Hi Keith,

The Ford engineers know way more about the right damper tuning for your truck than any aftermarket supplier. The aftermarket will always give you stiffer dampers than you need so that you can “feel” that you got something for your money. If you have worn out your OE dampers (they should always be changed when you need new tires) get new OE dampers and you will get new truck ride. I wouldn’t go anywhere near Bilstein dampers . . . but, that is just one opinion.

Rob

I replaced the OEM shocks and steering damper on my '16 Ford F350 with Bilstein 5100 shocks and damper. I was getting a ton of porpoising with the OEM shocks while pulling my travel trailer. I noticed a huge improvement with the new shocks. My steering felt more snug with the new damper too. The shocks that came with the truck were Rancho brand.

Rob - Do you have some history with Bilsteins?

TucsonJim Yoda

Jim,

Your recent experience with Bilstein components is far more relevant to Keith's question than my anecdotal experience which goes back to a "difference of opinion" between a component supplier and a vehicle manufacturer from many years ago. It is interesting how an association with a company name sticks with you . . . even if it is no longer deserved. I still stand by my opinion that the factory engineers know what is best for the vehicles they design and if the ride was good and towing was stable when the truck was new, best to return it to that condition . . . but, your direct experience with aftermarket parts improving the towing stability of your rig is proof otherwise.

Rob

I have run Bilstein 4600s in my last two Super Duties (still stock on my 2019), and had great results. I did look at the 5100 that Jim runs, but Bilstein said at the time (may have changed) that if you run the stock height the 4600 was just as good. It is entirely possible that I suffer from feeling like it was better to justify the cost and project, but my wife commented that the ride did seem better. To me it seemed like there was less oscillation when I would hit a bump or dip before the ride settled out. I have heard good things about the Rancho (I think 9000 but not sure) on the current generation trucks.

Cate&Rob I understand what you are saying about the engineers, but obviously the other side of that is the pencil pushers that cut costs on the truck wherever they can. I can say for sure that the Bilsteins I have bought have lasted at least double the mileage of the stocks (sold both before I needed to replace). Also its possible that the Super Duties are designed for such a wide range of payloads that the stock shocks need to cover, whereas if you have a specific use in mind you can narrow in on a aftermarket shock that works better for your particular use (heavy towing in our case)?

Yoda To your other question I think suppliers are a dime a dozen, I have bought from shockwarehouse, eshock, and even Amazon once when everybody was out of the rear shock in my last truck. Decide what shock you want and get it from whoever has the best price.

The 4600 are a great shock. If you're running your truck most of the time as a daily driver, you'll get a better ride from them. But if you carry very heavy loads or have a modified suspension, the 5100's are the way to go. Another benefit for me was that the 5100 is zinc coated while the 4600's are painted. We were doing a lot of winter driving in Utah where they heavily salt the highways. Our painted Rancho shocks were very rusted after just 3 years. We also do some off road driving on our hunting and fishing trips. Here's a short article on the difference between the two Bilsteins:

https://www.shocksurplus.com/pages/b...es-the-lowdown

Jim

TucsonJim
Rob - thanks for the food for thought. My previous truck F250 7.3 IDI 5 speed manual 4x4 had Rancho shocks from the factory with the FX4 package which I got only for the skid plates (trans/fuel tank) Forgot the year but I think it was a 1985. The factory shocks lasted a year before failing so sometimes I wonder whom wins - engineers or Sales Gimmick. Ford still offers the Rancho shocks as part of some of their packages. Back then I put on HD Monroe shocks as they were the quality replacement at the time, or I was too cheap for the Bilsteins. The Monroe's did very well back then. For some reason I remember Ford parts having a tough time on stock replacement shocks as it came with the FX4 package so their parts book only showed Rancho . The 4x4 club used to call then Roncho

I do remember when my 04 truck was new, towing was good, but with my old trailer and hitch I had a lot of chucking and some bucking (mostly hitch issue). So I will track down the Ford part numbers and do a bit of research but given my truck is an 04 I wonder if Ford upgraded their standard shocks ?

Jim - I found Bilstein 5100's for the rear of my stock truck, but they don't appear to have front ones for stock configuration. All show lifted configuration and I want to know the difference between the B6 4600 and 5100 series. Ill check with Bilstein later today.

Thanks for the help folks
Have a great and safe week
Keith

On edit TucsonJim thanks for answering my question before I typed it....must have been the force

Keith--please continue this thread when/if you get the replacements installed. I'll be very interested to read about your "lessons learned", ride impressions, etc.

Howard

Yoda Keith,

I've purchased shocks and struts from shockwarehouse.com with no issues. I purchased Bilstein 4600's for my truck since I moved to a heavier tire and figured the increased damping on the Bilstein's would help with the added unsprung mass. The ride is more firm but some of that is from the LT tires which I air at 40 psi while empty and 45 - 50 while towing with my half ton. If I were not towing, and needed shocks, I would have gone with factory original equipment for both shocks and tires.

Jim

Cate&Rob howson ncitro Guest
Well after searching Ford parts and giving up based on their parts look up being confusing and talking to two parts counter folks at two dealers to unravel (one required a vin and getting prices from $29.95 to over $100 each I decided to call my friendly service manager. Bottom line the Bilsteins are a good choice for what I am doing. Its like the Ford/Chevy/Ram debate.
I ordered from ShockWarehouse (good price Coupon and no sales tax and free shipping). In stock and should have by Friday. I did shop around and depending on coupons/sales tax availability and shipping ShockWarehouse came out on top. Their costumer service was excellent too helping verify what I ordered was correct.

Ill report later when I get installed. Cutting Hay tomorrow so the fun begins.

Update
They are now installed and I like the empty ride. What is supersizing is the old ones still had a bit of life left after 120,000 miles, I did have to instruct the installer to put the boot portion down on my front ones, he kept trying to put the boot up like his jeep. Had to enplane that Ford was different and with Bilstein if the lettering is correct, the orientation is correct. At least the install price was right - $90.

I have been trying to find Bilsteins for a couple of weeks they seem to be in backorder. Was told the 4600 would fit my truck not the 5100 which is for lifted trucks. Anyway, ended up ordering the Rancho 9000xl and will have my brother in law do the install. I hope I don’t regret it,now reading they are junk.

I have a '18 350 4X4 CCLB Dually and tow a 2020 337RLS. At about 14k, the front tires were feathered on the outside edge. After doing research, I went with the 4600's. Well worth the $$ It was a noticeable difference in ride quality empty and when towing. The stock shocks were horrible! They actually took about 15 seconds to extend after compressed. I am a Ford guy but the factory shocks are garbage!! I now have 38K+ on the original tires, no more feathering and looking to get 45K+ before needing replaced.

Out of curiosity--why switch from OEM? What is the expected result due to the switch?

I recently had my dually's tires changed along with front brakes and had new (Ford OEM) shocks installed. The OEM shocks have worked just fine for 5 years. With the new shocks, tires, and alignment (front right was definitely out) I'm hopefully good for another 5 years.

I seem to remember Cate&Rob discussing the topic of shocks in a couple of different threads through the years. I replaced the shocks based on what I interpreted as a good preventive maintenance practice. As I'm sure you're aware Rob knows when it comes to suspension topics.

Howard - In my case, the OEM Rancho shocks were significantly rusted. When I removed them, two of them compressed way too easily which indicated they had failed internally.

Jim