Dear community,

Just wanted to hear your thoughts on this. I'll explain my scenario so far as it may help those following the path of the broken wallet:

Since almost new I've swapped my '15 T4RPE w/KDSS stock suspension setup to Bilstein 6112/ 5160 combo and they've worked really well for me.

The Front 6112 coil overs came with springs and all I've done with them throughout time was bump up the height adjustment. Still amazed how smooth and controlled they ride both on/off-road with the Wheelers SuperBumps.. Zero issues with them, knock on wood.


The T4R rear end, however, always felt like a work in progress to me. This was their path of evolution:

Step 1-
Stock coils with 5160 shock: Felt like too much shock for the soft OEM coils at first, especially on full compression bumps.

Step 2-
Wheeler's T12 1.5" coils + 5160 shock: Perfect ride. Was a bit too high in terms of ride height for my taste, but with re-adjusted fronts it worked out well. This was my longest running setup, until what came next.

Along comes the delivery man with the SSO rear bumper. As you would imagine, the steel bumper, rear mounted spare tire, two jerry cans...etc. overwhelmed the rear coils and I constantly found myself running the ICON air bumps. As per some recommendations around here and on the FJ forums, a few mouse clicks were made and Step 3 came along:

Step 3- ICON Progressive Overland 3" Coils + 5160 shocks: First let me state that THIS is the coil you want for a rear bumper setup. Holds up weight well and still maintains a supple ride. However, I can feel that the 5160 rear shocks were at their limit, both in terms of height allowance and damping performance (they allow up to 2.5" lift, and these coils runs close to that with the rear bumper weight). Biggest issue is how 'bouncy' the rear is, especially on faster desert runs as the rebound would literally feel as almost lifting the rear wheels off the ground..

So as I contemplate a Step 4 keeping the ICON coils and going for a shock upgrade of some sorts, along comes two group buys for Fox and King shocks respectively.

So here comes the question: Would I face any issues running a Fox/ King rear shock setup with my 6112 fronts? Was thinking of doing it once and doing it right, but still seems too soon to throw away the 6112s..

Let's hear your thoughts!

Very interested in hearing the opinions, same boat as you, the 5100s in the rear are severely lacking.

I am upgrading my suspension on my Pro with 6112's because the stock Bilsteins aren't doing the job with the added weight of SSO and winch. I debated going high-end like Fox, Icon and King but they have required service intervals anywhere between 15K-70K depending on the brand. I love the serviceability aspect but I dont want to send my suspension in for service as mine is my daily driver. I am sure guys who live in areas where there is a shop that can do the service work would make it more practical but in Chicago there's nobody.

Also curious to get some thoughts on mixing shocks.

I'm looking at Kings but wonder how much performance I'd sacrifice if instead of the Kings rear shocks I went with, say, Fox 2.0s without the reservoir @ 1/3rd the cost.

Thoughts? Thank you.

I can't imagine mixing shock/strut brands on any vehicle. The engineering and design was done in such a way that the entire system is intended to work together. By mixing and matching shocks/struts, you're creating a situation that was never taken into account by the engineers. Could it work? Sure, anything is possible. Is it really a good idea? I wouldn't think so - the dynamics could be completely off.

you can run whatever you want paired front the back. You do not have to match brands unless you really wanted to. just need to figure out what type of valving will work best for you. Off the shelf valving will be similar across brands at each performance level so whatever you can get a deal on would be good. Kings up front with fox 2.0s in the back would be fine. Kings with 5100's not so much.

picking up an old thread here...as most of us know, in stock position is pretty poor right now on suspension parts.

i was able to find the last set of 5100 fronts on ebay, have a b12 spring on the way, but can't seem to find the 5100 rears.

would a dobinson rear shock work just as good as the bilstein with the bilstein b12 spring?

or should i just practice patience and wait the 6+ weeks for the bilstein rear shocks ?