Suspension recommendations

It really can't. The bilsteins are designed to limit travel before the spring and the UCA hit each other so with a new UCA and another shock brand you may be able to add a small amount of additional down travel but its really not much more than 6112s will give you and it doesn't solve the rest of the geometry issues that lead to things such as blown CV axles and poor suspension and steering performance when you lift above 2in. 1.5in really does seem to be the sweet spot where you are lifting without sacrificing performance on these trucks and 2in seems to be the limit where things are still somewhat reasonable. Beyond that you are significantly sacrificing reliability and performance. There is no way around it without changing the geometry with something like long travel or a drop bracket lift and with those you have to be very careful how they are done because people often end up giving up reliability and even performance with those as well.

You may decide that the extra half inch of lift is worth the tradeoff. On road the reliability concerns aren't as extreme as off as you are less likely to actually grenade a CV. If you feel like the performance is acceptable and are willing to watch your CV axle boots for wear and replace them every once in a while you may be perfectly happy with a 2.5in lift. But I stand by my statement that there are no shocks that can fix the reliability and performance decrease inherent in a 2.5in lift.

 

This^^ What Mach said


More lift via taller ties is cheaper and more reliable.

 

i mean now your going off the main subject of ride quality due to downtravel. just for the purpose of debate both 5100s and 6112s have more down travel than 8112s. 5100s actually have the most of the 3 and are equal to and beyond some extended travel coilover. that extra inch does not meet the physical limitations of front end components. even stock uca has been proven to have enough articulation. but yes youl run into geometry issues where a high castor uca is needed to bring it back to where it should be over about 2" extra ride height. cv boots really arent an issue on these trucks like they were on 1st gens. ive seen 200k lifted without issues. the differential needle bearing is the real biggest issue lifted at that height. they are an issue at all heights but more so the higher you go. ecgs bushing is the go to fix eliminating that issue.

 

The numbers I have seen have 3rd gen 6112s being longer than 5100s both compressed and extended. 17.58/22.37 for 5100s and 17.67/22.5 for 6112s. Didn't measure my 6112s that accurately but they were definitely longer than my stock OR shocks at full extension.

The currently manufactured 6112s are used across multiple applications so they actually use a bushing on the shaft to set the lengths for the application. If one wanted to extend where their travel falls they would just need to get or make a longer bushing. Of course you would lose some on the top side so may need a bump stop spacer.

I contemplated doing that until I installed them and saw that with my stock UCAs there is very little room at full droop. If you research people trying to use spacer lifts it seems very little is required before the spring and UCA start making contact when you start flexing things.

 

If you want to go the upgraded UCA route keep in mind that not all options actually give more spring clearance. Some even give less.

 

was not aware of the bushing to change lengths on the newer version. i know they added a crazy amount of c clip slots to accommodate. last i looked into their lengths a few years ago 5100s were the longest of the 3. remember it only takes 1/2" more shock length to get that 1" of travel. thats the absolute limit of the ifs on these. i cringe when guys put those almost 2" thick rough country 3.5" lift spacers on these knowing the absolute front end rapage that causes.

ive had 3 sets of bilsteins on 2 different vehicles and loved each set. they are still my go to recommendation.

 

I haven't seen published length specs on the 6112s from bilstein so would be nice to get firm confirmation that the new ones havn't changed but those are the numbers I found on tacomaworld. I think I remember eyeballing my 6112s with a tape measure and it seemed right but I wasn't very scientific about it.

Here is a side by side with the stock OR shocks.


Spacer isnt on the shaft of the 6112 in this pic but you can see the longer overall length and the long threads. After installation there was a good amount of thread still sticking out the top so extended the spacer atleast a bit should be doable without too much struggling to get them on.

 

the specs you have posted are correct. looks like spacer can be used to shorten or lengthen by a half inch depending on application. also looks like the newer dark gray bodied 8112s are a half inch different than the older silver bodied shocks looking at specs. If i ever buy a 3rd tacoma id get them just to try.