bilstein shock question (1 Viewer)

[blackandbluefj]

alright i looked at all the searches and still lost. did the soa on the 60 about two years ago and bought cheap skyjackers or ranchos cant remember but looking to upgrade just a little. looking at the 5100, 5125 and the 5150. Now the questions is the valving different for them i cant seem to find the info? Is there an advantage to one or the other? have heard the 5150 have had problems and i have heard more good about the 5125. Just looking for someone to help a brother out with a little of their experiences. Like i said running soa, sbc 12000 winch up front and heavy bumper bumper in rear with a soon to be built spare tire holder for a 40. running 4" lift chevy springs in front and 58" long chevies in the rear. any advice is good advice

thanks all

Bryon

 

[lehiguy]

Bilstein publishes all the valving info on their website. My experience has been that the heavy valving is harsh, I don't like it.

 

[Michael Hanson]

I run Bilsteins on my 1987 they have been fine. MIke

 

[ntsqd]

Just looked up what the 5150 valving options are. 255/70 and 170/60 For a normal leaf spring the 255/70 valving works very, very well, the GM 63's may want the not offered 275/78 valving - they did on the rear of my Mini. I can not imagine how mushy a single 170/60 damper would feel, but I'm pretty sure that I would not like it. Classically the 170/60 valving is used for multiple shock per tire applications.

 

[blackandbluefj]

very good now the valving prob is done what is the advantage of the 5125 to the 5150 those seem to be the two in my price range right now


thanks to all

Bryon

 

[ntsqd]

Advantage of the 5150's reservoir is that there is more oil in the shock (better fade resistance). Disadvantage is that you need to be able to position the reservoir so that it can't rub on anything.

http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/lifted-truck-off-road/5150-series-crossflow-reservoir.html

http://www.bilsteinus.com/products/lifted-truck-off-road/5125-series-universal-fit-shocks.html

http://www.bilsteinus.com/uploads/tx_templavoila/Bil_OffRd_Cat2011_03.pdf

 

[blackandbluefj]

so for normal speed wheeling ie not offroad racing over washboard roads the 5125 should suit me just fine since the only difference is the reservoir which really only aids in keeping fluid cooler or am i just completely wrong

thanks for all the info

Bryon

 

[ntsqd]

Depends on the speed that you drive those wash boards. I call most of them them "4-40 roads", you either go 4mph or 40mph, but there are some "6-60 Roads" out there...
I fade my old 5100's on the front of the Mini semi-frequently. I'm on my second set and I really need to pony up for a set of 7100's for the front like the rear has.

 

[lehiguy]

Depends on the speed that you drive those wash boards. I call most of them them "4-40 roads", you either go 4mph or 40mph, but there are some "6-60 Roads" out there...
I fade my old 5100's on the front of the Mini semi-frequently. I'm on my second set and I really need to pony up for a set of 7100's for the front like the rear has.

You can drill a small hole in the top of the 5100 to relieve the nitrogen pressure, weld on a bung and attach a resevoir to it. I did that several times using old motorcycle hardware. I prefer the Japanese stuff as they use bladders which are superior to the dividing piston that all the German stuff, including Bilstein uses. That makes it rebuildable too, plus with the dividing piston gone from the shock body, you can use a shaft that is two inches longer that what came in it. These are available and they are not expensive. Any dirt bike shop can repressurize your shocks with nitrogen to the desired pressure.

 

[stocksail]

I have the 5125 Bilsteins with 255/70 valving... I run light so it can be "poppy" on bumps but with your winch and bumpers it should ride nice and smooth.

I've actually thought about selling the billys and getting a softer valved shock until I have the extra weight to match the stiffer valving.

 

[ntsqd]

I have the 5125 Bilsteins with 255/70 valving... I run light so it can be "poppy" on bumps but with your winch and bumpers it should ride nice and smooth.

I've actually thought about selling the billys and getting a softer valved shock until I have the extra weight to match the stiffer valving.

A hard thing to grasp, but the valving isn't for the body/frame/load. It is for the unsprung weight, i.e. the axle(s), wheels, tires, etc. Shocks damp the movement of the suspension, not the body. I know that it doesn't seem like that, but it is the truth even though 'net lore will tell you different.

You can drill a small hole in the top of the 5100 to relieve the nitrogen pressure, weld on a bung and attach a resevoir to it. I did that several times using old motorcycle hardware. I prefer the Japanese stuff as they use bladders which are superior to the dividing piston that all the German stuff, including Bilstein uses. That makes it rebuildable too, plus with the dividing piston gone from the shock body, you can use a shaft that is two inches longer that what came in it. These are available and they are not expensive. Any dirt bike shop can repressurize your shocks with nitrogen to the desired pressure.

And I can use some old KYB's to make remote reservoirs out of too. I played around with all of that at one. Just not worth the effort if my time is worth anything. I think it's better spent on making the things that I can't easily buy. I do have an N2 bottle and regulator with an accurate low pressure gauge and the trick Schrader valve connector, so charging shocks for me is no big deal.
What is your beef with the dividing piston? Until you get into larger shock bodies the displaced oil volume is pretty small. Not like that piston has to move at light speed.

 

[lehiguy]

Dividing pistons are a royal pain to work with when reassembling the shock and I have seen more than a few failures with fluid on the wrong side of the piston. Bladders are so easy by comparison and than you can have two more inches of travel in the same compressed length. If I have a choice, it's the bladder. In the dirt bike world, most KTM riders end up swapping the piston for a bladder to facilitate shock rebuilds.

 

[ntsqd]

Hum, other than setting the piston's starting point they haven't been that big of a deal to me. Maybe because I'm already into short bodies with remote reservoirs? I've had a little oil, and I do mean little as in trace amounts - not really measurable, on the 'wrong' side of the piston. I see it as lubrication for the piston's sealing band.

 

[stocksail]

A hard thing to grasp, but the valving isn't for the body/frame/load. It is for the unsprung weight, i.e. the axle(s), wheels, tires, etc. Shocks damp the movement of the suspension, not the body. I know that it doesn't seem like that, but it is the truth even though 'net lore will tell you different.

I agree. my explanation was poor.

I would like to find a solution but don't want to derail the OP's thread so I'll search and or start a new one.

-Greg

 

[lehiguy]

The extra two inches is critical on a 60's rear. Not so much in the front because there are so many options for moving shock mounts and/or towers around.