Bilstein 6112

In my opinion it does ride better than stock. I know some people say that it rides stiff but I don’t think it does. For me it’s in the middle of stock ride and firm. Kind of hard to explain but its definitely a comfy ride.

 

I used to ride 5/5 with a 1/4” spacer on DS. I moved them up to 6/6 with the spacer and didn’t notice a difference. Gained some front lift back from settling and it looks great!

 

are you at about 2.5" of lift up front?

 

I’m at 6/5 notches and 600# spring with half inch spaced on driver side and 1/4” on passenger side and I’m right at 2.3” lift from stock after almost 10 days since install

 

6/5 with take care of the lean. So if I understood you put 1/2” spacer driver 1/4” passenger. I’m 6/5 for lean then 1/4” spacer driver / passenger to get back lift from armor. Level side to side.

 

That’s correct I have 6 driver side 5 passenger side. 1/2” driver side 1/4” passenger side. I am right at a 1/4” higher on driver side after measuring so I would’ve been level with 1/4” both sides. I didn’t realize that when I installed

 

I also have the 650lb springs so I have about 2.75”. I can re measure if you need exact measurements

 

hows it ride with the 650's? im debating on going with 600lbs, 6/6 and a spacer or going 6/5 with a 650 spring.

 

I've got 650s at 4/5 and the ride is fantastic imo, but I prefer a "stiffer" ride

 

you at 2.5" or a little less?

 

I’m running 600# that the 6112 kit comes with at the moment

 

Went to hotshot offroad website but not much there…

 

just pm @memario1214

 

Ok thanks

 

Ok will do

 

Forgot to take before measurements but id say in the neighborhood of 2-2.5

 

1. Ok, first I have to say this just to get it out of the way......I still love my 6112's that I put on 3 1/2 years ago.....no regrets and I would do it again......

2. My setup: I have the bilstein 650lb springs with the settings at 4 on both with a 1/4" top hat spacer on the driverside. Dirt King lowers and JBA uppers. I am also running 285-70-17 toyo open country AT3's. For weight, I have a front bumper with winch, a skid plate trio, a X2 Power AGM battery,, and sliders.

3. My plan for today: to move my clips from 4 to 5 on both sides for a little more height, to replace my top hats, and to replace my lower shock bushings... ( huge props to @Superdave1.0 for the part numbers and the "just do this" directions to change them out).

4. Parts:
a. The top hats that I ordered -

$39 KYB SM5640 - Mount Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C7S0KA8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

b. The lower bushings that I ordered from McGeorge Toyota - 90389-A0001 (put them in the freezer at least 48 hours before you decide to press them in and don't pull them out until the last moment.

c. The press that I fought so hard not to buy and tried literally EVERYTHING ELSE, before I broke down, bought it, and used it (if you have someone that has a press just use theirs, if not, just buy one.....it will save you 3 hours, tons of swearing and hours of regret for not listening - d. A 1-1/8" deep well socket to use to push in and out the bushing....it really is the perfect size.

5. The hell that was my day living in the northeast:
Ok, the day started with a brisk 24° day out in my driveway, all the tools (that I thought I would need) next to me, and hope in my eyes. I hit the top hat studs and Nuts with PB blaster each day for a week to prepare. I have had issues taking off the rear nut on another members truck, where it wasn't sprayed, and the nut was so frozen that it stripped the stud inside the top hat (THAT WAS A REALLY BAD DAY). So the nuts came off ok today and the I was able to take the shock out fine. The 650lb springs are a BEAR especially with the 60 mm shock body, so we used a pair of the best spring compressors that we could find and compressed the middle four coils since the higher end compressors will not fit around the 60mm shock body.
The hell starts now.......the top hats were.....let's just say....very rusted and falling apart. I was a little surprised at just how bad the needed replacing. After I got the spring out, then I started to work on the spring seat. Ummmm.....yeah....it was pretty much seized to the shock body (aluminum to aluminum which made no sense to me). We had to rig 2 6x6's on cinder blocks to hold the shock body, while putting a 2x3 inch ingut of aluminum that I had lying around on top of one side of the spring seat, hitting ingut with a 3 lb hammer....hit and turn, hit and turn, hit and turn, just to move the spring seat millimeter by millimeter, to finally getting it below the last clamp ring hole. This also involved cleaning the shock body and using tons of pb blaster btw. Then finally cleaning out the last groove, and moving the split ring down the last groove (which moving the split ring was a lot easier than I thought). Then finally putting the spring back in attaching the new top hat.
Now on to the lower bushings.......Holy fuck ....they were fucking destroyed! I mean I really didn't notice them until I took out the shock, but this is most certainly the biggest failure point of these shocks. For anyone having a lot of weight like me or using 650lb springs (or even, God forbid, 700 lb springs, which are not recommended at all for this shock due to premature failure) check the lower shock bushings AT LEAST once every 6 months. Soooooo.....now onto pressing the old ones out and pressing the new ones in. Ok, I really tried the cheapest way I could do it. I tried to set up a bottle jack under the weight of the frame......a 1/2 grade 8 carriage bolt with washer setup through the 1 1/8" deep well socket.....searching YouTube for easy ways without using or purchasing a press.....Well just let me stop you there. There isn't one. Just bite the bullet, go to harbor frieght, and get a 12 ton press or go over to a friend's house that has one. I wasted so much time trying to get them out....heat and all, and even if I did get them out.....I was not going to get them in the same way. We ran to harbor frieght, put the press together (took 5 minutes) and it literally took 2 minutes to get the old ones out and 3 minutes to get the new ones back in. @Superdave1.0 showed me this YouTube video and it really is the easiest thing to use the get them in and out.
https://youtu.be/oAVdOhvpBbg
Start at the 1:30 mark
Afterwards, my truck now rides like the shocks were brand new again.

Moral of the story.....
1. even if you think you have the right tools the first time....listen to others that have done it and just spend the money to get the right stuff even if you think you want to be cheap....Don't.
2. Really.....really.....really.....watch the lower bushing for failure, especially if you have a lot of weight and/or wheel your truck. I was BLOWN AWAY at how bad the were, but didn't really notice until I took off the shock because the damage was being covered up by the lower shock mount tabs. I would recommend changing them out every 2 to 3 years.

 

Same bushings as before or a different compound? Definitely gonna keep an eye on mine

 

The part numbers that I put in there is the Toyota OEM equivalent of the TRD PRO ones which are the exact same ones that bilstein uses for their 6112's. They really are a fantastic shock, just start checking the lower bushing after 2 years.