Thanks, Brian. I guess I just needed some reassurance. Heh. I'm going to order them on Monday and, hopefully, get a chance to slap them on before I head off to Texas again on the 22nd.

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"Tell a person that you're the Metatron and they stare at you blankly. Mention something out of a Charlton Heston movie and suddenly everybody is a theology scholar."

Jeff...
Not sure if you are running (or plan to run) an ARB/winch up front, if you are, they have front shocks valved for that set-up. Part number is B46-1099-H0.

You able to go to Holister 5-5 for the clinic?

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Patto
Silver 2001 4WD XE 3 Pak
F-Jackie

Yah, I'd heard about those other specially valved ones for the fronts, but I don't have an ARB nor am I planning on installing one anytime soon. If I went offroad half as much as these other guys, I wouldn't hesitate, but right now the part of me that wants one is the vain, wanna-be-different side and I simply cannot justify its purchase like that. Heh. Swapping out the rubber and upgrading the shocks is as far as I need to go for now.

As for Hollister, I can't commit because I'm being sent off to Fort Worth again for work starting on the 24th and although I'm supposed to be back on the 4th, a couple of my previous trips had been extended, so I can't be sure I'll be here.

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"Tell a person that you're the Metatron and they stare at you blankly. Mention something out of a Charlton Heston movie and suddenly everybody is a theology scholar."

[This message has been edited by kirby34 (edited 04-07-2001).]

I just ordered a set from SLR. According to the guy I talked to, the ones meant for use with the sway bar have a smaller canister to clear the sway bar. He recommended the ones meant for use without the sway bar because the smaller canister tends to heat up more under heavy use making the shocks less effective. I went for the without, but he said if I didn't like them for any reason, to just return them for the others.

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Eric Konarske & Lara, my X
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

Took my X offroading this past weekend for first time with bilsteins installed. They performed great. Absorbed a lot of bumps and such, nice smooth ride. Get a set now!!

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2000 Silver 5spd 3pak
"Reality is what you make of it."

The cheapest place I've found for Bilsteins is your local Autozone store. Just make sure you come in there knowing the part #'s you need because they're not that good in looking up the information for you. Price is between $50-$55 I believe. They usually don't stock them but they can definitely order them for you.

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Living in Southern CA I purchased my Bilsteins from ORW in El Cajon CA Paid $55.00 If you can find them for $50 I would say for anyone out there interested in getting some. JUMP on it!

S.D.X

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ORW's a good shop. They price matched Autozone's price for some long travel 5100's I bought for my lifted Grand Cherokee along with free shipping. I always try to support 4x4 shops instead of buying from generic chain auto stores whenever I can.

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Well, my set of Bilstein shocks from SLR arrived while I was at work today. Unfortunately, I may not be able to actually install them until after I get back from my 3-week banishment to Fort Worth. I wonder if the shock installing elves will visit my garage while I'm gone.

Well, at least there was one other thing I picked up and was able to "install" before leaving. Been waiting for almost a decade for it to become available again.





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"A man's got to know his limitations."

Kirby, did you end up getting the ones for use with or without the sway bar? I ended up getting the ones for without and I don't think I can even tell it's gone. I don't miss the sway bar at all. Admittedly I drive my truck like a truck. After all it is an X... not a Z.

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Eric Konarske & Lara, my X
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

Eric, I ended up getting the same ones as you did. I originally was going to order the smaller ones and still go ahead and remove the swaybar since I was told they do the job fine, but when the guy said they were currently out of stock on those, I spent the extra $10 on the others in the hopes that I'd receive them in time to install them before going on my 3-week work trip, but they've arrived too late.

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"A man's got to know his limitations."

I'm quite certain you'll be happy with your purchase. At least I am. I admit I was a bit afraid they'd screw up the ride on-road. I thought it would be harsher over bumps. Quite the opposite. And off-road they make a huge difference. Well, I've only had them on a badly washboarded dirt road so far, but they performed way better than stock. Smooth and controlled. Oh, best of luck getting the shock fairies to put your shocks on for you while you're gone.

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Eric Konarske & Lara, my X
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

Well the Bilsteins are on and I'll have a week to toll around on them before my next excursion with SCCX. I am stoked to get them on the trails. The stock shocks were absolutely shot @ 30K! I couldn't believe how easy I could push the rear's. The front one had horrible rebound.

Happy I made the switch.



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They weren't shot--that's the way they're supposed to be. They're just different than the Bilsteins. I replaced mine at 5000 miles and they were the same way.

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Eric Konarske & Lara, my X
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

I just got off the phone with OK and they weren't aware of the part # that I gave them (from the first post). I imagine since these are so new that they aren't in any print catalogue. Did you speak to anyone in particular or did you get a ballpark price on Bilsteins in general?

Either way, the guy at OK is checking on them for me right now - from my limited experience w/them so far, they seem VERY helpful.

A couple of questions for the have's:

1. Are these an easy self-install? i.e. put new shock where old shock was using existing hardware.

2. Is it BilSTEEN or BilSTINE - just something that bugs me.

Oh, and a quick thanks to all you Bilstein guinea pigs.



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Ruttiger
2000 Silver Ice
SE V6 4x4 AT

So, you find them smoother on-road?
What's the difference off-road?

Thanks,
mikeT



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2001 SE 4X4
Rain+Dirt!

Mike, they are better on and off road pretty much in the same way. They just control the suspension better. Washboard roads, rocks, and potholes don't unsettle the truck to nearly the same degree as they did with the stock shocks. Though I was concerned they would give a harsher ride on road, they didn't at all. Nice and smooth...

Ruttiger, they are a relatively easy install. No special tools needed (just a jack and some metric wrenches/sockets). I think the hardest thing I dealt with was putting the fronts on because even with the front end completely unloaded, the shocks were too long to go in without compressing them a tiny bit. But even that was easy to get around. And all the hardware you'll need is in the box.

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Eric Konarske & Lara, my X
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

I always ask for MIke at OK Auto....he is a Sales Manager. I dont always agree with his pricing, but he can always get information. I ordered mine from SLR because OK Auto wanted to charge me freight from California to them....and I was gonna pick them up!! Something to consider!

Jason



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www.ec4x4e.com

Thanks ShipRekd1 I think I am going to order them from SLR today. Did you get the ones for use with or w/out the sway bar?


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Ruttiger
2000 Silver Ice
SE V6 4x4 AT

I got the ones to be used without the swaybar. I also have my front swaybar removed...but went with the OE replacements up front. Just got done with the install. The rear was easy, but the fronts were a pain in the A@@! They just did not want to compress. Took it for a quick spin and they certainly do make a difference..much smoother on road. Testing them off road tomorrow!

Good Luck

Jason



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www.ec4x4e.com

Does anyone have the part number for the rear shocks for use without the rear sway bar? I wrote down all of the part numbers above, but didn't see that one. Thanks

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Wow! The Bilsteins make a huge difference, day and night. Thanks BlueLeader! I got mine at ORW in San Diego, each one was $60 and they had them in stock. DO NOT LET ORW DO THE INSTALL! My brother had some work done at ORW on his 4Runner. They cracked his radiator fan shield and didn't tell him about it. Instead, they just superglued it back together. After he found out about it they replaced the radiator fan shield for free.

Anyhoo, I got them installed at Knights Nissan and Toyota in San Marcos. I was referred to them by a CrewCab owner on the Yahoo Xterra board. They charged me $98 labor for all four shocks and they did a great job on the install. These guys are real friendly and seem to have a lot of repeat business from their customers. They're located at 230 Pawnee in San Marcos, 760-752-9727.

The X has a much smoother turn-in and doesn't rock and pitch as much anymore. Sharp bumps seem a little more pronounced but large bumps are well absorbed. The ride seems much smoother with the Bilsteins. Nissan should really have these shocks as standard equipement instead of the springy stock ones currently used. Overall a big thumbs up and well worth the money.

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2000 SE 4x4 5sp Alpine Green

I just got mine 'cause they're yellow

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Eric Konarske & Lara, my X
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

Anyone?

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Lance
Silver XE 3 packages

I thought there were two made for the back. One for stock height and one for those with shackles. You can call spencer low racing to confirm.

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Patto
Silver 2001 4WD XE 3 Pak
w/mods