Advocate I
Who is good with and knows suspension stuff well?
- Thread starter Lil Bear
- Start date
Enthusiast I
I am wanting to heavy duty Bilsteins for my 78 Dodge W200. I know they are cheaper and not high performance like Fox or King. I want something heavy-duty and dependable.
My shocks do not get much use. I am still running oem and they haven't started leaking.
It is preference. Just like the Great Truck Debate. We got a choice and we make our choice based off facts and the pocket book.
My shocks do not get much use. I am still running oem and they haven't started leaking.
It is preference. Just like the Great Truck Debate. We got a choice and we make our choice based off facts and the pocket book.
Bilstein makes a great shock. I discovered that driving them off road will void the warranty. They will rebuild them however. I never felt they were the same , most likely it was me and not he shock.
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Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
I went with icon stage 4 1.75-3" suspension mixed with a 2" leveling kit i have the lift set at 4" front/rear just because everyone was all about the other brands . I can go to 5" if I want or down to 3.75". Other than on the road I try to not hit bumps at high speed , offroad it tears up the trail and your suspension everything has a time and a place. If you play mainly in the sand then by all means get the necessary suspension to send it, if you want to mainly rock crawl your gonna need a totally different suspension setup, but if you want to do everything just ok get the basic model of shocks from whatever company floats your boat. Sometimes after you lift or level things just won't work ive ran into that before this is when you have to take measurements and look through the catalog until you find something that will work.
Unless you are buying top end shocks they are likely not going to be rebuildable, there may be some but it is usually the higher end stuff thats adjustable that can be rebuilt.
If the problem with the rear 5100 yo want is they aren't long enough for your lift they make shock extensions like these
I just looked at icons site for your truck all they have is rear shocks for your model but they have 7" travel to 17" travel one of those should suit your needs
Unless you are buying top end shocks they are likely not going to be rebuildable, there may be some but it is usually the higher end stuff thats adjustable that can be rebuilt.
If the problem with the rear 5100 yo want is they aren't long enough for your lift they make shock extensions like these
I just looked at icons site for your truck all they have is rear shocks for your model but they have 7" travel to 17" travel one of those should suit your needs
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Enthusiast I
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Im guessing its the 5100s have that warranty on them. Understandable too, I have seen countless 5100 series shocks fail over the years off road.
5100s do have a warranty when your read it it states driving off-road will void it.You do void it driving 45 +- mph over 4”to 6” washboard for 50 miles, even airing down didn’t help.LOL
The shocks that are running SCORE BAJA RACES or BEST IN DESERT are custom built and tuned for the each race cars not 5100s. Trophy truck and class one have 30” travel and drive whoops at 80 plus miles per hour. King, Fox, Icon, Walker Evens, Bilstien, etc, etc, all are involved in the teams. The 1000 is this weekend. Go to the Score and you can follow the racers. It pitted for BFG a couple of times years ago.
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
Enthusiast III
I think i'm going to go with the Bilstein's. I'll get the 5160's though for the rear(they are currently out of stock at shock surplus). Haven't decided on what to do with the front. It's already leveled so I may just go with a set of 5100's and not adjust them out as much and then change my UCA's.
Autism Family Travels
Rank IV
Enthusiast III
None of those shocks have a warranty either.
If you wreck a Fox or King shock, simply send it to them, for repairs. Repairs are reasonably priced.
Enthusiast I
Many of us run progressive springs to improve the ride. The truck stock has 5 leaf springs, the new kit on mine has 9, each on is a bit softer spread out over the length of the springs. Same weight capacity with a softer ride when carrying lighter loads.
Enthusiast I
