flyfisher4822
New member
Looks like several have already switched to the 6112's. Would love to hear about your experience for both on and off road performance.
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Any reviews of the new Bilstein 6112's?
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They are still extremely new, I doubt anyone except the people that developed/tested them have much experience with them on 4th gens yet. Total Automotive sold some for 4th gens, so hopefully the buyers post their experience soon.
I would like to know too. I've read mixed things about 5100s. These cost a lot more, but can they really be that much better? I was almost ready to buy some, but it's kind of an expensive gamble for something that's not well proven yet. I'm very particular about things, and that's why my truck is still all stock.
Also, it seems hard to get anything useful from reviews of suspension components. Everyone has a different idea of what's "better", and there is often a trade-off between better for one thing or another.
I think I read the spring rate is 600lbs, but can anyone confirm?
I would like to know too. I've read mixed things about 5100s. These cost a lot more, but can they really be that much better? I was almost ready to buy some, but it's kind of an expensive gamble for something that's not well proven yet. I'm very particular about things, and that's why my truck is still all stock.
Also, it seems hard to get anything useful from reviews of suspension components. Everyone has a different idea of what's "better", and there is often a trade-off between better for one thing or another.
I think I read the spring rate is 600lbs, but can anyone confirm?
Have a link to them? Haven't heard of them before now.
flyfisher4822
New member
In reading the forums, several have claimed they have already purchased them. So, http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/191170-bilstein-6112-a.html
Would love to hear from the man-on-the street just how these are working.
Would love to hear from the man-on-the street just how these are working.
flyfisher4822
New member
There was a lot of hype just before these came out, and I know several early adopters are already running these. Would love to hear how they are working out as I consider suspension options.
TotalAutomotiveLV
New member
Im still waiting on my personal set for my 03, but I am loving them on my Tundra.
TotalAutomotiveLV
New member
Tooltime19
New member
On paper they went from a 46mm piston to a 60mm piston. Plus it comes with a coil and Im sure the velving is perfect. Does anyone know the spring rate Bilstein is using on this 6112?
flyfisher4822
New member
Looking forward to the update. My '06 is a daily driver, maybe 10% off road. Wondering what the highway ride is like vs the 5100's and FJ coils I presently have.
Tooltime19
New member
I wonder what spring rate Bilstein is using with their new front shock package. Im running the 5100's on all fours with heavier springs too on all four corners. I will say with the Eibach 620lb front springs and the OME 695's in the rear the compression is great but the rebound valving is terribly off. It rides nice and most wont notice the valving being off.
The new 6112 appears to possibly address the valving and spring issue at least in the front.
The new 6112 appears to possibly address the valving and spring issue at least in the front.
Like you say above, I've read 600lb spring rate.
Did the install last week, took me a few days because I pulled the lower control arms and installed new bushings, lower ball joints, and inner and outer tie rod ends. I also installed Light Racing upper control arms. For the rear I used toytec's 2" superflex coil and the 5160's.
I've only been driving it for two days but so far I am very happy. My 4Runner is my DD but I've always felt the ride was soft and bottomed out too easily. It rode too much like a marshmallow. This new setup rides exactly how I want. Firm over gentle rollers and corners but very smooth over big hits. It's what I think Toyota should have made the stock suspension ride like. I've only driven on road so far but Rebound and compression in the front feel perfect, the front end literally just floats over pot-holed streets, very controlled. I don't have a steel bumper or any extra weight in the rear usually. I can't wait to take it in the dirt, I did some serious rock crawling when I first got my ride 5 years ago and the stock suspension worked great for not having much clearance. I'm sure this will work great in the rocks as well but where it will really shine is on rutted and washboard fire roads. It really works well on high frequency impacts.
The rear compliments the front well, I think the 10% increase in stiffness in the spring rate of the superflex coils works really well with the 5160's. My only criticism is that the rebound might be a touch over damped in the rear. When hitting big transitions or whoops in the freeway you can feel the rear take a second to come back to ride height. It absorbs the impact well but is a split second slow to rebound.
I didn't take any before and after measurements, I'm just hitting 100k miles and the stock springs were sagging a lot, especially the front. When I first assembled the front struts I set the circlip on the 4th, or second to highest groove. What bilstein claims is 2" over stock (when new). From reading the 5th gen forums and how they got more lift than expected I figured I'd end up with about 2.5". Like I said I didn't measure but I was pretty shocked at how high the front came out. I bet it was 3" plus. It came out easily higher than the rear.
Now I know a lot of people are into leveling spacers and such, but I for one like forward rake in my truck. Dead level looks ok, but the second you put something in the back your riding a wheelie down the street, like all those F-250s with six inch lift towing a trailer full of quads riding the rear axle on bump stops.
I ended up moving the circlip down two grooves to the 2nd groove from bottom (which bilstein says is .5" lift). I guessing I ended up with a solid 2" lift. It compliments the rear 2" coils very well. The forward rake appears to match the factory look but everything is about 2" higher. I like the look, the wheel well gap is lower in the front but the bottom line of the rocker panel appears level. My plan is to let both front and rear springs settle in then decide if this is where I'll leave it. Right now I'm leaning towards it staying how it is, but I think some would want to go one step higher in the front.
I do think the fact that I got much more lift that described by Bilstein in annoying for the reason of making an installation decision, but I am glad that there is a lot of lift available in the setup without having the pre-load the front spring a lot by running it on the highest setting.
Anyway, I'm very happy with my decision, even thought it was a leap of faith since as far as I know no one else has installed them on a 4th gen and reported back yet.
My advice to those that get the 6112's is go set it lower than you think you want. And now that I think about it I wouldn't install them with stock rear springs, even on the lowest setting the front will probably end up right at or a little higher than the rear.
Overall I would definitely recommend this setup for those looking the improve and lift the suspension. If you were running a steel front bumper and winch and steel rear bumper and tire carrier I might consider a full coilover setup with a higher spring rate like the radflo or icon. But even so with the amount of lift I got I could always go a step up to make up for the extra weight in the front or even ask eibach for a little heavier weight coil.
I'll report back with pictures in the next few days
Did the install last week, took me a few days because I pulled the lower control arms and installed new bushings, lower ball joints, and inner and outer tie rod ends. I also installed Light Racing upper control arms. For the rear I used toytec's 2" superflex coil and the 5160's.
I've only been driving it for two days but so far I am very happy. My 4Runner is my DD but I've always felt the ride was soft and bottomed out too easily. It rode too much like a marshmallow. This new setup rides exactly how I want. Firm over gentle rollers and corners but very smooth over big hits. It's what I think Toyota should have made the stock suspension ride like. I've only driven on road so far but Rebound and compression in the front feel perfect, the front end literally just floats over pot-holed streets, very controlled. I don't have a steel bumper or any extra weight in the rear usually. I can't wait to take it in the dirt, I did some serious rock crawling when I first got my ride 5 years ago and the stock suspension worked great for not having much clearance. I'm sure this will work great in the rocks as well but where it will really shine is on rutted and washboard fire roads. It really works well on high frequency impacts.
The rear compliments the front well, I think the 10% increase in stiffness in the spring rate of the superflex coils works really well with the 5160's. My only criticism is that the rebound might be a touch over damped in the rear. When hitting big transitions or whoops in the freeway you can feel the rear take a second to come back to ride height. It absorbs the impact well but is a split second slow to rebound.
I didn't take any before and after measurements, I'm just hitting 100k miles and the stock springs were sagging a lot, especially the front. When I first assembled the front struts I set the circlip on the 4th, or second to highest groove. What bilstein claims is 2" over stock (when new). From reading the 5th gen forums and how they got more lift than expected I figured I'd end up with about 2.5". Like I said I didn't measure but I was pretty shocked at how high the front came out. I bet it was 3" plus. It came out easily higher than the rear.
Now I know a lot of people are into leveling spacers and such, but I for one like forward rake in my truck. Dead level looks ok, but the second you put something in the back your riding a wheelie down the street, like all those F-250s with six inch lift towing a trailer full of quads riding the rear axle on bump stops.
I ended up moving the circlip down two grooves to the 2nd groove from bottom (which bilstein says is .5" lift). I guessing I ended up with a solid 2" lift. It compliments the rear 2" coils very well. The forward rake appears to match the factory look but everything is about 2" higher. I like the look, the wheel well gap is lower in the front but the bottom line of the rocker panel appears level. My plan is to let both front and rear springs settle in then decide if this is where I'll leave it. Right now I'm leaning towards it staying how it is, but I think some would want to go one step higher in the front.
I do think the fact that I got much more lift that described by Bilstein in annoying for the reason of making an installation decision, but I am glad that there is a lot of lift available in the setup without having the pre-load the front spring a lot by running it on the highest setting.
Anyway, I'm very happy with my decision, even thought it was a leap of faith since as far as I know no one else has installed them on a 4th gen and reported back yet.
My advice to those that get the 6112's is go set it lower than you think you want. And now that I think about it I wouldn't install them with stock rear springs, even on the lowest setting the front will probably end up right at or a little higher than the rear.
Overall I would definitely recommend this setup for those looking the improve and lift the suspension. If you were running a steel front bumper and winch and steel rear bumper and tire carrier I might consider a full coilover setup with a higher spring rate like the radflo or icon. But even so with the amount of lift I got I could always go a step up to make up for the extra weight in the front or even ask eibach for a little heavier weight coil.
I'll report back with pictures in the next few days
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flyfisher4822
New member
Very helpful review! Thanks for taking the time to detail your experience.
Mine is also a DD and my interests are similar to yours. I wonder how the 6112's compare to my 5100/FJ coil ride, where the valving feels out of synch? Maybe sometime I could drive to Oakland and compare the two.
Mine is also a DD and my interests are similar to yours. I wonder how the 6112's compare to my 5100/FJ coil ride, where the valving feels out of synch? Maybe sometime I could drive to Oakland and compare the two.
Tooltime19
New member
Cant wait to hear more about your package as you get seat time. Your thoughts about the rear spring rate and valving is the opposite of what Im having in the rear. So my thought is, since Im running a heavier rear spring, the addidtional rebound in the 6112 is just what I need. My current rebound is not enough and the rear springs fly out way too fast over holes and rollers making this thing hard to drive over rollers and other holes. Same for the front in my case. Im saving up for Fox's on all fours so I can rebuild them myself when needed. Love my truck, and gee maybe I should just keep the package the way it is, because its actually a speed limiter off road! lol
can anyone offer any pros/cons when comparing the 6112's to the Toytec Boss C/O's?? from what i see they seem to be direct competitors as they are a middle of the road option before going to a true CO setup...they are somewhat close in price as well...the TT Boss do have the advantage of a threaded collar vs fixed lift adjustments but beyond that, i'd be interested in ride quality on/off road
now that i figured what skid plates and roof rack im going with, im gonna go with one of these 2 options- thanks ahead for any input
now that i figured what skid plates and roof rack im going with, im gonna go with one of these 2 options- thanks ahead for any input
Troymclure
New member
Well the toytec coilovers are really just a Bilstein 5100 with a threaded sleeve over them. So the comparison comes down to the 6112 to the 5100 on the shock side of things, and Im fairly sure the 6112 would be better being larger and valved better for our trucks. The springs will change the stiffness though, and Im fairly certain the toytec coilovers arent super stiff. Not sure what the spring options are for the 6112 but maybe someone can chime in.
if im not mistaken, the Boss CO's are a larger bodied shock than the 5100 made by Toytec- i believe you are thinking of the Ultimate Lift shocks
the 6112's come with an Eibach 600lb spring from what ive read- i emailed chas @ TAP asking if they would/could substitute a heavier spring for those who need it...i will post any info i get back
Troymclure
New member
Oh yep, youre right, my bad. I always forget they make two almost identical coilovers haha.
