Bilsteins and new tires seem stiff.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

C

Cmcm3

10 Year
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Threads
5
Messages
12
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
I just picked up my truck from having new General Grabber HTS tires and Bilstein shocks installed. While a good bit of body roll is gone I feel like the harshness and vibrations are just as bad as the old tires and oem shocks with 215k miles. Anyone have any input here? Also should I give it some time to let things settle in? Otherwise there will be some brand new Billy's for sale soon as I think oem shocks might have been the way to go...
Thanks in advance.
-Charles
 
You have probably done this but check your tire pressure. I run 40 in my 295s just for reference.
 
I agree. What size tires are you running and at what pressure? Sounds like you have the new tires at too high a pressure.

:cheers:
 
The choice for shocks has been gone over many times. It's very personal.

At the same time, if you want to regain an OEM ride on a truck with over 200k miles on it, you will need more than just new OEM shocks. The springs and torsion bars are tired and would need to be replaced to get back to stock specs.

In my case, at 100k mi., I put in new OEM shocks and still was not happy with the ride and put it an OME kit and Slee diff drop. I much prefer that ride.
 
Last edited:
2000UZJ said:
Agreed on the Fox's, Bilsteins are not the best shock for the 100, way to stiff and not long enough.
Click to expand...

Proof on Nick's point above! Threads were completely stripped.

image-3380261410.webp
 
Thanks everyone for the help. I consider myself a pretty serious car guy so I am embarrassed that I didn't immediately check tire pressures. All four corners were 12 to 15 psi over!! Just goes to show we shouldn't blindly expect the big tire chains to always know what they are doing!!

Ok, so after a few days with the correct pressures I am totally bummed with the (lack of) performance from the Bilsteins. The truck rolls and articulates more than the stocks with 215k and I hit the bump stops under load quicker than before as well.

Thanks DJWUZJ for the pics of the Fox shocks. Looks like I definitely need the stouter and longer units they make. Can anyone else chime in on the subject of changing the springs and torsion bars also?

Last question...what about adding Whiteline sway bars to get crisper turn in and less roll? I know I give up a good bit of off road flexibility but that's about 2% of my time behind the wheel.

Thanks,
Charles
 
No prob.

My thoughts on Tbars and sway bars is that stock are just fine. Anything you do to reduce roll is going to start to bite into your ride quality again/even further.

Look save your cash on hardware and sink it into software (bushings, etc)
 
Cmcm3 said:
Thanks everyone for the help. I consider myself a pretty serious car guy so I am embarrassed that I didn't immediately check tire pressures. All four corners were 12 to 15 psi over!! Just goes to show we shouldn't blindly expect the big tire chains to always know what they are doing!!

Ok, so after a few days with the correct pressures I am totally bummed with the (lack of) performance from the Bilsteins. The truck rolls and articulates more than the stocks with 215k and I hit the bump stops under load quicker than before as well.

Thanks DJWUZJ for the pics of the Fox shocks. Looks like I definitely need the stouter and longer units they make. Can anyone else chime in on the subject of changing the springs and torsion bars also?

Last question...what about adding Whiteline sway bars to get crisper turn in and less roll? I know I give up a good bit of off road flexibility but that's about 2% of my time behind the wheel.

Thanks,
Charles
Click to expand...

Read super90's post again. You're gonna be disappointed after dropping $450 on the foxes...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom