[Zoomad75]

I can attest to the difference from standard "lift kit" shocks to Bilstein 5100's. It was a darn good comparison with the leaf springs not changing between the shocks. My rough country shocks were just that, rough. With the rough country springs, the ride was stiffer or harsher than it could be. I swapped in the 5100s in and it was quite noticeable how much of a difference it was.

Part of the difference comes from the fact of the lift kit shocks were a twin-tube design vs the mono-tube design of the 5100's. The shock piston size is much larger on a mono-tube, which can allow more reactive valving.

I will admit, the 5100s did make a difference with the Rough Country springs I ran forever. I'm now running Superlift soft-ride springs up front and with the 5100's I've seen/felt better ride on the rough stuff now too. It's no Raptor, but I found myself going faster than I have in the past on rough/fast dirt roads.

On-road performance is better as well. This is saying a lot when my truck tips the scales at 7400 pounds and barn door aerodynamics catch winds like a sail.