Pugga

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the correction about the material of the shocks, I was confusing them with a previous shock setup I had. Still less likely to show rust than a painted steel shock, they seem to hold up to the New England salt fairly well.

Apples

Absolutely!

And imho installing a set of four 5100s takes these outstanding trucks to another level of refinement.

...refinement for a truck, that is. I have spoken with several owners of the '15+ model years and they all say basically the same thing: They'd rather drive their trucks than the family car. That speaks volumes.

acdii

Actually these are a new category. Coil overs are a carry over from the old days when they were added as helper springs, and not an actual part of the suspension. A strut OTOH is an integral part of the suspension. You remove these from the front and the truck will rest on the ground.

I would call them a coil strut as they aren't macphersons, and not an actual coilover. Macphersons have a bearing on top to rotate, and replace the upper control arm, where these do not do either but carry the entire weight of the front of the truck.

Now if there were torsion bars up front, then these would really be coilovers.

Apples

That's what I said. Perhaps you didn't understand. Please highlight anything I said that contradicts anything in your post so we might square this one away.

-Or-

I know what I meant. Perhaps I might have been more clear/concise.

acdii

Simple enough

They are the suspension. Without them the truck has no suspension. Upper and lower control arms do not suspend the truck, the springs do. They control travel limits, pivot points etc., but they do not suspend the truck, the spring does. That makes them more a strut than anything else. Rear axle Macphersons are not any different, they are fixed point with no rotation, just like the F150 has up front.

So calling them a strut is correct, calling them a coil over shock is not as CO shocks are spring assist, and not part of the actual suspension. Semantics I know, but it is what it is. Being and old school mecenic, when someone says coil over, I am thinking what I posted a picture of, a shock with a spring on it designed to enhance an existing suspension, IE Helper spring. When someone says strut, I picture either the Macpherson or the ones in our trucks where you install the spring from the vehicle to a shock, and is an integral part of the suspension. Remove it and you cannot drive it anywhere, but remove a coil over and you can, but will handle like crap, kind of like these trucks do with OEM shocks.

Apples

Again, I never said they weren't "the suspension". But I'd never oversimplifiy it, either, as you have. We're splittin hairs, and some of the reason is you seem to misunderstand the point I tried to make earler. I said:

Your confusion lies with the fact that I was speaking only of suspension links (not dampers or springs in that paragraph).

Go ahead and flail away, continue to split hairs... and btw, you're not the only mechanic here. We seem as always to view things from different perspectives.

Apples

8 hours later...

I don't like saying this, but, earlier I was annoyed that I felt I was being corrected... when I realized I did the same thing to smokeywren... d'oh.

I apologize for the tone of my prior post. As for the topic we had been *discussing*, all I can say is that along with the subtle differences in regional dialects, spellings, and the meanings of certain words, there are also "nine ways to skin a cat".

:-|

acdii

Agreed!

mass-hole

The 5100's are not just for lifted trucks. The front 5100 shock allows you to adjust the ride height from 0-2". You dont need to lift with it, but it is an option.

The rears sit at whatever height your rear suspension is set to, with the option to allow 1" of lift safetly. Again, they dont require you lift the rear of the truck.

4600 and 5100's are valved different. I believe the 5100's are a little stiffer.

Freedom1955

My first thought is you have aftermarket shocks on the rear and stock on the front their not designed to work together like if you had bilstein on the front and rear. I would think the rears are stiffer and the front would feel very soft the way you have it now.