Bilstein 5100

[TangoTango]

I think I'm going to go with the new Bilstein 5100s to level my front instead of the Readylift kit for my 4x2 Laramie. Any reason to stick with the Readylift kit?

90% on road, 10% mild off road for camping/fishing. Would I need to replace the UCAs with the Bilsteins? Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[Tender]

My thoughts on replacing UCA's are if you are going 2" or over UCA's could stand to be replaced. I had a 2012 and had them set at 1.7" never replacing the UCA's put 60,000 on them with no issues before I traded it in. 1.7" usually leaves a little rake which IMO looks best rather than perfectly level.

I am planning on going the full height with a spacer in the rear and will replace the UCA's when I do. If i was going less than 2" I would not bother personally. Just waiting to burn up my current set of tires before putting them on.

 

[rah6887]

My shocks finally came in, now I have to figure out who I am going to get to put them on, I'm certain that I do not have the tools to do it.

 

[agjr85]

My shocks finally came in, now I have to figure out who I am going to get to put them on, I'm certain that I do not have the tools to do it.

That's always my dilemma.
Local shop is charging me $250 to slap them on.
If I go with the RC struts it is $150 instead

 

[rah6887]

That's always my dilemma.
Local shop is charging me $250 to slap them on.
If I go with the RC struts it is $150 instead

I just got the same quote ($250), all day job they said...hmm.
Thought about calling my dealer, but I imagine they'll want $3,000 to do the job lol

 

[rob989_69]

I'd say that's reasonable considering they have to take the front end apart, disassemble the struts, reassemble and put it back together. I got quoted $350 for the front install, control arms, and rear spacer.

 

[Bubba33]

I did the RC 2in struts and 1.5 rear spacers in around 4 hours.

 

[Ram_Feste]

I'd say $200-300 is reasonable, I did all of mine in my driveway, this was my second time having it all apart so it went quicker, did both front sides in about 3 hours - took my struts to nearby shop to have them compress the springs and swap the struts which took about 20 mins, but that was my only expense (which was only $20, but I gave him $40 as I was in the XMas spirit).

 

[Dire Wolf]

Just called realtruck. They are selling them for $125 and change each. Does this sound like a good deal?
$200-300 for install doesn't sound bad. Figure $100+ per hour take it all apart....

I'm assuming an alignment is separate?

 

[rob989_69]

Mine was $350 including alignment but ymmv. I will say this, do NOT order from shock warehouse.com. I ordered on 12/18. They've had my money for more than 3 weeks and I can't get any kind of tracking info. They were responsive at first but as of today I've called, texted and chatted. No response. In fact the chat is actively cutting me off (chat window disappears completely for no reason.) I've opened a case with PayPal to get my money back and then I'll be ordering with realtruck.

 

[Solosnavy]

I'd say $200-300 is reasonable, I did all of mine in my driveway, this was my second time having it all apart so it went quicker, did both front sides in about 3 hours - took my struts to nearby shop to have them compress the springs and swap the struts which took about 20 mins, but that was my only expense (which was only $20, but I gave him $40 as I was in the XMas spirit).

do you have a photo of the truck and shocks installed?

 

[rah6887]

Mine was $350 including alignment but ymmv. I will say this, do NOT order from shock warehouse.com. I ordered on 12/18. They've had my money for more than 3 weeks and I can't get any kind of tracking info. They were responsive at first but as of today I've called, texted and chatted. No response. In fact the chat is actively cutting me off (chat window disappears completely for no reason.) I've opened a case with PayPal to get my money back and then I'll be ordering with realtruck.

I ordered from Shock Warehouse on 12/22, mine came in this past Wednesday, never had any tracking, caught me off guard when Mr. UPS pulled in the driveway.

 

[cory1223oh]

Likely going to go with the 5100's to level a non-ORG Laramie. My question is what the pros and cons would be of doing this by pairing with new ORG springs vs. sticking with the stock springs? I;m trying to make sure I understand spring rates, suspension travel, etc. Unlikely to ever be doing much towing, but would see occasionally off-road use here in Colorado getting to hiking trailheads.

 

[Turbo1895]

Likely going to go with the 5100's to level a non-ORG Laramie. My question is what the pros and cons would be of doing this by pairing with new ORG springs vs. sticking with the stock springs? I;m trying to make sure I understand spring rates, suspension travel, etc. Unlikely to ever be doing much towing, but would see occasionally off-road use here in Colorado getting to hiking trailheads.

In short and please correct me where I am wrong:
If you go with the org springs you will gain an inch an extra inch on max setting #5 on the shocks themselves so you will be 3" in total above stock non org height BUT you will need to get rear org springs as well or your nose will be too high and in addition you should replace the uca's with the mopar lift kit or r.l. uca's.

So pro would be gain an inch of lift which will 1. help offroad 2. fit 35's better and 3. overall look better.

Cons would be 1. cost 2. wrench time to install and 3. A slightly tigher spring rate that may feel a tad bit rougher on your butt, BUT as some one who has the org springs in my North Edition truck I wouldn't worry about that at all.

I hope that makes sense to someone other then me but it may not, so I apologize in advance.

 

[Rocko]

In short and please correct me where I am wrong:
If you go with the org springs you will gain an inch an extra inch on max setting #5 on the shocks themselves so you will be 3" in total above stock non org height BUT you will need to get rear org springs as well or your nose will be too high and in addition you should replace the uca's with the mopar lift kit or r.l. uca's.

So pro would be gain an inch of lift which will 1. help offroad 2. fit 35's better and 3. overall look better.

Cons would be 1. cost 2. wrench time to install and 3. A slightly tigher spring rate that may feel a tad bit rougher on your butt, BUT as some one who has the org springs in my North Edition truck I wouldn't worry about that at all.

I hope that makes sense to someone other then me but it may not, so I apologize in advance.

Sounds about right to me. Can't wait to mine done.

 

[cory1223oh]

In short and please correct me where I am wrong:
If you go with the org springs you will gain an inch an extra inch on max setting #5 on the shocks themselves so you will be 3" in total above stock non org height BUT you will need to get rear org springs as well or your nose will be too high and in addition you should replace the uca's with the mopar lift kit or r.l. uca's.

So pro would be gain an inch of lift which will 1. help offroad 2. fit 35's better and 3. overall look better.

Cons would be 1. cost 2. wrench time to install and 3. A slightly tigher spring rate that may feel a tad bit rougher on your butt, BUT as some one who has the org springs in my North Edition truck I wouldn't worry about that at all.

I hope that makes sense to someone other then me but it may not, so I apologize in advance.

Thanks for the explanation, and everything you said is in line with my understanding. However I should have clarified better what I was asking. I’m looking to leave the rear stock height, but lift the front up to near level ~2” to improve the look and fit 275/65r20 (34”) tires. So I was wondering if there was any benefit to using the 5100’s (on one of the lower settings plus an ORG spring to achieve the 2” of lift (gain approximately 1” from the longer spring and 1” from position #2 or #3) vs. just using position #5 with the stock non-ORG spring. Is there any real difference in going that route that the extra cost of the springs are worth it. Obviously at ~2” of total lift either way I’m in the gray area for needing to replace the UCAs. Am trying to think through if there is a difference or if the suspension still sits in the middle of its travel either way, and it’s just a moot point since both springs are compressed roughly equally and the shock is still extended the same amount. I’m likely over thinking it, but wanted to at least ask the question.

 

[Turbo1895]

Thanks for the explanation, and everything you said is in line with my understanding. However I should have clarified better what I was asking. I’m looking to leave the rear stock height, but lift the front up to near level ~2” to improve the look and fit 275/65r20 (34”) tires. So I was wondering if there was any benefit to using the 5100’s (on one of the lower settings plus an ORG spring to achieve the 2” of lift (gain approximately 1” from the longer spring and 1” from position #2 or #3) vs. just using position #5 with the stock non-ORG spring. Is there any real difference in going that route that the extra cost of the springs are worth it. Obviously at ~2” of total lift either way I’m in the gray area for needing to replace the UCAs. Am trying to think through if there is a difference or if the suspension still sits in the middle of its travel either way, and it’s just a moot point since both springs are compressed roughly equally and the shock is still extended the same amount. I’m likely over thinking it, but wanted to at least ask the question.

To be honest, I would not spend the money for the very minimal difference that would make. I personally would just run the bilsteins with the stock springs and not even bother with the uca's on a 2" level on a non org truck. Your front end is only 2" above stock height and there are tons of guys on this forum with similar set-ups that have never reported any issues at that height. Now if you want to be safe then Replace the uca with the moper lift kit ones and get that extra 10 to 15 degrees of travel angle but that is the most I would do.

If I am really being honest I think you have a better chance of running into problems when you start mixing and matching the org and non org springs on the truck. I personally would not do that but that is just my opinion, others who know way more about this then me might feel differently though.

 

[burntomaro]

My goal is to lift the truck to level it (non-orp) in order to fit some 20x12” wheels covered in 35s.

Will the 5100s set to position #5 (1.7”) be all I need to achieve my wheel and tire setup with no rubbing and level me out?

 

[OC.13]

So for those of you that have the 5100's installed, how has ride quality changed? What the verdict?

 

[Chrisdp23]

Thanks for the explanation, and everything you said is in line with my understanding. However I should have clarified better what I was asking. I’m looking to leave the rear stock height, but lift the front up to near level ~2” to improve the look and fit 275/65r20 (34”) tires. So I was wondering if there was any benefit to using the 5100’s (on one of the lower settings plus an ORG spring to achieve the 2” of lift (gain approximately 1” from the longer spring and 1” from position #2 or #3) vs. just using position #5 with the stock non-ORG spring. Is there any real difference in going that route that the extra cost of the springs are worth it. Obviously at ~2” of total lift either way I’m in the gray area for needing to replace the UCAs. Am trying to think through if there is a difference or if the suspension still sits in the middle of its travel either way, and it’s just a moot point since both springs are compressed roughly equally and the shock is still extended the same amount. I’m likely over thinking it, but wanted to at least ask the question.

So I was thinking of doing the same thing. My reasoning was that compressing the ORP spring 1" instead of the stock spring 2" would effect the ride quality less due to the fact the more you compress the stock spring the stiffer it gets. Does anyone know if the spring rate for the stock spring and ORP are the same or is the ORP stiffer which would negate my thinking.