Ride Quality: Bilstein 6112 at 9/11 circlip?

Have these coming Pre-assembled set at the 2” setting 9/11. A little concerned about the shock topping out and effecting ride quality.

looking for first-hand experience running these at this setting: street, highway, and off-road.

I did find a couple threads but they are on the older Bilstein that only went up to #6 circlip, for a 2.5 lift.

Searched, YouTube and google can’t find the info I am looking for.

 

I know of 2 owners that have requested lower after 9 and 11 settings. It doesn't ride "bad" but it rides high and the stock arms and travel become the issue, even with upper arms.

Tacomas sweet spot is 1.5" for a reason, 2" is as high as we recommend.

The nice thing is you can set it to 9 and 11 and lower it later if you desire. Maybe compromise and do 8-10 lol.

I'd do 7 and 9 personally. They ride amazing on the street and perform really well in the cold.

 

What about running them at 1” (5/6 I believe) and doing a 1/2 spacer? Just watched a tinker’s garage video and he suggest doing that.

 

Thats not a bad idea but my issue is tie rod angles and control arm angles, spacers reduce down travel so I'd prefer to see 7-9 over 5-6 with a spacer.

Any setting on the 6112 is superior to any shock below it, you don't have much to worry about.

I'm staying on my 7-9 boat and we'll see what others say.

 

I don’t have stock UCA’s. Freedom Off-Road, if that matters.

 

7/9 1.5” lift?

 

It sits different on every truck. but it should be 1.5 on a 3rd gen in theory.

 

You are the Toyota Tech, correct? So out of all you seen set to 9/11 what would you say the percentage might be of people that didn’t have an issue with this setting?

 

We have people that think their clapped out 2005 ride fine. It’s all subjective. I’ve only had a few request higher or lower. Not many care beyond the lift itself. As I said I only know of 2 that lowered from 9-11 and one is a co worker

 

Just got mine back, 11/9, Archive add a leaf, the ride home loaded with the bike and 4 wheels was very smooth on our backwoods frost heaved Maine roads. Didn’t notice any harshness and my alignment guy always nails it. Will have the print out tomorrow. I’m very happy.



**EDIT- I did NOT do control arms yet- Most likely will upgrade when needed. (bushings wear, etc)

 

It's been a short run for me, but I'm on those settings. Here are a couple observations:

Set up:
6112's 2" setting
Dirt King tubular UCA
Ome el111r
5160's in rear
Full skids and sliders steel

Timeline:
Due to family needs I had to break the install of struts and new leaf pack into 2 days. Weds did front struts Sat did leaf packs.

Observations:
1. New shocks/struts only feel good. That being said hitting a dip or parking bump the rear will let you down. On the 2" setting it transferred a lot of the force to the rear end and it was pretty noticeable. Almost like the front end was preloading the rear. Definitely hit the bump stops testing after install.

2. Once the full kit was installed, it feels like I'm driving a cloud. The rear end now has enough dampening/travel to mirror the front. I really like the 650lb springs firm enough to keep you planted but soft enough to allow the front suspension to cycle without fighting it.

3. Travel seems appropriate, lots of up travel, 650lb spring gets the wheels down quickly when going over abrupt bumps (think really steep speed bump). You'll notice it, but it's not intrusive.


Overall, I don't have any complaints. Compared to the factory TRD OR these are a huge step up. However, I don't have a large sample size to draw from.


Hope this helps.

 

Very helpful, thank you!

 

OK so this is what I’ve decided. I do need the 2 inches of lift because my Deaver leaf springs will be 2 inches. As for the circlip on the Bilstein, I’m going 8/6 for 1” of lift. Then adding a 1/2” spacer. (might come 3/8” according to some reviews). I want 2” Front and back because I want to bring the rake back for towing purposes. Also, I have -12 offset wheels with a 4.5 backspace, So going under 2” could cause me to rub.

Currently with my 3/2 lift, I have a 1.5 spacer and have been running it for over a year with no issues. Even off-roading.

So this Tinker’s Adventure video sort of helped me decide this. Skip to 12:30 minutes to see the part he talks about adding small spacers to aftermarket coilovers.

https://youtu.be/l1tTelhdEiM?si=Dg8-5fGDUkB09CE0

if you think I’m making a dreadful mistake please comment. The spacers and Bilstein won’t be here until Thursday. I won’t be able to install them until Saturday, so I can have an alignment done Saturday evening. I have a shop close by that’s only gonna charge me $50 to relocate the circlips.

I actually wanted to go 7/9, like Bishop84 suggested, but could not find 1/4 inch spacers. (On Amazon)
This is what I did find:

$45 OTUAYAUTO 1/2" Front Lean Spacers Kit - Replacement for 2005-2022 Toyota Tacoma Strut Leveling Lift Kit

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08V4H5Y8X

so I will be checking to make sure my bump stops make contact before the shock bottoms out. If not, I do have some 1” bump stop extenders.