Bilstein 6112

This is my redneck engineering solution I used. I zip-tied the ends after this photo was taken to keep it from moving or falling off.

 

Before you change your mind completely, I contacted bilstein about lowering the setting on the 6112s and softening up the ride a little bit and this is what they said to me.

“The tuning of the shock is set, and the spring rate is set. No changes to these can be made which means you will not be able to soften the ride. Ride quality is very subjective, and though we tune the 6112 kit at the highest level, it may not be for everyone. You can try lowering the vehicle a notch or two to see if that assists you with what you are feeling, but generally speaking that isn’t a typical complaint for us on those 6112 units, so I apologize that you feel that way, but no alternations can we suggest will make your truck softer in ride feel.”

They basically said the height of the settings don’t matter.
During initial install I torqued down the LCA CAM bolts while the truck was still raised. I found out that that is not a good thing and can cause ride issues. I fixed that problem by raising the truck, loosening the bolts a bit, lowering the vehicle and then torquing them down. I took it out for a test drive and it did feel better over small bumps and I am happier now because of it. Just keeping you updated. I will be keeping the height and let you know this weekend after I take it to the trails

 

You’re the man. Thanks for the update. With this info, I’ll definitely do a 6/5 set up.

 

Yea man, if bilstein says they tune the shock at the highest setting than it is what it is.

 

Anybody have experience with 1/4 spacers with 6112s on both sides. I have it at the 6/5 setting and thinking about doing 1/4 spacers for a little added lift. Any feedback from this setup is appreciated

 

I don't believe that this would be highly recommended for your front end. 1/4" inch spacers give you 1/2" of lift and on that setting, you CV axles might want to scream at you. 1/4" spacers on the 2nd gens, on the drivers side anyway, were there for the lean purposes. If you are on the highest setting to begin with and want more lift, you might want to look into a BDS lift but that is another whole ball of wax.

 

You would be right back where you started! With the front end topping out all the time. Get away from the mindset of lifting it to the max unless you like it riding like shit! The suspension only has limited range! Back it down a notch if anything

 

Ok point taken fellas. I’ll keep it the way it is. Thank you

 

Ok I think I’ll keep it the same as it is

 

My mindset isn’t lifting to the max, just being curious as to if that would work or not. A little extra lift would be nice but I’m happy with it the way it is.

 

5100s have same valving and essentially same heat capacity as the TRD OR shocks. You are likely overheating them and at that point the oil can't do it's job and durability is slowly being eaten away. The 6112's totally alleviated my overheating of the stock OR shocks.

 

Need new 6112’s, I popped one of mine and need to replace it. My current setup is the 2015 TRD Pro Bilstein’s which are basically the same with slightly different tune and only 2 spring perch locations. I can’t get a replacement of what I have. Where is everyone finding their 6112’s? Looks like everyone is sold out and backordered.

 

Hey all,

Didn't find anyone in my same situation after going through the pages. Looking at just getting a set of 6112s for the front to level it out (I believe just 1 inch in front is the rake on a '20 OR). I will also be adding an SSO Slimline tube bumper with a winch, steel skids, Uptop roof rack, and I already have some Cali Raised sliders on there.

I believe that this will be around ~200lbs to the front that will be added. I'm trying to find the best combination of coil setting and spring rating that would accomplish this with the best ride comfort as possible(this is my daily). I'm thinking that a 650lbs spring with maybe a 3/4 setting on 6112s should accomplish this 1" level but I'm not really sure. Anybody have any insight/recommendations? Thanks in advance.

 

That’s about spot on. 650 is definitely the right spring choice for your truck. 3/4 should be close to 1” lift.

 

I have 6112’s and 5160’s, just wondering how fast everyone drives on dirt roads with theirs. I’m talking about roads composed of gravel and sand with limited rocks. I found with the 6112’s if I pick up the pace and hit the road 45 mph plus, a lot less vibration and shock is transmitted to the rest of the truck. If I slog down the washboard roads going <30 it seems really rough. As soon as I open her up the truck just glides. Just wondering if anybody else notices this.

 

Its because Bilstein uses digressive valving. The bigger the hit the plusher it gets. On small bumps the compression damping is higher. Fox and kings are the opposite, the harder the hit the stiffer the compression damping.

 

Another way to look at it is in regards to shaft speed. Around town Bilstein shocks resist the springs more, and you get a firm, sporty feel. When the shaft speed increases let’s say over deep potholes, the shaft speed of the shock is higher and the shock will “relax” and resist the movement of the spring far less.

Fox (progressive damping) doesn’t resist the springs compression very much around town when the shaft speed is lower, so you get the plush ride, albeit the additional motion from the springs can feel “floaty” and you get nose dive and roll side to side as it’s not resisting the suspensions movement. When you hit big bumps the shaft speed is higher and the shock “stiffens up” so you don’t bottom out.

 

Gotcha, thanks for the info.

 

Thanks for the info, do you think that the sag from the weight will make the 4/3 setup give me less than 1" lift? My concern is it settling way lower over time or even right after install. Do you think 5/4 might be better? Or will that sacrifice a good amount of ride comfort?

 

I had a 600 spring for a year. No sag. Been on a 650 now for 5 months and no issue.

Despite people’s concerns, there is no dramatic change in ride comfort between notches. The piston damping does not change based on ride height for these shocks. And the spring is not “compressed more” with a higher notch. It’s just the piston moving up a bit in the chamber. So if you’re really concerned, try 5/4 to be safe and above 1 inch. But from my experience there hasn’t been sag and the notches have been pretty spot on height wise.