Had to upgrade my 04 reg cab to an 06 Lariat Super Crew and wanted to know if the Bilstein Shocks are worth the price? I tow my race car all day long with my 5.4 reg cab and one thing I couldnt stand is the crappy shocks Ford used, other than that it towed great. Same crappy shocks on the new one and want a good shock. I know Bilsteins are good, but does anyone have a compeling experiance to share as far as bang for buck or their opinion on the matter. Searched the board and didnt find anything on the topic. Thanks guys.

 

i have the 5100 series and all I can say is I love 'em! They dampen really well when necessary without being too soft. I've also heard from other people (some silverado owners) that the Edelbock IAS shocks work great too, but are a little pricey.

 

I hated the POS stock shocks on my '99 and threw them in the garbage after about 10,000 miles.

I put on Edelbrock IAS and put 100,000 miles on them. They were a huge improvement over stock. Good ride with good response to potholes and sharp hits, but reduced body roll in corner. It seems to me they gradually started losing performance at about 60,000 miles and they were thoroughly worn out by the time I took them off. I decided to try something new.

Just put on Bilsteins and could not be happier. It's been a long time since my Edelbrock's were new, but the brand new Bilsteins sure work better all around than my worn out IAS shocks.

My buddy has an E350 van with Bilsteins, airbags and big sway bars. He gave me a ride on a twisty mountain road and I could not believe how well it handled. That influenced my decision to go Bilstein.

On my F150, I've only had those three shocks (stock, Edelbrock, Bilstein). On other vehicles, I've used Monroe and other 'one step up from stock' shocks like you might find on the shelf of your local auto parts dealer. I've had mixed results with those.

IMO, it is well worth the money to put on premium shocks, especially if you plan to keep the vehicle awhile or drive alot.

 

Thanks Guy's I really appreciate it!
Either of you guy's tow? I'm really interested in that aspect since I tow pretty frequently my enclosed trailer with car inside back and forth from the track. Would everyone still agree that the Bilsteins are the one to get for that application or would the Rancho RS9000 be the better of the group? Any real world experiance would be appreciated Trailer is a 24 foot Featherlight housing my 3000lb Barracuda, with tools and gear I'm pulling around 6500lbs.

 

Have not towed with the Bilsteins and I don't tow regularly, but did tow a '67 Mustang on a dolley for 250+ miles. Towed like a dream with the Edelbrocks. Compared to stock, I'm sure any of the good aftermarket shocks will be much better.

What is the best for towing? Not sure, but my buddy with the aforementioned F350 has it set up to tow a large pop-up. In addition to the Bilsteins, he has airbags. He is an engineer and puts alot of effort into getting his rig set up just right. He loves the Bilsteins.

There is also a rave review of Koni shocks in the Lightning section. They have 4 adjustment settings, but apparently you have to remove the shock to adjust.

 

Thank DBD! For sure the best for towing is a Diesle like my bro's 06 F-250 with a powerstroke. That sucker would tow an aircraft carrier and not know it, I love trading when I can The Edge Module make that thing an absolute BLAST to drive. I put the smack down on stock Mustangs all the time! Talk about people trippen out when you pull up in a Crew Cab 250 Diesle and start throwing revs... Pop that baby in 4 wheel drive and bring up the boost, Bye Bye...

Guess I'll pop for the Bilsteins... Anythings got to be better than stock, those things are a joke.

 

I put the Edelbrocks on at about 50k miles, which was roughly 75k miles ago. They were/are a definite improvement over the stock shocks, which were flat worn out long before I replaced them. Just didn't get around to it before then. They're starting to show wear now, although I'm about to sell the truck so I'll leave that decision to the next owner.

I tow a medium-sized utility trailer a good bit, along with frequent full loads of firewood, camping gear, or lumber in the bed. The Edelbrocks combined with BFG Long Trails have been a very nice setup. Excellent ride and handling characteristics.

I've always wondered if I would have been better off with the Bilsteins. Who knows. The only trouble I've had out of the Edelbrocks is the left rear had a nasty habit of the shaft completely disconnecting itself from the lower mount (literally coming apart where the two screw together). The threads came loose and stripped themselves somehow. A tack weld has held them together without any further issues since. Seems a bit of a design flaw?

 

Put on my Bilsteins a couple weeks back and they make the drivability of the truck 10 time better. I would recommend to anyone... Now I'm looking for the tuner... So much information to dig through before making an informed decision.

 

Glad you like 'em! Thanks for the update.

 

Well, this thread here answered my questions , Bilsteins for me. I'm almost positive I seen them cheaper on few eBay stores. Anyone go that rought with a purchase yet?

 

Just woundering if yours were the HD F4-BE5-A934-H0 AND F4-BE5-A935-H0 and what cost incurded?
Thinking of doing a upgrade, I find my 06 Lariat A tad stiff.My buddies Z71 drives way smoother.

 

I bought mine off e-bay and the dude came through just fine. Go to Item number: 200043176540 and click on his store, I'm sure he'd hook you up the same. Didnt find them anywhere cheaper.

 

FRONT BE5-A761-H0 , REAR BE5-A762-H0
This is what you want for your rig. The stock ones are a little too mushy for me, but I tow a lot. My brothers 2 year old could have compressed the stock shock with little effort, that's how mushy they are. The Jounce was very lazy with the stock gear, not very good when towing 7000lbs. I found the Bilsteins to be valved exactly opposite, it was kindof interesting. Great choice any way you look at it.