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Upgraded to Bilstein 4600s with ADO front coils and now ride is insanely stiff.

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345 views 21 replies 9 participants last post by  seely  
#1 ·
Hey guys, hoping to get some insight and information if anyone has experienced this.

Last year I ordered the ADO RC Killa kit for my 2018 SV 4x4 CC Longbox. Installed the coils and AAL and for the first bit the ride rode great. My front end lifted about 1.5-1.75inches and my rear about 2ish inches, keeping the negative rake. However my stock shocks started crapping out this year, the ride became a lot rougher due to a lot of offroading so I decided to upgrade to the bilstein 4600s.
I just got the fronts on today done by a shop as I dont have the proper tools to compress the springs (will be doing the rears myself on friday). And boy howdy, my front end now sits higher than the rear and the ride is insanely stiff and bouncy. Every small bump on the road I am bouncing. Speed bumps I almost get air over. I took it up a dirt road and a rough little side road and I had to go slower than a snail to get over any bump or pothole or the entire truck would thump. I can't believe how stiff everything is.

Is this normal for new shocks? Am I overthinking it and just need to let them settle in and soften up? Any information would be great.

My current upgrades are:
-ADO RC Killa kit
-Bigger tires -265/75R16 - certified ridgetek tires
-now bilstein 4600 in the front (and the rears in a couple days)
 
#2 ·
Shocks don’t provide lift, so it makes no sense that it sits higher after the shop changed them. Something wasn’t done correctly or you’ve got the wrong shocks. For the shocks to have lifted the front end, the spring perch would have to be higher. Where did you get em? Are you positive they’re correct for your specific application?
 
#4 ·
Personally I think the Bilstein 4600/5100 and their OEM variants really suck. They are crashy, poor performing shocks which becomes pretty apparent if you step up to something a little nicer. OEM's love them though because they probably buy them for like $10 a set and the Bilstein name is well recognized, even if the 4600/5100 aren't up to the quality Bilstein delivers with their aftermarket stuff. I think the RCKilla kit is a bad buy too, but I'm apt to get stabbed for saying that around here.

But they shouldn't cause issues like this, to the extent you are describing. Shop indeed probably did something wrong, at least I would think, but I'm having a hard time guessing what it could be.

Think if you want some help, go crank your wheel full lock one direction and get us some good pictures of the install and then we can probably provide a bit more help.

One thing I considered is maybe you got the 5100, not the 4600, perhaps by accident. The 5100 are the 4600 just with adjustable strut perches to enable a little extra lift - if that is the case it's probably just over preloading the crappy RCKilla springs and causing your issue.
 
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#6 ·
Personally I think the Bilstein 4600/5100 and their OEM variants really suck. They are crashy, poor performing shocks which becomes pretty apparent if you step up to something a little nicer. OEM's love them though because they probably buy them for like $10 a set and the Bilstein name is well recognized, even if the 4600/5100 aren't up to the quality Bilstein delivers with their aftermarket stuff. I think the RCKilla kit is a bad buy too, but I'm apt to get stabbed for saying that around here.

But they shouldn't cause issues like this, to the extent you are describing. Shop indeed probably did something wrong, at least I would think, but I'm having a hard time guessing what it could be.

Think if you want some help, go crank your wheel full lock one direction and get us some good pictures of the install and then we can probably provide a bit more help.

One thing I considered is maybe you got the 5100, not the 4600, perhaps by accident. The 5100 are the 4600 just with adjustable strut perches to enable a little extra lift - if that is the case it's probably just over preloading the crappy RCKilla springs and causing your issue.
Thanks for reply. No, can confirm they are the 4600s. I didn't go with the 5100s because of the springs already gave me some lift.

I'm quite confused and albeit worried that something is quite wrong. The shocks completely leveled out my truck and now the wheel well gap is a tad higher in the front than the rear. The coils seemed almost to squished when flat? If that's even a thing. Its dark out now so I'll send pictures tomorrow.

I can't afford the best parts so I went with what worked in my budget for slowly lifting up my truck. The ADO springs/AAL + bigger tires did their purpose in getting my truck some needed ground clearance. The stock shocks started leaking and went very soft so figured upgrading to the pro4x shocks would help. I hope I will not be regretting it now.
 
#12 ·
Yep, the spring perch is upside down, you're adding a ton of extra spring preload on top of effectively lifting the truck an additional 1.5ish inches.

Such abstract stupidity that I don't think a single one of us would have ever guessed that without the picture haha. Insane a shop did that.
 
#14 ·
What happened is you picked a bad kit from ADO. All you did was get the OEM 4600 shocks and struts and put stiffer springs in there that the shocks and struts were not designed for. This is Another example of "getting what you paid for" in a bad way
 
#19 ·
THose definitely aren't the 5100's and are the STOCK shocks we got on the Pro4x.... and agree with the other folks that the part is upside down.... the 5100s don't come in yellow, they come in the brushed metal. Hopefully these yahoo's can fix your issue and do it right this time, otherwise go somewhere else!!!

Bet these guys didn't even read the instructions....
 
#20 ·
THose definitely aren't the 5100's and are the STOCK shocks we got on the Pro4x.... and agree with the other folks that the part is upside down.... the 5100s don't come in yellow, they come in the brushed metal. Hopefully these yahoo's can fix your issue and do it right this time, otherwise go somewhere else!!!

Bet these guys didn't even read the instructions....
Maybe stock. Jury is still out if the stock pro4x are identicailly valved as the aftermarket 4600. I have never seen a head to head comparison. My thought is that they are NOT. I think the factory yellow Bils are firmer than the aftermarket.

THe 5100 are said to be zinc coated. What ever it is, it sucks. After 1 year (harsh winters/salt) they look like they have been through a war. My yellows bils looked fine after 10 years (small rust spots). I even sprayed my 5100 with a layer or 2 of clear coat before I installed. Bilstein literature says 'zinc plated for resistance against harsh elements". Not sure what they consider harsh, but if you look at anyone's sale ad for a set of used 5100s they all look like hell despite the low mileage claim. I use to call BS on that, now I know.