Bilstein 5100 Adjustable Leveling Shock Kit

gobaylor

Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
17
Reaction score
17
Location
Waco,TX
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger Lariat FX4 SCW
Occupation
Owner Dunkin’/Baskin-Robbins
I haven’t seen a thread for these yet so wanted to start one and offer my experience with the kit. If there is another thread please let me know.

Bought this kit from Stage3 #19RNGR4WD a few weeks back. Arrived about 4 days apart from one another. Rear shocks first then front struts. I didn’t mind since it allowed me to install on two separate weekends. I knew the rear would be simple and the fronts would take a while.

Side note on Stage3 customer service. I’ve been watching for when they released this kit and saw it go live. In my excitement I forgot to apply the $250 in gift cards I received for my birthday and put it all on the credit card. Couple days later it was still bothering me and I gave them a call. Selected new order on the phone to be put through to a salesman and he was tremendous. Told me he would contact customer service and have them issue a refund for the $250 to the credit card and he pulled up my order to apply the gift cards. Refund went through a few days later as he said it would. Really appreciated how they handled it all.

After install I can tell a tremendous difference in ride quality and road adherence. Overall just more stable, predictable, and no more floating bounce in the front end. Took it in for a front end alignment the next day just to make sure everything was set.

I added the tag CV Shaft because we did the passenger side first and followed the info I had seen out there to push down on the lower ca to get the bottom of the strut to clear out first. The shaft did slip out as a result and was a long learning experience to get back in. I can give more details if anyone wants but driver side went much quicker as we determined that we needed to remove the axle nut and hub to ensure we didn't allow the bearing cartridge to slip past the c spring on the shaft.

Hope this helps and let me know if anyone has any questions.
Sponsored

 

Frenchy

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Mar 15, 2020
Threads
97
Messages
6,053
Reaction score
8,184
Location
Elizabeth, Colorado
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger, 2019 cargo van, soon to be 1993
Occupation
Crown Forklift Technician
I remember having Bilstein shocks on my Frontier. Had a base model without them before hand and can say there is a nice difference. A good option for those who dont want to lift but want better ride quality.
 
OP
OP

gobaylor

Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
17
Reaction score
17
Location
Waco,TX
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger Lariat FX4 SCW
Occupation
Owner Dunkin’/Baskin-Robbins
I remember having Bilstein shocks on my Frontier. Had a base model without them before hand and can say there is a nice difference. A good option for those who dont want to lift but want better ride quality.
For me it was a good price point and does have the option for a lift. Specs show .8” lift to 2.75” lift. I put it on 1.2” lift and it’s perfect for me.
 


Racket

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Threads
21
Messages
1,730
Reaction score
2,354
Location
Here and There
Vehicle(s)
2019 Lariat Supercrew 2WD
Occupation
Transient
I see the Bilstein 5100 series is an alternative to the Eibach replacements right down to the lift capabilities using the stock front coil springs.

I'm curious what the differences are in ride characteristics. Can't imagine there are any comparison reviews for the Ranger out there.

A cursory search of other forums makes me think the 5100's are stiffer than the Eibachs, although Eibach seems to provide the springs for kits using the Bilsteins.

A street vs. offroad review would be awesome, especially since this should be a popular mod considering the stock ride and stance is one of the minor annoyances of the 5G Ranger (to me).
 
Last edited:

2.7EcoBoost

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2019
Threads
5
Messages
316
Reaction score
339
Location
NY
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger FX4 Screw
I have been wondering about this kit also. I am a Bilstein fan. I am shooting for a spring suspension and tire upgrade. Obviously the Eibach get great reviews too. Price point is similar. I'll likely go with whatever I get the best deal on, probably splitting hairs otherwise.
 

ryyck

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2019
Threads
13
Messages
380
Reaction score
456
Location
Charlotte NC
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger
Way beyond me...my youngest is an EE and loves mods. He told me to get Bilstein and why. I'm about using what Ford gave me till they are busted. I'm cheap and don't push the envelope. This looks really hard to do. Did you do this on your driveway?
 

Porpoise Hork

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bret
Joined
Apr 28, 2020
Threads
19
Messages
1,317
Reaction score
2,350
Location
Houston
Vehicle(s)
2022 F150 XLT Powerboost FX4 302A Oxford White
Occupation
IT
Way beyond me...my youngest is an EE and loves mods. He told me to get Bilstein and why. I'm about using what Ford gave me till they are busted. I'm cheap and don't push the envelope. This looks really hard to do. Did you do this on your driveway?
The front suspension on the Ranger is a breeze to work on. Especially if it's a 2wd. You can pull the front struts out with a few hand tools, a floor jack, and stand. If you're quick it only takes about 30-45 min +/- to get each one swapped out. It does go a little faster if you have air tools or an electric impact. Start to finish to do this is roughly 1.5-2 hours to swap out front/rear. 3 hours if you take your time. You'll also need to rent a spring compressor from your local auto parts supply so you can remove the spring and mount assembly from the OEM strut and transfer them to the new one. After that it's all in reverse to get it back together. The only real hard part is getting the strut back in. It's almost a two person job. One to position the strut in place while the other is pressing down on the lower control arm so the top of the strut assembly will slide under the top mounting point.
 
OP
OP

gobaylor

Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
17
Reaction score
17
Location
Waco,TX
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger Lariat FX4 SCW
Occupation
Owner Dunkin’/Baskin-Robbins
I see the Bilstein 5100 series is an alternative to the Eibach replacements right down to the lift capabilities using the stock front coil springs.

I'm curious what the differences are in ride characteristics. Can't imagine there are any comparison reviews for the Ranger out there.

A cursory search of other forums makes me think the 5100's are stiffer than the Eibachs, although Eibach seems to provide the springs for kits using the Bilsteins.

A street vs. offroad review would be awesome, especially since this should be a popular mod considering the stock ride and stance is one of the minor annoyances of the 5G Ranger (to me).
I can’t speak to the Eibach but for the Bilstein kit it is stiffer. Can’t speak to off-road characteristics yet. The trade off is the floating issues are gone. The truck feels more connected to the road and predictable. The twisting motion and prolonged rocking is also gone. It is a tremendous improvement. My feeling is getting to be that the stock FX4 is as advertised and tuned for off-road with very little consideration to on road behavior. At the price point Ford wanted to go they had to choose. My expectation is that the Bilstein brings back the excellent on road behavior (which it has) while also improving standard off-road capability and dealing with the fade issues from the stock units.
 
OP
OP

gobaylor

Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
17
Reaction score
17
Location
Waco,TX
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger Lariat FX4 SCW
Occupation
Owner Dunkin’/Baskin-Robbins
Way beyond me...my youngest is an EE and loves mods. He told me to get Bilstein and why. I'm about using what Ford gave me till they are busted. I'm cheap and don't push the envelope. This looks really hard to do. Did you do this on your driveway?
Used a hydraulic lift and air tools or would not have attempted. Not saying it can’t be done without; I just would have paid for install if I didn’t have the lift.
 
OP
OP

gobaylor

Member
Joined
May 8, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
17
Reaction score
17
Location
Waco,TX
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ranger Lariat FX4 SCW
Occupation
Owner Dunkin’/Baskin-Robbins
The front suspension on the Ranger is a breeze to work on. Especially if it's a 2wd. You can pull the front struts out with a few hand tools, a floor jack, and stand. If you're quick it only takes about 30-45 min +/- to get each one swapped out. It does go a little faster if you have air tools or an electric impact. Start to finish to do this is roughly 1.5-2 hours to swap out front/rear. 3 hours if you take your time. You'll also need to rent a spring compressor from your local auto parts supply so you can remove the spring and mount assembly from the OEM strut and transfer them to the new one. After that it's all in reverse to get it back together. The only real hard part is getting the strut back in. It's almost a two person job. One to position the strut in place while the other is pressing down on the lower control arm so the top of the strut assembly will slide under the top mounting point.
Because I hadn’t done anything like this on the ranger before it wasn’t a breeze for me. Glad I did it myself, but wasn’t easy and I learned a ton of “what not to do”. For someone who has done this a lot on other vehicles I’m sure they would have a much easier time than I did. It was much more difficult to get the unit out than to get it back in for us, but again that could be due to lack of experience. It was critical for us to remove axle nut and hub.
 

Dahveed

Well-Known Member
First Name
David
Joined
Aug 9, 2020
Threads
9
Messages
464
Reaction score
1,055
Location
Central Kansas
Vehicle(s)
2020 Ranger XLT 4x4 / 2020 Ford Edge ST-Line
Occupation
Pharmacy Consultant
It was critical for us to remove axle nut and hub.
I think that’ll be the big one for most people doing this themselves. The axle being removed from the hub prevents the nightmares people have had where they accidentally separate one of the CV joints while pushing down the lower control arm. The Ranger has a fairly basic SLA suspension otherwise.

I do have one question, however. For someone like myself who has leased their Ranger, will the Bilstein kit cause me warranty issues with Ford? Or is it the usual “they have to prove the modification caused the failure” situation?
 

landiscarrier

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
889
Reaction score
2,178
Location
Pocono Mtns Pa
Vehicle(s)
Ranger Lariat, Focus ST
Occupation
Sales
I think that’ll be the big one for most people doing this themselves. The axle being removed from the hub prevents the nightmares people have had where they accidentally separate one of the CV joints while pushing down the lower control arm. The Ranger has a fairly basic SLA suspension otherwise.

I do have one question, however. For someone like myself who has leased their Ranger, will the Bilstein kit cause me warranty issues with Ford? Or is it the usual “they have to prove the modification caused the failure” situation?
I believe anytime there is a warranty issue the dealer is responsible for proving that the add on was the cause of the failure/warranty issue.
 

Frenchy

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Mar 15, 2020
Threads
97
Messages
6,053
Reaction score
8,184
Location
Elizabeth, Colorado
Vehicle(s)
2019 Ford Ranger, 2019 cargo van, soon to be 1993
Occupation
Crown Forklift Technician
I can’t speak to the Eibach but for the Bilstein kit it is stiffer. Can’t speak to off-road characteristics yet. The trade off is the floating issues are gone. The truck feels more connected to the road and predictable. The twisting motion and prolonged rocking is also gone. It is a tremendous improvement. My feeling is getting to be that the stock FX4 is as advertised and tuned for off-road with very little consideration to on road behavior. At the price point Ford wanted to go they had to choose. My expectation is that the Bilstein brings back the excellent on road behavior (which it has) while also improving standard off-road capability and dealing with the fade issues from the stock units.
I myself don't even have a FX4 package on my truck. It also was not very confident on the road and like to be very bouncy and the turns were usually questionable at the higher speeds. Will the bills teams give a massive Improvement for the on-road? I'm sure it will since I used to run the basic 4600 series bilstein's on my old Frontier. Will they allow you to go on to the Baja? Probably not since it's still a basic shock for these trucks but I'm sure you're going to be able to enjoy the off-road much better compared to stock.
Sponsored

 
 



Top