Arsenal said:
It's not that they won't work, it's just that the damping might not be enough and the ride will be very bouncy.
I do wish we knew what the valving was on the stock replacement shocks so we can do a better comparison.
OME, Bilstein or stock??
- Thread starter kixtand
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It's not that they won't work, it's just that the damping might not be enough and the ride will be very bouncy.
I do wish we knew what the valving was on the stock replacement shocks so we can do a better comparison.
Darwood said:
I have tried to get the valving info on stock replacement shocks but they will not give it up.
- Thread starter
- #45
Thanks to all for the insight so far. I ordered a set of Bilsteins yesterday, and if all goes well I'll be installing them this weekend.
Once I get everything put together I'll update this thread w/ some feedback.
Thanks again--
kix
Once I get everything put together I'll update this thread w/ some feedback.
Thanks again--
kix
- Thread starter
- #46
Bilsteins Installed!!
Friends--
I got the shock installed this afternoon w/out much issue. I did have to break out some heat for the driver's side top in the front, and both of the top shock mounts in the rear, but all of the rear bolts came out w/out breaking
.
I only got s short trip out after the install, but I can confirm that I can tell a major difference already, all for the good
.
My first impressions are that the ride is actually not any stiffer, but it is MUCH more comfortable. There is much more stability and control, and for some reason the steering feels lighter.
I will post back w/ an update after I get some miles in.
Thanks again for all the help--
kix
Friends--
I got the shock installed this afternoon w/out much issue. I did have to break out some heat for the driver's side top in the front, and both of the top shock mounts in the rear, but all of the rear bolts came out w/out breaking
.I only got s short trip out after the install, but I can confirm that I can tell a major difference already, all for the good
.My first impressions are that the ride is actually not any stiffer, but it is MUCH more comfortable. There is much more stability and control, and for some reason the steering feels lighter.
I will post back w/ an update after I get some miles in.
Thanks again for all the help--
kix
Kix, did you install the stock replacement shocks with the part numbers stated earlier in this thread?
- Thread starter
- #48
Darwood said:
Yes, the 1477 & 1478's
got my be5-6248-h5's installed last night, my initial reaction is they are way soft, lots of sway, ive always been a bilstein fan myself, im going on a camping/wheeling trip this weekend, hopefully its just my imagination and they will prove worthy.
be5-6248-h5's, do those have a specific application or are they custom ?
The oe replacements give quite the opposite, not soft and eliminate almost all the sway I had with wore out Lexus shocks.
The oe replacements give quite the opposite, not soft and eliminate almost all the sway I had with wore out Lexus shocks.
Arsenal said:
Good thing you didn't go with the be5-a464-h5's after all. So do they seem too soft in the front, the rear, or all around?
How did the mounting go, and do you think you have enough space that they won't bottom out under compression? I guess it would also be nice to know if you have bump stop extensions.
Any of the guys running 7100's can you tell us how they are working and what valving you have?
I don't have any experience with the 51XX bilsteins on a LC but I can relate a little experience with putting bilsteins on the front of my 71 Bronco which has a nearly identical coil sprung front end. I originally went with a set of 255/70 5150's and the front and was very underdamped. After looking into messing around with them, I eventually got a set of 7100's that can be revalved by any old COMPETENT offroad race shop. The 7100's started out with 255/70 valve stacks and after 3 revalvings finally got them to 330/110 where they work really well. Keeping in mind that a 71 bronco probably weighs about 1/2 - 2/3 what the typical cruiser weighs, you may have to go well beyond 320/110 to get your front and where you want it. Here in SoCal we have many good Baja Race truck speed shops that can revalve shocks very cheaply. If you don't have the same access, you may want to call Bilstein and tell them that you want to send your 5150's in to have them revalved to whatever the valving is on the stock replacement bilsteins.
ElJefe said:
That's some good information ElJefe. So what do you run on the back of the Bronco?
Standard 170/60 valving in the back, but that is with leaf springs... very short leaf springs. The leaf packs are 11 leaf packs and are also only ~32-ish inches eye to eye(a-la FJ40's) so they have quite a bit of damping just with the leafs sliding over one another. They may be a little bit underdamped, but not enough to merrit messing with until I pull them apart for a rebuild.
The fronts on the other hand were down right FRIGHTENING to drive on the freeway with 255/70 valving, with the 90 inch wheelbase and 3.5 inch, soft, long-travel springs on the front.
The LC rear with the 4 link and coils would likely need quite a bit more than 170/60. If I were take a SWAG... I would say that the LC rear would probably be just about right with the 255/70's and the front up around 350-375/80-100.
The best bet would be for someone to call bilstein and talk one of their techs into spilling the beans on what the valving is on their stock replacement shocks to use as a baseline, then factor in your springs and lift amount.
The fronts on the other hand were down right FRIGHTENING to drive on the freeway with 255/70 valving, with the 90 inch wheelbase and 3.5 inch, soft, long-travel springs on the front.
The LC rear with the 4 link and coils would likely need quite a bit more than 170/60. If I were take a SWAG... I would say that the LC rear would probably be just about right with the 255/70's and the front up around 350-375/80-100.
The best bet would be for someone to call bilstein and talk one of their techs into spilling the beans on what the valving is on their stock replacement shocks to use as a baseline, then factor in your springs and lift amount.
ElJefe said:
You probably don't even need to get them to spill the beans. Just ask them to look at what the valving is on the stock replacements and without telling you what the stock replacements use, ask if they can recommend an equivilant rate for the other shocks. :^)
Arsenal said:
That's awesome that you got that information. Also that valving is quite a bit more than I was anticipating. Thanks for finding that out.
Arsenal, one more thing. When you installed the rear shocks, did you need to do anything with the bushing at the bottom mount that accepts the round shock eye. Because of an issue I had with Bilstein shocks in my Tacoma I'm anticipating that the bushing is too small. Is this true? Did you need to change out the rear bushing for a larger one?
