Ford F350 Shock Upgrade Recommendations

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I'm driving a Ford F350 4 x 4 Crew Cab Diesel and am looking to replace the existing shocks (front & rear). I've attached a photo of my rig and as you can see I've got a good bit of weight. I generally leave town with the truck, camper, and Jeep all loaded with supplies. Then there's me at 170 pounds and 2 dogs at 80 pounds each.

The truck has an added leaf spring on the rear and the Firestone airbags were just recently replaced.

The truck handles the weight without issue. I'm simply replacing as the current shocks have nearly 62,000 miles on them and I'm thinking it's time.

So I'm looking for some recommendations ? Thanks in advance.

 

[Superduty]

Not sure how much you are looking to spend, but if you want the best then call Accutune and they can set you up with Fox or King shocks. If you are looking for an off the shelf solution....Bilstein has a few different levels as does Fox.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Superduty.....I'm not near so concerned with price as I am with performance & durability. I'm curious if you have any model numbers in mind ? Hopefully Les Schwab will be doing the install for me. The manager of the shop suggested Fox but I said that I'd wait to purchase in October. Thanks.

 

[Superduty]

The King or Fox reservoir shocks are considered the best. The drawback of those shocks is they need rebuilding on a somewhat regular basis - the price you pay for performance. @montypower posted up some info about sending the shocks in for rebuild and how many miles he got from his.

Accutune will tune the Fox or Kings to the specs of your truck and driving style. But you can also buy factory tuned shocks by Fox (maybe King as well).

I'm sorry i don't have any part numbers handy.

 

[Slocral46]

The fox 2.0 non reservoir shocks should be an upgrade over the stock shocks. Bilstein equivalent is very good also. I just installed the fox shocks all around on my PW and am very pleased. Les Schwab should be able to install if they are available.

 

[ITTOG]

Fox 2.0's are very nice but they are costly. I have Fox 2.5's on my F150 and love them but they were about $4,000. Most people jump in with Bilsteins first. Something like those below or a set of 6112's. I have never had Bilsteins so I can't compare but I know they are highly regarded for the first major step up over stock. The set below would probably run you about $500 for a complete set.


F250/F350 Super Duty 2017-2022 Ford 4wd (w/4" lift) - Bilstein 5100 Series Shock (set of 4)
Brand: Bilstein | SKU: 24-285285-33-306254

 

[SDDiver5]

If price doesn't matter, I'd go Kings as they are the best. They will require maintenance like said above but the performance you get is well above others.

Or call Carli and see what they suggest, I've heard mostly good things about them. They may have a mix of shocks and other parts you could benefit from.

 

[chet6.7]

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

When I said I wasn't so concerned with price I had no idea that shocks could cost $4,000 for a set so I guess I am actually concerned with price as well. Also I wouldn't be interested in a shock that required maintenance either. The stock shocks served me well, I really had no complaints, and I'm not really all that picky. I was just thinking that since I'm going to replace them, I may as well upgrade. Maybe Bilstein is what I should look at cause $500 seems reasonable but I'm not looking to add a lift kit.

 

[CFMGarage]

If you have no complaints about your stock shocks, then Bilstein is a good logical choice.

 

[Alloy]

If the 350 is used with and without a load there is no one shoe fits all. The only for sure thing is shocks with a reservoir are better.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

If the 350 is used with and without a load there is no one shoe fits all. The only for sure thing is shocks with a reservoir are better.

I agree that remote reservoir shocks are preferable but user-adjustable shocks go a long way towards the "one size fits all" between loaded and unloaded.

I find it fascinating that so many folks seem to think that the only choice for performance shocks is between King and Fox...Icon is out there and every bit as good as either...if not better. And they do make shocks for Ford Super Duty's.

 

[Slocral46]

The bilstein 5100's are about $440 per set of 4. The Fox 2.0 IFP are about $780 per 4. Either would be a nice upgrade over stock.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

I had Rancho 9000's (9 way adjustable shocks) on my last truck (Chevrolet Duramax). I found that I was either way too lazy or way too disinterested to actually get under the truck and adjust them. I always had this attitude of good enough. That truck also had an extra leaf spring and Firestone airbags.

I just recently had the Firestone airbags in the current truck replaced with a newly designed set of airbags that Firestone just came out with. I didn't expect the ride to be any different but I was absolutely amazed at the improvement that I've experienced. It rode like a truck before, but it now rides like a car/ truck (if that makes sense).

I Googled the Bilstein 5100's and found that O'Reilly's has them for $90 each plus 20 % off if one orders online. Maybe that's a good fit for me ? Possibly they're a step up from stock yet nothing crazy expensive ?

 

[jbaucom]

IMO if you're just looking to replace tired stock shocks with something that's a reasonable upgrade from OE, and OE was sufficient for your use, Bilstein is the logical choice. I've got a set of Bilstein 5100s on my F150, and they've been good so far. I do wish I had stepped up to the 6112/5160, but it's not really because the 5100s have been lacking for my use. The 6112 is a big step up from the 5100 for not a lot more money.