Rockcrawler
05-24-2007, 12:57 PM
I just bought a 5100 system from Lorenz a week or so ago and built the Truck up in stages as the parts arrived. It was interesting for me to see the results the different parts had in the ride quality vs. stock and thought some of you might be interested as well.
Step 1... The first parts to go on were the Dual Purpose Leafs. The install was pretty straightforward, lift the truck by the frame, let the axle droop and lift it back up slightly with a floor jack to get the springs to neutral. Loosen up the ubolts and drop the axle then work on the spring mounts. I did this part alone, but I would highly recommend getting a friend to help you move the old springs out and put the new springs in under the truck. Other than the weight of the springs, the only difficulty was getting the center pins lined up. These fell into place with a little persuasion. After the springs were in, the new Bilstein 5100 shocks bolted in easily. At this point, I didn't have the new front coils yet, so I decided to take it for a shakedown run with just the DP Leaf Springs and the new rear shocks. All I can say is WOW what a ride difference! The back of the truck just floated over the speed humps on my street and nice and smooth on the road. I noticed some clunking and discovered I hadn't tightened down the upper shock mount on the passenger side. 5 minutes back in the garage and the real shakedown run began. I took it through the Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park near my house. The ride quality was awesome, but I noticed there was significantly more body roll than I had stock. I took it through some gravel roads in the park and roads that I was previously able to drive at only 5 mph or so I was now easily able to drive at 25 or 30 mph. The rear end stayed planted and didn't start bouncing sideways and kicking out or shaking me to death as it had with the stock springs. I gained about 1/4 inch of height in the back with the DP Leaf Springs. Total install time about 4 hours.
Thoughts at this point were VERY nice ride, but I will have to do something about that body roll and hopefully the new front coils will take care of that.
Step 2.... coils still aren't here, but I wanted to see what the difference the new Bilstein shocks will make in the front with the stock coils. The ride was much plusher and more comfortable however it was very easy to bottom out the front end with the Bilstein shocks and the stock coils. As you enter the mountain park, there are several "whoops" on the paved road and I was able to bottom out the front suspension at 30 mph... hmm... not good. The front end would also bottom out going over the speed humps. Now I know why there are stiffer coils on the way! Speeds were essentially unchanged through my same test loop of twists and turns and whoops on pavement and offroad however the body roll got worse. Total install time about 1.5 hours.
Step 3... The coils showed up and I got those installed. Install was pretty straightforward on these as well. Support the truck, let the axle hang and run a floor jack under each side of the axle for support. Disconnect the shocks and pull out the coils. I was able to pull the coils straight out and worked a bit to put the new driver's side coil in, but ended up having to disconnect the track bar and have a friend push down on the axle a bit to get the new passenger side coil in. Reconnecting the track bar was somewhat of a pain taking a combination of twisting the axle up and turning the steering wheel. Dropping the the sway bar mounts was pretty straightforward as well and the drop blocks fit right in with the new hardware supplied by Lorenz. I gained about 1 3/4 inches in the front with the new coils. Total install time about 2.5 hours.
Shakedown time... I took it back through the mountain park and body roll is more than stock, but much better than the DP Leaf Springs and the Stock front coils. The front end doesn't bottom out through the whoops or over the speed humps. On road ride is much improved with the full system over stock. It was getting late, after the coil install, so I haven't run the truck back through the offroad portion of my test loop, but will get to that this weekend and report back. Overall impressions are positive. My truck is WAAAY more fun to drive. It hugs the road rather than skipping over it with the stock suspension. Pics to follow.
Kyle
Step 1... The first parts to go on were the Dual Purpose Leafs. The install was pretty straightforward, lift the truck by the frame, let the axle droop and lift it back up slightly with a floor jack to get the springs to neutral. Loosen up the ubolts and drop the axle then work on the spring mounts. I did this part alone, but I would highly recommend getting a friend to help you move the old springs out and put the new springs in under the truck. Other than the weight of the springs, the only difficulty was getting the center pins lined up. These fell into place with a little persuasion. After the springs were in, the new Bilstein 5100 shocks bolted in easily. At this point, I didn't have the new front coils yet, so I decided to take it for a shakedown run with just the DP Leaf Springs and the new rear shocks. All I can say is WOW what a ride difference! The back of the truck just floated over the speed humps on my street and nice and smooth on the road. I noticed some clunking and discovered I hadn't tightened down the upper shock mount on the passenger side. 5 minutes back in the garage and the real shakedown run began. I took it through the Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park near my house. The ride quality was awesome, but I noticed there was significantly more body roll than I had stock. I took it through some gravel roads in the park and roads that I was previously able to drive at only 5 mph or so I was now easily able to drive at 25 or 30 mph. The rear end stayed planted and didn't start bouncing sideways and kicking out or shaking me to death as it had with the stock springs. I gained about 1/4 inch of height in the back with the DP Leaf Springs. Total install time about 4 hours.
Thoughts at this point were VERY nice ride, but I will have to do something about that body roll and hopefully the new front coils will take care of that.
Step 2.... coils still aren't here, but I wanted to see what the difference the new Bilstein shocks will make in the front with the stock coils. The ride was much plusher and more comfortable however it was very easy to bottom out the front end with the Bilstein shocks and the stock coils. As you enter the mountain park, there are several "whoops" on the paved road and I was able to bottom out the front suspension at 30 mph... hmm... not good. The front end would also bottom out going over the speed humps. Now I know why there are stiffer coils on the way! Speeds were essentially unchanged through my same test loop of twists and turns and whoops on pavement and offroad however the body roll got worse. Total install time about 1.5 hours.
Step 3... The coils showed up and I got those installed. Install was pretty straightforward on these as well. Support the truck, let the axle hang and run a floor jack under each side of the axle for support. Disconnect the shocks and pull out the coils. I was able to pull the coils straight out and worked a bit to put the new driver's side coil in, but ended up having to disconnect the track bar and have a friend push down on the axle a bit to get the new passenger side coil in. Reconnecting the track bar was somewhat of a pain taking a combination of twisting the axle up and turning the steering wheel. Dropping the the sway bar mounts was pretty straightforward as well and the drop blocks fit right in with the new hardware supplied by Lorenz. I gained about 1 3/4 inches in the front with the new coils. Total install time about 2.5 hours.
Shakedown time... I took it back through the mountain park and body roll is more than stock, but much better than the DP Leaf Springs and the Stock front coils. The front end doesn't bottom out through the whoops or over the speed humps. On road ride is much improved with the full system over stock. It was getting late, after the coil install, so I haven't run the truck back through the offroad portion of my test loop, but will get to that this weekend and report back. Overall impressions are positive. My truck is WAAAY more fun to drive. It hugs the road rather than skipping over it with the stock suspension. Pics to follow.
Kyle