[Review] 2018 DCOR - Bilstein 6112 Front & 5160 Rear + OME EL096R (Heavy) Leafs

Hey TW,

I know there are plenty of threads on the 6112 & 5160 combo, but why not add another to help others make more informed decisions.

Vehicle: 2018 Doublecab TRD Off Road

Installed

• Bilstein 6112 Front Coil/Struts
  • Driver side clip position: 5
  • Passenger side clip position: 4
• Bilstein 5160 Rear Shocks
• ARB/OME EL096R (Heavy) Leaf Springs
  • OME says 2" lift with 600lbs constant load. Just what I need.
• 1/2" carrier bearing drop
• Pending: 2 or 3 degree rear axle shim (see below)

Note
My truck has a permanent load of ~500lbs without occupants and gear. ARE HD cap, Tepui, Prinsu rack, etc. On the stock TRD Off Road suspension, the ride quality off-road was horrible. There was only a couple inches left in the rear before bottoming out. The ride was way too soft and sloppy. Even on-road it sucked (bottoming out on speed bumps). I expected this stock truck to be able to handle 500lbs a lot better than this, but oh well! This means when you look at the resulting lift, especially in the rear, you may not get such a big difference if you have less weight (stock ride height would be higher than my starting point).

Lift after 1 month (measured fender to center of wheel):

• FRONT - 2" lift (before: 20.5" after: 22.5")
• REAR - 4" lift (before: 20.0" after: 24")
  • Again, do not not expect this if you don't have a heavy permanent load. I would bet stock readings on an empty truck would be closer to 22", meaning a 2" lift.

Off-road performance

• 10/10
• So much firmer, even with 1000lbs loaded. Is no longer sitting on the bump stops. Truck feels planted, even at higher speeds. No noticeable fade in the rear over long distances (really bad with stock).

On-road performance

• Currently a 7/10
• I have minor driveline vibrations between 15-60kmh, but believe this will be fixed after adding the shims to the rear axle. Will report back in a couple weeks.
• Doesn't bottom out any more. Ever. Feels firmer, more planted, and I feel more in control.

Vibrations fixed:

• Installed 1/2 carrier bearing drop - still had vibrations
• Installed 2.5 degree shims on the rear axle - VIBRATIONS GONE!

Hard to say if it would be good with just the shims and no CB drop, but I'm not messing with it anymore


Overall - pretty much exactly what I wanted. Much happier with the truck now. Before I would cringe on the smallest bumps. 10/10 would recommend.


Before



After

 

very nice im thinking of going the 6112 5160 route myself.

 

Very nice, I also am thinking this myself as well. What tire size do you currently have. I'm trying to get a 2.5 inch level out if these will probably do an AAL tho.

 

looks good! Have the exact same lift except for medium leaf springs. I dont carry as much gear. Cant wait to put it on in Feb.

 

Thanks! 265/65R17 KO2s. You will probably get 2-2.5" front and back with no load. I love them so far.

 

how do the mediums ride with an empty bed?

 

Haven't installed yet. Installing them in February. I'll let you know!

 

@ashakespeare I'm about to go this exact route, although I have the 2nd gen. I had the stock leaf springs (non-TSB) with a 1' lift block paired with the Rough Country shocks. I have a 2' coil spacer with the stock coilover in the front. I had this on the truck when I bought it from a private seller (so he could fit 285/70/R16 KO2s on them).

I've been hesitant on purchasing parts for the truck, until I kept on doing more research.

I recently slapped on the EL096R leaf springs to replace the oldies+block, along with CB drop. I now get that slight vibration between 15-15mph when accelerating. I am almost sure that it is because of the lift gain from the Dakars (even with a topper). I still haven't confirmed this by disengaging the rear DS to see if I get the vibrations on 4WD.

Anyways, I was considering the axle shim for resolve this issue; however, I do not know the specs for the pinion angle measurement (it is probably cause i am too lazy to measure the current set up and get the OEM measurements to determine the degree of axle shim required). How were you able to determine what degree of axle shim needed for your rig?

Separately, I have recently purchased the 6112/5160 as well to make my lift functional as I plan to wheel the vehicle a little bit more. I also went with the MOOG ball joints and plan to install extended brake lines for peace of mind.

Do you plan to reinforce your truck bed with the added topper and RTT? I was thinking of going this route (RTT in the foreseeable future) to support all the added weight over the truck bed.

 

Hmm, that is true. I wouldn't need the difference of degree between pre- and post- lift, as long as I can achieve >=1 degree for the pinion angle. I guess it's time for me break out the protractor and conduct measurements.

 

I ordered an inexpensive digital inclinometer off Amazon to measure the angles. This made it easy to know that a 2 or 3 degree shim would be enough to get matching angles again.

Read through my other post about the issue here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ilstein-6112-5160.582789/page-2#post-19753871