Rear Bilstein 5125 vs B110 Q's

Looking to swap my 5100s out back for an upgraded shock that will allow me more travel. Ihave an uncommon choice of the GeneralSpringKC hd leafs that gave me about 2.5" of lift over stock.

The 5125s are supposed to be for a 2-3.5" lift which is where I fall but would there be any advantage in going for the b110's? They provide more travel but are suggested only for 4-6" lifts. Wouldthey be too long for my mild lift in the rear?

 

Which 5125s are you looking at? I ran b110s with my deaver springs and could flex them out that was about 3" lift.

 

I’ve got about 3” of lift and replaced my 5100s w/ the B110s.

My advice- unbolt the rear shocks and cycle the rear suspension up and down. Take compressed and extended measurements. And go from there.

 

This.

OP. even though the general springs might give you some lift, they are likely not much thicker of a leaf pack than stock, meaning your compressed shock lengths are not going to be longer than stock. You ABSOLUTELY DO NOT want the shock to bottom out before you compress bumpstop.

Personally i have always hated how they advertise "for x amount of lift" as thats no way to properly place a shock.

I can pretty much guarantee that the B110's are going to be too long. The 5125 pn=

$110 33-230337 Monotube Shock Absorber, 46mm

33-230337 are 15.02 in collapsed, 1 inch longer than stock. Which might be too long still if the general spring pack isnt much thicker than stock.

 

The leaf packs measure right at or maybe a hair over 2" thick. Not sure what the OE ones were.

How would I go about cycling the suspension so that I can measure? How would you all suggest I compress and extend it to get these measurements?

 

That’s way too much work.

Slap on the b110 and some extended brake lines.

Then bolt a hockey puck onto each side where the bump stop hits. This limits up travel by exactly 1” and is all you need to keep from bottoming out shocks.

Or use it as an opportunity to get aftermarket bumps like wheelers or timbren because this also limits uptravel a little bit over stock.

 

That was my plan, just trying to get second opinions before I fork over the cash.

 

It’s well worth it. I had the b110 and +4” brake lines and I was thoroughly impressed with the articulation over stock.

This is with Dakar leaf springs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnb1b6-Hk63/?igshid=1kgsrnuuwdsai

 

OE ones are probably a smidge under 2in, so similar in thickness.

Go find a stump or something to lift a tire up, take a measuring tape Measure from eye of shock to the bottom washer, take down measurement. Note if bumpstop is hitting the frame (sometimes it can be hard to get full compression), if its not hitting the frame, measure the gap between bumpstop and frame. Subtract it from first measurement. There is your absolute max compressed shock length NOT accounting for bumpstop compression (subtract at least a half inch from the max compressed shock length for bumpstop compression, more if you have non OEM ones). You could do this on level ground as well, but you will get more accurate measurements by articulating the truck as best as possible (due to how the shocks mount at angles and how the axle swings a lil during articulation).

DO NOT DO THIS.... eat sleep tacos has leaf packs that are easily 1.5in thicker than the generalspring / stock springs.


OP measure twice cut once....

 

I got the idea by looking at some of @singletrack_ftw 's posts. I believe he has the medium Dakar packs. Not sure what lift this gave him but the b110s, he credits, for giving him much greater travel.

Extended brake lines and bumpstops are already on my short list in preparing for a shock upgrade.

 

Good luck cycling a full leaf pack completely with a stump or something. The normal way is to strip the pack down to the main leaf only then use a block or shims to get the rest of the height of the pack. Plus when you cycle it on a stump or rock it isn't as accurate as cycling as I described since you also articulate the chassis when you have a full spring pack to contend with.

What Randy is saying is you can bump the up travel and limit it. Stack one hockey puck or 3. Or you can order longer bumps from toyota bumps, space the stock ones, buy some HD daystar ones, etc. there are many options. A Dakar pack isn't that thick even with all the AALs you can add.

 

You'll be good he wheels the shit out of his truck too!

 

OME standard duty dakars yield about 2.75” rear lift without significant added weight and they flex like crazy. They’re a no-brainer rear leaf pack IMO. If you’re loading down with a ton of weight then get the heavy Dakar pack instead. But the standard duty pack is economical, super flexy & a great pack. I have better flex with my humble Dakar pack, b110, superbumps & brake lines than most guys spending a TON of money on fancy shocks and just AAL or even just fancy shocks that are too short. I made a thread to show you how SHORT basically all shocks are in comparison to the b110.

 

I just went and put a tape measure on mine, and they’re right at 2.5” thick, sooooo.

I had to limit uptravel by maybe 1/3” but I did 1” to be safe. OP will be just fine following my advice.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-rear-shock-options-with-lengths.584583/

 

My fancy shocks though are bigger than your b110s

 

B110's all day, just do it. I had the same question, said F'it and threw them on. poor mans extended travel rear suspension.

 

Your fancy shocks ARENT OE DIRECT REPLACEMENT BOLT IN and require SIGNIFICANT fab work and other supporting modifications and purchases.

 

Your fancy shocks also aren’t $190/pair

 

Multiply that by 4.5

But but but