Thoughts on Bilstien 5100/5125's

I've got a '96 4 door that I'm finishing up my 8-9" lift this week. The front is 8.5" Rusty's springs, and the Skyjacker subframe/lower arms and custom upper arms, using Johnny Joints throughout. Rear is just leafs with a longer shackle (no blocks).

I'm wanting to get a very nice set of shocks for it. My budget is under $400 for the set. Most of our trips are to Moab, but I want to use the Jeep in the dunes more and I usually end up moving pretty fast on the desert roads wherever I end up. My last few sets of shocks have severely overheated, to the point of discoloring the rod of the shock. I'm considering buying the 5150's, but they are probably out of my price range. Perhaps I can get them for just the front. I'm leaning toward the 255/70 valving front and rear.

I found the complete set of four 5125's, 12" travel fronts and 10" travel rears, for $292 shipped.

Does anybody have any first hand experience with these? Is there a different brand I should consider? Valving ideas?

Thanks!

Jared

I run 4 5150's. The are nice on paved and dirt roads, real nice. I bought 4 255/70 valving but if I had to do it again I would get 255/100 or 300/115 for the front because they are a little soft on faster trails. I think that puts you in to the high end stuff for valving but you might find a truck shock that is valved just a little higher for the front. The 5150's have to be converted from stem to eye adding to the cost. Bilstein makes a really nice scew on adapter for the front top and JKS makes the rest unless you reuse your old pins for your shocks. Thats my opinion but I'd like to hear others.

The 255/70 valving will be good for the rear, but just OK for the front. Really, the front needs stiffer valving.`But, the 5150's are just a 5125 with a small resevoir, so they won't heat up as fast. I imagine the Bilsteins are a better quality shock than you've run before, so they most likely won't heat up enough to get damaged like your previous shocks.

You might consider 5150's for the front and 5125's for the year to be at your budget. That way at least the fronts can take a little more heat. I run 7100's in the front and 5150's in the rear.

I've got 12" travel 5125's at all 4 corners and they work great. I have no complaints at all and you definitely won't go wrong with 'em.

Stumpalump said:

I bought 4 255/70 valving but if I had to do it again I would get 255/100 or 300/115 for the front because they are a little soft on faster trails.

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I was really considering going heavier on the front, but I am worried about the highway ride. This XJ has to double as my wife/kids daily driver. We have an '04 Dakota for trips, but I use it for work so the family is stuck in the XJ.

Stumpalump said:

The 5150's have to be converted from stem to eye adding to the cost.

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I'm just going to bend up a mount and bolt it up solid thru the hole for the pin. If I'm not satisfied with that setup, I may weld something that covers the pin hole onto the body. But thanks for the heads up.

Goatman said:

The 255/70 valving will be good for the rear, but just OK for the front.

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Interesting that you both say that. Richard, do you drive yours on the highway much? How's the highway ride? Obviously I'd love for the XJ to be "Cadillac smooth" but, there has to be a tradeoff for offroad performance.

Goatman said:

You might consider 5150's for the front and 5125's for the rear...

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I have and still am considering this setup. The fronts are the only ones I've had trouble with. I think the 5150's are about $70 more for the pair, so still barely within the budget.

vetteboy said:

I've got 12" travel 5125's at all 4 corners and they work great. I have no complaints at all and you definitely won't go wrong with 'em.

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How much lift are you running? Do you attach your rear shocks in the stock locations top and bottom, or do they extend through the floor?

I'm thinking I'd have to be at about 10-12" of lift to fit 12" travel shocks in the rear, which would be ridiculous. I'm already thinking this 8-9" I'm at is too high... I've run at 6" on a different XJ before.

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Speaking of valving... I'd realistically like this XJ to be ready for an occasional 2-3 feet of air at the dunes in a couple of years. I'll be strengthening the unibody and trussing or sleeving a front axle soon. Also some rear upper shock mount fabbing will be in order.

Higher compression valving will probably make the jeep ride like a skateboard. But is that what it takes to handle jumps and high speed whoops? Or, will a 300+ rebound valving take care of it? I'm hoping to stay at about 12" front and 10" rear travel.

Thanks!

DeadEyeJ said:

How much lift are you running? Do you attach your rear shocks in the stock locations top and bottom, or do they extend through the floor?

I'm thinking I'd have to be at about 10-12" of lift to fit 12" travel shocks in the rear, which would be ridiculous. I'm already thinking this 8-9" I'm at is too high... I've run at 6" on a different XJ before.

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Total lift, not much. Around 7.5" last I bothered to check...Rusty's 4.5" springs in front, 1.5" coil spacers on top, and mounts elevated a little bit off the axle tube.



Axle side shocks are even with the axle centerline; upper mounts are outboarded and raised.



Since April I've got about 1000 miles on it, and as big as it is, these shocks keep it well under control on the highway, and also keep the roll pretty constrained on the trail. I ran only cheap shocks for a long time when it was smaller, and I didn't appreciate the quality of good shocks until I actually bought 'em and ran them for a while.

The stiffer front shock rides very well on the street, and it's more stable. And, that's on mine that has real stiff front coils. I don't run a sway bar anymore, no need, but with RE ZJ coils and different shocks I always ran the sway bar on the street.

The 255/70 valving is good for most things in the front. You had said you're over heating your shocks, which means you're running faster and using them harder, in which case you'd be happier with stiffer valving. I don't know how you would get it, though, without going to a more expensive shock. Many of us here on the west coast that regularly run fast to the trails in the desert and on rough dirt mountain roads use 7100's with stiffer valving in the front and we think it's the perfect setup.

Another shock option that could be really good, though more money, is Fox. They have a 2" shock that is specifically valved for a TJ, for offroad, that should work very well on an XJ.

im running 10¨ fox 2¨ reservoirs.... they are available application specific, so no need to convert the fronts.
when i ordered mine, they custom valved them.... id have to check them for the valving.... but they are rebuildable shocks... so valving can be changed , and the quality is very nice.... billet ends and such

id love to hear a comparison, if someone has ran both the fox 2¨s and the bilstein 1700s..... i was planning on going bilstein, but ended up with fox on one xj. the 2nd xj, is HOPEFULLY gonna get 2.5 foxs.... the 2.0 has puny hoses
http://www.offroad-engineering.com/fox-shocks.html

Yes, the Fox's don't need an adapter on the front since they come with a stud mount. I'm also curious to see how the Fox's do on an XJ compared to the 7100's, since they are an easier package to deal with and come with vehicle specific valving.