Bilstein 6112

Thanks for the advice. I’m coming from an older Toyota truck with torsion bars to a new 3rd gen. I liked the beefier torsion bars and stiff shocks I had on my 88 so figured I might like the same type ride on my new truck.

I’d like to drop the sway bar but be firm enough to not get a lot of body roll around hard corners. I like to drive pretty aggressive at times.

Does the 600lb coil provide that?

 

Oh that's not a hard question to answer. No way, at least not for aggressive street driving on pavement. Pretty beefy stock sway bar in front, and I added a Helwig rear bar w/adjustable links to kill body roll and the horrid snap under/oversteer on ice & snow. I doubt the springs alone would provide enough roll stiffness unless you got them so stiff they were unbearable on all but super smooth pavement, esp given it will be lifted somewhat. I mean 6112 is only extra 50 lb/in at that. I'd keep the front bar at least unless you do lots of rock crawling and off road, but if you did that you wouldn't want super stiff springs anyway. And then you'll give up street handling, no 2 ways about it.

 

Thanks for the reality check..

 

Fun math with Bilstein shocks
Original Bilsteins on 2nd gen TRD trucks are 4600 series and are same for Sport or Offroad version. They are 46mm in outside diameter. The 5100 series, including 5160, are 51mm diameter and 6112 are 60mm. A simple calculation of the surface/volume of the shock will bring some interesting results: comparing with 4600 series, the 5100 series are about 23% larger, and 6112 are a whopping 70% larger.

The 5160 has a very large reservoir comparing with main body and supports lift of max 1.5". All these extra numbers added will give an approximate double the volume of a 4600.
The 6112 is already 70% larger and on top supports a max lift of about 2.5" and all that together will also give roughly double the volume of the 4600.

If we put all these together we get overall double of internal volume and big/huge increase of the piston surface which simply gives way more room for fine tuning of the shock valving.

My guess is that Bilstein uses a linear spring on 6112, and is the same spring used in the 8100 series. They have a reason why they ditched the stock one.

I believe one of the best videos to watch about suspension calculation is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLhqHPILqn0&t=721s

 

Stupid question?

Do I need to add spacers to both front and rear wheel on driver side to correct the lean.

 

No

 

In addition to the 6112's? Depend on how hard you plan on going camping and exploring. Dakars are good leafs to help hold the weight, or deavers depending on your budget/need. As far as shocks, people are putting 5160's on the rear or if you want to extend the rears as far as they can go b110 extended lengths to acquire the full droop. A lot of different things to take in to consideration.

However the 6112's are a great choice for the front.

 

Also you'll want to decide if you're going to buy the 6112's assembled or not, and if so what perch position, and if you want a spacer on driver's side.

 

It's your truck, do what you want and screw what others think about it.

 

Question for you guys that are already running the 6112/5160 set up. I'm saving to get this set up and was planning on setting the 6112's at 1.5 inches then adding a half inch spacer to get me close to 2.5 inches of lift. I'm doing this because I don't want to preload the springs too much. It's either that or run them all the way up on the top with a small spacer on the drivers side for lean. I also have super bumps for the front. I know spacers aren't the best way to go but I figured small ones wouldn't be that bad. Any thoughts? I don't want to go full adjustable like Icon or King because for me that's over kill and way too much. Thought about Toytec Boss 2.0 but that's a lot for a threaded 5100 so I've settled on the 6112 and think it will be perfect for me. Just trying to get all my ducks in a row. Thanks

 

let me put it this way, what is the difference between threading the collar farther down on a King and moving the snapring up on a 6112? There is no difference, you are doing the same thing.

As to the .5" spacer, please dont. That .5" increased extended length is enough to make the UCA contact the spring at droop.

 

I love my 6112s. Have about 12k+ miles on them now and they still ride and handle better then stock. I set mine on the 4th notch and gained around 2.75" of lift, which has settled a little since then. To me doesn't make sense to set the shock at 1.5 and then toss in a 0.5 spacer. Just set the shock at the height you want, plus you can save the money spent on spacers on the new top hat mounts for the shocks. Even though there is pre load on the spring it doesn't ride rough and I haven't had any issues what so ever. Bilstein designed the shock around the provided spring and the selectable heights so you should be ok.

If you have your mind set on the 6112s then just go for that, the threaded 5100s are cool cause you can dial in your lift height like a Fox or King, but the 5100 is so much inferior compared to the 6112.

What is your plan in the rear? I have the Dakar leaf pack and between that and setting these on the 4th notch it has a nice rake from the front to the rear, rides great, and fits 255/80R17s. If you want to get 2.5" of lift just set these at the 4th notch and once the spring has had some miles on it they'll settle to around 2.5"... now this is also dependent on how much weight you carry around etc..

 

I get there is no difference between the 2 other than one is easier to do than the other. I'm just not a fan of preloading a spring too much and that's why I thinking about the 1/2 inch spacer. I don't really like the spacer route either and that's part of the reason I'm asking question here to get peoples opinions. Thanks.

 

So I'm really looking for right around 2 inches of lift all around. My plan for the back is 5160's and EL95R Dakars. From what I've read those are about 2 inches once they have settled and I wont' be normally carrying any extra weight. Up front I have aluminum skids and maybe someday sliders. I'm still doing my research and that's why I'm asking questions. I appreciate all they responses and help in making my lift decisions.

 

Set it at the 3rd notch with a 1/4" spacer on the drivers side, but you could just put the dr side on 4th and be pretty close to dead level I bet. I'm sitting at about 2" all around with that plus the upgraded TSB springs and 3aal's.

 

ok so sounds like you have done some research already which is good. I have the older style Dakars so I got like 3.25" of lift in the rear, which is why I have the extended 5100s out of a 1st gen Tundra.

So you have a little bit of weight up front which is ok, the springs that come with the 6112s are 600lb/in so they should handle the skids and the sliders ok. I have sliders on mine and it doesn't really make it sag at all up front. Sounds like for you running these on the 3rd notch should work. It will probably be nose high for a few miles but should settle to about 2inches of overall lift. I gained 2.75 on install and it settled to around 2.5 now. I'm not the biggest fan of tossing in a spacer just because they rely on the length of the stud of the top hat so you loose thread engagement, unless of course you get longer top hat studs but then again its more cost and hassle.

You could switch to a 650lb/in coil in the front if you are worried about pre-load on a the lower 600lb spring. But again more cost and such, and it may be to harsh of a ride for you since you don't have to much weight up front.

End of the day its gotta suit your needs and what you want to do. the 6112s are pretty awesome, for half the cost of Fox or King and to be honest ride just as nice for us every day daily driver folks i'll replace them with the same thing when it wears out. Def worth the extra bucks over the 5100

 

Awesome thanks for all the help guys! Now I just have to save up a little more money!

 

Been running the 6112's for over 2 years now, have about 25,000 miles on em! Would definitely buy again, I wouldn't even consider the 5100's considering the 6112's aren't much more money. Hit up Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road, she'll hook you up with everything you need

 

What are you running in the rear? And what UCA...

 

Light racing UCA, piggybacks in the rear