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Got the Bilstein 5100s installed this evening. I just did a quick drive around town to find beer, but I admit they're pretty amazing already. Gone is the "bobbing" the truck did over those large speed humps. I can hit them faster now and it's "one dip and done". The side sway is also significantly improved. Without a sway bar, the truck had a tendency to rock side to side more than I liked. The new tires helped and these shocks are also a huge improvement. I'm sure the weight added from the skid plates is a factor, but the truck now turns much more flat than before. The ride is stiff, but not harsh. Just much more in control.
The front 5100s are ride-height adjustable with five height settings. There's stock, +0.75", +1.25" and then two more around +2". I wanted to keep a bit of rake so the truck didn't sag while I was hauling gear. The RCI skid plates took out 0.25" from the front of the truck, so I had 2.25" of rake before the shocks. I went with the 1.25" setting and got +0.75" measured. One might think the installer put the settings incorrectly, but I'm going to trust he set it correctly and the skid plates are pulling things down. Either way, I'd rather have a bit more rake than not enough and look like I'm dragging azz going down the road.
Finally, I gained 0.25" on the right-rear and 0.50" on the left rear after the shocks. I'm guessing everything will settle down, but with the fuel tank and heavy fuel tank skid plate on the left side of the truck, I'm glad I've got a bit of extra. I'll take new measurements in a few weeks and see how things look.
With all the new gear, I took a trip to the scales today. The local one I'd been using was acting strange last time I tried it, so I went for a nice drive to a Washington State DOT scale. Weights include me, full gas and all the gear I normally haul. Plus obviously the complete RCI skip plate package and new tires.
So I've added about 780lbs to the truck since taking delivery. The canopy is 200lbs, the skid plates were 190lbs according to RCI's website, but I think they understated that a bit...but call it +150lbs when subtracting for the OEM gear I removed. Tires added about 70lbs, so the remaining 360lbs is gear (dang). I'll probably pull my truck box and all the gear and do another scale trip sometime in the near future. I'm guessing my weights are bit off. Not sure how I've got 300+lbs of gear in my truck box.
Good looking ride. I have pretty much the same truck 2017 3.5 eco 10sp, 501a pkg. What size tire are you running and was there any rubbing prior to installing bilstiens?
Latest Mod: FORScan! I'd been wanting to do this for a long time, but didn't have a Windows based laptop in the house to use the software. We fixed that, so I bought this dongle off Amazon and went to town:
I turned off the fake engine sound (it's awesome), disabled the double honk (hated it), turned on the engine and transmission temperatures above the gauge and enabled "Bambi" mode (fog lights + high beams). Going to try a few more thing at some point, but next up is the A/C seat fix.
Cooled seat mod installed... didn't feel much difference for the ten minutes I sat in the driveway. Headed out tomorrow and will report back if more time helps. The seats were heat-soaked from the sun so it's possible I didn't give it enough time.
04-09-2017, 08:29 PM
