TRD Pro Fox or Bilstien 6112 and 5160?

My ADS are still relatively new, so they haven't fully broken in yet, but...

The Fox Pro suspension was a very nice upgrade over the stock OR suspension. It improved road manors, reducing nose dive at stops and body roll in the corners. It also was less jarring when hitting bumps, potholes and speed bumps. I generally really liked the Pro suspension. I finally had to get rid of it when I added a SSO Slimline bumper, M8000 winch (synthetic line), Pro aluminum skid plate, and BAMF sliders. With all of the added weight, I got about 0.5" of sag and started nose diving at stops.

I added ADS with 700 springs Icon uniball UCA's and an Icon AAL. Overall, this system is great, albeit a little stiff initially. The road manors weren't a drastic improvement by any means. Other than solving my weight issues, it rides pretty comparably to the Pro suspension on road. However, off-road is where I found and expect to find the most improvement. When driving fast on washboards, the TRD Pro suspension will still hop and feel unstable and shake the living piss out of the truck. With the minimal off-roading I've done with the ADS, it seems that the ride is MUCH improved. It's winter here in the PNW, so I can't run on the washboard roads that I'm used to, but when driving over a icy potholed logging road last weekend, it was a very comfortable ride.

Here's my take... the upgrade from OR <<<<<TRD Pro<<ADS... Switching from the scrawny OR shocks to a proper 2.5 shock is a dramatic improvement. Switching from one 2.5 shock to another, is not as great of an improvement. Most (all) of the improvement comes from custom tailored valving, dampening, shims, coil selection, etc... If you're going to remain content with a stock configuration on your Tacoma, the TRD Pro is probably the right choice. If you were to pick a "higher" end system, you'd probably tune it back to close to what the Fox engineers did with the Pro.

In all, I think people on this site make WAY too big of a deal about shocks, size, and tuning. The cold hard truth is that no system is going to make your truck into a trophy truck. No system is going to make you a rally driver. No system is going to make a logging road feel like a freshly asphalt paved highway... Keep your expectations reasonable. Also understand that any selection you make is a compromise. If you pick a road oriented shock setup, you're compromising off-road performance. And vice versa, if you choose an off-road oriented shock, then you'll have compromised the road performance. As far as I'm aware, there is no "best" of both worlds. Again, keep your expectations and intended use in check.

I'm no expert in the matter of suspension, and definitely no authority. All I can speak from is my personal experience with the OR, Pro and ADS setups and all the reading I've done on this site.

Good luck!

 

Going there now. Dealt with toytec on my last purchase years back, but lucked into scratch n dent icons.
Tks!

 

I have a shell and went with 6112s front and 5160 rear. Icon rxt leafs. Add a leafs will sag with any weight. The rxts are adjustable if your needs change.

 

That setup sounds perfect. Looks like I have more time than I thought as well. Since 6112s hard to find
Thanks!

 

Check out racing consulting agency. Them had 6112 in stock when I suggested them to someone a week ago.

 

That was me. Unfortunately they are not in stock but rather on backorder. RCA said they have so many backorders that once a shipment arrives, their stock is quickly depleted filling backorders. Apparently a VERY popular shock for a VERY popular truck. Demand is constantly out slipping demand. Hoping for mid-February...

 

Order Bilstein 8112/8100, it’s only money lmao

 

Oh great... another option to look at! Or are you joking? Ha. Never heard of them...

 

Naw I ain’t joking lol.

I mean they’re kinda pricey though. I have the 8100s rears with 6112s up front.

 

Unfortunately, Bilstein's supply issues are nothing new.

 

Lordy lordy! Looks like something that belongs on a SEMA build!! Pretty

 

Thank you for your recommendation @m603holden

 

Got mine from wheelers off-road

 

How do these ride? I recently saw Bilsteins vid on introducing these. I can't remember what two models they had (assuming they were each for the front and rear), but I do know that they recently produced their 8100 series. Post thoughts on it if you can!

 

I’ve been chillen on pavement since I installed these a few months back. But the ride is way better! I have yet to mess with the rebound and compression on the 8100s. Coming from the 5160s before, they were just not doing the job when I was offroad at the time. The shocks were nice and cool due to the resi, but the ride wasn’t the best but it got the job done.

I will only change out the Bilstein 6112 to 8112 until my 6112 decide to blowup or start leaking. I wouldn’t suggest this setup if your wanting more than a 2” lift.

Here’s a side view of the setup. 285/75r16

 

@oscolivar1 thanks for the info! I'm sure the 8100/8112 combo is a step up from the 5160/6112. Was thinking of pulling trigger for the 5160/6112, but after seeing this post, I am piqued to hear what everyone else has to say.


Based on the information I've been gathering so far...

1) Want better suspension performance while staying stock height? Pros

2) Want added lift that is also functional/customizable while tackling trails at a slow-rate of speed? Bilstein 5160/6112 or ADS

3) Plan to go fast off-road or got the money for "higher-tier" suspension? Fox or similar

Hopefully more people can chime in on this concept.

 

I've been researching for a while to upgrade my 2018 OR suspension. I'm adding 500 lbs of armor and recovery gear. I've purchased 6112 with 700lb king springs for the front and 5160 for the rear. I'm also doing a unbolt flip with wheeler super stop bump stops on all 4 corners.
I'm not looking to lift my truck just level it out.
I've also decided to replace th DS needle bearing with the ecgs bushing.
I'm keeping rear springs stock at the moment, but will probably replace them in the future with a new leaf pack once things settle.
I'll be installing all the parts in a few weeks when business slows down.

 

If you can afford the ADS grab them. 6112/5160 if you don’t want to break the bank or spend the extra cash on other goodies for the truck.

 

Thanks man! I appreciate your detailed observations! Makes perfect sense.

 

Headstrong great too but sales tax in CA