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Shocks

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Rgpracer

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I'm sure this question has been ask many times, maybe even by me, but I am going to change my OEM shocks and am having a tough time deciding between Bilstiens 4600's and Rancho RS5000's.

I want shocks that will give me the most comfortable HIGHWAY ride. What have you guys switched to and what are your pro/cons.

Thanks to all.

Ray
 
Ranchos are junk and have been ever since they let ford put their stickers on fords own motorcraft shocks. My 19 came with bilstien 4600s and they are great
 
I ran Bilstien 5100’s on my ‘05 and they were better than OEM in every aspect, and excellent on the highway.

I don’t have the option for the ‘22, so when the time comes I’ll run 4600’s.

I ran rancho long ago, and thought they were awesome until I tried a different shock and then realized how bad Rancho was.

I will say that I put RS5000’s on my TJ last year because all the forums said they were better than 4500/5100’s in that application. They haven’t been as bad as the RS5000/9000’s I ran on several other rigs, but I’m not impressed with their paint job. All 5 look like they have 200K miles on them, not 6K miles. They started rusting out the week I installed them.
 
I recently swapped over to the Fox 2.0s and have been happy with them. On the highway you can definitely feel the increased dampening, especially in the rear.... no more bouncing around. They do cost a little more compared to the Bilstein 5100s but if you shop around you can find them on ebay for around 150 a piece. In my experience the 5100s always felt a little firmer for driving around town but they rode great when loaded. I have not towed with the Fox shocks yet so I cannot comment on how they handle but as I stated..... happy with daily driving on them.
 
Thanks guys, I am leaning toward the 4600 Bilstiens.
Riddick, I looked at Fox but, I am pulling a 5'r so a lift is not an option.
Thanks
 
Fox has shocks for stock height applications. They don’t mention auto-level trucks thou.
 
Rgpracer said:
Thanks guys, I am leaning toward the 4600 Bilstiens.
Riddick, I looked at Fox but, I am pulling a 5'r so a lift is not an option.
Thanks
Click to expand...

They have a shock option for 0"-1.5" of lift. Maybe someone can comment on how they handle with a 5r set up behind it. If you plan on towing a lot the Bilstein 5100s might be the better option for you. Either way get the stock garbage shocks out of there. My stock shocks with 7k miles on them had very little dampening, I was able to compress the shock by hand with minimal effort.
 
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Riddick said:
They have a shock option for 0"-1.5" of lift. Maybe someone can comment on how they handle with a 5r set up behind it. If you plan on towing a lot the Bilstein 5100s might be the better option for you. Either way get the stock garbage shocks out of there. My stock shocks with 7k miles on them had very little dampening, I was able to compress the shock by hand with minimal effort.
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5100s are not an option for the newer 2500/3500 trucks i can only find the 4600s which my truck has stock because of the offroad pkg. i have ran both series the 5100s did great on my 05 and the 4600s also seem great on my 19
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
5100s are not an option for the newer 2500/3500 trucks i can only find the 4600s which my truck has stock because of the offroad pkg. i have ran both series the 5100s did great on my 05 and the 4600s also seem great on my 19
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Thanks H3, 4600 is going to be a huge difference to OEM on my 2020.
 
H3LZSN1P3R said:
5100s are not an option for the newer 2500/3500 trucks i can only find the 4600s which my truck has stock because of the offroad pkg. i have ran both series the 5100s did great on my 05 and the 4600s also seem great on my 19
Click to expand...

I recently considered swapping out the OEM shocks when I had one leaking. In the end I just had it replaced under warranty. However, when researching I found some people saying the same as this, that they won't work at all. Others said that they had them installed on their 2019+ HD trucks and they were fine. Also everything in between, including, "they will work on a stock truck but will lift it"! I even called our local Discount Tire and they said they install the 5100s on these trucks all the time. They even looked up the part numbers and offered to schedule an appt. I just emailed Bilstein with about 5 specific questions to see what they say and will post their reply here if I hear back.
 
Will_T said:
I recently considered swapping out the OEM shocks when I had one leaking. In the end I just had it replaced under warranty. However, when researching I found some people saying the same as this, that they won't work at all. Others said that they had them installed on their 2019+ HD trucks and they were fine. Also everything in between, including, "they will work on a stock truck but will lift it"! I even called our local Discount Tire and they said they install the 5100s on these trucks all the time. They even looked up the part numbers and offered to schedule an appt. I just emailed Bilstein with about 5 specific questions to see what they say and will post their reply here if I hear back.
Click to expand...
Thanks Will
 
I have ran bilstein shocks on almost all of my last 5 trucks, including my current 2500, they perform really well in mixed driving conditions. The shock body seems to hold up well too.
 
I wish I could audition a set of king or fox remote rear shocks before I commit to $1200/pair sets. Crazy
 
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