Remote reservoir shocks

[JKreiss]

So the shocks on the 04 are shot. I've ordered some of Don's progressive bumpstops and am looking into some better shocks to upgrade my 5100's. Geno's sells what look to be remote reservoir 5160 Bilsteins. They look nice but are these just a generic shock? I'm currently looking at the "Carli" specific Bilstien 5160's, or the 7100's. Anybody have any experience with these or a similar comparison? Thanks for any input

 

[R.Taylor]

Not sure about the one's Geno's offers but Carli's are tuned for our trucks... Except for the 5100's. I have the 9100's from them..... Absolutely awesome!

 

[JKreiss]

I'm leaning toward the 7100's, only because the 9100's are a big leap plus needing the shock towers. No matter what i get i don't know if i'll be able to note the difference or think it was worth the money... someone slap me if i'm crazy:-laf

 

[ENafziger]

Hey Joe!!!

Don't mean to be following you around today, but thought I'd throw my 2 cents in here...

What springs do you have on the 04. 5? Do you have the "Starter System" with the 3" Carli front coils and minipaks in the rear? Reason I ask... If you are still on stock springs, go for the Genos 5160s. A better shock really won't do a whole lot with springs that won't allow them to work. If you have the Carli front coils and minipaks, then that's different story. I think it would be worth the extra money to get the Carli tuned 5160s.

HOWEVER, you are going to have to be honest with yourself about how you're going to use the truck. I started with the Lorenz 2. 25 kit thinking that would be all I'd need. Then, when I began to feel what a real suspension felt like, I quickly started pushing things harder than I should've... and in turn, quickly outgrew the limitations of the 2. 25 system. I had the leaking shocks repaired and sold this kit. I now have the Carli 2. 65 Bilstein 9100s and have continued to push things harder. The Carli kit will let me hit the same trails at 60 mph that I was having trouble running 30 mph on with the Lorenz suspension.

So, I guess it depends on your budget and what you plan to do with the truck... just know that it's easy to get carried away and go farther than you meant to. But, if you know that you really won't ever hit heavy high-speed stuff and you'll keep all 4 wheels on the ground, the Carli 5160s should be the last shocks you'll ever buy.

But, if you think you may upgrade to the full leaf pack someday, etc, etc, you probably want to spring for the best shock you can afford upfront and just do it once. Here's where I don't have very good advice. The Carli valved 7100s are $1330. I talked with Thuren concerning my '91. 5 situation, and based upon my budget, he gave me some recommendations for off-the-shelf valving profiles to request from Bilstein. I ended up getting the set of 4 Bilstein 7100s for $695 including shipping. I think that they ride VERY well. I realize the '91. 5 is 3,000 pounds lighter than my '06, but jumping the double railroad tracks feels just as good in the '91 as the '06. I don't have any doubts that a Carli valved set of 7100s would perform better. How much better? I don't know. But for half the price and the budget I had to work with, I'm happy with what I've got.

This may have not helped at all now that I'm going back to read it, but nonetheless...

--Eric

 

[JKreiss]

Hey Eric, thanks! I was actually going to PM you to see what you thought. Being 100% honest with myself, I don't foresee any high speed trail maneuvering. I have the full starter kit with the coils and mini packs. I only drive maybe 30 miles a day on average and a few hundred on the weekends. However, that's usually about 65-70mph on our highways which are in TERRIBLE condition. They're riddled with pot holes, cracks, separated expansion joints, etc. It's ridiculous how bad they are for what we pay in taxes.



At any rate I thought I would just spend the money now for something that was a lot better. Times are going to be tough financially in the next few years once I get out of the military and re-start my career, so I wanted to get everything done right while I can. Will the 7100's be overkill? The Carli 5160's are just over $1000 a set and I’m starting to think now that maybe that's a better route? I'm sure a phone call to Sage wouldn't hurt also.

 

[ENafziger]

Will the 7100's be overkill? The Carli 5160's are just over $1000 a set and I'm starting to think now that maybe that's a better route? I'm sure a phone call to Sage wouldn't hurt also. <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

It sounds like the Carli valved 5160s may be your best bet then. Yeah, give sage a call and get his thoughts for sure. It seems like I remember reading that Sage said the Carli 5160s use 7100 internals? Not sure then what separates them from a true 7100, but I'm sure he'll shed some light...

--Eric

 

[CDonaldson]

Have you considered the sway away shocks/race runner reservoirs? They do an excellent job and are valved for what our trucks need, here is a link to the 2. 5's:



RaceRunner Remote Reservoir 2. 5 Series Shocks



our trucks use the 10. 00" travel on the fronts, and the 12. 00" travel on the rears



you can also get them in 2. 0, 2. 25, and 3. 0 as well.







CD

 

[Cosmo]

Keep in mind that the higher end you go with Bilstein, the shorter your warranty is. 5100 series I think have a 1 year warranty, 7100 series IIRC have a 90 day warranty.

The guy who bought my WJ broke the top off of one of the 5150's up front and they wouldn't cover it because it was just over a year old.

 

[AEdelheit]

Have you considered the sway away shocks/race runner reservoirs? They do an excellent job and are valved for what our trucks need, here is a link to the 2. 5's:



RaceRunner Remote Reservoir 2. 5 Series Shocks



our trucks use the 10. 00" travel on the fronts, and the 12. 00" travel on the rears



you can also get them in 2. 0, 2. 25, and 3. 0 as well.







CD

Well there not really valved for our trucks, there valving works ok but Sway away has not put the 100's if not 1000's of hours into valving for our trucks like Carli or Don have . IMO there way overpriced, ive had 2. 5 sway a ways, there more expensive then kings and deffenitly not any better. Don has a 2. 0 FOX kit out right now that sounds like it would work great for your needs, its $1150 for everything you need, dont bother looking on his website its not exactly current, just give him a call 805-886-9250

 

[Regcabguy]

Keep in mind that the higher end you go with Bilstein, the shorter your warranty is. 5100 series I think have a 1 year warranty, 7100 series IIRC have a 90 day warranty.



The guy who bought my WJ broke the top off of one of the 5150's up front and they wouldn't cover it because it was just over a year old.

True. My Bilstein 7100 ss developed rust under the clearcoat at the frame end. I sent photos to Bilstein who acknowledged a manufacturing fault but wouldn't replace it because it was "out of warranty". The shock was four months old.

 

[JKreiss]

Thanks for the help guys. I didn't get a chance to call Carli today, but i will tomorrow. Don's 2. 0 Fox kit sounds VERY tempting. I emailed him about shocks today, hopefully he'll fill me in on the shock deal. Thanks again guys. Cosmo, what setup did you have on your WJ? I just ordered the IRO 3" but opted out of the Bilsteins and went with the Doetsch tech's. I hope i didn't make a mistake there.

 

[AEdelheit]

JKreiss I see N. california on your locations, If your anywhere near Santa Rosa let me know if you want to go for a ride, I have the thuren 2. 5's and sway bar!

 

[Cosmo]

Thanks for the help guys. I didn't get a chance to call Carli today, but i will tomorrow. Don's 2. 0 Fox kit sounds VERY tempting. I emailed him about shocks today, hopefully he'll fill me in on the shock deal. Thanks again guys. Cosmo, what setup did you have on your WJ? I just ordered the IRO 3" but opted out of the Bilsteins and went with the Doetsch tech's. I hope i didn't make a mistake there.

I started with the 3" w/Doetsch techs. It worked great. Then I sold that setup and went with their 6. 5" front/rear long arm premium kit with the bilsteins and quick disconnects.



With the 3" I was running 245/75r16 mud tires and an Aussie locker, and the only time I was ever stopped while following a buddy's Taco w/6" and 35" tires was on a boulder that I ran out of ground clearance on.



The 6. 5" lift made it a couple of weeks before the front driveshaft melted down - you gotta get the double cardan shaft.



The DT shocks are stiff, but not unreasonable. Considering the angles of your control arms I don't think you can really have a super soft ride. The long arm kit was awesome, rode like butter and flexed like mad.



IRO's customer service is fantastic. I can't speak highly enough of those guys, and their products are just as good. I also had their skid plate.

 

[JKreiss]

Hey guys, got an email back from Don about the 2. 0 shocks, 99. 9% sure i'm going to go that route.

If your anywhere near Santa Rosa let me know if you want to go for a ride, I have the thuren 2. 5's and sway bar!

Thank you very much for the offer, i'll PM you!

I started with the 3" w/Doetsch techs. It worked great. Then I sold that setup and went with their 6. 5" front/rear long arm premium kit with the bilsteins and quick disconnects.

With the 3" I was running 245/75r16 mud tires and an Aussie locker, and the only time I was ever stopped while following a buddy's Taco w/6" and 35" tires was on a boulder that I ran out of ground clearance on.

The 6. 5" lift made it a couple of weeks before the front driveshaft melted down - you gotta get the double cardan shaft.

The DT shocks are stiff, but not unreasonable. Considering the angles of your control arms I don't think you can really have a super soft ride. The long arm kit was awesome, rode like butter and flexed like mad.

IRO's customer service is fantastic. I can't speak highly enough of those guys, and their products are just as good. I also had their skid plate.

Cosmo thanks for the Info! I wanted the long arm kit for the wj but DO NOT need another project to get carried away on:-laf I'm going down to 15" steelies that will just fit over the calipers. Going to run some 31 10. 50 Goodyear Duratracs on it, should turn out good. I'm just tired of taking my truck to my hunting and fishing spots, it's too tight and the paint's taking a beating. Plus 30 point turns in a long bed on a tiny trail is tiresome and tough on the truck. The Jeep will be for runnin to work and up and down the hill to Tahoe in the winters. I'm moving out of state in 2013 and i still have some lakes to cross off the list that you have to Jeep too.

 

[AMcCormick]

I am part way through with my mish mash package. I am running Carli valved bilstein 7100 with Kore Aplha series springs and have Carli mini packs going in the rear. A Thuren sway bar and track bar is on along with the 08 steering a new read head box and waiting on Thurens new control arms. The truck is so much better than what it was. It did have an aftermarket lift. If you meet up with Aron you are welcome to go for a ride in my truck as well. Aron has been a big help with my project.

 

[JKreiss]

Hi Andy, thanks for the offer. We'll all have to meet up and check it out. Unfortunately i think I've got some more pressing issues to deal with first. I'm up deer hunting this week at the cabin(yes i know, really roughing it with a wi-fi ready cabin:-laf) Anyhow i'm leaving this morning around 430 and i thought i heard a knocking/rattling from under the hood while the truck was warming up. I took off with the window down and didn't hear anything, and being it's opening day, i went off down the road. I'm back now and it's definitely knocking, coming from the front, almost like around the drive belt area or #1 cyl. It's really hard to pinpoint. It looks like i'll be reading a lot over the next few hours... My gut says injector, i don't know yet. I'm hopefully not going home on a wrecker:{

 

[Cosmo]

Cosmo thanks for the Info! I wanted the long arm kit for the wj but DO NOT need another project to get carried away on:-laf I'm going down to 15" steelies that will just fit over the calipers. Going to run some 31 10. 50 Goodyear Duratracs on it, should turn out good. I'm just tired of taking my truck to my hunting and fishing spots, it's too tight and the paint's taking a beating. Plus 30 point turns in a long bed on a tiny trail is tiresome and tough on the truck. The Jeep will be for runnin to work and up and down the hill to Tahoe in the winters. I'm moving out of state in 2013 and i still have some lakes to cross off the list that you have to Jeep too.

Yup yup. I went with the 245/75r16 because I bought the thing the day before a camping/4wheeling trip and I had to stick with the stock wheels.



When I jumped to the 6. 5" lift I swapped out the stockers for some cragar soft 8s and 33x10. 5s.



If you're not expecting it to ride like a caddy, you should be really happy. I wound up removing the aussie locker because I drove too much on the streets and it was getting torn up. Since then I've moved to FL and while I'd love to have a trail rig, I don't think it would ever see a real trail.





If you want to see the articulation possible with the DT/3" setup:

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It WILL tuck the back end



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And the Taco that I kept up with:

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With the IRO 6. 5" kit, IRO premium sliders modified to add a 3rd tube that stuck out even with the tires, IRO tcase skid:



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[JKreiss]

Thank you for the pics and insight Cosmo!!! I spent about 2 months just reading and looking at pictures before i went with the 3". I emailed IRO about a month ago and they are awesome folks. Spoke with Josh and he answered every little question i had and was very patient with my concerns/wants. I'm really excited to get it on and hit the woods. Like i mentioned earlier though, if i have to put injectors in my truck, it's going to really slow my progress for some "Jeepin"

 

[Cosmo]

No problem!

Oh, all those pics were with the sway bars connected. I bought the JKS disconnects when I went to the 6. 5", but I never bothered to disconnect.

 

[JKreiss]

OK, so luckily my "injector" problem turned out to be a false alarm so i'm back on the hunt for my new shocks. I'm going to be going with Don's Fox 2. 0's, and am pretty excited about putting those in along with his bump stops. It also seems that my leaf spring bushings are creaking/complaining and need to be replaced as well. Anybody done this or have any insight? Do the old ones need to be pressed out? Any info or a good resource for the parts would be great! Thank you!