Fox 2.0 vs. Bilstein 5100 vs. Bilstein 5160 shocks -- my comparison review / feedback

[CO2Wrangler]

I am too, although they are the Bilsteins that accompany the Mopar lift. I'm assuming the valving is different and specifically tuned for the 2.0T JLU we have so there may be some subtle changes from the 5160s directly from Bilstein.

I can't compare these shocks apples to apples with the previous Fox 2.0 shocks we had on our 2021 Willys because that rig was on E rated tires. I'd still agree that they are more firm than the Fox shocks even though we are on C rated tires with this rig.

I feel more planted and stable with the Bilsteins at higher speeds for sure. Simple around town rides may have been more cushy with the Fox shocks and I'm sure if that rig was on C rated tires I would have noticed more. I have been very happy with how they (Bilsteins) have handled some of the trials we've been on.

Does anybody know If the Mopar lift Bilsteins shocks are any different than the 5160's and what those differences are?

Appreciate your pictures! I see you have the braided hose in the rears mounted on the outside. Was that in the Mopar kit instructions? The Bilstein instructions aren't really instructions at all and I ended up putting mine on the inside.

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[Gio]

Appreciate your pictures! I see you have the braided hose in the rears mounted on the outside. Was that in the Mopar kit instructions? The Bilstein instructions aren't really instructions at all and I ended up putting mine on the inside.

We had everything installed prior to taking possession of the rig so unfortunately I can't answer that.
It was done at an out of state dealership before we had it delivered to us.

You are far more talented than I am when it comes to vehicles as I wouldn't have any idea how to do that kind of work.

 

[blackJLURubi]

I have the bilstein 5100s on my 2.0T rubicon with rock krawler springs. They are hair more stiff than I like but for the price you can’t beat them. We also have terrible roads here in WV. On my 392 I have the AEV kit with the 8100s and it rides amazing.

 

[ObiMatt87]

Thank you for this comparison write-up. Greatly appreciate your unvarnished experience comments, as it helps me figure out the next step for our 2018. Our 2024 is GTG as is for now.

 

[mqu02]

I need new shocks for my JLR, and this is perfect timing. 5160's only appear to be offered for a 2-3" lift, which I never fully get, because a Rubicon sits higher than a Sport, etc., but that's not distinguished. I don't have an aftermarket lift kit on my JLR, but the (factory) front always rode way higher than the back, so I put heavier springs in the rear, plus a 1/2" leveling spacer, which now makes it sit like it should have from the beginning. Would the 2-3" lift 5160's work for me, or would I need to step down to 5100's at a 0-1" lift?

 

[CO2Wrangler]

I need new shocks for my JLR, and this is perfect timing. 5160's only appear to be offered for a 2-3" lift, which I never fully get, because a Rubicon sits higher than a Sport, etc., but that's not distinguished. I don't have an aftermarket lift kit on my JLR, but the (factory) front always rode way higher than the back, so I put heavier springs in the rear, plus a 1/2" leveling spacer, which now makes it sit like it should have from the beginning. Would the 2-3" lift 5160's work for me, or would I need to step down to 5100's at a 0-1" lift?

The only way to know for sure is to measure your setup and study the compressed and extended lengths. I used the spreadsheet this member posted to help me with my research:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...gs-suspension-information-chart-matrix.66591/

 

[Aonarch]

Appreciate your pictures! I see you have the braided hose in the rears mounted on the outside. Was that in the Mopar kit instructions? The Bilstein instructions aren't really instructions at all and I ended up putting mine on the inside.

I had to email Bilstein for instructions.

This is the proper way.

 

[PotterJLUR]

Loved the 5100s on my Xterra and had 0 regrets getting them with my RK lift and holy balls the difference from the stock rubi shocks to these. Ill be going 5160 or 8100 when these are dead for sure.

Sadly 5100's will never die so you'll never get to upgrade!

 

[conFUcius]

I had the same experience with leakage on the Fox 2.0s on my first JL. 2 started leaking within a couple thousand miles of install. They expected me to ship them and wait a month to get them warrantied. Terrible customer service. Bought some bilstein 5160s and got the fox warrantied and sold them. Swore ill never buy another fox product.

The 5160s impressed me so much for the price that when I built my 392 I wanted to run bilsteins again. Running the bilstein 8100 bypass shocks on my 392, theyre just so good.

Fox can suck a dick.

Similar experience here… one often front Fox 2.5 DSCs had an internal shaft break and impossible to even get replacement parts from them for a local shop to rebuild. After experiencing that, I settled on the 8100s for my 392 (still waiting on the driver front because it’s on a 30 day backorder). How do you like them so far and what lift are you running them with?

 

[andy29847]

 

[dos531]

Similar experience here… one often front Fox 2.5 DSCs had an internal shaft break and impossible to even get replacement parts from them for a local shop to rebuild. After experiencing that, I settled on the 8100s for my 392 (still waiting on the driver front because it’s on a 30 day backorder). How do you like the so far and what lift are you running them with?

Im running the metalcloak long arm 3.5" lift with the bilstein 8100 bypass shocks. Best jeep mod ever. I forget how bad they ride stock until i ride in somebody elses.

 

[CO2Wrangler]

I had to email Bilstein for instructions.

This is the proper way.

Excellent! That's how mine look.

 

[Speed331]

I've had the 1500's on my 2 door for about a year now. It's a sport s with a rubicon recon take off for a 2.5" lift.

Swapped out the red rubicon shocks for these and really love them. I like the 'sports car' feel on the street. I'm running baja boss 33"'s at 28psi, so I don't really feel any chatter from the small stuff, but the lack of body roll/dive compared to the rubicon shocks is very noticable and makes the Jeep feel lively and quicker.

Off road they really soak up medium and large hits with little to no rebound bounce. I've not had any issues with hear fade here in the desert. But then again, I haven't pushed them super hard for long periods.

 

[DanW]

So I thought I'd post my feedback here to help anyone else considering these shocks for their builds. I bought all 3 so you don't have to!

Vehicle: 21 JLUR Diesel with a 2.5" Clayton lift and 37" Copper Discoverer ATs.

On road PSI: 30-32 / Off-road PSI: 17-20

Backstory: I read EVERYTHING on this forum and others for every shock on the market and found that shocks are a very personal matter and everyone interprets their performance and attributes very differently. Here's where I landed with each of these after buying and running all 3 both on and off-road in CO.

FOX 2.0 (~$900): I bought these with the Clayton lift. Initially they were significantly firmer than the Rubicon shocks, but not in a harsh way.

PROS: It felt better on road and less squishy off-road. They do absorb bumps and mild terrain well. As long as both tires hit the obstacle at the same time it's great (more on this later). They feel compliant on the road to separate road imperfections from the driver in most cases.

CONS:
After about 8k miles I had one start leaking (fixed under warranty but I paid shipping - note I bought a 5th shock new as I couldn't be without my vehicle while they warrantied it). Around 15k miles, I started to get a noticeable increase in body roll that wasn't there initially around town.
*Here's the one thing that made me start looking elsewhere - when your tires come off something or bump something unevenly, the Fox 2.0s allow the Jeep to rock side to side for several cycles and passengers get tossed pretty violently in the process. There isn't enough resistance in the shock to slow down the momentum. It's possible this is a diesel/weight issue but it was rough and combined with the body roll led me to look at some thing else. No mods I have add weight besides the tires.

Bilstein 5100 ($425)
So I went with these next to see what a digressive shock was like and because they're cheap!

PROs: These control the Jeeps motion fantastically on and off-road. The previous rocking motion was gone as was the body roll when cornering. I read many people viewed these as harsh so was worried about off-road performance. I had the opposite experience. Off-road (crawling and rocky trails) my family noted that the ride was MUCH less rough and I attribute that to the 5100s ability to control the bounce and weight of the Jeep better. I love the feedback on the trails and thought it was a great experience overall. Very pleasantly surprised.

CONs: Here's where the reviews were correct - on the street you will feel the small striations and imperfections in the road more. The Jeep tends to follow small dips in the road downward where the Foxes would only dip the suspension (if that makes sense). To me it's the same feeling as a performance car - less cushy and more firm to give better handling, but you'll feel the road more. *If roads in your area suck, you might get sick of this, but I didn't see it as a big deal* One other thing I noted is that on the trails the 5100s got HOT. Which is why I tried...

Bilstein 5160s (~$1k)
These are pitched as 5100s (digressive), but with resis and that seems mostly accurate in my experience.

PROs: These are really close to the firmness of the 5100s, but not quite. To me it's the perfect middle ground between the Foxes and the 5100s - controlled and responsive without being overly harsh. Off-road they perform like the 5100s with composure and still control the rocking well without the heat issues. To me, this is the experience I was looking for all along and, as far as shocks go, a grand isn't all that bad.

CONs: They're the most expensive of the 3 and you still feel the imperfections in the road like with the 5100s. That's it.

Summary:
I was happy with the Foxes initially and they're the most compliant especially if you're focused more on comfort on road than composure and control/handling. They absorb more of the little stuff like potholes and speed bumps but were not good enough at minimizing the shake and roll of the body and it's contents for me. Would also hesitate if your Jeep runs heavy as I think they don't control weight/motion as well.

If you're on a budget, the 5100s are a damn good shock. If I didn't do long trails with a ton of rocks and crawling obstacles that heat up the shock, I would have stopped at the 5100s and been happy as a clam.

The 5160s are all the good things the 5100s provided without having to worry about the heat fade AND feel just a touch less harsh. These were the exact ride I was looking for both on and off-road and give me a ton of confidence in how the Jeeps going to react and handle in every situation.

Hope this helps someone!

Great review! Just got back from a big week in Moab. I have the 5100's tuned by AEV on the JT. (Not sure there is really a difference with the AEV tune.). I feel your review captures my experience with them except that I found them to handle a LONG day of rock crawling and trails without any fade. I was watching closely for it but at the end of the longest day the shocks were still cool to the touch and there was no fade at all. They felt the same as they did in the early morning.

I have the Mopar Fox shocks on my JLUR and they are 8 years old. They give the JL a softer and more compliant ride than the JT with the Bilsteins but are not quite as composed on the road and as you said, they don't hold and respond to a heavy load as well. After 8 years and MUCH off-roading, including this being the 4th trip to Moab, those Fox shocks performed as well as they did when brand new. To say I am impressed would be an understatement. That JL rides like my old 2003 Tahoe rode....which is very nice. It really softens up the worst trails.

So for me, the Bilsteins are absolutely perfect for my JT, which carries more cargo, and they are perfect for the JL, which is lighter and does not bear the burden of all the gear.

Note: The JL is on a Mopar lift, with added adjustable track bars at both ends to center things up and it also has a Fox adjustable steering stabilizer. The JT rides on an AEV Dualsport 2.5 inch lift with geometry correction brackets. Both have almost the same exact amount of lift and both are running 35's. The JL has tires with a C-load rating (part of the softer ride equation) and the JT runs on Load range E Kenda Klever AT3 tires. They actually ride better than other E rated tires I've had. I will be going to a C or D if these ever wear out. I love this tire, though and might go back to it, even though it doesn't come in this size with a C.

 

[map4ss]

So I thought I'd post my feedback here to help anyone else considering these shocks for their builds. I bought all 3 so you don't have to!

Vehicle: 21 JLUR Diesel with a 2.5" Clayton lift and 37" Copper Discoverer ATs.

On road PSI: 30-32 / Off-road PSI: 17-20

Backstory: I read EVERYTHING on this forum and others for every shock on the market and found that shocks are a very personal matter and everyone interprets their performance and attributes very differently. Here's where I landed with each of these after buying and running all 3 both on and off-road in CO.

FOX 2.0 (~$900): I bought these with the Clayton lift. Initially they were significantly firmer than the Rubicon shocks, but not in a harsh way.

PROS: It felt better on road and less squishy off-road. They do absorb bumps and mild terrain well. As long as both tires hit the obstacle at the same time it's great (more on this later). They feel compliant on the road to separate road imperfections from the driver in most cases.

CONS:
After about 8k miles I had one start leaking (fixed under warranty but I paid shipping - note I bought a 5th shock new as I couldn't be without my vehicle while they warrantied it). Around 15k miles, I started to get a noticeable increase in body roll that wasn't there initially around town.
*Here's the one thing that made me start looking elsewhere - when your tires come off something or bump something unevenly, the Fox 2.0s allow the Jeep to rock side to side for several cycles and passengers get tossed pretty violently in the process. There isn't enough resistance in the shock to slow down the momentum. It's possible this is a diesel/weight issue but it was rough and combined with the body roll led me to look at some thing else. No mods I have add weight besides the tires.

Bilstein 5100 ($425)
So I went with these next to see what a digressive shock was like and because they're cheap!

PROs: These control the Jeeps motion fantastically on and off-road. The previous rocking motion was gone as was the body roll when cornering. I read many people viewed these as harsh so was worried about off-road performance. I had the opposite experience. Off-road (crawling and rocky trails) my family noted that the ride was MUCH less rough and I attribute that to the 5100s ability to control the bounce and weight of the Jeep better. I love the feedback on the trails and thought it was a great experience overall. Very pleasantly surprised.

CONs: Here's where the reviews were correct - on the street you will feel the small striations and imperfections in the road more. The Jeep tends to follow small dips in the road downward where the Foxes would only dip the suspension (if that makes sense). To me it's the same feeling as a performance car - less cushy and more firm to give better handling, but you'll feel the road more. *If roads in your area suck, you might get sick of this, but I didn't see it as a big deal* One other thing I noted is that on the trails the 5100s got HOT. Which is why I tried...

Bilstein 5160s (~$1k)
These are pitched as 5100s (digressive), but with resis and that seems mostly accurate in my experience.

PROs: These are really close to the firmness of the 5100s, but not quite. To me it's the perfect middle ground between the Foxes and the 5100s - controlled and responsive without being overly harsh. Off-road they perform like the 5100s with composure and still control the rocking well without the heat issues. To me, this is the experience I was looking for all along and, as far as shocks go, a grand isn't all that bad.

CONs: They're the most expensive of the 3 and you still feel the imperfections in the road like with the 5100s. That's it.

Summary:
I was happy with the Foxes initially and they're the most compliant especially if you're focused more on comfort on road than composure and control/handling. They absorb more of the little stuff like potholes and speed bumps but were not good enough at minimizing the shake and roll of the body and it's contents for me. Would also hesitate if your Jeep runs heavy as I think they don't control weight/motion as well.

If you're on a budget, the 5100s are a damn good shock. If I didn't do long trails with a ton of rocks and crawling obstacles that heat up the shock, I would have stopped at the 5100s and been happy as a clam.

The 5160s are all the good things the 5100s provided without having to worry about the heat fade AND feel just a touch less harsh. These were the exact ride I was looking for both on and off-road and give me a ton of confidence in how the Jeeps going to react and handle in every situation.

Hope this helps someone!

Thanks for this review and I would like your opinion on my situation . I have a 2012 JK Sahara 2 1/2 " lift that came with Skyjacker shocks and at 70000 miles I replaced with Bilstein 5100,s because on road the ride was too harsh, off road was ok .They are a little smoother but still give a bumpy ride on road (imagine a cup of coffee to go that spills when hitting bumps). I,ve had them on now for 40,000 miles and just accept that,s how my ride is. My question is do you think shocks like this smooth out as they get older?

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