New Shock Job

Hey fellas, first post here and figured it'd be best since the search revealed some answers but caused some new questions for a shock job im about to get into (not diy) on a 14 extended cab 5.7l 4wd:

1. was going to do 5100 all around since its an upgrade from the 4600s I think are currently installed. BUT just found out about the 6112s. So now I'm thinking of doing 6112s up front and 5100s in the rear. I don't off road but i do more than 10k miles a yr towing a mini fifth wheel (scamp) weighing about 3900#. Is the ride quality that much different if I am just towing and not off roading between these 2 series? Side question, my mechanic offered to do KYBs all around which come with springs (comparable to stocks he said), for 1.4k total job, but not sure how these will hold up...

1.b. whats the advantage of lifting the front of the truck to get rid of the factory rake? What happens to the ride? MPG? What happens to the back of the truck height with any of shocks? The trailer I have no, sits nearly level and I don't want to lift the back of the truck anymore than the original height.

1.c. with the 5th wheel camper being only 3900#, any advantage to using air bags in the back?

2. If I go with the billys, I understand that the front mounts need to get replaced as well ( I'm at 105k on the original suspension). The bilstien tech i spoke to, also mentioned that the springs can be reused, but should be inspected. Any thoughts on keeping originals vs. replacing these two components for the front assembly?

4. Any other assembly components that need to be replaced or purchased along with either bilstein model? When speaking with the bilstien tech, he said front shocks come with the seats and the rear comes with bushings and hardware.

5.. Anyone know of any sales for bilstien shocks happening online anywhere? How much can I expect to pay for this job if I source the work out?

Dang l, thats alot of questions. Appreciate any responses to these questions.

 

Sounds like you've done some research instead of just asking 'whats the best shock'. Haha. Good for you.

I'm a big fan of 6112's. They offer an improved ride as well as handling compared to the 4600 and 5100 series shocks. I put over 100k miles on one set of 6112/5160 shocks, and almost 10k on a second set that I just swapped out while I waited for my new fancy pants shocks to arrive. They are great shock absorbers with digressive valving, which means they have a firmer road feel, but softer bump compliance. Cornering is fantastic with them, but you can feel smaller bumps even though the shock is better controlled in all situations (except maybe jumping the truck). The small bumps aren't jarring like a stiff shock/spring setup, just more road feel. 6112's come with a new spring that has a softer rate than the factory spring (650 lbs/in vs 700 lbs/in stock) meaning the spring is more compliant and softer riding. The shock body on the 6112 is larger than the 5100 so it has more fluid to dissipate heat and a larger piston for better control. They are a great all around shock for everything from daily driving to hauling to towing to going fast on fire roads.

You do need new top hats to assemble the 6112's, but at 100k your stock ones may not be reusable anyways. Your stock springs may be fine if you wanted to go with 5100's, but it's nice knowing that you have new springs with the 6112's. The rear shocks usually require you to reuse the factory rear bushings even though they tell you otherwise. I've been able to reuse mine but you can order some OE replacements if you wish. Otherwise, that's pretty much it. They are both simple and straightforward to swap out. The rears are super simple; the fronts are a little more work but can be done with a floor jack, jack stands, and basic mechanics tools. Sometimes and big breaker bar and PB plaster, as well, depending on what the undercarriage looks like.

Both 6112's and 5100's are height adjustable (the front shock assembly anyways) via a movable circlip that needs to be inserted into a groove on the shock body before assembly. So once you assemble the shocks, you cannot adjust the height without removing and disassembling the coil over assembly. I ran mine at the lowest setting, which is supposed to be about .75" of lift. I tow and haul often and did not adversely affect that in any way. To the contrary, it helped with towing and hauling as it gave a more stable tow with less nose dive.

I would 100% recommend the 6112's and 110% recommend skipping the KYB setup, especially for a tow rig. A 6112/5160 combo can be had for $1200 or so, plus install. Or you can find a set of used ones (I've got a solid, lightly used set I'd give somebody a deal on). The 5160 rear shocks are a 5100 with a remote reservoir and slightly stronger valving; the reservoir adds more fluid to the the shock to help dissipate heat while towing or off-roading. I find it helps with both. I have standard 5100's on my sequoia and find the 5160's to be quite different - in a good way - for truck duty.

As for airbags, I love mine. I've run them for the last 6 years or so and appreciate the ability to air up or down to suit the load. If you spend a lot of time driving and completely empty truck they can add just a little bit of stiffness to the rear suspension. But towing and hauling - they are great. A 3900# fiver puts maybe 600 lbs in the bed, which is perfectly fine on the stock suspension. But I don't like a saggy rear end, even if it is only sagging an inch or two. So I wouldn't say you need them, but I also can't say they wouldn't be helpful...

Just my 2 cents.

 

Thats a great 1 pennies sir! Much appreciated. Ill pm you as well.

 

I was in the same boat not long ago. Did my research, and I realized that for the money after springs and new hats the 6112s are worth the upcharge. Colton (@memario1214 ) at Hot Shot Off Road will get you set up properly as well. The rear 5100s are backordered for a long time, and I was going to go with those in the back. So, you might have trouble getting a set anyway.

I just bit the bullet and upgraded to the 5160s back there. I think you will be happy regardless, as long as you're patient if going with the 5100s.

 

Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)! Stick around for more ways to spend money on your truck!

 

I have the 6112/5160 setup. I have had Sway-a-way and Fox. I will say Belton is correct about the 6112. I am also most definitely going a different route next time around. I find the 6112 setup to be too harsh for everyday normal driving. Like he mentioned, you feel the small potholes in the road that you wouldn’t with another shock. I got a really good deal on them so I couldn’t pass them up. My next set will be more geared towards road manners more than off-road. So if comfort is more your thing then I would recommend looking elsewhere like Fox or Eibach. Shock Surplus has talked about the difference between Bilstein, Fox, King, etc.

 

For what it's worth, I bought a set of Fox 2.0's front and rear for my 2013 rock warrior and I absolutely hate them. They provide the stiffest ride ever. Way stiffer than the stock shocks with a hockey puck leveling kit the truck came with used. I bought the fox's from shock surplus because they reviewed them as being the softest in that price range. Not sure if I got a bad set but they're terrible. I'm gunna go with bilstein 4600 and bring it back to stock height likely.

 

5100s are just a slightly more quality version of the 4600s with adjustability options. I was tempted heavily by the 6112s abilities but suspect I'll go with the 5100s for the price and what I actually do with my truck, which is pretty much street driving exclusively, towing around an enclosed 6x12 and the occasional gravel road.

I swapped my 4600 rears to 5100 at about 105k miles, and it fixed a bit of the bed bounce on the highways and feels nice and new, but not any harsher. Fronts up next!

 

Wow. I had Fox 2.0 before on another truck and although I can't remember that much, I will say they weren't as bad as you described them. I like the 6112/5160 set up, but at there are times when I wish they were a bit softer over small pot holes. Either way I only have around 20k on mine so it will be awhile before I new new ones unless they bust a seal or something. Shock Surplus says Eibach is middle point of the 2.

 

yeah I don't know if I just got a bad set but I am not happy with them. With under 3k miles on them, the right side squeaks already, and that one specifically was hard to install because the top mount seemed tweaked and wouldn't fit without some major force. Something is definitely wrong with them but I'm outside of warranty so I'm s.o.l.