Rear bilstein 5100's are great, should I do fronts too?

[gooby]

I added rear Bilstein 5100's to my 2022 f150 XL 4wd last year when I got the truck. Helped a ton with the overall sloppy bouncy ride in the rear.

I am now considering adding the 5100's to the front as well. My truck has 3" of rake currently. I don't want to do anything that is going to negatively affect the ride quality, reliability, or towability of the truck. I don't care about the aesthetics, I just want to improve the ride even more if possible.

I occasionally tow a 2000 LB 16' aluminum cargo camper.

1. Will the 5100's in the front be an upgrade over stock and make the truck ride better?
2. What height should I go? 1"? Are there negatives to towing with less than 3" unloaded rake?

Link: https://www.stage3motorsports.com/24-323680-2-21-22-f150-4wd-bilstein-5100-leveling-struts.html

Thanks all!

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[gooby]

Anyone?

 

[Gutshot]

I’ll give you my experience, which is very limited, because I had my 5100 leveling kit installed before I had 100 miles on the clock. I bought the 4 shock package from Stage 3, easy purchase, cost me about $400 to have it installed. I had them set it at 2.1”, max height, which damn near leveled my truck. As for the ride difference I’ve been told by a coworker who recommended it that they are better. The negative of lifting the front is mileage, I lost a few I’m sure, but then the BF K02’s didn’t help that out either. If you don’t want to adversely affect the truck, stay with the stock height, can’t hurt.​

 

[Rineland]

I did 5100s all the way around and I love the ride quality over stock. Much more composed over rough sections and especially bridge expansion joints that always used to unsettle the rear with the stock shocks. I did 1.5” in the front but I’ve still got about 3.25” of rake since I have the max tow and the roadmaster active suspension leaf helper in the rear. I wanted to keep some rake since I haul my snowmobile around in the bed in the winter. I did not notice any negative impact on fuel economy after the lift, it actually went up by a small amount. Stock tires and rims, pretty much nothing changed other than the 1.5” lift. You mentioned not wanting it for aesthetics so there’s always the option to leave them at the stock height setting and just get the benefit of a better quality shock.

 

[Snakebitten]

Bang for buck, it's difficult to beat 5100s.

But doing just the rear or just the front isn't finishing the job. Unbalanced, if you will.

You asked.

 

[Buyer2021]

I bought the discounted 4-shock bundle from Stage 3 and DIY installed 5100's on all 4 corners at once (stock height in front) - absolutely no regrets, I really like the overall ride-control improvement.

 

[Eskram]

Bang for buck, it's difficult to beat 5100s.

But doing just the rear or just the front isn't finishing the job. Unbalanced, if you will.

You asked.

You are an evil, evil man that makes people spend money. ?

I can think of several hundred dollars that I've spent because you made me. Maybe into the thousands..

 

[gooby]

You are an evil, evil man that makes people spend money. ?

I can think of several hundred dollars that I've spent because you made me. Maybe into the thousands..

LOL I'm pretty sure he is the guy who convinced me to get 5100s in the rear and michelin defender ltx's.

 

[Eskram]

LOL I'm pretty sure he is the guy who convinced me to get 5100s in the rear and michelin defender ltx's.

Seems like grounds for a class-action lawsuit then!

 

[Snakebitten]

Uhoh. ?

I think I'll mosey on.

 

[gooby]

OK I ordered them. Now, I have a shop locally that said they will do them for 'a few hundred bucks' but I will find out exactly. They said they don't do alignments and I'd have to go across the street after for that. Does this sound normal? Anything I need to make sure the shop knows about installing them? Or any shop that I choose for that matter.

 

[Snakebitten]

Alignment is necessary.

You are going to be pleased.
It's a much superior damper to the oem. Better than it should be for the investment.

There's no reason an F150 shouldn't come from the assembly line with the composure those 5100's provide.

 

[gooby]

Received the shocks from suspensionlifts.com today.
Sketchy beat up boxes, inside were the correct shocks, however, the mounting hardware was missing for one of them and for the other one it is the wrong hardware and does not contain the ring. Clearly made for another shock. B4-KT1-Z388A00 is what they gave me, and it does not contain a ring like I see in the photos.

Due to the sketchy packaging I am wondering if this is a legitimate company or they are reselling returns or something. I may rebuy from another vendor now and insist on a refund from them.

 

[Buyer2021]

Received the shocks from suspensionlifts.com today.
.....

Why on earth didn't you go back to forum sponsor Stage3?

Email or PM a request to Frank there and he'll likely grant an additional forum member 10% discount on top of their already good web prices.

 

[gooby]

Why on earth didn't you go back to forum sponsor Stage3?

Email or PM a request to Frank there and he'll likely grant an additional forum member 10% discount on top of their already good web prices.

I always buy from them, unfortunately they are out of stock and I wanted to get these in this upcoming week since I am leaving on a long road trip in late nov. But yeah, stage 3 is always great.

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