Bilstein 5100 Need Help

[02LiftedSierra]

After having my superlift shocks for just over 2 years Im tired of riding around on a tank pretty much. Bilstein 5100's seem to be the common favorite here for ride comfort. So this is my question. Im pretty sure I need shocks that are longer than the ones made for the 6" lift. My setup is a 6" superlift knuckle, cranked with keys. I have a total of 6-7" rear lift. So do I need shocks with more lift than the ones that they list? The highest I can find is for 4-6" lift. Any input helps, thanks. By the way its an 02 sierra 1500 4x4.

[WildChevys]

i think the 4-6" should be fine

[02LiftedSierra]

Will the ride be rough because I have aftermarket keys and cranked the front up a little on top of the lift?

[bonedust]

rougher than it could be, yes.

[02LiftedSierra]

Hmm.. Im still wondering since i'm sitting higher than a 6" lift will the 4-6's still be ok? I've been reading on here that after you crank the t bars If you don't get 2" longer shocks than it can cause premature wear? Im just trying to get all my info straight because these shocks definitely are not the cheapest and I don't want the fronts to ride rough like they are now and wear out faster.

[1978steven]

With stock shocks and 2 inches of crank on a stock truck you would need longer shocks, because that 2 inches dang near puts the stock shocks fully extended. I agree with bonedust those 4-6 inch lift shocks should do the trick. If you still don't think they will work measure the distance between mounting points at fully compressed and fully extended and see if Bilstein offers anything in that range. Idealy you want a shock that will have a collapsed length that will allow your suspension to be fully compressed (til something else hits, preferably bump stops) and that will also allow full droop....

[02LiftedSierra]

Cool thanks for the advice. Where can I get the best deals on these 5100's?

[WildChevys]

shop around online

[EXPLUDE]

I just picked up some Bilstein shocks for my SAS at Summit racing. I picked Summit because we have a retail store right in town. They are $79 something and they match prices, if you want longer ones you want to look at the 5125's they come in assorted sized extended and collapsed. Make sure you get the measurements for full droop and full compression, remember to allow about 1/2" extra for compression.

[hollywood1189]

I just picked up some Bilstein shocks for my SAS at Summit racing. I picked Summit because we have a retail store right in town. They are $79 something and they match prices, if you want longer ones you want to look at the 5125's they come in assorted sized extended and collapsed. Make sure you get the measurements for full droop and full compression, remember to allow about 1/2" extra for compression.

Do you have to take off the existing shock to do the measurements? Stupid question probably but pretty new to the lift scene and about to tackle the same situation. I've been looking at the 5150's tho. Are they any better than the 5100's?

[EXPLUDE]

What you want to do it jack your truck up so that you can remove or at least relax your torsion bar. then measure the spacing between your upper and lower mounts at full droop. Then max out the travel upward so that flex stops, measure the distance between the two mounting points again. The difference between these two numbers is the amount of travel the new shock will need. Also the measurement of max upward travel will be the collapsed length of the shock, and the max downward travel will be the extended length of the shock. Make sure to give at least a 1/2" extra for extended length and collapsed length travel. 5150's have the attached reservoir, Google the difference between gas charged shocks and reservoir shocks, or go to Bilsteins website.

[ZSeventyOne07]

Mine are for 4-6" of lift and my lift is cranked up and they are fine. try suspensionconnection.com they have good prices. You won't regret getting them I can tell ya that!!!