Bilstein 5100

[Billet1500 4x4]

Are these the correct UCA's for a 2" level, or just factory?
I assume if they come with the 2" mopar lift they are different than OEM, just making sure.

Visually they look identical, But they use a different ball joint that has higher working angles. I actually have the stock set and a set of Mopar arms for a lift kit sitting in my garage I'll try and snap some pictures tomorrow to show the difference. I have attached the installation instructions for the 2 inch lift that shows a breakdown off all the parts along with their part numbers.

 

[GraniteRam]

Are these the correct UCA's for a 2" level, or just factory?
I assume if they come with the 2" mopar lift they are different than OEM, just making sure.

Those are the correct ones that come in the Mopar lift.

 

[rah6887]

Visually they look identical, But they use a different ball joint that has higher working angles. I actually have the stock set and a set of Mopar arms for a lift kit sitting in my garage I'll try and snap some pictures tomorrow to show the difference. I have attached the installation instructions for the 2 inch lift that shows a breakdown off all the parts along with their part numbers.

Thanks for the info.
So if I set my new Bilstein's at the 1.7" setting, it would be best to go with the 2" UCA's in the kit?
I realize this is preference, just asking for an opinion.
I am a DIY guy but I am clueless when it comes to suspension etc...

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

Thanks for the info.
So if I set my new Bilstein's at the 1.7" setting, it would be best to go with the 2" UCA's in the kit?
I realize this is preference, just asking for an opinion.
I am a DIY guy but I am clueless when it comes to suspension etc...

Thats what I would personally do.

 

[rah6887]

Thats what I would personally do.

Thank you.
One more question, you mentioned "different ball joints", will I need to get those as well?

 

[GraniteRam]

Thank you.
One more question, you mentioned "different ball joints", will I need to get those as well?

No, he was saying that the arms that come in the Mopar lift have different ball joints in them than the stock one's. That's the only thing that's different between the stock arms and the Mopar lift arms, the ball joints.

 

[rob989_69]

So would the Mopar set be good for 2.5" or would I need to go readylift or equivalent? I'm toying with the idea of using the 1" setting on the bilsteins and a 1.5" top hat. Would that be too much for the upgraded Mopar ucas?

 

[MarkB67]

Thanks for the info.
So if I set my new Bilstein's at the 1.7" setting, it would be best to go with the 2" UCA's in the kit?
I realize this is preference, just asking for an opinion.
I am a DIY guy but I am clueless when it comes to suspension etc...

At that minimal of lift you will not need new UCA’s

 

[MFALRAM]

So would the Mopar set be good for 2.5" or would I need to go readylift or equivalent? I'm toying with the idea of using the 1" setting on the bilsteins and a 1.5" top hat. Would that be too much for the upgraded Mopar ucas?

I wouldn’t even bother with the top hat. Just get new UCA’s . The bilstein shocks are there to perform. There is no sense in buying the bilstein shocks if you’re going to throw a top hat on it. You’re losing travel that way. One of the reasons I was waiting for these is not to lose travel and performance. My father in law owns a shop they put these on all their Rams . I talked to them about it and they do not like top hats at all.I’m just setting it to the max and buying UCA’s to get the max lift and still have the performance . But I’m just giving you my two cents to help give you something to think about. You won’t be disappointed with these.

 

[sman301]

For everything on this thread it seem that that Blistines shocks with the mopar uca from their 2" lift is ideal in price/performance for a level of lift of 2 or more inch. Ready lifts or one of the other aftermarket uca are more robust but more pricey.

sman301 sman301 sman301

 

[NTX_Ian]

5100’s and ram 1500’s have gone together like PB&J for years and this is the first time I’ve seen anyone even mention a need for new UCA’s. Is this due to a change in the 19+ front end or just now that replacement UCA’s are more readily available?

 

[Bellpa]

I'm dying to hear some feedback from someone that has installed these on their 5th gen. I wanna order these and a Hellwig rear swaybar for improved suspension and leveling.

 

[rob989_69]

I haven't even gotten shipping info yet. When I checked with the place I ordered from they said they'd be shipping Monday direct from Bilstein. I'm guessing there's a hold up due to the holidays. In the meantime, the swaybar was worth twice it's weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. You will not be sorry you did that upgrade.

 

[rah6887]

I haven't even gotten shipping info yet. When I checked with the place I ordered from they said they'd be shipping Monday direct from Bilstein. I'm guessing there's a hold up due to the holidays. In the meantime, the swaybar was worth twice it's weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. You will not be sorry you did that upgrade.

Same here, I ordered mine 5 days ago, only confirmation I have gotten so far is a receipt from PayPal confirming it has been paid for.
I always thought PayPal didn't pay up until the item shipped, or something along those lines.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

I wouldn’t even bother with the top hat. Just get new UCA’s . The bilstein shocks are there to perform. There is no sense in buying the bilstein shocks if you’re going to throw a top hat on it. You’re losing travel that way. One of the reasons I was waiting for these is not to lose travel and performance. My father in law owns a shop they put these on all their Rams . I talked to them about it and they do not like top hats at all.I’m just setting it to the max and buying UCA’s to get the max lift and still have the performance . But I’m just giving you my two cents to help give you something to think about. You won’t be disappointed with these.

So would the Mopar set be good for 2.5" or would I need to go readylift or equivalent? I'm toying with the idea of using the 1" setting on the bilsteins and a 1.5" top hat. Would that be too much for the upgraded Mopar ucas?

Neither option gains or loses travel at 2.5". Say the ram has 9" of travel and sits into it's travel with the stock springs 4". You have 4" of extension and 5" of compression. The bilsteins shift where the shocks sit in their travel. At full height of 2.7" on the bilstein you lose that 2.7" of extension travel and pick it up as compression travel so you end up with 1.3" of extension and 7.7" of compression. The top hat spacer maintains the factory 4/5" split and the limiting factor becomes the factory UCA because the ball joint hits its limit before the shock can fully extend. Replace the UCA and and the suspension can still cycle in it's full travel range. This does however still put a worse working angle on the lower ball joints tie rod ends and front CV shafts on a 4wd truck with the suspension fully extended. This why ready lift splits the lift between a compression spacer and top hat spacer for their 3.5" kit. Zone actually splits their 2 inch kit the same way with a compression spacer and top hat combo along with replacement UCAs. The advantage the 5100s have over just a preload spacer is they can put a slower rebound profile on the shock valving to prevent it from feel springy or under damped at full extension. A combination bilstein/tophat combo is a fine way of doing things, at 2.5" I'd really consider the Mopar lift arms at the least. It won't be long and you will start seeing extended travel options from companies like ICON where you get a slightly longer coil over combined with preload adjustment and replacement upper control arms that will increase ride height and add an extra inch of over all suspension travel often referred to as a mid travel kit. But you're looking at thousands not hundreds as far as cost goes.

 

[Tender]

Can anyone please explain to me why the Helwig sway bar is superior and what advantages it has over the stock one?

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

Can anyone please explain to me why the Helwig sway bar is superior and what advantages it has over the stock one?

Its a larger diameter heavier wall tube. which means it has much higher spring constant. It will prevent body roll in the rear end and make the truck feel more planted at higher speeds when turning, changing lanes, or getting on/off sweeping on ramps and what not. In general the truck will feel more responsive to steering input.

 

[rob989_69]

Neither option gains or loses travel at 2.5". Say the ram has 9" of travel and sits into it's travel with the stock springs 4". You have 4" of extension and 5" of compression. The bilsteins shift where the shocks sit in their travel. At full height of 2.7" on the bilstein you lose that 2.7" of extension travel and pick it up as compression travel so you end up with 1.3" of extension and 7.7" of compression. The top hat spacer maintains the factory 4/5" split and the limiting factor becomes the factory UCA because the ball joint hits its limit before the shock can fully extend. Replace the UCA and and the suspension can still cycle in it's full travel range. This does however still put a worse working angle on the lower ball joints tie rod ends and front CV shafts on a 4wd truck with the suspension fully extended. This why ready lift splits the lift between a compression spacer and top hat spacer for their 3.5" kit. Zone actually splits their 2 inch kit the same way with a compression spacer and top hat combo along with replacement UCAs. The advantage the 5100s have over just a preload spacer is they can put a slower rebound profile on the shock valving to prevent it from feel springy or under damped at full extension. A combination bilstein/tophat combo is a fine way of doing things, at 2.5" I'd really consider the Mopar lift arms at the least. It won't be long and you will start seeing extended travel options from companies like ICON where you get a slightly longer coil over combined with preload adjustment and replacement upper control arms that will increase ride height and add an extra inch of over all suspension travel often referred to as a mid travel kit. But you're looking at thousands not hundreds as far as cost goes.

First, Thank You so much for all the info you've provided. I just want to make sure I'm clear on a couple of things before I proceed. If I want to stick with just the Bilsteins and do the 2.5" lift, I would be best served by going with the Mopar UCA's with the extended movement. If I were to set the Bilsteins at 1.5" or close to it, then do a 2" top hat spacer, I'm essentially doing exactly what the ready lift SST kit does. In which case I should choose the readylift UCA's. If I go this route, I'm still slightly better that stock+readylift because of the improved performance of the Bilsteins.

Do I have that right?

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

First, Thank You so much for all the info you've provided. I just want to make sure I'm clear on a couple of things before I proceed. If I want to stick with just the Bilsteins and do the 2.5" lift, I would be best served by going with the Mopar UCA's with the extended movement. If I were to set the Bilsteins at 1.5" or close to it, then do a 2" top hat spacer, I'm essentially doing exactly what the ready lift SST kit does. In which case I should choose the readylift UCA's. If I go this route, I'm still slightly better that stock+readylift because of the improved performance of the Bilsteins.

Do I have that right?

No problem, That't what these forums are for.
On your first point at 2.5" the Mopar UCA's should be adequate.
on your second point you're pretty much right on except the ready lift SST attains its lift by 2 inch of pre load with 1.5" of top hat spacer. So setting the bilsteins at 2" and using 1.5" of top hat would be closer to the ready lift SST but with better shocks, and in that case you would for sure want the RL UCAs as the ball joint angle is designed around 3.5" of lift. Readylift advertises their top spacer as being 2" when it actuality it only nets about 1-1/2". When I measured everything thing out on my particular truck I figured I needed 2.25" of front lift to level the truck, I bought their 2" kit with UCA's and 1-1/2" of total lift is all I got there was still too much rake for my liking so I pulled their spacer and replaced it with a 2.5" street rays which netted a true 2.5" of lift which then caused the front end to sit too high so I added a 1" spacer to the rear and now I have about 1/2" of rake front to back. I'm considering going to the 5100 set them at 1.5" or close to it and using the original ready lift spacer. and trying to get front at 3" and 1" rear with about 1/4" of forward rake. Fine tuning is pretty tough because measurements change with even a full tank versus empty tank of fuel and even the slightest incline/decline of the ground the truck is sitting will yield different measurements. This pic was right after the Ready Lift " 2 inch ". Measurements showed only 1.5" of actual height gain.

 

[rob989_69]

No problem, That't what these forums are for.
On your first point at 2.5" the Mopar UCA's should be adequate.
on your second point you're pretty much right on except the ready lift SST attains its lift by 2 inch of pre load with 1.5" of top hat spacer. So setting the bilsteins at 2" and using 1.5" of top hat would be closer to the ready lift SST but with better shocks, and in that case you would for sure want the RL UCAs as the ball joint angle is designed around 3.5" of lift. Readylift advertises their top spacer as being 2" when it actuality it only nets about 1-1/2". When I measured everything thing out on my particular truck I figured I needed 2.25" of front lift to level the truck, I bought their 2" kit with UCA's and 1-1/2" of total lift is all I got there was still too much rake for my liking so I pulled their spacer and replaced it with a 2.5" street rays which netted a true 2.5" of lift which then caused the front end to sit too high so I added a 1" spacer to the rear and now I have about 1/2" of rake front to back. I'm considering going to the 5100 set them at 1.5" or close to it and using the original ready lift spacer. and trying to get front at 3" and 1" rear with about 1/4" of forward rake. Fine tuning is pretty tough because measurements change with even a full tank versus empty tank of fuel and even the slightest incline/decline of the ground the truck is sitting will yield different measurements. This pic was right after the Ready Lift " 2 inch ". Measurements showed only 1.5" of actual height gain.

View attachment 42589

Awesome. Thanks again. Now decision time. Bilsteins are "on the way" hopefully. Just need to figure out how high I wanna go. I don't want to do this more than once.