[FedExx43]

Hey guys I have an 11 1500 z71 LT with the rough country 2.5" leveling kit in it. And while I love the look of it, it rides like crap. Which is to be expected with a cheap lift. But after 25k miles with the lift I'm either tired of the ride or its gotten worse. I'd like to take the lift out and put in the height adjustable Bilstein 5100s in hopes of helping that. So I have two questions.
1. Can I use the height adjustable shocks on both ends or do I need to leave my rear 2" blocks in and use the non adjustable in the rear? You know to keep the look the same.
2. Will this actually improve my ride? And are there any other things I can check/do to improve the ride and handling as much as possible on a truck like this?

PS if this has been answered please direct me to the thread, and thanks for any help you can offer!

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[ferraiolo1]

Yes it will improve your ride but it will only lift it 1.77in. The rears are on adjustable. You would need to remove the rear blocks or you will have a lot of rake.

Or you can install a high travel UCA to help with suspension travel

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[NewToMe]

I installed cognito UCA's on my truck and my T bars are maxed out and it rides 10x better then before the install. Good investment

 

[rebelman06]

If you are looking for a soft on-road ride, I'd reconsider 5100's. They provide a stiffer but controlled ride. There are non-adjustable versions of Bilsteins that ride softer if you want a smooth ride.

You can expect a rougher ride with any level (5100's included) because you have removed a portion of the available down travel from the suspension.

 

[ferraiolo1]

That's the reason for the UCAs it regains your down travel.

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[FedExx43]

So sounds like my best bet to keep close to the same lift but improve the ride at a reasonable cost is upgrading upper control arms and keeping the lift installed? Thoughts on adding sway bars to improve handling?

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[ferraiolo1]

UCAs are between $400-600, and yes a rear sway bar will help handling.

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[rebelman06]

How many miles on the truck? Factory shocks don't last forever.

 

[FedExx43]

I should've added that, 75k on the truck. It's had its fair share of off road and gravel road miles. That's why I was thinking the Bilsteins, I figured the shocks were about shot and thought that would be a good way to go.

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[ferraiolo1]

Yeah yours are getting to the end
If their lifespan. You can still ad the 5100s keep them at the stock setting and still use your spacer kit. But even then you're still limiting your down travel.

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[FedExx43]

Okay so I could keep the lift, get the 5100s set at stock setting, and upgrade UCAs and all of my life's problems would be solved? Haha or is there an easier way to do this?

Ps thanks for all the help guys, i'm not super suspension savvy so I really appreciate it!

 

[ferraiolo1]

Depends on what you want out of your truck. But yes the cheapest route would be new shocks and rough country ucas

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[FedExx43]

Okay last question...i think...so since I would keep the lift in is there any sense in getting the ride height adjustable 5100s or should i get the standard ones since I'm leaving them at stock height anyway? Do I need to get rough country UCAs because I have a rough country lift or can I get a nicer set?

 

[ferraiolo1]

Some say the adjustable ones and the cheaper ones have the same internals. I'm not sure, I loved the metal housings on the 5100s. And no. Cognitos are the nicest UCAs but they are around $650. You can also ditch the shocks and add fox coil overs.

2015 fox 2.5 coil over review

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