Bilstein 5100 adjustment advice needed

I put a Bilstein 5100 lift on the 09 4 door long bed. I wanted to keep it mild as I lift heavy bee hives into the back. I selected the 1" block for the rear, no top plate spacers for the front. I had the shop set the front cool overs at the highest setting. It looks like a bulldog. (Much higher in the front) with each adjustment costing me $150 I want to get it right this time. Which will make it level? 2nd from the top snap ring, or 2nd from the bottom? Thanks in advance for taking time to reply.

 

Although I don't have experience with those coilovers I believe the 1.75" setting would suit your needs.

 

I believe that would be second from the top correct?

 

I was curious to see if lowering one snap ring would be sufficient. It's pretty tall up front. Would like it level.

 

Do u have tsb springs? You may have been better served with aal or airbags with a shell and added weight of cargo. I bet the shell made you about level, so what ever lift you put in back you should put in front. 1" Block means about 1 " up front, which is one slot from bottom, or the.85 setting.

Also adjust your head lights when your done, and you may need a realignment.

 

What was the rear rake to begin with?
If this was measured before hand this would give you an idea of how much lift up front is needed to be level with the back with the added block.

Also it would seem that some people have a different opinion on what level is. Measurement wise it might be level, but visually maybe not.

This can help before lifting...
Jack the rear to the height you think you'll need and do the same to the front. Stand back and see how it looks and adjust accordingly. I've done this with nearly all my trucks and each turned out as expected. Just visually being able to see helps a bunch. A little late to mention this now, but figured I'd mention this for others.

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OP maybe jack the rear up and inch to see what it would look like if the front were lowered and inch, just a thought. Playing with the back will give you an idea of how much the front needs to be lowered to achieve the desired look.

 

Appreciate it guys. Will probably go with the second from bottom, or .85" setting. What would the second from the top be? The generic directions I found on the 5100's said 2" average lift in the top setting, 1.3" second from the top. I got more than that. Everything is stock except the four shocks, the diff drop, and replaced the front coil springs with Eibachs.

 

You got more than expected lift because the Eibach coils are lift coils. The ride must be horrible compressing the lift coils like that. Also your alignment has got to be pretty bad too.

I really recommend you try doing what I mentioned above to understand how much you need to come down up front, you might just find yourself blowing another $150 playing the guessing game.

 

I had it aligned when I adjusted it. Part of the reason it was 150$. He's always pretty fair on the price. The ride quality hasn't suffered much despite the preload on the Eibachs. Completely agree, the wife is tired of me spending money on it.

 

It needs to be right this round....:

 

If I'm not mistaken, eibach makes 2 different sets of lift springs. One that lifts approximately 1.6" and the other lifts approximately 2.5". That is with the 5100 set at its lowest setting (0"). Find out which springs you have and you'll probably want to set the 5100 on the lowest setting. Maybe the second lowest but then you may still be nose high.

 

Go on the lowest setting, which is 0. I'm surprised a shop would really set them at the top and have it so nose high like that without recommending other plans for the adjustment at the time.

And $150 a pop? Good lord.

Bottom setting.

Bottom setting.

Bottom setting.

 

I didn't realize you were on lift springs too. Bottom setting.

 

And get a new shop to work with after this. They knew your setting was horrific and mistakenly chosen and did nothing to sway you into making a correct adjustment decision. Then they hit you $150 for each adjustment after that?

Fuck me. If they did their job correctly this would have been done right the first time. Now you are just easy money.

 

Crazy because I wouldn't think your suspension would move at all. The spring rate on those coils is 620 which is quite a bit more than the factory coils. You add preload on top of that and that's got to be super stiff, at least it would be for me.

Best of luck with round 2

 

Wow. didn't realize the springs would add that much lift alone. I assumed the snap rings would have to be moved to attain heighth. No wonder it's looking up at the clouds. It was the Eibach coils that came with the kit. Bilsteinlifts.com. My shop guy expressed concern, but I told him I would adjust the rear to match. I didn't like the look of most of the aftermarket blocks (these are solid billet aluminum) and didn't want to AAL it and lower the ride quality. Decided to just lower the front back down instead. Thanks for the info guys. Appreciate it.

 

FYI I've seen warnings not to set the bilsteins above .85 with eibach lift coils or damage will result.

Bilstein Adjustable lift kit with 5100 shocks for 2005 & UP Tacoma

1.5" or 3" lift kit with Eibach front coils (3" average lift is achieved with coils and setting the shock adjustment on the second C clip setting from the bottom)

Standard cab and 4cyl models should use the Lowest C Clip setting

DO NOT EXCEED THIS SETTING OR DAMAGE CAN OCCUR

Double cab models may require top plate spacers for full 3" lift

Includes:

C475 Height adjustable Bilstein front 5100 shocks

TP14 spacer for correction of drivers side lean

112-620 Eibach/Toytec front coil springs 620lb spring rate

TAC-DR-05 Front diff drop kit (choose from options)

Rear Options: Choose below
TAC-AL Toytec standard 2" lift add-a-leafs with anti friction pads. This long style AAL offers a great ride and has anti-friction pads already installed. Fits standard 3 leaf springs and 4 leaf or TSB springs.
1 1/2" blocks with U-bolts
1" blocks with U-bolts

C476 rear Bilstein 5100 shocks