Bilstein 6112

I have no sway bar since the first day my lift went on. I have started with the 600lb springs and now have the 650's. I love it and watch my speed. Never had an issue.

 

I always keep the sway bar installed. Removing it has many benefits off road. On road it is safer to run a sway bar.

 

Hi folks,
I'm looking to upgrade the shocks on my '06 Taco. here in my area the knowledge isn't that good. what would you guys recomend? I thought of puting on the Bilstein 6112s. the truck runs mostly on dirtroads with a lot of bumps.

 

If it's the original suspension, any form of upgrade with be a noticeable improvement. That having been said, the more you spend, the more you get. 6112's are good(and also currently out of stock); from what folks who have used both 5100's and 6112's, they describe the benefit of the 6112's as basically taking more abuse offroad, so you may benefit from spending the extra $$$$. Beyond that, life gets expensive. All depends on how much you're willing to spend and what you expect in terms of performance. Just my .02

 

Looks Great!

 

Man the 6112 and 5160 combo was nice at speed on washboard roads. Notably smoother at 45-50mph than 30mph

 

Are the rear shocks any longer than stock?

 

Just ordered my 6112's and put them on 5th setting for my 2015 DCSB

 

Was is it a noticeable difference when you swapped to the 650lb springs?

 

When I first put on the lift, I had no weight but thought to myself, I really don't speed anyway and I would get better articulation offroad if I left it off. The difference at the time was a "little" noticeable on road but offroad it was great. Then I added my bumper, sliders, and skid plate trio. The only thing that changed was the height of the front moving down about 3/4" but no change in driving. When i added the 650lb springs, it went back up to original height like before i added the weight and I didn't see any change in the drive-ability. There are going to be pros and cons to anyway you go, you just have to ask yourself a number of questions:
Do I usually have a heavy foot?
How much offroad do I do compared to on road?
Am I very much a safe driver and aware of my surroundings at any speed?
For me, it was a no brainer. For you it might not be. Sway bars are there for safety and have their place. Just focus on what your actual driving is, not what you think it might be and you will make the best decision for you. Good luck sir

 

I agree with your self questioning for sure! Currently I have no added weight in the front. I may add a "slimline" style bumper at some point though. Do you think the dive into corners would be lessened if I added the 650lb springs considering I have no additional weight??

 

I think it would hurt your overall ride more upgrading without the weight a lot more than worrying about a dive in the corners. It might help a little bit but I would not use the springs in place of the sway bar. If you are still on the fence, I would get 600lb springs, a swaybar relocation kit, and leave the sway bar on. Then you can take it off and on and test it out both ways since it is pretty easy to take on and off. Then make the decision to move up to 650lb springs when or uf you add more weight. Think about it like this. The entire reason for the move to 6112's is for better ride quality.....don't ruin that just to do a sway bar delete.

 

With or without sway bar, 650# with no added weight will be fine. Yes will be stiff, but people here have run 700# springs with no added weight.

 

I'll have to look into the sway bar relocation. I would like to see if a TRD OR sway bar would give a nicer ride since it is smaller diameter. I don't think the spring weight will negatively affect the ride drastically as previous to this I had 3rd gen TRD OR suspension on the truck and those are 700lb springs. Still rode better that the factory TRD Sport suspension even though front springs are only 620lb. Most ride quality is based on the damping ability of the shock/strut in my experience.

 

What UCA are you running?

 

I will be adding JBA UCAs

 

Does anyone Know if there is 5160 in stock? Any where

 

After installing everything and driving a little over 1k miles I’m impressed with the shocks. I am hearing a small clinking noise when under 20 mph while I’m making turns. Sometimes more prevalent when it’s a sharp turn. I can’t identify where it’s coming from. Anyone else have this?

 

Currently available and in stock at www.headstrongoffroad.com

Great site with lots of info to help you choose your options for a lift.

Gotta love Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road

 

Just installed this kit from Readylift...
https://www.readylift.com/toyota-tacoma-sst-lift-kit-69-5531.html

But for the rear I went 5160s + aal
(Didn’t use the blocks from the kit)

Along with...
SPC UCAs
Method 701s
Toyo AT3 285/70/17

The rear rides pretty nice, but the front seems pretty stiff.
I just found out that the kit comes assembled with both 6112s set at the highest notch, I’m thinking that might be why?...
What do you guys think?

Would going down a notch on both sides help with the stiffness?
Would that change the preload of the spring?

(I’m thinkin of getting the spacer from Headstrong to correct the driver side lean)

Thanks in advance for any feedback!