For those on the fence - 4600s on TRD Sport Springs are terrific!

Finally got around to completing a round of maintenance on my 17' Sport. It's got 116,000 on it now and still had the original Spark Plugs, Shocks, Struts. Ride quality was getting pretty bad.

Shocks/ Struts for TRD Sport with Stock Springs (My $0.02)
I've been reading up on the various lower cost Bilstein options and there seems to be quite a bit of debate on which shocks/ struts to pair with SPORT springs to soften the ride, but not make it as soft as the stock TRD offroad (no nose-diving).

After lots of reading and advice from a few other members here, I ended up going with the Bilstein 4600s - 24-265973 (4600 Rear); 24-265966 (4600 Front).
Common misconception seems to be that the 4600s are the same as the stock Offroad - but they are most certainly not. Pairing them with the Sport Springs was EXACTLY the ride quality I was looking for in my truck. Good for daily driving, but softer than the stock sport suspension.

Why not just go with 5100s? I almost did - I've had them before on my old Gen 2 SR5 PreRunner. They were fine but the 4600s are cheaper and I have no plans to level or lift. My tires (265/70R17) give me a 1/2” 'lift' over stock and I like the current stance of the truck. The 5100s I believe are also a bit 'stiffer' so I had concern with 5100 + Sport Springs = stiffer ride than I wanted. There are certainly BETTER options than 4600, but bang for buck - I don't think you can beat them for normal use with a little fun thrown in every now and then.

ZERO regrets on the 4600s!




Spark Plugs (FWIW):
Unrelated to the title - but I also knocked out the Spark plugs this past weekend and it was definitely time. Passenger side was pretty simple but drivers side was a lesson in patience. It's not that bad once you figure out how to move the brackets/ hoses out of the way and realize that *YES* - a long extention will fit past all of the stuff - and *YES* those coils will come out with creative maneuvering.

Like I've read from other's experiences - a couple of my plugs were quite loose (could remove by hand and there was some scorching on the coil boot - you can see the difference in the picture below of those vs. the others). I've read debates on 60K (Toyota Interval). vs 120K to change the plugs. My take - if you are mechanically inclined and able to do it yourself and save the labor cost - just spend the $85 in parts and do around 60-80K. If you are paying someone to do it - maybe wait till 100K if it's running fine to save a little money on those intervals. I'll likely do mine again at 200K (which will be 84K miles from now)

 

I've got some 4600's set to go on my truck. I will be putting my stock OR coils on. I choose them for the same reason you did. My truck is currently lifted with the 2015 pro set up and I have never been thrilled with it so decided to return back to stock height. Bilstein themselves say the 4600 is the shock to get for stock height ride even though the 5100 can be set at 0".

I am curious how the ride would be with 4600 and the coil from the second gen pro setup though.

I do have some thoughts on the plugs too. I did mine at 58k or so and felt it was a complete waste of time and money after seeing my OEM plugs and such.

 

Please post back. Tnx

 

Post what?

 

What your reviews on the 4600 with off road springs.

 

Gotcha. Will do, just be patient.

I gotta change leafs, all 4 shocks, get new tires mounted, install air bags and replace brakes & rotors lol. Might be a minute.

 

Thanks. I love how the stock off road rides. I’m close to replacing it since it’s 77t miles now.

 

I disliked the nosedive on the stock suspension which led me to lift it. I'm hoping it rides as nice as the stock OR suspension did (plush), just minus some of the nose dive when braking.

I'll let you know. I'm at 71k or so right now. 30k stock, 40k lifted.

 

Heck yeah, looks good. Where were you able to score the 4600's? That's the route I originally wanted to take but couldn't find a set in stock. I ended up going with 5100's all around and I'm pretty glad I did. Body roll increased which is fine, But I don't have any nose dive braking. Looks good dude.

 

I just did my spark plugs yesterday 3rd set I'm at 170k miles

 

I also just changed plugs @ 74,850 miles. No scorched boots but I did notice that they were not as torqued down as I would have thought. Very easy to turn to get out. The plugs didn't look too bad at all but the truck seems to idle smoother after the change. Only got a few scratches on the inside of my forearms and a couple of gouges on the top of my hands.

 

So, what's the difference in Bilstein stock Off-Road shocks and Bilstein 4600's?

 

4600 are beefier by 4mm I believe.

 

I understand it as the Off-Road shocks are built by Bilstein but to Toyota specifications. I think its a good partnership. Toyota gets to use the Bilstein name to sell a truck and Bilstein gets a cut, and it won’t cut into Bilstein sales of their line of Shocks.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/trd-off-road-vs-bilstein-4600’s.646751/

 

My truck is nowhere near due for shocks, but I've wondered about softening the ride a bit without going to the point of OR nose dive soft. It sounds like the 4600s and keeping my OEM springs would be an option. Sounds worth considering for sure. Thanks for posting!

 

I got them from SuspensionLifts.com. You are right- Bilstein has been tough to find. Started out ordering Rears from Suspension Lifts.com and another company for Fronts. The Rears came in really quick, but waited 4 weeks and the Fronts never showed. Canceled those and Suspension Lifts was back in stock on Fronts - ordered and they came in within 4 days.

Looks like they only have Rears right now:
https://www.suspensionlifts.com/sho...ein-4600-rear-shocks-16-17-toyota-tacoma-4wd/

 

It looks like The Yota Garage has the 4 shock kit in stock. Have no clue if $334 is a decent price for that or not.

https://theyotagarage.com/products/...ma-24-265966-24-265973?variant=39258510590031

 

Seems legit. I kept an eye out on Shock Surplus and that’s what the set was going for before I decided on the 5100’s

 

Great thanks for the feedback. Now I have to find a shop to do the install that won't charge me an arm and a leg. It's not something I'm capable of doing, and my dealer won't touch anything that doesn't have a Toyota part number on it.

 

i had the 4600's on another truck and agree with the OP, they were great and i would recommend. i plan to purchase them when it is time on my current truck. i do shocks with the second set of tires which is usually about 50K miles or 2-3 years for me.

i had the 5100's too, also on another truck, and i was not happy with those. the ride was horrible and two of the four developed leaks. the place i purchased them from took them back and gave me a credit toward the 4600's.