Bilstein vs Fox shock upgrade for 2023 Trail Edition

Mine did too. I bought the reservoir mounting clamps separately.

I had the shop raise the reservoirs today because I was a little concerned they were too low. Shouldn't be a problem now.

 

I had thought about it as well. I hadn't seen any videos about clearance issues either way, so I went with the piggy back. But the shop raised them up and there shouldn't be any issues. Not ruling out putting them on the frame down the road, however.

 

Do you happen to have any pictures showing what it looks like?

 

For what it’s worth, Shock Surplus only recommends this for the taco. (Frame mounting)

 

So the tube is positioned where it won't get caught on anything?

 

You can mount it anywhere on frame. Take a look at your truck and imagine it’s placement. Seems perfect to me, but I’m not rock crawling. I have cut down YJ if I want to swamp monster here on Florida line.

 

Appreciate the information.

 

I tried the reservoir clamps as well but couldn't make them work in a position I was comfortable with, so ended up following Bilstein's instructions for frame mounting. This was after I saw all the warnings that the clamps wouldn't work, but bought them anyway on the off chance they would.

 

What were some of the warnings? I didnt have any issues with mine.

Just curious so I know what to look out for.

 

I some stuff about band and hose clamps failing in various scenarios, but the billet clamps (the ones I have) seem to have pretty good reviews.

Were the warnings you saw rlated to the band and hose clamps?

 

I bought the Bilstein clamps and talked to a few companies who said they didn't recommend them. Gave Bilstein a call and said they wouldn't work for my application. Searched online high and low for pictures but could only find 1st gens using the clamps.

When I tried to mount them, the hose and fittings were pretty close to the wheel, or the spring, or the shock mount at the frame. Couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't shear something off if the suspension flexed hard or took a hit so I gave up and had them frame-mounted in five minutes. Oh, and now I've got some expensive Bilstein clamps sitting in a box til the 1st gen needs them.

With your reservoir plumbing it looks like it's now a workable option. Mine is like @danvetc with the swivel fitting protruding from the side of the reservoir, and this is what interfered.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bilstein-5160-reservoir-clamp.740862/#post-27878824

 

@0314TrailEdition did you keep the OEM springs with your Bilstein upgrade? And now six months later, what do you think?

My use case is similar to yours, leaning towards a bit more offroad use. Nothing hardcore, just graded and ungraded roads/trails. Not sure if I need more than 5100s. Also looking to stay close to OEM lift, at least for now.

 

No,

I ordered my 6112/5160 assembled. And so far I have been very pleased with the ride. Like you, I have not done hardcore off roading. Just a lot of forest service roads and some trails. But when I am driving on pavement, the ride is smooth and quite. They definitely hit the sweet spot. The only change I have done since my last post here is putting on 17 inch SEMA wheels with 265/70/17 Falken Wildpeaks. They have been excellent in the snow. Lost a couple MPGs with this setup (22 to 19ish). Even with that hit, I would not go back because of how well they performed on the pavement / snow and off road.

The final lift after settling was 1.5 Front / .5 Rear.

If there was anything that I might have done differently, it would have been replacing the .5 inch block with AAL, just in case I wanted to add a topper. But I figure if that time comes, it would not be very expensive to change. Just wish I would have done it that way the first time.

 

Useful information, thanks

Edit: I had 5100s on my old Chevy and I liked the body control and damping. I’m undecided for this truck between 5100s and Fox 2.0. I’m not excited about the price of Fox vs Bilstein. My primary reason for considering a switch is that this truck will spend more time on dirt (nothing technical, at least until it gets a few more miles) than my old one.

 

King 2.5’s front and rear with adjusters from accutune!! Buy once cry once!