I need some help with shocks, but before I just ask for opinions, let me explain where I'm coming from.

I want a firmer ride, but not harsh.
I mean, no or very little body roll, but in no way harsh, just smooth & unaware of how good or bad the roads are since the ride quality is always amazing.

My 2003 H2 rode amazing well with stock everything, but no air suspension. I never modded it. I can't comment if I could have improved the ride further.

Since then I attempted to fix a Ram 2500 by way of a Carli 3.0 Dominator kit (massive failure due to not finding any mechanics who could install it property / work on it). The shocks were King 3.0s. When the suspension originally rode properly, I had almost absolutely no body roll & tight steering control (for a truck), so I'd call this firm. The ride those was smooth & I never felt anything from the road. This was the case with Michelin M/S2 tires. Adding Toyo AT2 tires changed the ride from very smooth to absolutely horrible. You could feel every lug hit the concrete. All bumps, expansion joints & pot holes were obvious now. Just changing tires ruined the on-road ride & this was a deal beaker.

If you've read this far, thanks!
Here's my dilema...

I called Filthymotorsports & King directly concerning their H2 shock kit.
Here's the kit: Link


Filthymotorsports:
It was explained to me that these will ride very well offroad; the faster & harder the H2 is driven, the better; right ladies?! Well, yeah, that's what these nitrogen kits are designed to handle. As for on-road, I was told they will ride horribly. I was instructed to buy the crappy OEM shocks as they will provide the best on road ride (very smooth).

I was told that the shocks could be custom valved for a street ride, but because I have torsion bars & not front springs, the quality won't improve. Maybe someone can explain this to me because this seems totally illogical. If a good street shock won't benefit me, why would OEM work? I'm not replacing with a coil over solution & I've never seen struts for an H2. It seems to me that valving (or how the shock works in general) is all that matters.

In the end, the guy would not even attempt to sell me the shock kit.

King Shocks:
Calling King directly on the otherhand, was a totally different conversation. They claim that the on road ride should be as good, if not better than stock & offroad improved dramatically. I believe the offroad statements, but I'm torn about on road...

The rep I spoke to was befuddled by my conversation & tried to cover for the guy at filthy, but the more we spoke, the more he contradicted what I was told... basically every aspect. I was shocked.

I was told that King shocks are valved so that 90% (random BS figure) of their customers will be happy w/ the stock valving solution. Basically, they were geared for mostly highway/city, but also "light" offroading. If you need on road only or hardcore offroading, they can be valved for that & offer one free revalving.



TL;DR
Filthy claims these shocks will be crap for a daily driver.
King claims these will be a major upgrade as a daily driver.

Fallout:

So what's the deal?

Is the guy at filthy right? From my experience, he's half right (highway = good, AT = bad), but I cannot say if the lift kit was installed properly on my old truck, so I really don't know. The guy from King will suffer from the "fox guarding the chicken coop" stereotype. Why would he tell me not to buy his product?

My previous experience King 3.0s was that they rode well with a highway tire, but an aggressive AT rode like crap, no matter what speed. 20, it was horrible, 70, it was horrible. If I put the highway tires back on, the ride became amazing.

Again, WTF?!

Other experiences:

At the same time, I've ridden in a lifted F-250 (I'm guessing fabtech or something similar) w/ 38" Toyo MTs & the ride was extremely smooth on the road (barely any bumps or shaking). That suspension is half the price of my old carli, so what gives? Maybe the weight of his road amour bumper helped cushion the ride?

I've also experienced Bilstein shocks on my 2012 Ram & a Challenger. The Bilstein shocks helped over stock truck shocks (places a foam block would, frankly); 6 of the 8 shocks between the two vehicles blew out. The truck had 5160s & those blew out in the front. The car blew out all 4. Out of the 8 shocks, not one shock had more than 12k miles of use. I'm never going near that brand agian. There's no excuse for that type of failure rate.

I realize that the lift kit on my truck has a lot to do with the ride: How tight components are, spring rates (both front & rear were replaced), tire type & PSI, driving conditions (this shouldn't be a factor, but it is). Shocks are just a part of the equation. But... I bought that kit based on Carli (and other people's advice). Considering my situation, I was burned & lost a lot of money in the process & ended up selling the truck for suspension & transmission issues (lack of warranty support).

So, I've had experiences w/ all 2 of the 3 major American brands of truck & suspensions. Some good, some bad & some horrible.


What's Left?

So where do I go from here?

Do I just buy the OEM?
Is it worth going with a Rancho RS9000XL or Monroe?
Will the Kings actually do a good job on-road , despite my experience since it's an OEM replacement w/ an ride adjuster & they can be re-valved?

I'm eventually adding a road armor bumper (or something simliar) to the H2, so if I get an OEM or simliar shock, I will have to replace them at some point & I'm back to square one. That's still cheaper than nitrogen.
The nitrogen can be revalved, so I effectively don't need new shocks & they should provide a more consistent ride. That's my experience with the right tires, at least. I know the


What do you guys think of all this?

 

No one has any opinion?

 

Do any of them offer a money back guarantee?

 

From my understanding, no.
This situation becomes a "you break it, you buy it" situation. Once they are installed, that's it. That was the gist of what the King Rep told me.

King Shocks & those stores who carry them will "back" the product. I think that only means if you have one part fail under warranty, then you're set. When it cames to the "ride quality" issue, the only option that came up was to send them back for re-valving. There is no "returning" the product, unless you never used it / opened the packaging.

 

I ended up calling SoCal SuperTrucks. I was told the ride would be bad.

When I mentioned changing out tires (highway for AT), he didn't know what to say, so I'm back to square one. My experience doesn't jive with people who disagree, yet my AT tire experience does.

I might make a 2nd call to King concerning the adjuster & how large the dampening range is. That might clear some things up...

I figured someone on the internet would have run reservoir shocks on an H2, but no one's talking!

 

I think I've maybe seen one member running reservoir shocks on their 2. I'm not sure there is honestly that much of a benefit which is why I would say people don't run them.


The general agreement is that Bilstein is about the best shock you can put on a 2, the 5100's are supposed to be a very good shock. That is the route I will be going in the near future as I think my stockers are starting to go. It is too bad you've had negative experiences with Bilstein in the past but they have seemed to be the shock of choice among the various forums.

 

my 04 is on the factory ACdelcos but i can tell you from my own experience testdriving other friends H2s that after trying ranchos among other brands they all end up going with bilstein's ....

 

Are Blistein's only for trucks that are lifted?

 

MCIOCI no they have some for lifted trucks and some for regular factory ride ....

 

I would go with Bilstein Shock w/reservor I think they are 5160. I had them on my last Hummer H2 and it was NOT lifted. They were out of them 4 months ago when I started my project 2006 total restro, so I order FOX racing shock $2000 for all four, Bilstiens were $750 for all four. I have yet to drive my 2006 SUT so I can not say good or bad. But the Bilstiens are perfect.