New Struts / Shocks

Hey guys, currently I have a pretty stock setup with just a 2" spacer in the front and block in the back, sits pretty level. I have 33's on 18" rims. Over the past hunting season I could really tell things starting to ride rougher and rougher and generally now feels about like I am in a wagon. We also recently moved and when I was towing my boat to the new house, the 2 lane road to get there is a little bouncy in general and it was white knuckles the whole way. Trying to keep it cheap as possible but my thoughts were to remove the spacer and use Bilstein 5100 at whatever setting keeps it at the same level, using the factory coils. I planned to keep the block in the rear and just add in the 5100 shocks. I don't do true off roading, I do a lot of driving on gravel hunting land roads with pot holes and a mud hole every once in a while and then riding on the beach on occasion. The towing I do is a 23' bay boat and the ramp is 10 minutes up the street. I know there is better but wanted to see what you guys thought about this setup.

 

It will do the job

 

For what u do, the 5100's would do the job perfectly.

 

Thanks guys, I figured it would work good enough.

 

I don't know what ur factory shocks/struts were. My truck is a TRD OR and it had the factory Bilsteins. The 5100's r firmer than those... but in a good way. Less floaty, more planted... u feel more of the small bumps but somehow it takes larger stuff better. I'm on stock coils with a 1" lift upfront. I can't see them doing anything worse than a spacer lift.

 

I have a SR5 and has the hitachi upfront but whoever had it before me put rough country shocks on the back. Its gotten to the point now I believe you could feel a frozen rat turd on the road, you just feel everything. Tires are getting on the older side too so that may be contributing to it. They are Yokohoma MT 275/70/R18 so they are heavy, had them 3 years and they are maybe a little more than halfway done. On the next go round I will be really tempted to drop to the Toyo open country R/T trails in 275/65/R18, they are 19lbs lighter on each tire. I hate to loose an inch of tire tho, truck looks so good with them. Would probably help it pull the boat better too though.

 

Hey guys, update, I got the bilsteins installed this weekend. Took about 2 hours, pretty easy job even with just hand tools. I went on the 4th clip due to the bad rap that the 5th clip gets but I am sitting lower than I was with the spacer. I measured the spacer and it was 1.5" thick so I assumed it would be almost a perfect match. That being said I am fine to have a little rake, before it was dead even if not just a hair higher in the front. I do tow a 23' boat so it would squat when towing that so now it should look about perfect when towing or loaded. I will have to do the body chop as it rubs now along with the fenders, so more work to do. I did the rears about 2 days before the fronts and I noticed that when I put them on, there was more bounce from the rear, still noticed it on the way to the alignment shop this morning. Like when you hit a bump it just feels springy in the rear? I double checked the rear shocks and they are tight top and bottom, I have the washers and rubber things setup right. I have the factory springs in the back on top of a 2" block. It's just weird it started after putting new shocks on. Both front and back that I pulled off were totally shot, I am surprised it didn't ride worse than it did.

 

Well the drivers side tie rod had a lot of play so they are replacing it. Wondering if this could have something to do with the springyness I felt, add in some tight shocks and maybe that allowed me to feel the shake from the loose tie rod? I guess we will find out when they get done. I am surprised the tie rod is bad this early though. just about to 60k on the OD, I do go on a lot of bumpy roads at the hunting club but still seems quick. Other side was fine.

 

If the spacer you took out measures 1.5" that would give you 3" of llift.so, now on 4th notch, which is lower the rear of truck is slightly higher. Assuming you have 5100's in rear? With 2" block you are pushing it with 5100's. They are good for 0" to 1" of lift.

 

18" rims would also give you stiffer ride. If it were me, I would stick to the taller 70 series, instead of going down to 65 series, which should technically make it even more of a stiff ride.

Bilstein 5100s set @ 2" is a sweet ride using the stock coils, eliminating the oem brake dive. Hope you don't have anything more than a 1" block in the rear.

Good luck Op.

 

Thanks guys, well I could have sworn I had a 1" block in the rear but looking at it its a 2"... Good thing I don't drive much and haven't gone anywhere rough. I have 1" blocks on the way and will put them on tomorrow. I did do some trimming yesterday and heating up and forming in the wheel well so no rubbing on hard ground. I am sure that will change in anything bumpy so I am planning the body mount chop soon. I got the tie rod changed yesterday and the guy reinstalled the boot with zip ties and the inside of the boot popped off so then I had to go back to the shop for them to put an actual clamp on it. The guy didnt even have a beefy zip tie and they werent even long enough so he had to put two together to get around it. The manager said that was their standard procedure, so I found out which shop I am not going back to. Overall though it rides better, I still get the springy bounce in the rear but maybe its because I am at the top end of the 5100's range? Hopefully when I drop it to the 1" block it will smooth it out, otherwise I am not sure. Its not all the time, mainly when you hit a sharper bump, not necessarily even a big bump but almost feels like it shakes the frame.

 

Well its all wrapped up. 1" blocks in the rear and I didnt tear the Billies up before I got them on. Overall the ride is much better, better in corners, much better over bigger bumps, really feels solid compared to the old burnt out shocks. I noticed that my air pressure was on the high side all around so I lowered it back down a little and that definitely helped.