New Bilstein 8112 Coilovers !

Flawless.

 

M6 8112s from Race Consulting just arrived today... Wow! I can’t believe the price increase! I must have just snuck in at the $758 price w/ free shipping.... now to get them installed. I’ve been playing with spring compressors, but the shock is so wide the clamps won’t grab the coils because the shock interferes. I’m afraid of damaging (denting) the shock should the clamps fully seat around the coil. I think I’m going to take them to a shop to use a professional compressor...

 

love my set up......

 

First, I want to thank everyone on here for sharing information. I read, read, read and read some more. I used tips, tricks, install guides, notes, recommendations and a wealth of other information provided by the users here. THANK YOU ALL!

I installed my new suspension by myself over the last two days: Camburg UCAs, 8112s, Wheeler’s AAL and 5160s. No carried bearing drop or 3 degree shims. I got about 1 1/2” in the front and 1 3/4” in the rear. I wanted to adjust the coils for more lift and tried two different kinds of spring compressors but neither worked. The problem was that the claws were too big to grasp the coil without hitting the shock body. Due to the size of the shock body, to compress these springs properly you really need an industrial three prong spring compressor. I went to multiple shops and they couldn’t do it either without fear of screwing up the shock. Finally, the last guy convinced me to try the setup as designed by Bilstein and see how it rides at an 1 1/2”.

I’m tired... it was a lot of work on the ground for my 52 year old paratrooper beaten knees —mostly because I was figuring out and thinking about what I was doing and how I was going to do it as I went along. Second sides went a lot faster. Tomorrow it goes in for an alignment. I test drove it and so far, so good. I can see that the camber is off and it pulls ever so slightly to the right. But I have not noticed any vibrations at any speed. I do hear a what sounds like a loud tire which I assume is part of the alignment being off. The ride is AMAZING. It’s more firm, planted, stable and handles better. You do feel the road a bit more, but in a good way. Finally, these shocks really shine at speed. There are a set of railroad tracks on a lonely country road near my house that has a deep dip, a steep climb, a deep set of ruts with metal tracks in them and a steep drop with deep pot holes on the down side. If I hit this crossing at 55 in my TJ, you’d a thought the suspension was being ripped apart and the wheels were come off. Anything over 60 sent it into severe death wobble. No bueno. I hit those same tracks with my Tacoma at 60, 70, and then 80 and it went over it without spilling my coffee (in a ole’ skool cafe mug...no lid). Simply amazing.

 

Thanks for the review. I think it looks good as it sits and wouldn't raise the front. I was ready to pull the trigger, but waited a day to long as they increased $300 per corner

 

Thank you for the review! It's always so hard to compare suspensions by "the seat of someone elses' pants." But yours really helped.

Lol I can empathize about the knees, once I turned 40, all the hard landings and equipment I lugged about seemed to come back to remind me I'm not a young man any more.

I can't wait to get the 81XX's on my truck.

I assume the 1 1/2" was at the factory setting for the shock?

I thought with only 1 1/2" lift UCA's were not needed?

 

Got the alignment done by a local shop that has 40 years of experience and does custom work. They had the spring compressor I needed, but I guess the tech I talked to was feeling lazy on Saturday. Anyway, the numbers I got are:

LF RF
Camber .5 .4
Caster 2.8 2.8
Toe .02 .02

I think those are good although Caster is out of factory spec, but just barely. I think factory spec is 3? Since I only went up an 1 1/4”, I would have thought that the Camburg UCAs would have given me a full 3 degrees of caster. I can’t believe how sensitive the Tacoma suspension/drivetrain is to changes in height/lift.

Edit: I just looked at my before caster numbers and it was positive 4.1 on both sides! The tech dialed the caster BACK to try and get to factory specs which is very low caster... while 2.8 is fine per Camburg, I think I’m going to try a different shop next time.

The vehicle now drives true and straight. Steering feels like stock. Still no vibrations. Ride is fantastic and well worth it.

 

Additionally, I called Bilstein Technical Info and was told that 8112s CAN be adjusted while on the vehicle and under compression. Per Bilstein, remove the wheel from the vehicle let the suspension fully droop, and make the adjustment.

 

Wow. Got really excited about these, started at page 1 and here we go at the end learned they went up $300 a corner. sadface.

 

Call around, you should be able to get a deal from someone..

 

8112's fronts and rears will be here tomorrow....

 

Just to be clear, Bilstein front 8112 coilovers were originally selling for $750 each shock, and they raised the MAP price to $1058 each?

What about the rear shocks? Has that price remained the same?

 

Same, unfortunately.

 

And it needs to be clarified that Bilstein didn't really just "raise" their prices for the 8112s but for all their products. What was happening is that there are "Amazon" style "virtual stores" specializing in automotive parts that were buying large quantities of product and then deeply discounting it to move it. This type of internet retail was hurting brick and mortar off-road shops and in an attempt to help those specialty shops stay in business, Bilstien instituted MAP pricing --which in turn eliminated deeply discounted sales and "raised" prices. Some products being more deeply discounted than others were more affected than others.

"One of the more common pain points for brands that have made their products available for purchase online is price erosion. Online sellers often turn to discounting as a means to drive conversion against hundreds of competitive alternatives. Though that may win them the sale, rampant discounting can be very damaging for the brand in the mid- and long-term.

Brands are well-aware of this threat, and many have taken steps to combat it, often by establishing minimum advertised pricing (MAP) policies. MAP policies have become almost a cost-of-entry element to a brand’s management of their online channel. From Dyson to Samsung to Kraft Heinz, companies are implementing pricing policies to protect their hard-earned equity."

https://www.sba.gov/blogs/how-minim...our-retail-or-online-stores-marketing-efforts

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bilstein-map-policy-feb-15th.588801/

 

Good intel.

 

I work an Amazon store that deals with MAP violations all the time due to using a robotic repricing software. I find that MAP only applies to distributors and retailers that have signed a MAP agreement. Also, if my company goes out of business and liquidates that stock under MAP, the next company doesn’t have that restriction.

MAP is also interesting to enforce. If, let’s say Bilstein, tries to take a distributor to court for violating MAP terms, Bilstein has to produce docs showing they have equally enforce MAP across all channels and distributors. If not, they owe triple damages to the distributor. Although, lawyers always will flex with fancy letters to scare you, but will bail before court and settle, in my experience. Most distributors just follow MAP to not have their account canceled.

MAP is just advertised price too, so technically they can sell it to you for a lower price “behind closed doors.”

Oh, and to mention that Amazon.com seller account is a reseller for Bilstein. If you follow products that Amazon starts to carry, new companies to Amazon Vendor Central will enforce MAP to force everyone to raise prices, just for Amazon to then undercut all competition. When competitive sellers match Amazon’s price, will Bilstein pushback on Amazon breaking MAP policy as hard as your little internet company, most likely not. Bilstein will likely enforce MAP on everyone but Amazon. You should read the nightmare with MAP enforcement of Amazon as your Vendor. Amazon will take it to court.

 

My understanding is that MAP pricing can easily be under cut with coupons. So 8112s went up by $300? Call and see if there is a 30% coupon code...

 

MAP is just the advertised price. Call up a vendor and ask for a better purchase price.

This isn’t rocket surgery.

 

Are these rebuild able like king and fox or are they closer to 6112?

 

They're rebuildable.