So early last week i was bored and spontaneously bought the Bilstein shocks i have been debating on buying for over a month. The shocks got here Wed. and thurs night, instead of studying for my midterm, I decided to do the front shocks.

Well i get to it at about 5pm, its getting dark out but im in the garage and have a crappy portable light. I started on the drivers side and got the oem shock off with little issue other than the fact that i needed a 1/2" deep socket to make things go quicker and less painful for my hands. Getting the new Bilstein on was another story. They are sooo much stiffer that i couldnt compress it by hand from the angle i was at. It didnt take me too long before i started to get pissed, mainly cause i knew i still needed to study and it was taking way longer than i assumed. The main reason for this is because i was being stubborn and making the job way harder on myself than i could have.

Come 7pm ive got the new shock lined up in the suspension but i still dont have the deep socket to make things go easy. I gave up for an hour while i went to the Depot to buy a half socket and pick up some costco pizza with Larson. When i got back it went like butter finishing the drivers side. Then i moved to the passanger side and that one took less than 20min.

Took her out for a little test after i had finished both fronts and man could i tell the difference easily...hard to describe...but its way stiffer for handling while smoother riding at the same time. So now when i take corners at 25mph my tires barely chirp if at all (stock wrangler rt/s with swaybars, traction bars, and rear blocks taken out, keep in mind). Handling and ride are MUCH improved.

After doing the rears fri. (took about 15min each) there was a similar notice in handling and ride improvement, although not as dramatic as the fronts. My truck handles great now and i cant wait till i get wider rims/tires to really kick it up a notch.

 

good deal man....which bilsteins though? the 5100's???

 

just the bilstein HDs, OEM replacement...'street' truck doesnt need 5100's

 

oh, duh...nevermind!!!! i'm stupid sometimes...

 

I was wanting to get some of those! Not the ones you got but the 5100's

 

Its harder with 4wd.. more crap in the way.

 

what model do i need for my 2003 ranger edge 2wd extended cab if i wanted to go with 5100's

 

they only make them for TTB 2WD rangers

 

Good to hear you like them what ya pay and where did you get them from?

 

cheapest i could find was summitracing.com

 

dude thats sweet im thinking about getting differnt shocks probably bilsteins

 

you wont be dissappointed...the stock oil filled shocks suck...my front passanger shock was practically blown and i dont even offroad. A monotube gas filled shock is the way to go unless you have a built trail rig.

 

yea i love my bilsteins.. great shocks, good buy

 

Before I bought my '03 I test drove some edges and a fx4 offroad and then a L2 with the bilstein's I noticed a big difference.

 

I got my bilstein's the easy way...

 

didnt i sell you a set

 

Bilsteins are the bomb!!!

I got mine of eBay, cheapest price I found....even with shipping.

 

Are they like a lot smoother over bumps? My truck feels like things are gonna fall off sometimes the suspension is so stiff.