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Installed Bilsteins....what a difference !

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I don't know if all Ram's have rolled out of the factory with as terrible of shocks as mine, but I would have sworn that the rebound damping valves were not installed in the front shocks on my truck. I knew by day 2 that shocks were the first thing to come, and boy was it worth it.



I got the HD Bilsteins from ORW at the TDR price and they were on my doorstep 2 days later. I had my 10 year old son help me install them right after the hour that we spent on the Westin nerfbars (another solid product), and I figured I'd share how it went.



We started with the back shocks, since they are, or should be the easiest. Drivers side shock was done in 10 minutes, peice of cake. But the passenger side was a little more difficult. First, I had to drop the 4 nuts on the bottom of the sway bar, easy enough then to get the bottom bolt out. But on the top of the shock, right were I would have put the extension and socket on my 1/2" air gun, the installer who did my 5er hitch had welded a 4" wide bracket to the outside of the frame - which blocked my access to the bolt. You can't work from the inside nut, because they are tabbed, so I had no choice but to use the breaker bar and ratchet between the top of the frame and the bed, which allowed 1 click per effort type of removal - about 35 minutes just to get that darn bolt out. So the back shocks took over an hour, but should have been 15 minutes.



The front shocks were far less eventful. I used a bottle jack to lift the truck by the frame (you don't want to fight these Bilsteins compression) and removed the bottom bolt, then top nut, then the towers, and put back in reverse. The only gotcha was that the bottom shock eyelets are too wide, so I grinded off a little on each one to the point that I could just barely wedge the eyelet into the bracket, then lined it up with a drift pin. You don't need to grind much, only about 1mm if I was to guess. Front shocks took about 1 hour to install, all of this work being done with 3/8 drive air ratchet and 1/2 impact.



Now, the result... ... . night and day. I was able to test the shocks just yards from my house. The local speed bumps are the variety that are about 8" tall, and 3' wide. Just perfect to throw that heavy Cummins upward and bottom the front suspension on the trip back down - with the stock shocks at approx 20 mph. With the Bilsteins - no way, nice smooth control. I don't think that half of the travel was used now that the springs are controlled with good dampening. And everything else I've encountered is handled with equal finesse, from the hard turns to the washboard freeways here in So Cal, the truck simply handles and rides better everywhere.



This has got to be the best $250 you can spend on our trucks, but of course that will be arguable.
 
Where is ORW?



Dennis, where did you get your Bilsteins? My truck is really starting to need some shocks.
 
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right down the I5 from us in San Diego, Off Road Warehouse (ORW) has a TDR discount that will save you some good $$ - they were shipped to me in 2 days for $260.



ORW
 
Originally posted by damon

right down the I5 from us in San Diego, Off Road Warehouse (ORW) has a TDR discount that will save you some good $$ - they were shipped to me in 2 days for $260.



ORW



Robert, Damon got a good price and it looks like it is close to you. I got mine on the internet, I think it was part of a group buy that Bob Wagner put together, I think it was around Damon's price. I looked but I did not keep the receipt.
 
Hey Bob, I've decided to go with the HD Bilstein's too! I will also be installing my snowplow PLUS springs (#47 pass. /#48 driver... powder coated gloss black... of course :D ) at the same time.



:D
 
damon,

Couldn't agree more w/ you on the performance. Great upgrade! The passager side rear was a PITA though. The tab on the nut bent and wouldn't hold the nut. Had to reach up over the muffler w/ a wrench to hold it. Finally got it on. The fronts were cake by comparison.
 
I got my Bilsteins from Strano Performance Parts (1-800-729-1831). The Bilstein book had the same part number for the 1500s as for the RWD 2500 & 3500s :eek:, but Sam Strano called them and got the mistake sorted out :). Make sure you are getting the right part number!



EC
 
What do you guys think about just replacing the fronts with Bilstein if you don't tow or haul much? I had them on my 2000 and loved them but I don't think the rears made much difference. Anybody else just replace their front shocks?
 
Congratulations on the Bilstiens. I have had mine for about 2 years, and they are still perfect.



I need to find another Ram/Bilstein owner that has raised the front end 2'' with leveling kit. Do the shocks bottom out? Does Bilstein make a 2'' longer shock? Help.
 
Bilstein does now make a longer shock that will accept up to a 3" lift as I remember. I dont have the p/n but they should be in production now.
 
What do you guys think about just replacing the fronts with Bilstein if you don't tow or haul much? I had them on my 2000 and loved them but I don't think the rears made much difference. Anybody else just replace their front shocks?
 
Installed bilsteins based on TDR recommendations. Thanks for the reliable info. WOW what a difference. These shocks made a major improvement to my truck. Great shocks. :D
 
Pit Bull -



You may be happy with just new fronts if you drive empty more than tow. But when towing, the better rear shocks sure control the bounce on bad roads better than the OEM units. I noticed a slight improvement in the rear, and a huge improvement in the front when going to the Bilsteins.
 
Now that I have some time on the shocks

As I have said before, the Bilsteins are a huge imrovement over the stock shocks which seemed dampening-challenged from day one. But to be fair, I must confess that I have found myself a few times wishing for stronger dampening on the front. It is a particaular road situation where there are closely spaced bumps or dips at high speed and the front tires still feel like they are bouncing a bit and you lose that solid contact with the road. It has only happened 3 or 4 times in the last 2 months with the new shocks, but I can't help but wish that I had the overbuilt front end of my old Rancho equipped '94 2wd F150.



Do you guys with RS9000's cranked up ever get this feeling in your 4x4 ? I'm wondering if another shock would eliminate this behavior or if it is just the inherit design of the front end on the Rams.
 
Originally posted by damon

Pit Bull -



You may be happy with just new fronts if you drive empty more than tow. I noticed a slight improvement in the rear, and a huge improvement in the front when going to the Bilsteins.



I had them front and rear on my 2000 3500QC 4x4 and it was great. My new ride is 400 lbs. lighter in the front since it is a Regular Cab 3500 4x4 and I will seldom tow or haul much. That is why I though I would save some money and see how it worked. If it did not work I can alway add the rears.
 
Comparison with Edlebrock IAS

Does anyone know if the Bilsteins are "better" than the Edlbrock? My first mod was going to the Edlebrock IAS shock (about 20,000 miles ago). I've heard alot of good things about the Bilstein.

Since I'm always looking for the best in my truck, can anyone safely say Bilsteins are better? By the way, my truck is a daily driver. No towing, no working.

Thanks,

simon
 
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