New shocks ride nicely!

[danthaman1980]

2003 Chevy Silverado 1500 in my signature / 219,9xx miles. Was riding on factory shocks until last night. Driver's side rear shock developed a leak and was leaving unsightly spots on my driveway...

Sooo I ordered up 4 new Bilstein 4600 HDs and received/installed them yesterday evening. Man, what a difference! I'd almost forgotten how well this truck handled when I bought it ~11 years ago - now it feels almost brand new again

Go ahead, grill me on it and tell me I paid too much - I'd never owned a set of Bilsteins and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So far I'm not disappointed!

 

[Charlie1935]

Price is not my question.
Why would anyone run factory shocks that kind of miles?
There's no doubt in my mind they've been worn out for a considerable time.
Then again maybe my mind ain't right.

 

[Snoman002]

Nah, stock shocks usually go bad quickly IMO. My 80k shocks are bad, my 50k shocks are probably going bad, but amazingly the 100k shocks in my caravan are entirely usable (but I wouldn't call them good.. )

 

[qdeezie]

I'll be the next person providing feedback on Bilsteins hopefully in the next few weeks. In my experience, shocks are one of those products where you literally get what you pay for.

 

[Trav]

Great shocks and worth every penny.

 

[Bryankkkk]

I love the 4600's on my 94, after doing every single front end component I was greatly impressed with the ride quality! Didn't have time to put the rears in yet lol.

 

[hattaresguy]

Bilsteins are great shocks, unlike junk OE shocks their lifespan is far past 100k miles.

I did my Silverado at 100k and 3 out of 4 of the OE shocks was flat, their was just no rebound left on them. Putting in a set of Bilsteins was night and day.

I'll probably put a set of Bilsteins on the Ram at 50k.

 

[Kool1]

On my 03 CRV, the vehicle is quite light in weight, and the Bilsteins give a very firm ride that some might classify as too stiff. I believe with a heavier vehicle, such as your Silverado, the Bilsteins will give the vehicle an excellent ride.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Bilsteins are great shocks, unlike junk OE shocks their lifespan is far past 100k miles.

I did my Silverado at 100k and 3 out of 4 of the OE shocks was flat, their was just no rebound left on them. Putting in a set of Bilsteins was night and day.

I'll probably put a set of Bilsteins on the Ram at 50k.
Not to steal a thread but how is the Ram doing !!

 

[danthaman1980]

Originally Posted By: Charlie1935
Price is not my question.
Why would anyone run factory shocks that kind of miles?
There's no doubt in my mind they've been worn out for a considerable time.
Then again maybe my mind ain't right.


Nope, you're right - they've no doubt been worn out for a while, they just never made it to the top of the list of things to do until now.

 

[gathermewool]

Awesome, OP!

New KYB-GR2 shocks all around in my previous car, a '97 Legacy GT, transformed it from a $2-3k winter beater that handled so poorly that I dreaded driving it (for the 5k miles before swapping the dampers) into something I didn't mind taking on long trips and even twisty back roads!

With ~170k miles on the OEM shocks, this shouldn't have been an unexpected result, but I was pleasantly surprised none the less.

 

[Chris B.]

My 1997 GMC Sierra has 85,000 miles on it and the shocks say Bilsteins. I'm not the original owner and I'm wondering if these are the factory shocks? The truck is a half ton z71 package. It seems to ride nice. Are they factory and is it time to replace them? If so what Bilsteins would I need? Thanks!

 

[Jasper8146]

Really glad to hear that an expensive purchase turned out to be worth it. My wife's Kia shocks are nearly worn out at 20k and I'm wondering what to do. Will consider Bilsteins if the price isn't too much which it will probably be. Glad to hear Bilsteins really are good even if expensive.

 

[mclasser]

Originally Posted By: Jasper8146
My wife's Kia shocks are nearly worn out at 20k

Wow that's way to early for shocks to go bad

 

[ledslinger]

I install Bilstein HDs last year on my 2003 Silverado with a bit over 30K miles. I concluded the original shocks were junk the day they were installed. They really nailed the compromise between comfort and control on the HDs. They do their job impressively when loaded or pulling a trailer also.

 

[ledslinger]

Originally Posted By: Chris B.
My 1997 GMC Sierra has 85,000 miles on it and the shocks say Bilsteins. I'm not the original owner and I'm wondering if these are the factory shocks? The truck is a half ton z71 package. It seems to ride nice. Are they factory and is it time to replace them? If so what Bilsteins would I need? Thanks!


Bilstein makes a shock included in Z71 packages. I've read they aren't exactly like the replacement HDs, could be different valving or just paint job. The Z71 Bilsteins I've seen were black, don't know if they are marked Bilstein. Don't know what years the package includes Bilsteins, but yours could be factory installed.

They are reputed to work well to over 100K miles, if you like the ride run them. You want the HD shocks unless you do a lot of off roading.

 

[ledslinger]

Originally Posted By: Jasper8146
Really glad to hear that an expensive purchase turned out to be worth it. My wife's Kia shocks are nearly worn out at 20k and I'm wondering what to do. Will consider Bilsteins if the price isn't too much which it will probably be. Glad to hear Bilsteins really are good even if expensive.


Bilstein doesn't make shocks for a wide array of models. Mostly for autos that offer them as OEM. I'd be surprised if they are available for your Kia. I considered them on my Concorde, they don't make them.

 

[DeepFriar]

I did the same on the Rainier last year and the new Bilstein 4600 were wonderful and still are. You might also consider changing the sway bar end links as well from Moog or similar. My truck stopped listing like a top heavy freighter after I did that.

 

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted By: ledslinger
Originally Posted By: Chris B.
My 1997 GMC Sierra has 85,000 miles on it and the shocks say Bilsteins. I'm not the original owner and I'm wondering if these are the factory shocks? The truck is a half ton z71 package. It seems to ride nice. Are they factory and is it time to replace them? If so what Bilsteins would I need? Thanks!


Bilstein makes a shock included in Z71 packages. I've read they aren't exactly like the replacement HDs, could be different valving or just paint job. The Z71 Bilsteins I've seen were black, don't know if they are marked Bilstein. Don't know what years the package includes Bilsteins, but yours could be factory installed.

They are reputed to work well to over 100K miles, if you like the ride run them. You want the HD shocks unless you do a lot of off roading.


Mine are yellow. If they are factory that would mean they are pushing 20 years old. Would age make them bad even though the truck only has 85,000 miles? They seem like that are working well. THanks!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted By: Chris B.

Mine are yellow. If they are factory that would mean they are pushing 20 years old. Would age make them bad even though the truck only has 85,000 miles? They seem like that are working well. THanks!


Depends on what kind of driving conditions, climate, etc. The seals could start leaking and lose oil, the shocks themselves could be rusting, and all sorts of things could age them 20 years despite low miles.