Rear Shock Suggestions

[D45]

Shopping for new rear shocks for my truck and planning the lift. The rear will be 2" or 2.5" over stock

Bilstein?
Fox?
Icon?

Monotube or are reservoirs that important?

 

[D45]

I have had monotube and reservoir Bilstein shocks on my old one ton diesel. Seemed to ride stiff

Granted, a one ton solid axle diesel is much different than a half ton IFS gasser

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

I’ve had great all around results with Bilstein. Ran Fox on the Dodge for while and they did well for higher speed runs in the desert. Somewhere around here they did temp tests and found Fox better able to dissipate heat due to the aluminum body...? YMMV depending on intended use. If I recall correctly J Hanson published some testing results that showed that twin tubed shocks actually worked best for shedding heat...all of the units you mentioned are mono tube.
Side note: I ran adjustable shocks for awhile and drove myself crazy adjusting them for different situations. ?‍♂️? Now I just bolt on the Bilsteins and go.

 

[D45]

Bilstein B8 5160 Remote Reservoir Shocks are $332 shipped for the pair

• Finish: Zinc Plated
• Compressed Length: 16.14" (410.0 mm)
• Extended Length: 26.81" (681.0 mm)
• Lower Mounting: Eye 0.567" (14.4 mm)
• Upper Mounting: Eye 0.567" (14.4 mm)
• Reservoir: Yes
• Boot: No
• Diameter: 1.81" (46.9 mm)
• Internal Design: Monotube

 

[D45]

Cognito Fox 2.0 Remote Reservoir

$479 shipped for a pair

• 2.0" Smooth bore & honed seamless alloy bodies
• Body is Zinc-plated & double-clear coated for long lasting finish
• External reservoir 2.0" Smooth bore 6061-T6 Aluminum is hard anodized black
• 5/8" hard chrome plated heat-treated alloy steel shaft
• Redundant sealing pack system main seal, wiper seal, scraper seal
• Bushings are quiet nitrile rubber allows for increased suspension articulation

 

[60beforetruck]

I have Fox 2.0 monotone on the rear and bilstein 7100 on the front of my Suburban. The fix has a larger shaft and no spacers needed to bolt into factory mounts. The bilstein 7100 is a desi or shock you can tune. Changeing the nitrogen pressure in them makes a big difference.
It is like everything else, what do you want to spend and what is comfortable to you.
I will say Fox customer service was good to deal with.

 

[D45]

Icon Dynamics 2.0 Aluminum Series reservoir shocks

$265 each shipped

Features:
◾Premium grade 5WT shock oil for consistent suspension damping along a wide temperature range
◾Nitrogen charged monotube design with internal reservoir
◾One piece linear/digressive piston design with vehicle specific valving for unsurpassed performance and ride quality on and off-road
◾5/8” chrome plated hardened steel shaft resists corrosion and pits
◾6061 aluminum rod end, top cap, and internals ensure strength and durability
◾Polyurethane bushings, zinc plated sleeves, and forged steel mounting stems for OE factory type fitment
◾6063 anodized aluminum body and reservoir tubing for superb heat dissipation, excellent corrosion resistance, and high-tech appearance
◾Nitrile rubber top out bumper for noise free operation
◾100% rebuildable
◾100% revalveable

 

[D45]

Bilstein: $332 pair
Fox: $479 pair
Icon: $530 pair

Bilsteins have a 1.80" body and the Fox and Icon have a 2.0"

 

[Stitebunny]

Probably need to be honest with yourself in asking what you want out of the shocks and suspension they are working with.
Assuming cost is a factor since you are asking. No reason to spend more than you need to.

 

[drumguy_18]

I’ve had two sets of Bilstein 5100s leak with less than 2 years of use on my 8800 pound Excursion that I use for DD/camping/hunting/exploring...I'm going the Fox route next with external reservoirs. I’ve felt my 5100s get very hot while on rough backroads in the Oregon mountains.

Lots of people have good luck with 5100s, but my experience hasn’t been that way, could be due to my truck weight, I’m not positive.

 

[D45]

Very valid statements about needing versus wanting

I am sure I could get by with out a reservoir style rear and possibly save some cash

 

[D45]

Icon 2.0 #76526 Aluminum Series Rear Shock

Non reservoir

$320 pair

Features:
◾Premium grade 5WT shock oil for consistent suspension damping along a wide temperature range
◾Nitrogen charged monotube design with internal reservoir
◾One piece linear/digressive piston design with vehicle specific valving for unsurpassed performance and ride quality on and off-road
◾5/8” chrome plated hardened steel shaft resists corrosion and pits
◾6061 aluminum rod end, top cap, and internals ensure strength and durability
◾Polyurethane bushings, zinc plated sleeves, and forged steel mounting stems for OE factory type fitment
◾6063 anodized aluminum body and reservoir tubing for superb heat dissipation, excellent corrosion resistance, and high-tech appearance
◾Nitrile rubber top out bumper for noise free operation
◾100% rebuildable
◾100% revalveable

 

[D45]

Fox 2.0 Performance Series IFP smooth body shocks

Non reservoir

$320 pair

* Aluminum shock body dissipates heat, will resist rust over time
* Clear-anodized for a durable finish
* Application-specific valving to maximize off-road performance
* Components: black anodized billet aluminum
* Shaft: hard chrome plated heat-treated alloy steel
* Race-developed high-flow piston design
* Quiet nitrile rubber bushings for increased suspension articulation
* Redundant sealing pack system main seal, wiper seal, scraper seal
* JM92 advanced suspension fluid for improved performance at variable temperatures
* Extended length applications available for stock and aftermarket lifts kits
* Optional roost shield kit available (sold separately) to protect shock shaft and seals from rocks kicked up by tires

 

[D45]

Bilstein B8 5100 Series shocks

$180 pair

Non reservoir

Additional features:
* 2 in. seamless extruded tube
* 14mm centerless-ground, case-hardened, chromed, and super-polished rod
* 46mm Bilstein digressive piston
* Self-adjusting, deflective-disc independent rebound and compression

 

[D45]

Non reservoir shocks:
Icon: $320 pair
Fox: $320 pair
Bilstein: $180 pair

Reservoir shocks:
Icon: $530 pair
Fox: $479 pair
Bilstein: $332 pair