Choosing Shocks for Your 2014-2018 GMC Sierra 1500

icon Street

Daily Driver Shock
Recommendations

The following shocks give comfort and control on road for your every day driving needs

Bilstein - 4600 Factory Replacement

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

One of the aftermarket ride control standards in shock absorbers, Bilstein has designed these shocks to improve handling and ride control, while maintaining relative comfort compared to a softer factory-like shock. Exceptionally long life and dependability, the Bilstein 4600 is not only great for the daily driver, but also capable of towing, hauling loads, and easy offroad trails.

Pros

  • Excellent factory upgrade for improved handling
  • Long lasting, very durable
  • Reduces nose dive and body roll
  • Capable for heavy duty use, easy 4x4 trails

Cons

  • Firmer than stock-like shocks
  • Higher tier shock, higher price
  • Yellow isn’t everyone’s favorite color

KYB - Gas-A-Just

Daily Driver, Tow/Haul

$$$$

KYB’s Gas-a-Just shock is a factory upgrade, utilizing a monotube high pressure gas design that improves handling and other performance factors for your vehicle. These shocks have a better lifespan than most factory-replacement shocks, and provide noticeable ride quality improvements.

Pros

  • Increased handling and performance over factory shocks
  • Longer lifespan than Excel-G and factory shocks
  • Monotube design translates to more consistency

Cons

  • More road feedback

Rancho - RS5000x

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

Serving as an upgrade option on factory trucks, the Rancho RS5000X is a thick bored twin tube gas shock, meant to increase performance in a budget package. The thick body of this shock ensures that it can handle tough situations and loads without much problem, and the budget price means its accessible to a large application base.

Pros

  • Thick body, large oil volume, contributes to performance longevity
  • Reliable twin tube technology
  • Great price for a 2” gas shock
  • 90 Day Ride Guarantee by Rancho

Cons

  • Ride quality leaves something to be desired
  • Mass produced, shows in the details
icon Camp Trailer

Hauling / Towing Shock
Recommendations

The following shocks give you the on-road stability and control necessary for hauling and towing loads

KYB - Monomax

Daily Driver, Tow/Haul

$$$$

The Monomax shock is KYB’s heavy duty shock absorber meant for workhorse trucks or offroad vehicles that see tough terrain. These shocks have increased compression and rebound damping to account for heavy loads, larger wheels & tires, or aggressive terrain.

Pros

  • Excellent heavy duty shock for the price
  • Increases handling and performance significantly
  • Monotube high gas pressure design, great longevity

Cons

  • Not a "smooth riding shock" - increases road feedback
  • Red may not match your vehicle well.

Rancho - RS9000XL

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

The adjustable RS9000XL shock has been around for decades at this point, proving just how versatile and useful these shocks are to the truck and Jeep market. Being able to adjust the ride quality from soft to firm at will provides big benefits to drivers of heavy duty rigs, offroaders, and workhorse vehicles.

Pros

  • Control for soft or firm compression damping
  • Thick bodied, large oil volume
  • Excellent adjustable shock for the price
  • 90-day Ride Guarantee by Rancho

Cons

  • Knobs prone to breakage, we replace them for free
  • Adjustment settings are imperceptible for some drivers

Bilstein - 5100 Series, 46mm Piston

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

One of the best selling shocks for the Truck, SUV, and Jeep market, the Bilstein 5100 excels at daily drivability mixed with off-road capability. Slightly firmer than the 4600 series, and firmer than a stock-like shock, these high-pressure gas shocks offer improved handling on lifted vehicles and improved response with larger wheels & tires.

Pros

  • Leveling-Kit ability for certain apps
  • Great off-road capable shock upgrade
  • Durable, long lasting
  • Improved handling on & off-road
  • Heavy Duty, Tow, Haul capable

Cons

  • Firmer than stock-like shocks
  • Performance Shock, higher price
icon Off-Road

Off-Road Shock
Recommendations

The following shocks have the durability and longevity you need for tough terrain

Bilstein - 5100 Series, 46mm Piston

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

One of the best selling shocks for the Truck, SUV, and Jeep market, the Bilstein 5100 excels at daily drivability mixed with off-road capability. Slightly firmer than the 4600 series, and firmer than a stock-like shock, these high-pressure gas shocks offer improved handling on lifted vehicles and improved response with larger wheels & tires.

Pros

  • Leveling-Kit ability for certain apps
  • Great off-road capable shock upgrade
  • Durable, long lasting
  • Improved handling on & off-road
  • Heavy Duty, Tow, Haul capable

Cons

  • Firmer than stock-like shocks
  • Performance Shock, higher price

Bilstein - 6112 Series, 60mm Piston

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

A new addition to Bilstein’s arsenal, the 6112 shock is equipped with a massive 60mm active piston and 2.6” shock body, providing exceptional off-road capability and handling. This shock is aimed solely at the adventurer, offroader, and overlander that sees a lot of dirt, but also doesn’t want to sacrifice daily driver comfort.

Pros

  • Leveling Height Adjustments
  • 60mm piston, “best in class”
  • Price-to-Shock ratio through the roof, 2.6” shock & spring less expensive than 2” coilovers
  • Massive off-road ride upgrade, improved road handling and comfort
  • Long lasting, durable, serviceable

Cons

  • Does not come pre-assembled from Bilstein
  • Requires coil-spring compressor for installation

Pro Comp - Black Series

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

The Black Series coilovers use a 2.75” body, going further and bigger than the competitors, allowing a cooler shock and lower operating pressures. Meant for the true off-road enthusiast, these provide high performance handling without sacrificing too much daily-driver comfort.

Pros

  • 2.75” body for coilovers, 2” body on the shocks
  • Rebuildable and serviceable
  • Aluminum components

Cons

  • Pro Comp is known for discontinuing service parts

FOX - 2.0 Performance IFP

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

The Fox 2.0 IFP high performance shocks are for a go-fast attitude offroad, providing significant handling improvement on & off-road over typical street-shocks. These shocks excel in aggressive terrain and the dirt, and are a great performance upgrade over factory or Bilstein.

Pros

  • Coilovers provide Leveling-kit ability
  • Excellent High Performance entry level shock
  • Handles hard hits well
  • Improves handling and traction in all terrains
  • Rebuildable / Serviceable

Cons

  • Higher price point compared to similar offerings
  • Requires servicing for optimal performance
  • Firmer than factory and other factory-like upgrades

ICON - Stage 1 Coilovers

Daily Driver, Off-Road

$$$$

Step into improved handling and comfort for your daily drive and dirt activities. Through ICON’s digressive valving, this leads to improved handling without sacrificing too much ride comfort in the pursuit of spirited driving and high performance.

Pros

  • Improved handling on and off-road
  • Built for moderate to high speed
  • Rebuildable and serviceable
  • Can upgrade through higher stages

Cons

  • Requires servicing for optimum performance
  • Off-road focused, may be too firm for daily-driver only

FOX - 2.5 Factory Series

Off-Road, Tow/Haul

$$$$

Stepping up to the Fox 2.5 Factory Race series shocks brings significant improvements in both comfort and ride control. The increased size of the 2.5” shock offers increased shock oil, lower operating pressures, and allows high speed driving on aggressive terrain while maintaining great control of the vehicle through race-level tuning.

Pros

  • Huge improvement to road comfort and off-road handling in one package
  • Adjustable & Reservoir options
  • Serviceable, Rebuildable, Custom Tuning Available
  • Excellent handling in high speed environments

Cons

  • Requires servicing between 30-50k miles for optimum performance