The 5160 basically takes everything you probably already know and love from Bilstein 5100 shock and just updates it a little bit more and adds a bit more off-road capability.
The 5160s basically takes all the good parts of the 5100 rear shock and upgrades it a little bit for better off-road performance. The first thing you’re gonna notice is that this is a remote reservoir system with that reservoir kind of piggybacked onto the main shock body and that allows for more oil capacity and better performance off-road in the sense that now when you really get those shocks working and you need to dissipate heat there’s more fluid to move and it’s gonna perform nicer and ride smoother
Other quick details that make the Bilstein a little bit better and different from a regular factory shock as it has unique digressive valving on the inside to allow for that better performance and better traction in the dirt. Also, they’re designed to be more durable overall than just a standard factory shock and can handle an additional two inches of the lift so if you do add a leaf kit or a rear block you have a bit of room to stretch without compromising the performance of the shockÂ
As expected, digressive valving and having that external reservoir on there helps a lot especially when you’re on really rough terrain and it gets bouncing.
On really rough terrain factory shocks tend to show their weakness. They start to lose traction and they feel kind of washy and almost disconnected from the rest of the vehicle. The Bilstein 5160 helps firm that up.