Bilstein vs. Stock Shocks

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mike d

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Anybody have experience with the difference in ride between Bilstein and stock shocks with stock springs? I've searched, but haven't seen a lot of info on ride quality. I'm also interested in longevity.

I switched over to 305/70 tires and the stock shocks quickly failed. They had a lot of miles, but it seemed like the bigger tires ended the shocks life almost instantly. I'm not so sure new stock shocks are going to last very long with these tires.

I use Bilstein on all my other cars. I know they last a long time, but I've found on certain models the Bilstein ride is very harsh. On other vehicles the ride is perfect. They've always been a huge improvement in handling, but I'm going to be hauling the kids in cars seats. I need the truck to ride well on bumpy pavement and dirty roads.
 
still looking at putting some 7100's on my rig. I think that I am going to lengthen the upper front shock mount to deal with the mounting issue, still not sure about the rear.
 
I installed Bilsteins on a '95 4Runner that proceeded the current '97 LX450. Not sure they were any improvement over the stock shocks fwiw. The LX450 ride is of course much nicer and handling a lot better and I have stayed with the OEM Tokico's (front replaced twice just because of the mileage) - plus they are an excellent deal....
 
ShawnTRD said:
Are you sure it's not just the tire being spongy that your feeling? Either way Bilstein are great shocks.
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These tires are E load rated. They're not spongy at all. The ride was much stiffer with the new tires, and I quickly blew two shocks. The handling is dangerous right now, the truck is sitting crooked, and if I push down on the back bumper and it will bounce for a long time.

I think I'll go for the Bilsteins. Unfortunately there is a lead time and I don't like driving around like this. The truck will sit until they are available. Hopefully it doesn't snow before then. I would like to also do a lift, but I do a lot of work in the city. There are only a few parking garages I can fit in now and even scrape in those sometimes.
 
I would purchase new factory shocks, which are just over $100 for all 4. They're quality built, the rears have welded on gravel shields and importantly they're precisely and correctly tuned for your vehicle. I cannot overstate the importance of this last. People routinely buy off the shelf shocks and state they "feel better". Well duh - your old ones were so bad you finally decided to quit ignoring the problem and purchase new ones so of course there's a big change. But is it perfectly matched to your vehicle and the springs (even though they're worn).

I strongly recommend against using anything but stock shocks because the aftermarket shocks are simply a generic damping - NOT specific to any vehicle.

As a bonus, they're available from your local Toyota dealer probably the next day and come with a warranty and you know they'll fit perfectly on install day...

DougM

PS - the only time you'll realize how TRULY important it is to have shock damping rates matching the spring's rates and vehicle parameters is during emergency handling. Since you're a family guy this is obviously important as the weakness of the 80 and all SUVs is that they'll roll and then things go very badly. Yesterday, I swerved hard to miss an otter (yeah, I know..) and went from snow to pavement to snow again at max turning and full ABS engagement. No control problem whatsoever - only drama was DVDs, books and other stuff went all over the place in the truck.
 
I'm betting cdan.

The oem shocks are beast. Mine are the ones that came with it from japan and they are still excellent. Heck one messed up a few months ago but seems to have "repaired" its self for now.
 
Stock shocks are definitely a great deal, and a good shock. I found that the bilsteins were better than stock on my 94. Better handling, better ride and last longer.

Doug makes an excellent point though...
 
IdahoDoug said:
I strongly recommend against using anything but stock shocks because the aftermarket shocks are simply a generic damping - NOT specific to any vehicle.


DougM
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...unless of course youre going with the bilstein HD oem replacement shocks for the 80.

Bilstein, Innovation and High Quality Since 1873

contrary to what the thumbnails show, they're proper bolt in replacements for the 80. stud/stud up front, and stud/eye for the rears. their valving rates are specially tuned for the 80, with a bit more performance in mind vs stock shocks.

im a big fan of the bilstein shocks. i run the HD oem replacements up front, and 5125s out back. before i swapped to a taller & higher rated coil, i was running ome heavies with 1" front spacer. bilstein states these shocks can be used with up to a 2" lift, so running on stock coils should be fine. it rode very nice, even with the stiffer heavy coils. i think these would be a better option for stock replacement if you want a slightly firmer ride. i stress slightly, as they really arent that stiff compared to running other HDs on other applications. they dampen very nicely, and have great handling. remember these are 5500+ lbs tanks. i dont like tanks riding like a caddy...just slightly firmer for more confident road feel and less wallowing. i just wish they had the oem replacements in a longer length. youd have to step up to a 7100 ($$$) short body to get the length, travel and valving thats similar to the oem replacements. ive got eye/stud adapters out back to gain about 1.5" and will be running an adapter up front to lengthen them about 2-3".

...of course cost is strictly a factor, cant beat a set of oems for a hun.
 
I ordered a set from cdan. Bilsteins are on backorder until mid-January. I drive the Cruiser half the time, and one of my cars with Bilsteins the other half. They're pretty punishing and it's a nice break getting into Cruiser. I've always loved the way this truck rides and handles, so I might as well stick with stock.

Years ago I had a Jeep ZJ 5.9l with super, thick, military swaybars and Bilsteins. These upgrades made the truck handle 100% better than stock. I thought when I got the Cruiser I would be quickly looking for ways to improve the handling. I was shocked that this truck handles better in stock form than the Jeep with suspension upgrades, and rides much better too. I do miss the engine in the Jeep, but that's about it.
 
mike d said:
The handling is dangerous right now, the truck is sitting crooked, and if I push down on the back bumper and it will bounce for a long time.
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If the truck is 'sitting crooked' then new shock absorbers will not level it, I would be looking for additional problems here.

regards

Dave
 
Dave 2000 said:
If the truck is 'sitting crooked' then new shock absorbers will not level it, I would be looking for additional problems here.

regards

Dave
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It's definitely the shocks. I have a shock blown on opposite corners. You see the slight level differece depending on if the truck is up or downhill. I believe the factory shocks are gas pressure shocks. It's normal to see a slight difference it height if one is blown.
 
mike d said:
It's definitely the shocks. I have a shock blown on opposite corners. You see the slight level differece depending on if the truck is up or downhill. I believe the factory shocks are gas pressure shocks. It's normal to see a slight difference it height if one is blown.
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With respect, you might want to pick up a shock absorber (new) and open and close it by hand, even gas shocks can be compressed by hand, do you really believe now that your cruiser (weighing over two tons) height is controlled by your shock absorbers?

Some Shock absorbers have height adjusting capability but normally uses compressed air ect to change the ride height, IIRC gas shocks help to maintain the level of damping as they heat up during use.



regards

Dave
 
Just FYI for future searchers, the OEM shocks have the exact same amount of travel as the Bilsteins. Same length compressed and extended.

I know you already ordered the toy shocks, but I got my bilsteins from ebay...

Shocks can affect how a truck sits. The OEM are oil IIRC, so they don't push, but they will hold a position and offer some resistance while a blown one will do whatever the spring does.

You guys are spot on with the assertion that shocks don't determine ride height, but the OPs issue can be caused by shocks.

HTH

Dan
 
ShawnTRD said:
Shocks have no bearing on ride height. Shocks are made to stop you from bouncing, and that's it.
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Dave 2000 said:
With respect, you might want to pick up a shock absorber (new) and open and close it by hand, even gas shocks can be compressed by hand, do you really believe now that your cruiser (weighing over two tons) height is controlled by your shock absorbers?

Some Shock absorbers have height adjusting capability but normally uses compressed air ect to change the ride height, IIRC gas shocks help to maintain the level of damping as they heat up during use.



regards

Dave
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Untrue. If you've ever genuinely blown a shock (I have) your vehicle will sag on that corner. While it's true that the springs carry the bulk of the load, the resistance posed by the shock also helps to maintain some height. Think of it from an engineering standpoint: the spring pressure from the spring and the air/oil pressure from the shock both create an upwards force that supporting the downward force (weight) of the Cruiser. Remove the shock and the spring will further compress to create the same upwards force, as spring force is based on spring compression (displacement).

Move a new shock absorber by hand? You must be a freakin' bear of a man. I've never messed with my Cruiser shocks, but I have changed a lot of shocks in my lifetime. It's damn near impossible to get more than slight movement out of them by hand. Old worn out shocks, sure.
 
Ditto - I had a shock go and it was stuck extended. Would that lift the vehicle 2 inches? No. But would it apply 200psi in a corner? Yes. So the same way putting 200 pounds in a corner of the cargo area effects (slightly) the ride height of that shock, so would another force of equal pressure - in this case a bad shock. So it does effect ride height - not to the degree of a lift, but the same way if you went and pushed down on a fender.

I don't think the OP was saying the shocks were causing him to ride on the bumpstops. Just that the blown shocks were effecting ride height.
 
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