6112 or 5100

I stopped at the local off road store in Lakewood to talk about getting a lift for my 09 dbl cab off road truck.
They of coarse will sell me both but I don't know, what I don't know.
I don't do any real off roading, but I want a great ride.
Toyota replaced the frame last year, I have a lot of new parts and the truck runs great.

They want about $2100 for 6112 at 2" and 5160 installed. I was reading on here that kits over 1.5" need a differential drop. The sales guy seemed to think I would be ok if I went with 2"

DO I really need new LCA or UCA? Or are the stock just fine? Toyota replaced the LCA when the frame was replaced.
Not sure if I need the 5160 or not. I just replaced the rears with the original Bilstein. Also, something I think I can do. The rear 5160's are $249 a piece.
I was also thinking I want to put back on RideRite airbags in the future.

The price for 5100's is $1370 Both set ups include an alignment.

I put KYB Coil overs on about 2 years ago.. They are just ok. Better then stock, but.....
They want a lot for labor, $700.. I can do basic truck work. (thanks to Tacomaworld)
Just not sure how I could do with a job like this.


Thanks for reading and helping me out.

Dave

 

Usually 2.5” and up require an aftermarket UCA for caster correction. Below that and you should be alright. Your stock LCAs are good to go, no need to replace those.

I have read consistently that the 6112s are better off road, on road they seem to be a little harsh.
It sounds like you’d be happy with the 5100s front and rear, depending on the kind of off road stuff you do. For a mostly on road rig they’re fantastic.

Get the proper springs to do your lift instead of using the clip settings on the 5100s if you can, the higher you set the clips the stiffer it gets and the more your ride suffers.

As for the differential drop, I have heard that both ways too. Some people say hold off on it and if you have driveline vibrations later on then look at addressing it with a drop kit. Then again, if you have someone doing the work and they’re in there you might as well just have them do it.

The argument is that a drop kit will ruin the ground clearance you gained with the lift but, seeing as you seem to be a light duty off roader I don’t think you’d suffer by including that in your setup.

If you do any lifting in the back go with either a single add-a-leaf or a progressive add-a-leaf pack. I would avoid lift blocks like the plague, there’s nothing but problems down that road.


Good luck!

 

Thanks.. It seems like such mixed reviews. I think I am going to go with 6112 and SPC UCA. Toyota replaced the LCA when they replaced my frame. I figure while I am at it and I am going to take it all apart I might as well get rid of the old UCA and out on new ones.

Do I need the 1/4" spacer with the 6112? I was planning on having them assembled at #3 I was going to order the parts from headstrong offroad. Does the spacer come attached already?

Thanks

 

That sounds like a good choice, I see lots of mixed reviews too but it seems hard to go wrong either way.
The UCAs are a good choice too, they’re always a nice upgrade over stock.

I don’t believe the 1/4” spacer attaches per se, it just sandwiches between the coil top hat and the shock mount. The necessity of it is largely personal preference, if you notice a lean you can add I it in. I didn’t use one, my truck is 2WD though so the weight is different.

 

6112’s /5160’s over here no complaints & no harsh ride. Don’t believe everything you hear. SPC’s are a great choice as well. Good luck. I’m on 600lb coils as well.

 

Go to @runnin4tacos https://www.runnin4tacos.com/ and talk to Red.

 

OP: I have had the ride tites on for a few years, and just put the 6112 (Clip location #4) and 5160's on last week, and some 33's (KO2 285/75/16). It probably took about 4 hrs to put all 4 shocks on, but could have been done in less time if it wasn't so dang hot out, and I had known I needed to do both 6112's at the same time due to the sway bar being in the way. I'm guessing 1 hr for the rears and 3 for the front. The 5160's were easy, aside from getting the reservoir bracket bolts started. The 6112's were a little harder due to not being able to get the sway bar ball joint undone, and making sure to unhook brake brackets and not damage brake lines. For the sway bar, I wound up using vice grips to hold the stem of the ball side and an impact on the nut. The camber definitely needs to be adjusted, it's about 1 degree leaning out according to a digital angle finder stretched across the rim. I'll be getting an alignment check this week. I've done toe before, but never toe/caster/camber.

I got the 6112's/5160's due to wanting a better offroad ride, and wanting to avoid overheating, as well as maintaining the lift in the front. The previous owner had some OME nitrochargers on all 4 places, and they were almost too hot to touch after our last off-roading trip in Colorado.

I bought mine from Shocks Surplus. It said out of stock, but after emailing them to place an order for when they came back in stock, they actually had them but hadn't posted them due to having limited staff to assemble the 6112's.

Looking at the driveline angle, I probably need the spacer, but it's not that bad, and it's been with that 2" lift for...at least 50k miles. U joints are fine so far.

 

Update after alignment. The camber is sitting at 0.5 degrees in on drivers side and 0.2 degrees in on passenger. Caster 1.9 degrees on both sides. No aftermarket UCA's.

 

Not the best numbers. Any visible positive camber? Caster won’t get much better. How does it drive? IMO once lifted these trucks need new UCA’s to achieve a good alignment.
Good luck

 

Now that I'm looking at this again on my phone, It's actually 0.5 and 0.2 both positive camber, not negative. I haven't had any long trips in it yet, but nothing has jumped out at me over the 50 or so miles since I put the new parts on.

By "not the best numbers" what specifically would you be aiming for?

 

I have 2”/1.5” 6112/5160 setup. Paid $1,300 for all 4 shocks, rear add a leaf springs, and front bumpstops. Paid another $250 for install and alignment using stock LCA and UCA. That shop seems a bit steep in terms of pricing. You also don’t need a diff drop unless you’re lifting 3” or more.

 

If it drives good for you leave it. I had visible positive camber would be worried about tire wear etc. Tracking for me wasn’t great either. UCA’s helped camber and brought caster up for better handling IMO. 0 camber , caster 3-0 - 4 , Toe 0

 

Sounds good. I'll keep an eye on it, and I'll know more about how it feels after this weekend. I have a 200 mile round trip scheduled. I'm scared to increase caster too much more, without having to trim, but I guess having good caster would be worth trimming the front fender.

 

Get you some jab upper control arms