Bilstain 5100 and rough country

Alex v. Tovar

Original poster
Member
Feb 2, 2019
4
Greeley, Colorado
I installed the 5100 w/ the rough country 2"leveling kit. I adjusted the bilstain to 1.7" but it maid it really stiff. I am about to re-do it but what I was wondering is would it work if I adjusted it to .6 w/ the rough country?
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
I don't know that it will get much less stiff with the valving, but doing a 2 inch and the 1.7 prolly had your cv's in a bind
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Yes flip them, but it has nothing to do with room. It is to help with the ball joint angle after lifting. It should be done with any lift.

For yours, i would try the the .6 setting or similar. you need to stay under about 3 inches of lift to prevent cv issues. You bought 5100 series which is naturally stiffer even set at nothing for lift. Also adding the RC lift will stiffen things up as well. i would try the lower setting and if not comfy for you, try only lifting with the struts n not using the RC kit.
 

Alex v. Tovar

Original poster
Member
Feb 2, 2019
4
Greeley, Colorado
Yes flip them, but it has nothing to do with room. It is to help with the ball joint angle after lifting. It should be done with any lift.

For yours, i would try the the .6 setting or similar. you need to stay under about 3 inches of lift to prevent cv issues. You bought 5100 series which is naturally stiffer even set at nothing for lift. Also adding the RC lift will stiffen things up as well. i would try the lower setting and if not comfy for you, try only lifting with the struts n not using the RC kit.
And what do you think about 2" hubsentric wheel spacers
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Same as everyone says about the spacers.... Buy something decent and torque them properly and you will have no issues. I have ran them on my truck and car for about 150K miles at this point. Granted i use 1.5 adapters with highly offset wheels that actually create more offset than a typical 2 inch spacer with something stock or similar would.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
I always wondered if using spacers was harder on balljoints. Are they?
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Anything that pushes the tire out whether it is offset wheels or spacers or adapters will be a bit harder on several front end pieces, but it is such a small change in wear that it really is never quantified. Never seen any failures attributed to spacers or adapters when it comes to these things, Have seen them help to show wear already there and people try to attribute them to creating a failure on their 100K mile part that was likely already in need of replacing. That is typically in cv boots n wheel bearing though. Ball joints are way way down the list of concern when lifting to me. Esp since flipping the UCA keeps the angle pretty decent. I truly have only seen UBJ failures from the kids using the ebay death lifts that bolt on top and use the UBJ as the limit of travel.
 

Alex v. Tovar

Original poster
Member
Feb 2, 2019
4
Greeley, Colorado
Anything that pushes the tire out whether it is offset wheels or spacers or adapters will be a bit harder on several front end pieces, but it is such a small change in wear that it really is never quantified. Never seen any failures attributed to spacers or adapters when it comes to these things, Have seen them help to show wear already there and people try to attribute them to creating a failure on their 100K mile part that was likely already in need of replacing. That is typically in cv boots n wheel bearing though. Ball joints are way way down the list of concern when lifting to me. Esp since flipping the UCA keeps the angle pretty decent. I truly have only seen UBJ failures from the kids using the ebay death lifts that bolt on top and use the UBJ as the limit of travel.
Do you think flipping the uca is enough or do you recommend flipping sides
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Do you think flipping the uca is enough or do you recommend flipping sides

If you flip the UCAs, you have to also switch sides. This would have become clear as soon as you tried to reinstall them. :twocents:
 

DetsTB

Member
Oct 17, 2013
10
Same as everyone says about the spacers.... Buy something decent and torque them properly and you will have no issues. I have ran them on my truck and car for about 150K miles at this point. Granted i use 1.5 adapters with highly offset wheels that actually create more offset than a typical 2 inch spacer with something stock or similar would.
I've been wanting to get 1.5" spacers for some time just never been able to pull the trigger. Now I need new tires so now is the time. What are a couple decent brand spacers you would recommend?
 
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