocks rebuilt after
every race.
 
Damn,busted.....I would never have on a vehicle I put thousands of miles a year on,except for my JL or my JK......
 
No worries.
I put Bilstien 5100s on my F250. They were a little better than the mix match that was on there when I bought it. But they did ride a little rough.
My Kings that were valved for the K5 and Deaver springs rode awesome, both on and off road.

Shocks all depend on the type and application.
And there are race vehicles that only rebuild their shocks once a season. It all depends on the budget and abuse.
 
OP, resi shocks are WAY better than emulsion shocks, Regardless of brand. Way better, totally different shock.

Personally, I only run Fox because my brother is the lead design engineer in charge of Fox power sports division in Scott’s valley, CA.
 
I had Fox 2.5s on my 2007 Ram. There were good and I never had an issue with them in 90K+ miles. They were valved pretty stiff. I did rip off the rear upper driver's side shock mount, but that is a known weak spot on the 3rd gens. I loved the old Bilstein 9100 2.65" with ACVs. Those shocks when tuned right were amazing. I have Billstein 5100s on my LJ. They are good for what I do in the Jeep. I did blow out one shock after several years. I have King 3" on my 2020 CTD and absolutely love them. They ride great on and off the road.

I have a friend who may be selling Carli valved Billstein 9100 2.65" (non ACV) for a 3rd gen. These are shocks I sold him many years ago that he never installed. If they had been the ACVs I would never have sold them.
 
So guide me...
2020 2500 Hemi 4x4
Occasional towing of gooseneck under 10,000 pounds and frequent bumper pull under 6,000 (boat)
Dirt/gravel/field roads on weekends for 3 months of the year during duck season.

I don't have time to rebuild shocks so I would like something that is an improvement over factory, but will not require rebuilding earlier than 3 years or 45,000 miles.

Rockcrawlerdude said:
OP, resi shocks are WAY better than emulsion shocks, Regardless of brand. Way better, totally different shock.

Personally, I only run Fox because my brother is the lead design engineer in charge of Fox power sports division in Scott’s valley, CA.
Click to expand...
 
Speedracer93CobraR said:
So guide me...
2020 2500 Hemi 4x4
Occasional towing of gooseneck under 10,000 pounds and frequent bumper pull under 6,000 (boat)
Dirt/gravel/field roads on weekends for 3 months of the year during duck season.

I don't have time to rebuild shocks so I would like something that is an improvement over factory, but will not require rebuilding earlier than 3 years or 45,000 miles.
Click to expand...
You don’t have to go full resi shock. You can go Fox 2.0 IFP and it would be an improvement over stock and those are in the ballpark of $150 each. Internal floating piston shocks have separate chambers for nitrogen pressure and shock oil. Kinda like a resi shock but with less volume of both.

Shocks don’t last forever, regardless of manufacturer. I had a leaky rear shock from the factory.
 
Great conversation here... Question for those more knowledgeable than myself on suspensions (which is just about anyone as I don't know shocks at all). I have a '21 PW 75a that rides like trash. It literally bounces down the concrete roads here in Houston. I've been told the stock Bilstien 4600 shocks are the primary cause as they allegedly aren't made to support the weight of the HD trucks. I am only relaying what was shared with me by someone that works with truck suspensions on a daily basis and have no way to fact check him.

That said, I was told the Fox 2.0 IFP would be a great option for my truck. My question is, will the 2.0 support the weight of these trucks? I'm open to suggestions at this point as I just need to improve the suspension. My truck only has 3k miles on it and it rides like crap. I love my truck, but it really needs a serious upgrade on the suspension.
 
MrPatriot said:
Great conversation here... Question for those more knowledgeable than myself on suspensions (which is just about anyone as I don't know shocks at all). I have a '21 PW 75a that rides like trash. It literally bounces down the concrete roads here in Houston. I've been told the stock Bilstien 4600 shocks are the primary cause as they allegedly aren't made to support the weight of the HD trucks. I am only relaying what was shared with me by someone that works with truck suspensions on a daily basis and have no way to fact check him.

That said, I was told the Fox 2.0 IFP would be a great option for my truck. My question is, will the 2.0 support the weight of these trucks? I'm open to suggestions at this point as I just need to improve the suspension. My truck only has 3k miles on it and it rides like crap. I love my truck, but it really needs a serious upgrade on the suspension.
Click to expand...
Shocks don’t “support weight” they only provide dampening.

I don’t know enough about the construction of the Bils to tell you if the Fox are “better” for your application

sometimes some roads / road seams (assuming it’s a concrete highway) and some wheelbases don’t agree and never will. Might not be able to throw money at it to fix it.
 
MrPatriot said:
Great conversation here... Question for those more knowledgeable than myself on suspensions (which is just about anyone as I don't know shocks at all). I have a '21 PW 75a that rides like trash. It literally bounces down the concrete roads here in Houston. I've been told the stock Bilstien 4600 shocks are the primary cause as they allegedly aren't made to support the weight of the HD trucks. I am only relaying what was shared with me by someone that works with truck suspensions on a daily basis and have no way to fact check him.

That said, I was told the Fox 2.0 IFP would be a great option for my truck. My question is, will the 2.0 support the weight of these trucks? I'm open to suggestions at this point as I just need to improve the suspension. My truck only has 3k miles on it and it rides like crap. I love my truck, but it really needs a serious upgrade on the suspension.
Click to expand...
you can try giving Thuren or CJC a call to get their ideas.
 
My 75th rides great.
But I swapped tires to 35s and also lowered my tire pressure to 40/35 PSI.

The Bilstiens are tuned for the truck. I'd find another "truck guy" to talk to.

Start by lowering your tire pressure to say 40 to 45 PSI and see how she rides. No need for 60 plus PSI unless you are carrying a max load, and even then, that's still too high.

And like rockcrawler said, shocks dont hold the weight, the springs do. Shocks counter act/dampen the spring rebound.
 
MrPatriot said:
I've been told the stock Bilstien 4600 shocks are the primary cause as they allegedly aren't made to support the weight of the HD trucks. I am only relaying what was shared with me by someone that works with truck suspensions on a daily basis and have no way to fact check him.
Click to expand...

Easy way to fact check him. Remove your shocks and see how much the truck sags from when it had shocks on it. :oops:
I'll be $100 it doesn't sag at all. :cool:
 
Crusty old shellback said:
Easy way to fact check him. Remove your shocks and see how much the truck sags from when it had shocks on it. :oops:
I'll be $100 it doesn't sag at all. :cool:
Click to expand...
I’m sure he just meant that they aren’t setup to dampen the weight of a PW when it’s bouncing down the road (or off-road), not at rest. Well, if he’s a suspension guy I at least hope that’s the case…maybe not though!
 
I also swapped out the rims and tires and went with 35s. I was hoping that combined with lower PSI (I tried 50) would help, but alas it didn't. My truck still bounces like crazy on these concrete roads. And, yes, I was trying to say these shocks weren't able to dampen this weight at speed. I'm clearly not a suspension guru.
 
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