Here we go, an official start to my experience with the new Bilstein 8125 External-Resi coilovers. I purchased these from a gentleman in the Local 4runner group for a great price with mounts!!! They are the Short Bodied 60mm 8" travel model. Length: Ext= 24" Collapsed= 16"

Application:
1996 3rz-Fe 4runner 5 speed

First Impressions:
- They are BEEFY... I will not utilize the full shock stroke, just about 3/4 of the full stroke.
- Paired with 10" limiting straps, the SS mounting kit, and the recommended additional hardware. See: 4Runner/Tacoma Front Limiting Strap Kit $50.00 + $6.80 USPS - $56.80 : Sonoran Steel, Sonoran Steel Custom Metal Fabrication L.L.C. Custom Toyota Truck Parts
- With a tube front bumper, winch, additional tubing added to the front bumper, Dual Battery, hi-lift jack, and front skid plate... the choice of coil spring is the 3" ID x 14" 650lb King coil spring.

Mounting: I will mount the reservoir using the Toytec External Reservoir mount. This will be mounted forward of the coilover. See:

TTRBK - ToyTec Remote Reservoir Bracket Kit

- Dirt King Coilover mounts will be used See: Coil Bucket Shock Mounts

Also available from Dirt King: Resi-Mounts Tacoma Bolt on Reservoir Mounts

Lastly, The lower misalignment hardware will be modified. The front-side misalignment will be machined down 1/4" to allow a total spacing of 1 1/4" (bilstein spacing is 1 1/2") inside the LCA shock mount. This will also shift the lower eyelet of the coilover forward from the axle to clear.

Now, its time to get this done! An in depth first-ride and long term review will be posted on this thread. Enjoy!

@AssBurns

He and I have talked quite a bit! Ha!
I'm loving his rear shock setup, and I will soon be headed in his direction on that end!

Funny you mentioned this. We've actually already discussed some things about this. I will be watching closely. I may be taking some things from this and hopefully he can take some things from my rear build. Can't wait to see where this goes.


Project BeerRunner - AssBurns 2000 Limited Build Thread

Excited to see how this goes. What did you pay? And, which exact model number?

Are these progressive or degressive shocks? I'm wanting to pull the trigger on icons. Wonder if there are other degressive shock options.

Not 100% sure but on the 8125 technical manual it shows the 60mm being digressive and the 46mm being linear.
http://www.bilsteinus.com/fileadmin/..._2016_WEB_.pdf



Project BeerRunner - AssBurns 2000 Limited Build Thread

How much were the shocks ? Is the dampening adjustable?

Awesome. Hurry up and report back!

With the top mount listed above from dirt logic I got a steal from a guy at $360. that includes all hardware.

My understanding is that @AssBurns is correct. These 60mm that I have are digressive, I have compressed them and they are not progressive, at least they do not feel like it! I would say the price of Icons are not worth it at this point. I was there too.

There was a Toyota Technician in a 4R group local to me. He was trying to get rid of these quickly. I payed $360. The dampening on these is not anything like the CDC valve. They do not have adjustable compression dampening.

Will do, I'm about to post a short update.

I always thought progressive, at least in the progressive vs. digressive sense, meant that the shock stiffens up during quick hits, but is softer during slower hits. Digressive of course being the opposite. I don't think it means the shock gets stiffer the further it gets compressed. I could be wrong tho!

Edit: Yea, just as I thought, it's a function of piston speed in the shock body. Apparently, progressive is much more common in off-road race applications while digressive is more common in on-road applications.

Valving Characteristics
A shock absorber uses different valves and springs to adjust the dampening force of that particular shock. There are three types of valving characteristics that dictate how the shock will perform. They are progressive, linear, and digressive. Progressive shocks start out soft and get stiffer quickly as the shaft speed increases. Linear shocks uniformly increase stiffness as the piston speed increases. It is similar to the progressive valving but does not make dramatic changes at higher speeds. Digressive is just the opposite of progressive. It starts out stiff, then it tapers off.

In summary, I was able to compress these and they didn't stiffen
up at all towards the end. Uniform throughout. These will handle the big hits well, although it won't see many big hits. The most it will see are faster speeds on washboard roads. I think I will be pleased overall with the shocks.