Rear Bilstein 5100's with a 2 inch AAL.?

Are the rear Bilstein 5100's long enough with a 2 inch AAL.?

 

Yep. Ive been running that for almost 5 months

 

What he said, yep

 

They used to have 5100's with a shorter travel but so many people were doing that setup they extended it to fit it. Anything higher you'll have to go to a 5125 though.

 

Alrighty. Thanks.!

 

Well I contacted Down South Motorsports to make sure and they said that the 5100's are too short for a 2 inch AAL.?

 

Who told you they extended the 5100??? That is 100% inaccurate. What they did was keep the regular, standard travel 5100s and add an extended length version for 3 - 4" of rear lift. The stardard travel version is for 0 - 1.5" of lift I believe. With a 2" AAL, you're kind of in a grey area as far as which shocks to get. The standard travel ones will work, however if you really flex the suspension, you might end up topping them out hard and potentially breaking the shock. The extended length ones with standard bump stops have the potential of the opposite happening, bottoming out the shock before you hit the bump stop. 5125s are the middle ground but require an adapter that sucks up 1.5" of travel. For road use, standard length will work. For off road use, talk to Downsouth Motorsports for their recommendation based on the trails you drive. Maybe consider the Nitrochargers?

 

I don't understand why this mis-information comes up so often. DSM themselves saying that is interesting, though. However, it contradicts the language on their own damn website:

This 5100 Front/Rear Package is recommended when installing an AAL/Shackle in the rear. If leaving the rear suspension stock, the compression bump stop on chassis may need to be modified.

That's from this page: http://downsouthmotorsports.com/i-1...acoma-pre-runner-4wd-pre-load-adjustable.html

Here's Toytec's say on the matter:

Rear D560 extended length 5100 Bilstein shocks work great with 1 to 2 1/2" lift.

Taken from here:

 

From DSM's website:

Bilstein 5100 Series Replacement Rear shocks for a '05-'11 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 & 2wd TRD (Pre-Runner)

Shocks are for 6 Lug vehicles Only!!!

0" to 1.5" Rear Lift on NON-TSB leaf springs, Shock Part #: BE5-C478-T0
Extended Length: 22.94"
Collapsed Length: 14.02"

3" to 4" Rear Lift Shock Part #: BE5-B110-T5
Extended Length: 27.28"
Collapsed Length: 16.34"


Also covered pretty well here:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/167652-busted-my-5100-a.html
The vendors started chiming in on the last 3 or 4 pages. I remember seeing responses from Wheelers and DSM. I can't remember if Toytec responded or not.

 

Toytec themselves. When I ordered my lift someone brought to my attention on the fourm that I might want to go with 5125's because of the 5100's travel. SO when I asked one of the reps at toytec they said when you get the 5100's eibach and AAL kit they have extended the travel in them.

 

I just bought the 1.5 AAL for TSB leafs from Toytech, and the Bil 5100's front and rear from Downsouth. Downsouth reports the extended length rear shock must be used, and an extended bump stop must be added to prevent the shock from bottoming. They accidentally shipped the standard 5100, so they are also sending me the extended 5100. I'll have both, new in box, in a couple days. I'll take some pics and measure showing the differences and post to this thread. Great customer service at DownSouth, by the way....

Also, it is recommended to at least customize the rear brake line mount if you do not install extended brake lines....

My AAL has arrived but the 5100's are not here until the 9th. I'll be doing the install on the 14th. Thinking about using these bump stops..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Energy-Susp...her_Vehicle_Parts&vxp=mtr&hash=item48425a2e19

Anyone else do a similar setup?

 

I'm sure everyone has seen these already.... here they are..

 

I have the ones for 0-1.5" of lift, I called toytec and ask if it would be fine for a 2" AAL without TSB and they said it "should" work. I'll find out today.

 

Also I've asked this question somewhere & someone else told me I would be fine, if not I'll order the 5125

 

Been running mine like that for about 6 months, flexed the hell out of it on sand dunes, no problems here

 

Not true. So many people like myself bitched about the lack of droop of the 5100 with 2" lift and many others had catastrophic failures so DSMS got on the ball like they always do when they receive feedback from customers. The extended version was always though to be to long. If memory serves me correct DSMS mocked up this 2" set up on their own time.

Again consult the pro's not the web for the exact data.

DSMS FTW!

If your mall crawling all the time you'll be fine. If you wheel hard you might not be.

I trust DSMS over Toytech 24/7/365.

You won't get conflicting data if you pick up the phone and talk to a human at DSMS. IDK why people spend so much on suspension products over the web and never seek the advice of the pro's. They show up to work everyday to help their customers so utilize their expertise....web sites are often behind the times due to new products and issues being brought up.

That's cause they suck. DSMS FTW!!!

It will fit....but it may prematurely break...

 

the "extended length" 5100 is actually the rear 5100s meant for a tundra; just used for tacomas with a bit more lift in the rear than others. Its what I am using and it rides really well.

 

Well everytime I called DSM I got no answer but called toytec once and got someone on the line.

 

From Marco a few months back....


"They're not...you can just call us. The more I think about it, the more I think you'll be better off with the longer 5100s. The worst case scenario would be that you'll need to slightly modify the bump stops, to keep the shock from bottoming out before the bump stop does. But I think that's better than running the adapters.

-Marco"

We were talking about whether i should have gotten 5125s or the longer rear 5100s.

 

I never had an issue in 2 years. You do know they are on CA time right?

You have to understand they are small to keep overhead down so we get good prices. This means they often leave the office to help out customers etc. Leave a message and someone will reply.

I would also think about sending them an e-mail. E-mails are great for documenting everything if your new to the suspension purchasing like I was. This also allows you to take your time researching the questions you want to ask. It takes all pressure off you if your nervous and you are less likely to forget what they tell you if you can save it and read it later.