Well, I picked up my new 05 2wd Lariat Crew last week and love it. I have heard a lot of people discuss the subject of what the best shocks for our trucks are. Bilsteins seem to be the favorite. I understand that it greatly improves handling in corners and control over bumps but my question is do the HD Bilsteins give a harsher ride to where you feel more of the bumps and uneven surfaces in the road. I am really trying to accomplish a combination of smooth ride "for a truck" and control/handling. Any feedback on the noticed change in quality of ride over the stock shocks would be much appreciated.

KWR

 

I put Bilstein's on mine and really like them. My truck is a 4X4, however, so it may have had a stiffer ride than yours did. I did not notice that the ride was stiffer with the Bilsteins, but I did notice more overall control.

 

I think it's a fine line between stiffer and less floaty/plush. They're still very smooth, and you do feel the road a tiny bit more, but at the same time you don't get the old huge caddy floating feeling. I love them...I don't like my dad's truck because he has the stock lariat shocks, and I feel like I'm driving a waterbed...

 

What he said.

 

Hey guys, I sure appreciate the response. The reason I was concerned about a difference in ride quality is because I plan on putting a 305/40/23 tire on the truck sometime down the road and wanted to retain as much ride comfort as possible.

 

Does anone have the part # for the Bilsteins and where to get them at the best price? Also will they work with a Daystar leveling kit? Are they easy to install or do you have to have them installed?

 

I got mine from "eshocks dot com", right on the front page is has 2004 F150 2WD / 4WD since they're different. I installed them by myself on my truck the same time I installed my AutoSpring leveling kit. You need a set of coil spring compressors because you need to compress the spring enough to disassemble the parts on it and swap it over to the new one. I think compressing the spring is the hardest part, then getting them back in with the leveling kit. No reason why they wouldn't work with the daystar kit that I can think of.

 

When people on this board first started putting on the Bilsteins, some were reporting that the shocks actually lifted the truck about a 1/2 inch. Have any of you that have made the switch to Bilsteins noticed a slight lift? i have a 2wd and dont want a lift.

 

No noticeable, if any, lift here. Have them installed.

 

Same here...no lift and a smoother ride overall on my FX4.
the shocks took the harshness/jabs out of the ride for me.
eshocks had the best price when I bought mine about 6 months ago.