Bilstein(24-186940) 5100 Series Shock Absorber

I first installed bilstein 5100 on a 06 tahoe I had a few years ago. It made a huge difference. So I purchased a 2011 tahoe and noticed right away the ride was bouncy and somewhat slow reacting. The truck would almost buck from back to front to back. I looked into these 5100 bilsteins first thing and saw they also leveled the front end which was also somthing I was wanting to do. Factory the back was 38” from ground to fender and the front was 35 1/2” on the front. The truck not only looked low in the front you could tell it driving. This newer tahoe having struts made things a bit more difficult than the older torsion bar suspension. Taking out the old strut isn’t the end of the world, but depending on mech ability and your tools can be a chore. There is a great youtube video walking you through it, that saves time for sure. I rented the spring compressors from advanced auto, but they would not compress the larger tahoe springs enough, not to mention they are super spooky to use. I had a local shop change over the springs for $150. I used the highest setting and sure enough it raised the truck 1 3/4” exactly. The new struts assembled were a bear to reinstall because they were around 1/2-1” longer overal on this tall setting. A Large prybar and another guy drastically helped this. Getting the lower shock mount on top of the A arm was interesting, Once you did it bolted in fine. Tahoe is leveled perfectly and the ride quality is 100% improved. No more bounce or bucking. You can tell just a bit the springs are a bit tighter, but it gave the truck such a better ride and the shocks work so much better than the factory. Which said ‘made in china’ by the way. Real nice chevy! These are worth the money and you won’t be dissapointed. Happy I didn't spend a little less and end up with the same factory bounce issue. The tahoe only had 59k on it by the way. They factory shocks were indeed shot! I won’t ever use anything else but bilsteins on anything I own thats for sure. After I installed these I put bilstein 5100’s on the back and this tahoe is even better!

These were great to level out our 2WD, 2013 Suburban 1500. When compared in size to OEM, these are a tad bit more robust. The ride quality is much better, the OEM seem way too soft even new and the OEM tend to cause un-even wear on my All-Terrain tires through, typical of bad or too soft shocks. I installed these at the same time of installing new tires, so time will tell if the over setup is that much better. The feature I liked the most was the ability to level the vehicle to my liking. I didn't go to maximum height, I went 2nd to tallest setting and I love it.Installation is not for DIY unless you are mechanically inclined and have the proper tools. The install is pretty much impossible without a Spring Compression tool and jack stands. Always error on the side of safety. Compressing the springs for the install is not for the beginners or faint of heart.UPDATE: I've put about 1500 miles and everything is looking great. Ride is 10 times better than OEM and love the leveled out look.

07' Silverado 1500 2WD great fit. I used the highest setting (which they claim is 1.77" raise) to level the truck and it is perfectly level. Caveat: I also have an AirRide system with bags in the back which raise the back end of the truck about 0.5" at their lowest setting. You could use one of the 2 middle positions to level a 1500 with stock front and rear suspension. I purchased these to replace my blown OEM shocks instead of regular shocks AND a $50-$200 leveling kit which is essentially just a block under the bottom of the strut. Installation is tough, compressing the OEM spring enough to install the flange nut on the top of the strut shaft is a chore. Impact tools and spring compressors are a must. Great product, great ride, does exactly what I wanted it to do (level the truck and smooth out my ride). It's stiffer than OEM, which gives much better feel to the road and cornering in town.

I really like struts/ride, but could not push the bottom of the strut into place even with a bottle jack with the strut on the highest (+ 1.75" ) setting on my stock 2011 silverado 1500 4WD WT. I had to settle for the + 1/2" lift setting. The backside top control arm was bottomed on stop (this was with the sway bar link removed). Bilstein gives piss poor instructions with them. Why not tell best way to torque center nut on strut top? For me, it was keeping compressor tool on old coil, installing on bilstein cartridge, reaching under boot as high as you can and grab rod with vise grips so that you can keep it from spinning when torquing top nut (then release coil spring).

Truck rides so great with these

Installed these on a 2011 Silverado 1500 4WD, and they ride is truly night and day better than the OEM shocks... I put them at the top setting to level the truck with a 3/4" rake remaining and the ride height is just right. Brings a chevy back to what a truck should ride like with the front spoiler off the curbs like it should've been from the factory. These shocks virtually stopped the car like body roll of my truck and dampen all road conditions like no other. The added front end height allowed me to put 275/70r18s on with about an inch clearance at full lock in both directions of the front wheel wells. With the shocks and tires changed I got about 3" in overall body lift from stock height and I'm really happy with the way the truck looks and rides....