LOL @ my title.



anyway, since i searched the hell out of this first, i thought i would tell ya about my experiences with the 5100 bils on my 06 fx4 scab.

they claim these shocks will lift the front of your truck 1", or 2" depending on where you mount the spring perch.

I received my bils on tuesday eve. Had them installed yesterday. measured truck on level ground, in the center of the front wheel opening, it measured 37" exactly.
After install, it measured 37.5". I also raised the front tire pressure from 30 psi (thanks ford dealer!) to 45. At best, the bils were worth .50"!!!!! the air pressure did the rest.

anyway, i needed new shocks, so it was not a big deal, I just wanted the benifit of the leveling.

ohh well.



and to answer the critics first, a well known shop in the area did the install, and he was skeptical they would even maintain the stock height, and that compressing the springs as far as required to reassemble them would be difficult, and cause a poor ride, he did it anyway. so, they were installed correctly to give a 2" lift.



since this info sems to be lacking in the few dozen posts i read, i thought i would put it out there for future searchers.


ohh, truck 100% stock, with 63k stock size revo's.

 

Huh. I don't understand how it could be that way. It's not like the front suspension relies on the shock extension force for much, if any, of the ride height position, so if he put the clip in the highest groove, it wouldn't have any option but to lift it more than the 1/2" you're seeing.

Is it possible to see the lower two grooves below the clip? The spring seat probably makes it difficult if not impossible to see anything near the clip.

 

have you seen these in person VFR_Man? (seems like yes)

the shock is 1" shorter overal than the o.e., and the spring gets compressed, upping the preload. this apparently gives you the other 1" (over the shorter shock length). this came direct from bilstein, when i was on the phone. I had the stock shock, and the bil in hand, and the HIGHEST setting (ring groove) was nearly equal to the stock shock. if you used the lowest one, which is supposed to be stock ride heaight, i think the truck would have ended up about .5" lower than when i started, possibly more.



I have yet to find a post from anyone with before and after measurements, with the only change being the 5100 bils.

 

I took my 2" leveling kit off and went with the adjustable bilsteins and it sits just a bit lower. It is still lifted 1" - 1.5" though.

 

Bilsteins are a gas(Nitrogen) charged shock (200+psi) unlike a Rancho. This is what gave you .5" more height. The high pressure is also what causes the uncomfortable ride. That coupled with the digressive valving. If you want a great kit get the Fox kit.

 

I have the bilsteins on my '04 and they gave me just under 2 inches of lift. I took measurements before and after but I no longer have them available, i just know that i got almost 2 inches. After a little tire size increase the next weekend, the front sits 3 inches higher and the rear is 1 inch higher. Is it possible that you received the wrong ones? 2 and 4 wheel drive trucks have different part numbers.

 

I've never seen them, or installed them, but I've been skeptical about them since I heard about them. Looks like I had good reason. Bilstein makes a good shock though. I prefer Rancho though.

 

I checked the part # on the actual shock when the tire shop brought them to me to compare with the oe shock. it is the correct part #.

 

????


the ride improved 500% over stock. no lie. way better.


i can compress both the front, and rear bils in this truck by hand, as well as the bils in my 89 stang. they are not high pressure.

 

I put a set of 5100's on my 05 screw@ 2 months ago and got 2" of lift on the front.

 

I haven't seen them in person, yet, so I assumed that the lowest groove would be the same distance from the lower mount as the OE shock and the other two grooves would be higher than that. That seems pretty jacked up (or should I say down) to be the other way around. I wonder if they have a batch of screwed up production or mis-numbered parts.

Do you remember if they were a -H0 or a -H1 part number for the front? Bilstein is showing both part numbers for a 4wd front, but I don't know what the difference is between the two.

Was the body itself 1" shorter, or just the overall extended length? If it was just the extended length, I can see it being that much shorter if they put some sort of rebound spring in there to eliminate/reduce the bang when the suspension goes full extended; like a motorcycle shock.

I was planning to get a set before too long in hopes of getting the 1" lift out of them. Bummer

 

Besides knowing that they have a high pressure charge with an IFP(Internal Floating Piston) for a fact having modified my fair share of 5100's to turn them into 7100's, you can read the product description on Bilsteins site for yourself.

Bilstein

They have and IFP that separates the nitrogen gas charge from the shock oil. If they did not have this and the oil and gas were mixed, the valving piston would sit above the oil level (the shock is upside down) and the shock would not function. Try not to forget about F=PxA. If the shocks are charged with approx. 200psi and the shaft diameter is .550" that means the that A= .237in^2 (F=200x.237, F=47 lbf).
Maybe you should try the leveling kit from Fox or King. These kits are higher priced but you get what you pay for. They are 2.5 shocks front and rear and they use a coilover that allows you to adjust the preload (ride height) of the truck. The shocks are also fully rebuildable and tuneable. This allows you to take them apart and adjust the valving to suit your driving.
Another thing to note. The limiting factor in the front suspension MUST be the shock. If the shock is too long then the ball joints will have all the load put on them. A good way to see how worn out your upper ball joints are is to first jack the front of the truck up so the tires are off the ground (might need to remove the front tires for this). Then looking at the coil bucket from the side of the truck, place a pry bar in the coil bucket and press down on the upper arm. The rubber in the upper arm pivots wants the upper arm to rotate up while the shock and the weight of the suspension is pulling down on the spindle. You will feel a bunch of up and down play if the ball joints are worn out.

 

What was the part number? BE5-C298-HO or BE5-C300-HO.

 

all i know for certain, the truck is half an inch higher (i have now driven it 500 miles since install). i had the number that was on the actual front shock when i called bilstein to double check on where to put the ring on the body. there were NO instructions at all about raising/maintaining vehicle height in the box.
the shock, when fully extended was one inch shorter than the stock one. both unloaded. the tech at bilstein said it was normal. (and he did ask if it was a 4x4)


im starting to wonder if the part number i had was for a 2wd as well as some of you have suggested. i cannot see it anymore since they are installed, and i do not have the number i wrote down, i tossed it after hanging up with bilstein.


ill post back if/when i hear anything.