Car suspension question

T

+Tahoe_Shredder+

Member
I drive an 06 Xterra Off Road edition and took it in to get serviced last week. They saw 3 out of four shocks were completely shot so I gave them the okay to replace all the shocks. They replaced them with Bilstein heavy duty shocks, but the ride hasn't felt quite right since getting out of the shop. Whenever I go over a small bump they car continues to bounce two or three times after hitting the bump. I took it up a dirt road and it felt like the shocks were completely rigid and basically useless. The Xterra has coilover shocks, so could it be the coils that have gone bad or is there another part of the suspension that has gone bad?
 
it sounds to me like your suspension fluid has gone to shit and needs to be changed. better change your flux capacitor while you're at it.

on the real though, i wouldn't expect that thing to ride like a cadillac with "performance" shocks on it.
 
i suggest the blinker fluid is bad and needs to be flushed.

but seriously its because blisteins have a different spring rate than the stock springs, maybe you need a different spring thats softer/harder to your liking. it could also be that the new coils have a break in period, as a lot tend to have.
 
Are they Bilstein 5100s? It sounds like they're underdamped and oversprung. Meaning that they rebound too far too fast and compress in the same way. They're definitely a budget shock, so if you want a better ride look into Fox, Icon, Radflo etc.. If the Billies have adjustable ride height (a lot of them do) the shop could have set them too low. Even though the ride height is stock, the new coilovers could be designed to provide a small lift. PM me if you want to know more.
 
Bilsteins a budget shock? No. Bilsteins ride much stiffer than most shocks and thats probably why you find they seem stiff on dirt roads. Some people like their ride, some don't. There wouldn't be 5100's on your vehicle unless you wanted adjustable shocks for leveling.
 
Bilstein 5100s are budget shocks. Simple as that. They're a great value, but they're not high end. A lot of trucks come with 5100s stock, like the FJ Cruiser and Tacoma. A step up from the 5100s is where you start getting into "performance" shocks. They're set apart by their oil capacity and their tune. Companies like Icon, Radflo, and Fox build some coilovers that have more of a "race" tune, but are still pretty cheap. The high-end, best-of-the-best shocks often have remote reservoirs, and cost an arm and a leg. They're usually run with extended travel kits when they're on SUVs and trucks.
 
So the underdampened issue... is there a way to change the dampening on the Bilstein 5100's, or should i get rid of the stock springs and get new ones that are more compatible with the bilsteins.
 
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