Hello all, Been a long time since Ive been on here. Im due for new tires and shocks. My baby has 36,000mi on it, but living in Staten Island its a pot-hole ridden 36K!! Im looking for shocks to replace my stock ones. Ive seen over the years alot have said go with the Bilstein 4600 yellow series. My truck is bone stock with 285 tires on it. I do occasionally tow a race car and trailer with it. So, would the 4600's still be the way to go?? Thanks for any advice.

 

I just put Bilstein 5100's on my wife's '06.

Night and day difference, and rides like it's a new truck.




-Kris

 

How much are you willing to spend? I found that the Bilstein 5100 and 4100 shocks could be over come quickly due to my driving style in the NYC area. I now have a Carli 2.5 suspension with Carli/King shocks. The difference is significant! With that said, I recommend you look into either the Carli or Thuren shocks that you can afford. The Bilstein offerings did not do much for me.

 

Kris, I thought the 5100's were for trucks with lift kits and need extended length shocks??

 

They have a version for that application, but I picked the normal length ones and they're working great.

I grabbed them from AutoAnything as they were having a deal:


Bilstein Heavy Duty Shocks Front Shock
SKU 3764155
Part # 24-186070
Vehicle 2006 Dodge Ram
Submodel 2500, 4WD


Bilstein Heavy Duty Shocks Rear Shock
SKU 3764531
Part # 24-186094
Vehicle 2006 Dodge Ram
Submodel 2500, 4WD





-Kris

 

The Bilstein 5100 comes in two lengths and two different part #'s--

The shorter 5100 is for stock height to 2" lifted trucks.
The longer 5100 is for 3 to 6" lifted trucks.

The 5100 is an excellent upgrade from the oem shocks.

The 4200 (or Bilstein HD) is colored yellow and blue and is the same shock as the 5100 EXCEPT that it is valved specifaclly for these trucks. As such, it is available ONLY in a stock lenght for unlifted trucks.

It is also an excellent upgrade to the oem shocks.

All that being said, like another poster noted, these truck EASILY benefit from a larger diameter shock/piston and longer springs, but the price goes up astronomically from the Bilsteins at that point. So, if you can afford a few thousand dollars for a better suspension, go with a Carli syatem of your choice/wallet size, otherwise any of the Bilsteins will def improve the ride quality and handling of your truck.

Genos garage is a Bilstein distributor, has more then fair prices and excellent customer service...they can help you sort through the part#'s to make sure you get the correct shoicks for your truck.

 

Granted that's the info from my AutoAnything order back in May, those part numbers are from Bilstein and you should be able to use them anywhere to get yourself replacements since it's their part numbers.

They do look a bit goofy since the shocks are bright yellow and the shaft protectors are pale blue, but I don't mind since the ride improvement has made the wife happy.



-Kris

 

5100 from Geno's

 

Thuren's got the deal on Kings and his towers and he'll valve them to your needs.

 

I looked up the 5100's on Eshocks.com, and it seems they have the best prices, I searched Genos, AutoAnything, etc, and looks like Eshocks would be the place. I'll just make sure I order the ones for stock to a 2" lift and I should be good.

 

Another vote for the Bilstien 5100s.. I love mine.