BILSTEIN 6112/5160

I finally upgraded my rear shocks to the Bilstein 5160's! I was runnin 5100 before with 6112's up front and I wanted the rear to match the front in performance terms. SO total set up now is Bilstein 6112 up front set at 4th ring passenger and 5th ring driver, Durobumps in the front and rear, Alcan 1in leaf pack in the back, followed up with the Bilstein 5160's remote reservoir shocks. The install for the rear took me by myself about two hours. Just to note there is a brake line spacer for where the lines connect to the axle. Also the reservoirs install closer to the front of the truck on the passenger side and toward the rear on the drivers side. They are not installed at the same location on each side. The 5160's also came with a nicely done aluminum clamp to hold the reservoirs. I did want to install the extra Bilstein reservoir clamp that attaches them to the shock body however after I talked to Bilstein on the phone they informed me that on the 3rd gen that setup would not fit and that it needed to be installed they way they send it form the factory. I do actually notice a difference in ride quality over the 5100's. Much smoother and it feels like less body roll. The Bilstien 6112 up front paired with the 5160's in the rear and the 3rd Gen Tacoma specific Durobumps make an exceptionally smooth and pleasant ride!!

 

Very nice! I've got a similar setup - 6112/5160, dakar leafs, TC UCAs - and I love the way it drives, on-road and off.

 

i did the same as you. 4/5 and 5100s, then switched to 5160. waaay better.

 

So with the 6112s up front using clip locations 4 and 5... you didn't need new UCAs correct? (and is using 4 and 5 to accomodate for the "taco lean"?). Thanks, suspension noob here.

 

nope, you can still get it lined up without issue. generally arms come into play when you hit 2”. At 1.5” you stay out of that extra expense. .5” isnt worth 700 bucks to me. (if i was running long distance hard offroad that would be different for sure)

 

I am curious to see an alignment sheet. I am at 5/6, but alignment is no where close on stock UCAs. I have not seen one yet that has camber below .5 and caster above 2.

 

I got close.

 

That's a LOT better than mine, but still not as much as I want to keep my tires off of the wheel well and stop tracking grooves on the highway. Mine isn't much fun to drive on road after lift. I have UCAs on order.

 

This is what mine looks like with the TC UCAs



edit: this is with the circlips at 5/4 on an access cab

 

Mine tracks great. What do you mean by keeping the tires off the "well"? Where are you located? There has got to be some competent shops that can do 4x4 alignments. What are your alignment readings showing? Be specific. Maybe you got some schmucks running an outdated alignment process.

 

I ended up with 2.5 degrees of caster but I had to give up a smidge of negative camber.

 

I’m at 1.2 camber and .6 caster or really close on both sides. I need more caster to keep my wheels forward to keep 255/85s from hitting the rear of the wheel well at the cab mount. I had a second tech there redo it with the same results. I had trouble finding another shop that will align outside of factory specs in KC. I really don’t want to keep paying for it as I knew going in that caster suffers as lift increases and thought I’d take a chance but at some point it would be cheaper to do it right and get what I want. You can push camber out to adjust to a certain degree but that’s already way higher than I want. I am putting on SPC arms to get the caster back and I’d like the little extra bit of down travel as well.

 

Nice setup man!! I just tried this system out at Big Bear this last weekend and wow!! My tires never left the ground! I am very impressed!!

 

Agree!!

 

Yes the directions say to set the drivers side one ring higher to account for the Taco Lean (driver,battery,fuel). Bilstein has designed their suspension specifically for each vehicle and the Tacoma setups require this. I called and talked to Bilstein and they told me not to add a Taco Lean spacer on the drivers side and that it would void their warranty. That is what I was told. With that being said the drivers side still site about .75in lower then the passenger side. I also have a double cab long box 4x4 so the ring settings are different then that of a double cab short bed because of the weight difference.
NO UCA's needed. I also included a picture of the CV Boots and you can see that even though the rings are set near the top the boots are still very close to stock and I have zero issues with alignment.

 

@desert55gr I dont think your picture came through.

Are the durobumps required with this lift, or only highly suggested with higher lifts and harder off-road use? (Im just looking for a better ride overall, and better performance on the forest service roads with light crawling - nothing crazy)

Did you all do the needle bearing replace when installing this lift?

 

Check out the 5th pic down from the top in my original post. You will see the CV Boot on the right side and it is not all bunched together. I did not do the needle bearing swap, no diff drop, no carrier bearing drop, no shims in the rear, it is all stock except the front coilovers, rear leaf springs, and rear shocks. I had Alcan make the rear leaf 1in over stock with factory weight capacity and the front is set to 1.5in over stock. I wanted to stay as close to factory as possible so I wouldn't have to mess around with all the different drops and swaps lol. I also did not want to mess with the MPG. I am currently getting about 21 miles per gallon in LA traffic, I have no vibrations, and strange noises coming from my truck after the suspension upgrade.
The Durobumps are not required but they most defiantly DO make a difference in ride comfort over stock bumps. The Duro's are much softer and were designed specifically for a Tacoma on dirt roads. I would say they are well worth the cost if you have the money. Much smoother ride overall. Here look at this pic of the CV Boots.

 

I was going to go with these, but they were on a "national backorder." I ended up with 5100s. You're saying the 6112/5160 is way better?

 

Ohhhhh I gotchya (thought you were trying to include a pic in that last post, I see now you were referencing the earlier photo)

Awesome - thanks for that additional detail!

 

I feel the difference between the 5100 and 5160. I had the 5100 for a few months because of money reasons but with the 5160's I notice less body roll and just overall firmer/more stable ride. Plus the reservoir looks cool and helps keep the oil cool. This past weekend I went out on some trails near Big Bear and both the main cylinder and reservoir got hot to the touch but they cooled down very quickly.