SunnyInCo
Member
- Joined
- Oct 19, 2012
- Posts
- 46
- Reaction score
- 30
I everyone. I thought I would write up a quick review of my experience so far after upgrading all four shocks to the Bilstein 5100's. I had a shop do this for me as I am not mechanically inclined. If I were just replacing the rear shocks, I might have attempted on my own however I did not want to deal with installing the springs on the fronts.
I am the original owner of a 2008 (purchased in Aug. 2007) SLT Yukon, with 17" wheels. I only had about 115,000 miles on the truck at this time as it was the 3rd car for a handful of years. I have been driving on more forest service and BLM-type roads the past few years for moose and elk hunts and wanted/needed to upgrade the suspension. Other than a handful of dirt trips per year, the other 95% of driving is about 70% highway and high mountain passes in Colorado, and 30% suburban driving.
After as much research as I could put my hands on, I decided to go with the 5100's. I was nervous as I did not need to go super stiff and still wanted good compliance on paved roads. After about 8,000 miles of driving, I can honestly say I am very happy with the results. I should say I raised the front end to the 2nd or 3rd notch and kept the original springs.
I can barely tell any difference on paved roads. They are not "too" stiff but have noticed a little less body roll. I always thought there was a little too much of this with the stock suspension. Since the weather is finally starting to cooperate, I have not been off-road if any so far, however, I just did a 300-mile tow with my new trailer and raft (about 1200 lbs. total) with about 10 miles of smooth'ish dirt roads. I am extremely pleased with the feel of the Yukon and thought the shocks did their job.
The only other real-world test I can think of is going over speed bumps. We have a few at our local rec centers and I can definitely tell the difference going over these. Much, much smoother.
Let me know if you have any questions but I can say for someone that hates spending money, I am very pleased with this "investment".
I am the original owner of a 2008 (purchased in Aug. 2007) SLT Yukon, with 17" wheels. I only had about 115,000 miles on the truck at this time as it was the 3rd car for a handful of years. I have been driving on more forest service and BLM-type roads the past few years for moose and elk hunts and wanted/needed to upgrade the suspension. Other than a handful of dirt trips per year, the other 95% of driving is about 70% highway and high mountain passes in Colorado, and 30% suburban driving.
After as much research as I could put my hands on, I decided to go with the 5100's. I was nervous as I did not need to go super stiff and still wanted good compliance on paved roads. After about 8,000 miles of driving, I can honestly say I am very happy with the results. I should say I raised the front end to the 2nd or 3rd notch and kept the original springs.
I can barely tell any difference on paved roads. They are not "too" stiff but have noticed a little less body roll. I always thought there was a little too much of this with the stock suspension. Since the weather is finally starting to cooperate, I have not been off-road if any so far, however, I just did a 300-mile tow with my new trailer and raft (about 1200 lbs. total) with about 10 miles of smooth'ish dirt roads. I am extremely pleased with the feel of the Yukon and thought the shocks did their job.
The only other real-world test I can think of is going over speed bumps. We have a few at our local rec centers and I can definitely tell the difference going over these. Much, much smoother.
Let me know if you have any questions but I can say for someone that hates spending money, I am very pleased with this "investment".
