Bilstein Shocks Standard???

[tom sweeney]

i read where the 2008 ram heavy duty trucks come equipped with Bilstein shocks as standard equiptment??? i found this on the dodge.com site under the features pulldown i think... . anyone know for sure????... ... . tom

 

[hearingyourlies]

I think that's just for the Power Wagon ...

 

[tom sweeney]

that may be,but,it did not say limited to the POWER WAGON... guess i'll have to crawl under the truck with a light and see if a name on the shocks!!

 

[tom sweeney]

actually i just looked again on the Dodge website,and the Bilsiens were listed under '08 3500 ram..... W0W looked once more,and Bilsteins are listed as the shocks for ALL Rams... 1500,2500 and 3500

 

[Slingblade]

the stock OEM shocks on the Rams are made by Bilstein. They are not the same as buying aftermarket Bilstein shocks as the stockers are made to satisfy the general consumer. I got this info from the local Les Schwab manager when I asked about replacing mine. He talked me out of buying new ones for a while.

 

[Regcabguy]

Bilstein"stockers"?

the stock OEM shocks on the Rams are made by Bilstein. They are not the same as buying aftermarket Bilstein shocks as the stockers are made to satisfy the general consumer. I got this info from the local Les Schwab manager when I asked about replacing mine. He talked me out of buying new ones for a while.

If Schwab is accurate on the manufacturer of our stocks,Bilstein should be ashamed. The stocks have very little dampening and are designed to get the customer off the lot in an unladen truck with a "soft" ride. Load 'em up and they're bottoming out continuously.

 

[Slingblade]

That's why I was in there looking to buy new ones. Just over 30K on mine and the truck is bouncing all over the place. I don't want a bone jarring ride either. Les Schwab has their own brand that is far better than the original and offers a decent ride he said.

 

[tom sweeney]

... . thats a damn shame... thanks for the info Sling..... maybe adding a set of Timbren rubber dampers would prolong the life of the shocks under load????

I'm not not sure if they would fit with my springs... . or if the cost is even a trade-off????... ... oh well,here we go again... . tom

 

[Slingblade]

Don't gt me wrong about the quality of a good set of aftermarket Bilstiens. I'm just repeating what I was told about the stock ones. I am still considering the Les Schwab shocks whether I need them or not. I bet any quality aftermarket shock would be better than stock.

 

[PGAdams]

off-road pkg red-painted shocks?

the stock OEM shocks on the Rams are made by Bilstein. They are not the same as buying aftermarket Bilstein shocks as the stockers are made to satisfy the general consumer. I got this info from the local Les Schwab manager when I asked about replacing mine. He talked me out of buying new ones for a while.

I have the off-road package on my '04. 5. The comical things about the sticker, feature-set was, (off-road package - red-painted shocks),,,,,

yep they're painted red - WOW

When i inquired about the make, mfg, etc. I was told they had different valving,,,,wow again.

If anyone has any more info, I'd be curious to know more about the off-road package, red-painted shocks.



I have been considering upgrading to the bilstein's aftermarket shocks but don't want to duplicate what may already be on the truck.



thanks,



Pete

 

[BHolm]

If Schwab is accurate on the manufacturer of our stocks,Bilstein should be ashamed. The stocks have very little dampening and are designed to get the customer off the lot in an unladen truck with a "soft" ride. Load 'em up and they're bottoming out continuously.

Really? You are the first person I have heard say that. If you think ours are soft, drive a GM truck sometime, those are so soft they are scary when empty. My truck has 87k miles on the originals and I have never felt they were too soft or underdampened, loaded or not. Soft ride? In a Dodge?

 

[LesStallings]

Two wheel drive here, but pull a heavy gooseneck, 80K miles



With everyone talking about how bad the OEM shocks were, I ordered a set of the Bilstein's (recently available for 2wd dually). When I took off the old shocks, I found them in surprisingly good condition.



With the new Bilstein's installed the ride was improved, but nothing to be overly excited about. Better - yes. Fantastic improvement - no.

 

[WhiteSheep]

"Off Road" 04.5

PG:



I have the "off road" package on my 04. 5 as well. My understanding is that the off road package includes a T-case skid plate, front hooks, a two color sticker and red painted shocks (same valving as the black ones). Since it was only a $125 option, and I liked the rest of the options, I took the truck. (Everything but the color shocks was standard on most 4x4 versions anyway. )



Since that time, I have added a custom skid plate under the fuel tank tied in with the T-case plate and a front hitch that doubles as a protection for the cooler stack. The first time I slid under the front end and realized the next skunk I hit would take out my transmission cooler and radiator, I was nervous until I found a Hidden Hitch that would fit. It still had to be modified so that the hitch pokes through the air dam instead of under it. But it beats the crap out of the 200 lb bumpers posted all over this site.



Now my truck lives up to the sticker, but looks like a stocker.

 

[kparker]

Even if Bilstein did produce OEM shocks for Dodge, why would they be ashamed of the performance Dodge spec'd out? Ha ha. Any OEM supplier builds to spec, not to what they think the truck should require. Stock Dodge shocks leave much to be desired, but they perform the way they were designed to. Aftermarket Bilsteins are a much better performing damper.



Timbrens will not increase the longevity of any damper. You are only providing more spring rate to control. Timbrens will help the main springs survive if overloaded, but if the truck is overloaded, something else will be suffering down the line.



Stock shocks are good for a stock type ride.

Aftermarket Bilsteins will have more rebound control, better roll resistance, and overall damping ability than stock, regardless of terrain.



KP