I thought I read somewhere on here that the bilstein 5100's would make the ride more harsh than oem? My truck is a 2020 XLT sport special edition if that matters.
I had bilstein 5100's on my tacoma and remember the ride being stiffer after putting them on that. I"m not looking to make the ride quality worse. and as far as offroading, I don't do any.

 

The magic of the 5100s is that they are never harsh. The ride will be more controlled than it is with the non-existent damping of the OEM shock.

Where Bilsteins start to become stiff is with their 6112/5160 combo, a slight step up from the 5100s... but the awkward truth is for those who will throw more money at the 6112s (me, after thoroughly enjoying the 5100s on my truck), it isn't necessarily worth it because the 5100s do everything so very, very well. They are amazing.

Sincerely, if you actually like all of the nose-dive under braking, the pronounced body roll when cornering and the axle hop when accelerating over uneven road surfaces, then don't change your shocks.

If you would like a better-handling truck thanks to Bilsteins' ability to reduce the body and suspension motions described above, then the 5100 is the way to go and yet still have a truck that is comfortable to ride in. Again, the 5100s are not nor will they ever be harsh. The deliver a controlled ride and handling that will spoil you for anything else. If you think you like your truck, NOW, wait until you ride in a truck equipped with the 5100s yourself.

Cheers!

 

Good stuff @Apples !

 

I feel like bilstein should use this verbatim on the shocks product description everywhere they sell them. Lol

 

I never had 5100s up front, only in the rear. You found the 6112s to be stiffer? I love how the 6112s feel up front but don't have a frame of reference to compare.

Do you have 5160s in the rear?

 

I have both the 6112s and 5160s. I love the ride quality. Hindsight, for the money, I might have been better off with Fox 2.0s. I had them on my 2013 and loved them. Both setups are great options IMO, though.

 

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind.

Still an off-road beginner so the truck will stay this way for the foreseeable future.

 

I do.

Thanks fellers! I'm just a caveman. I fell in some ice and was later thawed out by scientists. But there's one thing I do know! For $400 for a set of four for the F150, the Bilstein 5100 is the best value, has the nicest tuning for daily driving, and they also work well in the dirt. What's not to love?

Now, about the 6112/5160... I have had them on my truck for almost four years. They are noticeably more firm in daily driving, but again, they are never harsh. There are two reasons for this different feel on my truck.

Because the shock body is a greater diameter than is the factory shock, the factory Ford coil will not fit over them. For the 2016 model year there are nine different front suspension coil springs Ford used on the F150 depending on how the truck was built and then optioned. Which spring rate depends on how the truck was optioned (how heavy it's curb weight).

1. The spring that Bilstein supplies with the 6112 is a 500 in/lb spring and the springs that Ford put on my truck were more than likely between 450 in/lb and 480ish... My truck is a lightly optioned XLT 4 X 2. If your truck is a 4 X 4, your 6112 application is claimed to be valved appropriately and it's total travel slightly longer, but using the same spring.

2. The 6112 is tuned to absorb higher suspension-motion speeds. Not necessarily vehicle speed, but control arm/axle motion speed; the suspension motion caused by how big of a bump/rut/ditch/gully/rock the truck drives through or over. The 6112 eats the bigger stuff like it's not even there but remains firm for the small stuff like expansion joints in road surfaces, cracks, small/shallow washboard dirt roads...

When I went from three years driving on the 5100s to the 6112/5160 and then went out for a road test, I thought I had made a mistake... they were firm. Quite so. But they did not feel harsh. It wasn't until about two weeks into driving them that I started liking them but for different reasons than I did the 5100 on my truck. I now like how "taut" the 6112/5160 feels (but never harsh!) because it's like driving a big heavy sedan that's been tuned for high performance driving. And then it eats bigger bumps with ease.

The 5100s on the other hand are better for general ride comfort yet still dramatically reduce nose dive under braking, they reduce body roll when cornering and minimize axle hop over uneven road surfaces - all because it is a far superior piece of engineering, development and is the result of decades of manufacturing experience.

There are other options! We have Kings, Icon, Fox, Rancho, Eibach... even Koni! but I'm here to tell you I have had my ear to the ground on this topic and no one does it as well for the price point than does Bilstein and it's 5100 series.

 

I really need to put mine on the truck.




Had them almost a year now.

 

I shouldn't have asked for impressions on the 6112 and 5160 because I'm now looking at pricing on 5160s

@Phil48315 at least get the rears on. Takes 30 minutes and makes a world of difference!