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Thoughts on comparable shocks to the Bilstein 5100s

moments.by.ron

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The 5100s seem to be out of stock for a few months, and are ~$99 each. Wondering peoples thoughts on comparables.

The bilsteins have some of the best on-road manners in my experience having them on two trucks and a 2014 wrangler. They replaced Ranchos on one truck and were so much smoother on the highway, but seemed to hold their own very well for light off-road.

I won't be going hard-core off-road, more mild "back road" to get to photo, camping, hunting, and fishing spots. So on-road manners are kind of important.
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WAOLIFE

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The 5100s seem to be out of stock for a few months, and are ~$99 each. Wondering peoples thoughts on comparables.

The bilsteins have some of the best on-road manners in my experience having them on two trucks and a 2014 wrangler. They replaced Ranchos on one truck and were so much smoother on the highway, but seemed to hold their own very well for light off-road.

I won't be going hard-core off-road, more mild "back road" to get to photo, camping, hunting, and fishing spots. So on-road manners are kind of important.
FOX performance shocks are pretty similar.
 

gato

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All I can tell you is that I too wanted to put the BIlsteins on my JLUR (since I had them on my JKUR) and instead went with the MOPAR 2.5" shocks by Fox.

Here are my observations:
1 - Initial bump harshness is about the same - Fox maybe slightly less harsh.

BUT

2 - Travel/Bump and rebound/return valving are very different. The Mopar FOX are substantially softer (in a bad way in my book) than the Bilsteins. Handling around corners and transient/sudden maneuvers is substantially worse in the Mopar/Fox. I was very disappointed in that. Vehicle control is not there.

3 - Off road, I think the Mopar/FOX is slightly better valved than the BIlsteins.

So net/net if you are looking for the on-road handling/manners of the Bilsteins, look elsewhere. Fox (at least in the Mopar tuning) will not do it for you.
 

WAOLIFE

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All I can tell you is that I too wanted to put the BIlsteins on my JLUR (since I had them on my JKUR) and instead went with the MOPAR 2.5" shocks by Fox.

Here are my observations:
1 - Initial bump harshness is about the same - Fox maybe slightly less harsh.

BUT

2 - Travel/Bump and rebound/return valving are very different. The Mopar FOX are substantially softer (in a bad way in my book) than the Bilsteins. Handling around corners and transient/sudden maneuvers is substantially worse in the Mopar/Fox. I was very disappointed in that. Vehicle control is not there.

3 - Off road, I think the Mopar/FOX is slightly better valved than the BIlsteins.

So net/net if you are looking for the on-road handling/manners of the Bilsteins, look elsewhere. Fox (at least in the Mopar tuning) will not do it for you.
The FOX can be tuned to suit needs, or go with 2.5 ... lol
 
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moments.by.ron

moments.by.ron

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Thanks all for the feedback - I pulled the trigger on some Bilsteins, I just had to source all four from three different vendors as no one had the entire set in stock.
 

gato

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The FOX can be tuned to suit needs, or go with 2.5 ... lol
Yes, that is really convenient. Install with the factory tune. Notice you don't like it. Remove from your vehicle. Pay for shipping. Pay for the tune. Wait a ton of time, while your vehicle is non-drivable. Reinstall on your vehicle. See if you like it,. If not, repeat.

Fact is that the technology used by Fox/Falcon tend to result in a very harsh initial bump, even when they are otherwise tuned soft.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying they are bad shocks. They are actually quite good, but the OP should know that he will not have the same experience as the out-of-the-box Bilsteins he likes.
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