I know this topic has been beat to death but I need some advice before I pull the trigger. I’ve heard good things about both of them but if money wasn’t an issue are the Bilstein 5100's the best choice? I’ve been to two local shops and they said the ride would suffer either way so I should save some money and go with the Autospring 2" leveling kit. After searching on here it seams the Blisteins help the ride and have heard very few complaints on the AS kit making the ride any worse. Any of you guys regret getting one or the other? Thanks for the help. This site is great! I haven’t posted before because I’ve been able to answer all my questions with the search function. There's a lot of info on here.


2008 4X4 LARIAT SCREW
20" STOCK RIMS

 

The leveling kit does not affect the ride (at least it did not for me). From everything I have heard the Bilsteins ride firmer (not necessarily rougher). If money was not an option I would go with the Bilstein's. How many miles are on your truck? I think the best time/reason to go with the Bilsteins is to get the lift plus replace worn out OEM shocks once worn out. I dont think you can go wrong either way.

 

I just passed the 30,000 mark last week. I was leaning towards the Bilstein's but the guys at the local 4x4 shops keep trying to talk me out of it...not sure why. That’s true about the OEM shocks, I didn’t really think about that. What should I expect to pay for the install? I’ve got a local mechanic that I trust, is this something he should/could do? He's not a big fan of anything "aftermarket" so he can be a P.I.A. on stuff like this. Thanks.

 

I had a leveling kit on my old FX4 and the ride quality wasnt much different than stock but I went with coil overs on my new truck and they ride better than stock.. I would choose Bilstein over a leveling kit.

 

With the '08, I think a 2" kit will work well. It is a little too tall on my '09. The Bilstein will firm up the ride due to preloading the spring. The leveling kit will have almost no impact on your ride.

Bottom line, if you want a firmer shock, then go with the Bilstein. If you only want a higher front end and don't want a firmer ride, go with the spacer. It is also easier to install the spacer on the '08 than the '09 since your lower control arm is flat with two ears (not with a deep pocket like the '09) making it easy to get the longer strut back in.

Since my '09 is nose-high with the 2" kit necessitating a larger rear block (soon to be replaced with Firestone air-springs since I just got a 4 ton trailer), I may swap it for Bilstein 5100's if my nose is higher than the back with the minimum pressure (10 PSI) in the air springs. I would like less angle on my UCA than I have with the 2" kit.