A stiffer shock will transfer hard bumps. The shocks value is in keeping the tire in contact with the pavement. A softer shock can allow a tire to bounce more to absorb some of the initial shock. The 5100 are designed for lifted off road trucks, to force those tires into contact with the ground. A softer shock can only reduce harshness to an extent before they sacrifice handling.

When it comes to tires, think of a crap ton of springs between the road and the wheel. The softer the spring, the gentler the ride, this is a combination of the tread and sidewall stiffness. Its purpose is to suck up some of the shock from hitting cracks, bumps and holes in the road. This is why an F450 rides so much harder than an F350 DRW. Everything being pretty much the same between axle and frame, the main difference are the tires. 350 has 17" wheels with a 31.5" diameter, 450 19.5" wheels 31.9" diameter, .4 tenths of an inch difference, so you would think the .4 inch would give a bit more softness to the ride as more sidewall. However, the Commercial tires used have very stiff sidewalls which transfer road shocks right into the rim and right into the cabin. The 17" tires however have much more sidewall, 2.1 inches more, not steel wrapped sidewalls, but Polyester string wrapped so that the tire absorbs more of that energy before it even gets to the rim.

So the Commercial Tires have heavy duty really stiff springs between the pavement and the wheel while the LT tires on the 350 have softer, longer springs between pavement and wheel. The more energy the tires can absorb, the softer the ride will be.

Shocks improve ride quality to an extent, but their main function is to provide better control for tire to pavement which provides for better handling. In situations where soft shocks will allow a tire to leave the pavement like on bridge approach or end, a stiffer shock will get that tire to stay on the ground or limit how much air it grabs. OTOH softer springs which carry less weight also improve ride quality.

Some shocks are adjustable, you can pump them up to really push that tire into the ground, or you can soften them up to absorb more energy before it reaches the frame. The first cranks up handling, which takes away ride quality, the latter sacrifices handling for more comfort.


You can put two identical trucks side by side with the one and only difference being the type and size of tire on them, and they will ride and handle different from each other.

 

I have ran the 5000s, RS7MT, 9000s, Fox 2.0, Bilstein 5100, and Bilstein 4600s.

5000s good ride quality for a stock street truck that doesn’t tow heavy often. 6.2 F250 4x4 CCLB.

9000s, ran them on my 20 6.7 2wd SC dually to help improve the ride marginally. Yes they are adjustable from bouncy buick ride to stiff.

Fox 2.0, f250 4x4 6.7 ccsb. They are a true performance shock and will give a bit of trophy truck feel. They dont ride necessarily good or bad.

Bilstein 5100, catch all entry level for a leveled truck that will see a little offroad dirt roads etc and tow heavy. 200psi charge rides a little rough. Ran these on a Tundra and Ram 2500 with full Thuren for the rest front and rear (cheaped out on the shocks).

4600s, good stock work truck shock. Firm but handles loads well. Similar to the 5100 as said. Ran on the rear of a few F150s and a Tundra.

RS7MT, similar to the 5100 but with 150psi charge. Wouldn’t suggest them for a daily heavy tow vehicle but I have towed my skidsteer many times and a 17k gooseneck. 6.7 CCSB f250 that I set up to ride very smooth.



Long story short is the RS7MT is meant for a level or lifted truck and the 5000 for a stock truck. Pick one of these 2.

 

For the most part, shocks controls the springs motion, the springs determine the stiffness and to have a decent ride quality they need to be matched to each other and the weight of the vehicle. Without knowing what parameters any off the shelf replacement shock was designed too, it's hard to find a decent match. Either buy adjustable shocks and dial them in to what you want or spend the coin on custom tuned shocks.

Before you go buying new shocks,g et a can of penetrating spray grease, or graphite lube, and douse all the suspension bushings and the leaf spring pack and hangers. Alot of ride harshness in older trucks can be attributed to sticky joints/springs. If the leaf pack is real dirty, hit it with a hose first to clean as much off as possible. I'd also check the body mount bolts, every vehicle I've had needed them snugged up and it always made the ride smoother.

 

What are you comparing it to? I think my 17 rides great for what it is.

Obviously it’s not a Town Car with air springs but it’s ok compared to my previous Ford and GM half tons, worlds better than my 78 fully leaf sprung F250 was, comparable to my F350 4x2 work truck with a fully loaded service bed and in a completely different class than the tandem axle dump trucks I work on.
I don’t think it rides much different than the crew cab Ram 2500 4x4 at work.

 

I've ran 5100's on several vehicles, have them on 4 vehicles right now (Tacoma, Tahoe, F150, Jeep XJ) and have been pleased with them for those applications. I also know them well enough to know that I don't want them on the SuperDuty (for my use case, which is a daily driver, people hauler). They are a firm shock and would not do the SuperDuty any favors in the ride department (unloaded). When I replace the stock shocks on mine, I'll take JoeT's advice and run the Rancho 5000x (most likely) or the RS7MT.

 

Coming off the stock stuff, the Fox 2.0 definitely provide a smoother ride. Not a Caddy, but smoother with less harsh transitions when hitting bumps, especially with the rear.

 

Thinking back, on my F450, I replaced the stock shocks at ~45K miles with the 5100 shocks. I was feeling the tires rebounding over every bump, so one bump became 3 or 4 hops. Afterwards the ride smoothed out, but was still harsh. The biggest improvement was in that a hop was a hop not 3 or 4 hops on every bump.

The same can be said for earlier MY F-150 FX4 shocks, from 2015 through to 2018 the FX4 shocks are allowing the rear wheels to hop around if you were on a cloverleaf of on ramp with a curve and hit a bump, the rear would go sideways. Replacing them with the 5100 was like a whole new truck.

When driving, put your butt to work and feel the tires on every bump. If you can feel two or more hops per bump, you need shocks.

 

I replaced the factory shocks on my 350 with Rancho RS7MT's and have been really happy with them, both unloaded and while pulling our travel trailer.

Personally I think they made an overall improvement in ride quality.

I put 5100's on my previous 2500HD and I noticed a stiffer ride over the factory shocks on that truck.

 

I put on 9000XLs on a 2017 CCSB 6.7 4wd FX4 and the difference was very noticeable. I started on the softest. Initially, I really like the ride, but in time it was too soft and oscillated too many times before smoothing. Now I am in the middle setting and really enjoy the ride compared to the stock ride.

 

The falcon shocks. Are those the E-shocks system? They say they won't fit with the 5th wheel prep, or ANY aftermarket gooseneck or fifth wheel prep kit. Your picture has a gooseneck trailer in it. Do you have the factory puck system with these shocks?

 

I removed the Bilsteins and put on a new set of Rancho 5000X shocks hoping the softer sprung shock would smooth out the ride a little and guess what, there is no difference in ride quality. Must've been in my head all along. But, as warned above, I have picked up some additional wheel hop. Jeez, I'm an idiot. Probably going to reinstall the Bilsteins. Thanks to all who contributed to this thread, Terry.

 

Do you have the camper package or any front spring options? What is your front gawr? Listed on the white door sticker.

 

Truck has the snow plow package so heavier duty front springs. I'm thinking airing down the tires is the only way to make these trucks ride better. I really don't mind how my truck rides, I was just seeing if I could make it better. It's a 3/4 ton truck that rides as smooth and quiet as a Cadillac until you hit a bump.

 

I have my DRW set to 65 front and 60 rear. Rides very nice for such a big truck and I am on some really rough roads doing 64 MPH.

 

I'm just over here still enjoying my Fox 2.0 monotubes and sulastic spring shackles.