Folks seem to pretty much favor replacing the factory shocks with something else. Any reason to go with the 5100s rather than the 4600 Bilsteins? I don't have and will never get a lift. I tow a 5000 lb dry weight TT several times a year but the truck is mostly a daily driver. Mostly looking to improve safety with the TT towing. Should I do the new shocks now or wait a few years.? thanks

 

If you want to level the front, go with the 5100's.

 

If you're not going to lift then the 4600's. From what I've read they are the exact same except the 5100's are adjustable. If towing, I don't know if going to the 5100 is needed or not. I changed mine out to the 4600's within a couple months or so of ownership and I'm happy I did. No lift on mine and don't tow.

 

I only replaced the rear ones, and with 5100s. They're NOT adjustable, so not sure what is the difference between 4600s and 5100s for rear only. Since the 5100s are highly praised, went with those. Very happy with the results. Too much hassle to replace the fronts, which are better with the FX4 package, supposedly. Or the MaxTow package; forgot which of the 2. But they're borderline decent, so will leave them alone. Don't want to mess with IWE issues, alignment issues, etc., like many folks do when replacing front shocks. Don't have any good shops locally, unfortunately, hence my decision. Good luck.

 

I put 4600s on my 4x4. I also removed the factory leaf spring block, effectively lowering the rear 1.25". They tighten things up nicely.

 

I put 5100s on the back only. Really improved the ride, and pretty much eliminated the rear end hop I had with the factory shocks. Not sure I will do the fronts or not; I am not interested in raising or lowering anything, but I would like a better ride. Now sure if 4600s or 5100s will be the way to go.

 

I tow a 6200lb 30ft travel trailer and I put 5100's all the way around on my 2015 XLT - the fronts are one notch above the stock ride height. This change along with swapping my WDH for a better one were the 2 best improvements I made to the truck for towing.

I never did try to tow with just the rears on, though so I can't tell you how much of an improvement the fronts made. But given how a WDH hitch works, I can't believe they didn't help.

 

I went 5100s on the rear simply because I hated the colors of the 4600s. Otherwise I read they perform exactly the same.