Will they work on a 2wd? And honestly how much better is the ride? Cost? Where are ya'll getting them?

Thanks

 

I got mine at www.eshocks.com. These were the cheapest I could find. Yes they are worth it.

 

Question to anybody installing the Bilsteins...if y'all had a BED SHAKER F150, did the install have any affect on the issue?

 

A different question. Has anyone installed them on a 2 wheel drive? With what results?

A 2 wheel is a whole other creature than a 4x4.
Chris

 

And there's a whole different part number too!

I've had Bilsteins on a number of vehicles; trucks, cars, 2wd, 4wd, motohomes and all had the same charicteristic in that small road imperfections are more noticeable but larger bumps and all around handleling were vastly improved as compared to the replaced OEM shocks.

I actually prefer Edelbrocks usually, though were not available for my truck when I looked.

 

Just installed a set on my 2WD SCREW,, very noticable difference in wheel controll. Yes, you can feel a little more in the small stuff, but feels much better on medium to larger hits.

 

tycreek posted;

"And there's a whole different part number too!"

But I see it's the whole same price too!

Taildragger, I never quite know what a person means by small-medium-large stuff.

Around here, a small pot hole is about 10 inches accros, and about five-seven inches deep. A medium is larger than a tire. You don't want to know about a 'bad stretch'.

You drive down the road dodging, only hitting when you have to.

It's a little worse this year with all the rain.

Thing is, when you hit the good roads, main streets, or freeway, the ride on my truck is like silk. I think I would hate to give that up.

My truck weighs about a 1000-1200 less than your Screw, and they use the same shocks...

Oh well, think I will wait till they have about 20k on them before I mess with them. The other brands will be out by then, I hope, so I can do some comparison shopping.

Chris

 

Yeah I totally agree w/ Taildragger. The small stuff you notice a little more because the shocks are stiffer than stock, but speedbumps and whoops are much better.

By the way I have a 2wd XLT SCREW, and I think bilsteins are the way to go. They really aregreat all around (body roll, offroad, etc.)

I got the shocks at www.eshocks.com also. Super fast delivery also.

 

Chuckles!!!

By small ... I mean small!!! Them bad roads all get much better ... reduced dodging. But on otherwise perfect roads ... you might feel a little tiny crack that you didn't before ... not like turning it big or anything ... sort of like a higher precision feel. Much of that will have to do with tires too ... as I almost alway run a very stiff sidewall tire.

The shocks are usually tuned to each application weight ... thus the different part numbers even when length and connections might be the same. Each mfg has thier own formula so-to-speak ... and of these ... a few actually do a good job of matching things up!

Reguardless of vehicle size and weight I can sort of tell if it's a bilstein or not! Edelbrock is, in my opinion, a nice inbetween but not quite as suited for full GVWR plus type loads.

It's too bad the IAS's don't show up with a recipe for our rigs... as it would probably be a good consideration too!

 

I am seeing a lot of mention of 'body role'. I have tossed my reg cab around a few (hundred) corners at about twice the posted amounts. A bit of lean, a bit of canting out, but hardly any 'body roll' like I get in a jeep or a heavy sedan. Mostly I can toss it into the corner until the wheels start to lose adhesion, and still correct it back.
I am thinking that the taller tires, (I have the very low 265-60-18's) or the heavier weight in the Screws must make them a bit harder to 'toss around'.Of course you would expect that in the 4x4s but I'm just refering to the 2 wheel drive rigs.

The Reg cab really handles like a sports truck, even with stock shocks.

My last 'fun car' was an Eldorado, and it's true it would triple any posted corner speed, but for a truck, the short F-150 is plain old impressive.
Chris

 

tycreek, that answers my question quite well.

I never run heavy, don't need it for that. And our best local roads are mostly composed of small cracks.

I have driven in most states, and all California counties. The worst streets I have seen were in the High Desert, where I live. Second worst were in Arkansas, at that was in only one small town.
Many places around here, you can cut through the desert, no road, and it's much better going than the roads.
It affects what you drive, a lot.
Chris

 

I have to agree with Chris concerning the way these short wheelbase 2wd trucks handle. They're just plain fun to drive. Very nimble and they turn on a dime. It would be a stretch to say that any shock would make any more than a very small difference in handling/driveability IMO...Kevin

 

Sorry to disagree with you but a correctly valved shock (such as these Bilsteins) makes a very big difference in how these trucks handle. I tossed those stock ones as soon as Bilstein got the shock to market. The truck soaks up the stutter bumps and corners much better, the rear end has since not stepped out in a bumpy turn and holds the road alot better....IMO

 

digipax, I believe every word you say, but again, my truck doesn't kick out at the tail even when I abuse it. I have the same shocks your truck came with, but with 75% of the load. That is assuming you don't have a 4x4. Makes a huge difference.

I sold shocks for twenty plus years, and there is no doubt there is a lot that a shock can do.

Unfortunately in this case they are not designed like a car shock, they are designed to cover a ridiculously large spread.

On a Sports car the shock is designed within a parameter of ten-twenty percent weight variance.

And that is over kill. A 3000 lb Vette can weigh 3200lbs with one driver, up to a realistic 3400 with two people.

These trucks might cross the scales at 4400 or 8600. Same shock... you can't design precision with that much variable.

And tire, rim combinations. 50lbs to 90lbs, and that's just stock.

The shock must be designed to handle a tire/wheel weight.

One optimized for 50 lbs is sure not optimized for 90lbs. Not possible with non feed-back technology.

So a shock that is optimized for a truck with LT rated tires/wheels that weigh 90 lbs, on a 6000 lb truck with 1500 lbs of cargo is not going to give the same results on a 4500 lb truck empty with 50lb tires/wheels.

And look at the angular momentum of a long wheelbase vs. a short wheel base. increasing the length almost doubles the side loading.

A shock that makes the heavy truck firm will bounce the lighter truck on the same road.

The factory shocks on the lighter truck will be grossly inadequate for the heavier truck.

For another example, notice how the guys with the light trucks are happy with the brakes, and the guys with the heavy trucks are saying the brakes aren’t adequate. Notice the same pads etc. are used on all trucks.

Try the A/C. On my little cab, it is among the best A/C units I have ever used.
I don't think it would be so great on a Supercab, or a Supercrew.

In conclusion, I think that with the light, short, truck the factory shocks are at their best, Ditto the brakes and A/C.
On a heavier truck, they are at their worst.

It's called below build optimum, vs. above build optimum.
Chris

 

The sad fact is that most of the people who own and drive these trucks aren't willing to buy good shocks. They are stuck in the "It rides just fine" mode and nothing anybody says will change their minds. Even here among fellow truck enthusiasts I see this apathy towards the idea of upgrading the shocks and insistence that the OEM shocks with 20K-100K miles are "still just fine". Hey, ya don't know what ya don't know. If you are happy with your crap shocks then I guess it's all good. But please don't come here and say that good shocks aren't worth the money if you're still running factory shocks.