Bilstein 8112 Series with 8100

The fronts come set to be level with the rear with roughly one inch of rear lift, just saying.

 

Okay, that is good to know, those are supposed to have 2" of lift, correct?

Ah, that makes sense. But the big question now is, how do you lift the rear of a Tacoma just 1" (without using blocks)? Seems like Bilstein should have marketed them for a 2" lift at minimum.

 

I used an icon Rxt set to stage1, depending on weight stage 2 would work too.

 

How much lift do they provide, I am assuming around 2"? I have aftermarket lift leaf springs already (IronMan 4x4), and on my regular cab, they gave me 3" of lift.

 

I'm not sure exactly, but there is a picture on the icon site with lift measurements for various stage settings and loads.

 

I didn't personally work on the 8100 series so take this with a grain of salt.
When figuring out the max and min lengths of the shock, we'd measure CV angles, and suspension geometry, and look for interference between various components. At the maximum amount of lift, the vehicle was set to ride level (likely just due to market demand for a level stance). Since the Tacoma has a stock front leaning rake, the maximum lift height in the front is higher than the rear in order to sit level. With these requirements, the rear lift height is constrained by the max front lift height, which is constrained by CV angles, suspension geometry etc... Is further rear lift likely to cause any problems? Probably not if it's only another inch or so. But you need to do a bit of your own engineering at that point. If you have bypass shocks (like the 8100) you may notice that you're getting into the non-bypass region of the shock during normal driving which will result in poor ride quality. Another factor to consider is the amount of static sag, too much and you'll bottom out too early, too little (resulting from too much lift) and your suspension will fully extend too soon and your wheels won't maintain contact with the ground when going down the back side of a bump.

I have a 2" lift in the front (via 8112) and a 1.5" lift in the rear (via a 3leaf aal). Definitely, the best I've had so far. I'd consider going for more lift or stiffer springs in the rear if I carried more weight but with my lightweight camping setup, it's hardly ever necessary.

Let me know if that makes sense!

 

I have a 3.5" spring lift in the rear, just welded an 2" extension for the bottom of the shock to mount onto, been 2 yrs going on 3 no issues. Was my solution to keeping the shock in its happy spot and to have the same shock angle/position so to not mess the shock up.

 

Yup, that makes sense! Thanks for going in detail about how if there is too much lift with the rear shock, it might be in one of the bypass areas, causing it to not function properly. I would not have though about that!

Ultimately, if I wanted the 8100s in the rear of my truck, this is what I would have to do as well!

 

The 8100s are awesome.

 

I mean, I do want them, but I just don't want to break them with a lift.

I need to see if I can find an extension for the bottom shock mount...

 

I couldnt find anything that was purchasable online to do it when I last looked, I would think your best bet would be to go to a fab shop and have them make a weld on extended mount or a bolt in extension

 

Anyone have a line on a rebuild kit for the 8112s? I found one for the fronts.

 

Airbags? My airbags with 5-6lbs in them lift about that much.

 

Following up on this. I pulled my rear shocks and sent them off for warranty inspection. To make a long story very short - Bilstein took care of my situation - they did right by the customer and then some. To be fair there was a bit of initial pushback, but the customer service rep was very helpful in the process and after a few email and talking it through was able to get the claim approved by the warranty dept. While the shocks were there, I had also asked for them to be upgraded to the clicker style knobs which are very easy to turn and a much nicer set up that the Allen key/jam nut. Much much much happier. I haven't had time (or weather) to get them reinstalled but I now have 40+ clicks of adjustment. Very cool. Will be interesting to see if the granularity translates to a difference in ride across my range of uses - quite a bit of tuning ahead of me.

A few thoughts if you run into issues and send your shocks in - probably common sense, but in case it helps:
1. politeness goes a long way - the customer service person sits between you and warranty dept - they are your advocate. I was frustrated given the money I had spent on these and the logistics challenges, but I was always polite.
2. advocate for yourself and ask questions. "why" did this happen, "how" could my use of these shocks caused this, etc.
3. be patient - it was 5-6 weeks (including thanksgiving holiday week) until I received them back. They have a backlog - this is where the cust service rep is really important - if they care they will help stay on top of your situation, and respond to your emails, push the warranty dept to look at your stuff, etc.

 

I keep forgetting about helper air bags, though I wouldn't want to use them to lift a truck.

 

I installed the 8112s and 8100s a few months ago on my 2020 Ram, and have this EXACT sound going on. I can only hear when going under 10mph, and it is a clunking noise that sounds almost identical to this video you posted. Been trying to figure it out, and cannot for the life of me. I'm 95% certain it's coming from the front coil overs. Sound started after installation of the setup. Like you, I am not convinced it is normal, and I am not convinced it is the "slight clicking noise" referenced in the instructions.

I have GoPro but did not have the clamp to hook it up to my front end. I just got the clamp in the mail last night, so I'm going to try to make a video in the next week or so.

Really hoping to figure this issue out. Spent $5k on this suspension, and it rides AMAZING, but sounds atrocious when going at really low speeds.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

If anybody else in this thread has any questions about my setup, feel free to shoot. Only been running them for 2.5 months, but aside from the noise love them so far. Newer Rams have coil springs in the rear, instead of leafs, and they do not take a lot of tongue weight or haul weight due to that, but these 8100s were a game changer for that. I towed a 7k lb boat that usually pushes my truck around quite a bit, but I could barely feel it on my truck with the 8100s. Really incredible.

 

I know you posted this a year ago, but I was wondering if you could weigh in on the noises my 8112 and (to a less extent) 8100s make. I hear quite a loud clunk noise when going very slow (5-10mph) over bumpy pavement. I think it is much louder when the shock fluid is very cold (I live in Michigan). I have been trying to figure this out for 3 months since I installed the shocks, and I am very sure the sound is coming from the shocks. Bilstein thinks it might be the internal bump stop hitting the upper compression stop because I am out of the ride zone, however they were factory set to the highest setting permissible for my specific truck (on the table, it is still within Bilstein's recommended ride heights for my truck). They advised I lower it one setting (which is about 1/4" less of exposed threads), which I did this past weekend, and it still makes the noise.

Just curious if you have any input here, as I'm trying to figure all this out.

 

You forgot to say:

 

Has anyone got their hands on the 8112 DSA+ yet?

 

Just got mine a few days ago. Huge improvement over the 6112s I had before.