Shocks- looking at the Bilsteins

[mkguitar]

For the Chev 3500- $370 for all 4 4600 series

the shocks under there are reasonable but feel worn- and this last trip had us exposed to some really terrific crosswinds- even at the moderate speeds we drive ...65 ish.
High profile catches the wind pretty good, the hoping to resist or dampen the body roll

I under stand that monroes might be good but that the bilsteins might just be that 15 or 20% better

good new on this trip ( Padre Island- fantastic) is that the new obd reader and obdfusion show me a real 17.1 MPG
which is dandy

Mike

[booster]

Have you calibrated the OBD meter, if you can? On ours you do multiple fills and take and average of how far off you were off and put in a trimmer type setting. Same is done with odometer. By the time you add the two together, it can get to be a reasonable amount of error. Ours was at a bit around 3% with the stock tires, and now the correction is over 5% total.

[peppster66]

I looked at the bilsteins when it was time to replace the shocks in my 97 dodge, it was the price factor that I ended up going with the monroes, I got a great deal from amazon, and installed them myself in an afternoon, very happy with them so far, a great improvement over the old ones, handling is much firmer, and the sway is greatly reduced, .I have heard great things about the bilteins, not even 1 bad review, If cost wasn't a problem, I probably would have gone with the bilsteins, but the monroes were less than half the price , take care,,,,,

[saenzm]

Padre Island!?? You're in my neck off the woods. Well, TX that is. I am in the San Antonio area.

I went with the Monroes because Pleasure Way recommended it. I called them and they said the Bilesteins are great, but that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference to justify the price.

So, I went with them and I am happy. Of course, no frame of reference though.

Best of luck. Let me know if you're passing through San Antonio.

Mark

[mkguitar]

ah, thanks we pulled out a few days ago as the storms and memorial day weekend nitwits were both scheduled to come in...

Went to SA and turned left...I have a pal in Comfort, then Las Cruces and then up Mt Lemmon ( tucson ) camping at 7500' so cooler.

back in PHX now

Mike

[Mat Mobile]

I will be installing Fox shocks with a lift kit on mine. Total is 556$ for a set of 4. I'll let everybody know how they hold up.

Not saying it's a choice for everybody but at least the information will be in this thread.

What year is your van?

[booster]

I think that the biggest thing you will find to be different in the Bilstein's is that they have very good variable valving to smooth out the harshness of smaller bumps while still having the much firmer control on big bumps and swaying.

There a quite a few good shocks for the better control, Monroe, KYB, Koni, Fox, etc, but they usually are quite a bit harsher on small bumps than the Bilsteins.

My favorites, for the money, in non variable shocks is KYB, as I have had very good luck with them. We have Bilstein's in our 07 C190P Roadtrek.

[JohnnyFry]

What are the mechanics of doing this calibration? I assume that you must plug something other than a reader into the OBD-2 port. I have a 2008 Chev 3500. What will I need to buy?

Thanks'
John

[booster]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFry

What are the mechanics of doing this calibration? I assume that you must plug something other than a reader into the OBD-2 port. I have a 2008 Chev 3500. What will I need to buy?

Thanks'
John

If you have the capability in the unit, like a Scangauge does, and it sets the same way, you don't have to buy anything at all.

First you would go out and check the odometer in the unit against the mile markers on the freeway. Longer distance gives better chance of best accuracy. You have a correction in the unit that you can enter, although Scangauge calls it "speed", which it also adjusts, but I don't consider speed accuracy as important as the odometer, since you are checking mileage. Once you have the odometer in the unit reading accurately, reset the "tank" setting on a Scangauge, which will zero the trip computer, after you fill the tank to the top. After that you don't have to log miles or reset anything, in fact you shouldn't reset. You also don't have to worry about getting the tank full, just write down how much gas you put in every time. The longer you let it go this, way the better for accuracy, and when you are done, just fill the tank again to the top at the same pump and check the mileage by adding up all your additions of gas and the miles the tank odometer on the unit reads. If it is different, you just enter whatever correction is needed into the unit. On the Scangauge you do it right at the "tank" trip screen so very easy. Then you are done, unless you want to do the check again to see if you hit it correctly.

[JohnnyFry]

Thanks for your fast reply. What type of Scanguage do you recommend or have? I do not have one at this point.

Thanks,
John

[mkguitar]

John, I am using a $16 OBD reader and the obdfusion app on my iphone

so about $25 all in

my main area of interest was tranny temps ( chev 3500) and tachometer....and once I saw all the wonderful display options...


the mpg display on the app jibes with my scribble paper calculations over this 2500 mile trip- and i assume the ecm is looking at injector pulse width and fuel pressure which would give real time fuel consumption--- you can see the diff just with a slight press on the throttle, or with a slight rise in grade ( similar to what my prius will display)

of interest to me was the result of dropping my previous avg 70ish to 65 ish for this trip- even with the 10% ethanol gas I saw a gain of 1 to 1.5 MPG

the veepeak unit I initially bought would need frequent resetting- the seller sent me this unit at no charge:

https://www.amazon.com/Veepeak-Upgra...ct_top?ie=UTF8

there are plenty other similar units for either ios or android- i have dedicated an older iphone4S for this use.


works great.
I am using this in my van, 2001 Sierra and 2013 Prius V.
Different types of data are available depending on manufacturer, but it seems that GM makes more available

I did have some hiccups getting started...but figured it all out- one of my issues was a blown fuse for the OBD post in the van- shares circuit with the lighter outlet and some phone charger popped the fuse

mike

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFry

............ What type of Scanguage do you recommend or have? I do not have one at this point.

Thanks,
John

I've had my Scangauge II coming up on 9 years now. A dedicated Scangauge is a set it and forget it type of device that can be mounted discretely. It turns on and off automatically and is powered through the OBD port. There's no turning on a Bluetooth sender, no phone, no powering a phone, no mounting a phone needed.

The Bluetooth device + app + phone setups do have very cool looking displays though and minus the phone, they are really inexpensive.

[Sehc]

wow! what a hijack. What happened to shocks?

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by Sehc

wow! what a hijack. What happened to shocks?

yeah the idiot OP bought up the OBD reader leading to comments and a question on that subject

The Bilsteins are on my list, I am watching both ebay and Amazon watching for a price drop

work obligations make it unlikely that i'll be using the van before October

mike

[JohnnyFry]

It was mine that hijacked the thread, sorry. I was absolutely certain that I had replied to the previous thread.

John

[AZ ADVenturist]

Meanwhile; are the series 5100 Bilstein's compatible with our Chev. Vans?
Does anyone use the adjustable 5100s to achieve the front lift some of us want/need (especially for RoadTrek)?

[mkguitar]

for my 2005 Chev 3500 chassis 2006 Pleasure-Way Lexor TD I am looking at 4600 series:


Bilstein 24-187435 @ $91 each for front


Bilstein 24-221948 @ $86 each for rear

my stock height is fine so I'm not looking for a change- PW doesn;t have the drop floor- is that the diff?

mike

[booster]

Originally Posted by mkguitar

for my 2005 Chev 3500 chassis 2006 Pleasure-Way Lexor TD I am looking at 4600 series:


Bilstein 24-187435 @ $91 each for front


Bilstein 24-221948 @ $86 each for rear

my stock height is fine so I'm not looking for a change- PW doesn;t have the drop floor- is that the diff?

mike

I would guess that your suspension is down as much as a Roadtrek, but without the dropped floor, gas tank, and other stuff underneath, you don't reduce it further like Roadtrek does. A stock van has a lot of road clearance empty.

[booster]

I think the 5100 series shocks are just a top quality heavy damping shock, with no variable rate valving. The "adjustable ride height" looks to just move the damping area of the shock to put the damping in the right range for trucks that are lifted various amounts by other means.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by booster

I think that the biggest thing you will find to be different in the Bilstein's is that they have very good variable valving to smooth out the harshness of smaller bumps while still having the much firmer control on big bumps and swaying.

There a quite a few good shocks for the better control, Monroe, KYB, Koni, Fox, etc, but they usually are quite a bit harsher on small bumps than the Bilsteins.

My favorites, for the money, in non variable shocks is KYB, as I have had very good luck with them. We have Bilstein's in our 07 C190P Roadtrek.

Bilstein provides a lifetime warranty for their shocks.