Will rear bilsteins ride softer?

[Diesel]

I think my old shocks have stiffened. Will bilstiens ride smoother than stock?

[slow_90firebird]

No they are very firm shocks, but they will offer more control over bumps

[Diesel]

I see. The last thing I need is more control out of the rear via stiffness. I guess I will have to try out some cheap replacement shocks to see if they are softer riding when unloaded.

[slow_90firebird]

Remove the shocks and go for a ride... If it's still too stiff then shocks will not help. If you like it better but it keeps bouncing then try some different shocks

[GeneralC]

Yeah bilsteins are very hard shocks. Putting them on was extremely difficult to do.

[dazedandconfused]

The Bilsteins on my Tahoe are horrible. It is all over the road and sways like crazy since I put them on it.

[slow_90firebird]

Wow your the first person ive heard say that i love mine and they work way better now with my d200cs fronbt springs installed the ride quality is still rough but night and day from what it was

[Diesel]

I didn't love them on a Grand Cherokee but thats not the shocks fault so much as it is the fact that the valving was setup for something i wasn't feeling. Otherwise all my vehicles came factory with Bilsteins at the moment and they are wonderful.

[142autox]

It depends on which series Bilstein you get. The 5100 series is a great shock, I use them all the time at the shop to replace the crap oem uses. Even my most pampered "why does my brand new truck ride like a truck?" customers love the ride when I put them on.

Of course they feel stiff when you manually compress them. They have to be to control the movement of that many leaf springs and an extremely heavy axle. Most ride harshness is caused by undampened suspension movement jarring through the chassis.

Unfortunately, I doubt Bilstein makes 5100s for our old trucks and I haven't been as impressed with their other series. May be worth looking into... I'll check tomorrow.

[slow_90firebird]

They do offer the 5100 series that's what I have on mine. The rears were great from the day I put them on. The fronts were kinda pointless with the stock springs 1/2" off the bumpstops, but now that I put the skyjacker softrides up front those work great too.

On a side note the bilsteins survived a few months almost fully compressed with the old front springs. The monroe lasted about 3days iirc...