Bilstein HD Aftermarket Shocks

Before getting to my point I'd like to clarify something which I have clarified in previous threads:

There are three (3) lines of different Bilstein shocks that will work on stock 2nd Gen Tacoma's

1) The TRD Bilstein shock which is a watered down Bilstein offered on TRD Offroad and Sport package models of Tacoma's.

2) The Bilstein 5100s which have 4 adjustment height levels on the front shocks from stock to 2.5" of lift

3) Last, but definately not least, the Bilstein HD Aftermarket shocks (blue/yellow colouring) which are designed as an aftermarket replacement shock to fit stock Tacoma's.


I had a set of the Bilstein HD (blue/yellow) on my 93 pickup when I had it. They were an excellent riding shock which enhance the sportiness, ride quality, and most importantly, the safety of the truck; they handled loads much better and the shocks really controlled the springs in a way that reduced the overall effect a load had on the handling or sway of the truck.

Since I didn't want, or forecast needing any front end lift, I decided to replace my stock TRD Bilsteins with Aftermarket Bilstein HD's. So yesterday I had my local shop install them and I must say, I am simply shocked at the difference. My previous shocks were the TRD Bilsteins that had about 90,000 miles on them as I just mentioned. But the difference in ride quality is much, much, much more than simply replacing a set of old shocks with new shocks. The Bilstein HD's make this truck ride much, much, much better. It's a much more solid ride kind of like riding in a 1 ton truck, the isolation from the road is siginficantly reduced, the increase in smoothness is nothing short of fantastic, and I can tell, just like the ones I had on my 93 Pickup, that these shocks keep the tires glued to the road, on top of really reducing the influence on the trucks sway while cornering. Overall I highly recommend them if you're looking for a solid replacement shock that you will be proud of.

One note of interest - the shop I had my shocks installed at, which I know to be a highly reputable shop over the years with a good reputation for honesty, told me that while doing an alignment (after the shock install) that my toe was out, which they corrected, but they said the bushings to adjust the camber/caster were seized and at this point the camber/caster was still within spec and as long as it drives straight they won't harm the tires, or need adjustment, but that if anything changes they might need to be replaced. They told me on this gen of Tacoma that apparently it was a common problem?

 

I got those too. Can't really tell a difference though. My brakes are stuttering really bad (bad rotors) and my wheels appear to need balancing. After I fix those too things in a few weeks, I hope to see what you are seeing.

Also my steering wheel is a tad off center when driving straight. I assume the alignment may be off. No accidents though, just strange.

 

Do you have part numbers of the ones you purchased? The stock bilsteins on both my 2007 (TRD Sport) and my 2011 (TRD Off-Road) are blue/yellow, so I don't think the color has much to do with it.

Fink

 

I was more trying to differentiate the colour of the aftermarket Bilistein HD's from the Bilstein 5100's which are silver/black if I'm not mistaken: I know the TRD Bilsteins are the same colour (blue/yellow), however the Bilstein aftermarket are a much "thicker" shock than the TRD Bilstein's.

Here is the Bilstein Canada site which has part numbers for both the 5100's (front/rear) and the Aftermarket Bilstein HD's (not promoting their site, just as a reference for part #'s): http://www.bilsteincanada.com/index.php?cPath=306_3992_4035_12882

 

Thanks for clearing that up - I was curious what you were trying to do there.

I'll check that site out (on mobile right now). Thanks!


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