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I have a 2003 GMC Sierra 2500HD. I am thinking about replacing the stock shocks with the Bilstein 5100 series. I was wondering about pros and cons. My long term goal is a Helwig anti sway in the rear, and a 8ft Lance and tow my Jeep behind for reference. I was considering the 4600, but I want the option to level it if I choose too. With the 5100, they are good for 0-2 inch lift. I am still stock now. If I do lift I will probably only level rather than go up, but I won’t have to buy new shocks if I go with the 5100’s
Thoughts? pros and cons?
I spent big $ on the bilstiens, but they were a big disapointment. I suppose if you compare them to worn out OEM shocks, they are wonderful. But they were way too soft and have no way to adjust. So I put Monroe Gas Magnums on the front and Rancho 9000 on the rear. The ranchos are great, the Monroes are way better than the Bilstiens, but I could still use a tad more stiffness. Just looking at the gas magnum, you can see it is a way better built shock than the bilstien, with a 5/8 rod vs the bilstiens little 3/8 rod. rockauto.com was by far the cheapest place to buy them. Good luck, Joel
My stock Ram3500HD had suspension issues. The Tiger coach was more than the Ram engineers accounted on. While new it worker marginally but very quickly was unacceptable at 5,000 miles. I replaced the OEM shocks with a set of Bilstein 5160 shocks. They were better than stock but by 20,000 the ride was back to stock ride quality at best. The rear was worse than the front and I replaced the rear with Rancho 9000 xl’s but they were worse than the OEM or the Bilstein’s. I have now replaced the front Bilstein’s with 25,000 and rear Rancho’s with only 5,000 miles. Very happy with King 2.5’s shocks which have 25,000 miles on them and still ride better than OEM, Bilstein or Rancho shocks. I purchased them through Filthly Motorsports… https://www.google.com/search?ei=FAUlXNepJoH2tAW5ioaADw&q=filthy+motorsports+review&oq=filthy+motorsports+&gs_l=psy-ab.1.2.0i67l2j0l4j0i22i30l4.10682.10682..14670…0.0..0.93.93.1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0i71.6ATQ_u1Ag20
Ben said they should be good for 60 to 80,000 miles.2012 Tiger CX Ram diesel 4x4
I’ve been MORE than happy with the 5100 series on my ’95 F250, 4″ lift, ~7000# truck, ~2500# camper load, Highway performance is stable and comfortable, but off road, gravel, washboard etc, they TOTALLY OWN the rough country or (god forbid) the Rancho 9000 that I’ve tried in the past. The 5100’s did take a minute to break in, which was a change from the other brands, but wow, night and day change of ride comfort and control off road. Not sure how long they will last, but I have 10K miles on them, and if I had to replace them tomorrow, I’d buy them again. If you primarily drive on the freeway, don’t spend the money, buy the Monroe, or whatever. BUT, driving 10 thousand pounds of truck/camper/load at 60mph from pavement to washboard gravel, to off-road conditions, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the 5100’s.
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