4th Gen Suspension Options/FAQ

[t-man]

DownSouthMotorsports has the best price. FYI, this one is for a 4th gen 4Runner, just change your year accordingly if you don't have a 4th gen.

FYI, personal opinion, 5100 rears suck. I've had two break already. I use ARB Nitrochargers in the rear.

guys I was placing an order for 5100 series front and rears, and find the rears out of stock at several of the major retailers [autoanything, tire rack, 4wheelparts]. Should I select an alternative rear part to match up to the fronts? or just wait it out? or is there stock some place you may know of?

I second that opinion! Broke 2 bilstein rear and 1 front. They suck! Mostly the rears. They aren't valved right which makes them handle like crap, and then they spit out all the oil and break. Won't ever look back!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[cognus]

which? like: NITROCHARGER SPORT SHOCK 2 600803 ?
from the same dealer or other? I do almost no off-pavement and seldom carry a big load, no two hitch. is the above the right one?
This is a 2007 4th gen 2wd. autoanything shows no OME product fitment.... is that right? there's a diff in the part for 4wd and 2wd rear?

DownSouthMotorsports has the best price. FYI, this one is for a 4th gen 4Runner, just change your year accordingly if you don't have a 4th gen.

FYI, personal opinion, 5100 rears suck. I've had two break already. I use ARB Nitrochargers in the rear.

 

[pipo6007]

guys I was placing an order for 5100 series front and rears, and find the rears out of stock at several of the major retailers [autoanything, tire rack, 4wheelparts]. Should I select an alternative rear part to match up to the fronts? or just wait it out? or is there stock some place you may know of?

After contemplating so many variations of lifting my T4R I decided on the 5100's for now. I ordered them for my 4th gen last night from Down south motorsports. They haven't shipped yet but they were showing available. Everywhere I looked they only had good reviews. I don't offroad at all so anything is better than my stock shocks with 158K miles. The next step up for me would be the Ultimate or Icon lift.

DownSouthMotorsports has the best price. FYI, this one is for a 4th gen 4Runner, just change your year accordingly if you don't have a 4th gen.

FYI, personal opinion, 5100 rears suck. I've had two break already. I use ARB Nitrochargers in the rear.

Do you use them mostly off road? Because I haven't seen any reviews/reports like this.
From what I gather these are good for light off road and good on the road.

I second that opinion! Broke 2 bilstein rear and 1 front. They suck! Mostly the rears. They aren't valved right which makes them handle like crap, and then they spit out all the oil and break. Won't ever look back!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

How did they brake on you? Were they newer or you already had them a while?

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

which? like: NITROCHARGER SPORT SHOCK 2 600803 ?
from the same dealer or other? I do almost no off-pavement and seldom carry a big load, no two hitch. is the above the right one?
This is a 2007 4th gen 2wd. autoanything shows no OME product fitment.... is that right? there's a diff in the part for 4wd and 2wd rear?

Should be the same part. ARB 60004.

You can confirm that here.

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

After contemplating so many variations of lifting my T4R I decided on the 5100's for now. I ordered them for my 4th gen last night from Down south motorsports. They haven't shipped yet but they were showing available. Everywhere I looked they only had good reviews. I don't offroad at all so anything is better than my stock shocks with 158K miles. The next step up for me would be the Ultimate or Icon lift.



Do you use them mostly off road? Because I haven't seen any reviews/reports like this.
From what I gather these are good for light off road and good on the road.



How did they brake on you? Were they newer or you already had them a while?

If your vehicle is a pavement princess, then yeah, the 5100s are fine, similar to stock. My broke WITH light off-roading. I was doing a trail at Arches NP that wasn't even difficult, and it snapped at the stem. FWIW though, there's even a story on here where someone snapped his 5100 at the stem entering his driveway. That's kinda ****ed. Mine snapped at 2K miles.

I know t-man offroads the shit out of his vehicle.

 

[pipo6007]

If your vehicle is a pavement princess, then yeah, the 5100s are fine, similar to stock. My broke WITH light off-roading. I was doing a trail at Arches NP that wasn't even difficult, and it snapped at the stem. FWIW though, there's even a story on here where someone snapped his 5100 at the stem entering his driveway. That's kinda ****ed. Mine snapped at 2K miles.

I know t-man offroads the shit out of his vehicle.

Unfortunately there is not much off roading down here in south Florida unless I head north to central Florida. Which is still light to moderate trails. If it were closely available I would be all about it. We do have a ton of traffic and highways which the Bilsteins will stop my nose diving.:biggrin2:

 

[cognus]

it looks OME do not contemplate 2wd parts at all. the whole catalog assumes 4wd, and the online fitment databases all nix 2wd. i'm willing to get the 6004 however if it is a drop-in replace.

also, depending on what site/retailer I look at, I see 2 different rear choices for bilstein 5100 series with 2 diff part numbers and prices. the more expensive one [is it a 5160 series] runs about 20 bucks more than the base 5100 series. not all retailers show this. or maybe they're the ones that are confused!:frusty:

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Unfortunately there is not much off roading down here in south Florida unless I head north to central Florida. Which is still light to moderate trails. If it were closely available I would be all about it. We do have a ton of traffic and highways which the Bilsteins will stop my nose diving.:biggrin2:

Haha, I feel ya there buddy. I'm in Kansas right now, there ain't SHIT here, lol. I'm moving to AZ in several months though, so I'm pretty psyched to be surrounded by trails. Might need to bump up to a RR setup if any of these snap, haha.

 

[t-man]

If your vehicle is a pavement princess, then yeah, the 5100s are fine, similar to stock. My broke WITH light off-roading. I was doing a trail at Arches NP that wasn't even difficult, and it snapped at the stem. FWIW though, there's even a story on here where someone snapped his 5100 at the stem entering his driveway. That's kinda ****ed. Mine snapped at 2K miles.

I know t-man offroads the shit out of his vehicle.

After contemplating so many variations of lifting my T4R I decided on the 5100's for now. I ordered them for my 4th gen last night from Down south motorsports. They haven't shipped yet but they were showing available. Everywhere I looked they only had good reviews. I don't offroad at all so anything is better than my stock shocks with 158K miles. The next step up for me would be the Ultimate or Icon lift.



Do you use them mostly off road? Because I haven't seen any reviews/reports like this.
From what I gather these are good for light off road and good on the road.



How did they brake on you? Were they newer or you already had them a while?

Lol, Ya for daily driving they were fine. Road good and everything, if a bit chattery over potholes occasionally, but offroad they couldn't keep up. Was constantly hitting the bump stops, they bounced all over the place, kicked the ass up in the air over whoops, and just felt really unstable. Not enough valving for sure.
And ya, I wheel mine often... flog her like an Irish whore!!!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[t-man]

Unfortunately there is not much off roading down here in south Florida unless I head north to central Florida. Which is still light to moderate trails. If it were closely available I would be all about it. We do have a ton of traffic and highways which the Bilsteins will stop my nose diving.:biggrin2:

Bilsteins will not stop the nose dive! Mine kicked up under acceleration in the front then kissed the pavement if hitting the brakes hard. Ass is much better now, still need to replace Bilsteins on the front though.
Part of that has to do with suspension geometry and the amount of anti-dive too. Last summer I measured everything putting it into a 4-link calculator and it was horrible! Then my dumbass started playing with numbers and overwrote the stock measurements so I couldn't even show anyone.... Ugh

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

it looks OME do not contemplate 2wd parts at all. the whole catalog assumes 4wd, and the online fitment databases all nix 2wd. i'm willing to get the 6004 however if it is a drop-in replace.

also, depending on what site/retailer I look at, I see 2 different rear choices for bilstein 5100 series with 2 diff part numbers and prices. the more expensive one [is it a 5160 series] runs about 20 bucks more than the base 5100 series. not all retailers show this. or maybe they're the ones that are confused!:frusty:

The cheaper one is a shock, the more expensive one is a strut. Shocks in the back, struts up front.

The 5160 is a remote reservoir shock, which should be much more expensive. Those pair with the 6112s in the front.

Pretty sure the mounting points are identical regardless of 2WD/4WD. Someone else hopefully can comment on this.

 

[t-man]

it looks OME do not contemplate 2wd parts at all. the whole catalog assumes 4wd, and the online fitment databases all nix 2wd. i'm willing to get the 6004 however if it is a drop-in replace.

also, depending on what site/retailer I look at, I see 2 different rear choices for bilstein 5100 series with 2 diff part numbers and prices. the more expensive one [is it a 5160 series] runs about 20 bucks more than the base 5100 series. not all retailers show this. or maybe they're the ones that are confused!:frusty:

No difference in 2wd/4wd. Good to go!

The cheaper one is a shock, the more expensive one is a strut. Shocks in the back, struts up front.

The 5160 is a remote reservoir shock, which should be much more expensive. Those pair with the 6112s in the front.

Pretty sure the mounting points are identical regardless of 2WD/4WD. Someone else hopefully can comment on this.

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[pipo6007]

Bilsteins will not stop the nose dive! Mine kicked up under acceleration in the front then kissed the pavement if hitting the brakes hard. Ass is much better now, still need to replace Bilsteins on the front though.
Part of that has to do with suspension geometry and the amount of anti-dive too. Last summer I measured everything putting it into a 4-link calculator and it was horrible! Then my dumbass started playing with numbers and overwrote the stock measurements so I couldn't even show anyone.... Ugh

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

Great, so I got a useless set of shocks on order! I feel much better about my purchase now.
How did you have your front shocks set? at 2.5?
I have the Daystars and was wondering if I could keep the front spacer on and set the BS to .85. Or is it better to remove the front spacer and set them to 2.5? I am leaving the rear 1.5 spacer in regardless just want to know what others usually run upfront.

 

[t-man]

Great, so I got a useless set of shocks on order! I feel much better about my purchase now.
How did you have your front shocks set? at 2.5?
I have the Daystars and was wondering if I could keep the front spacer on and set the BS to .85. Or is it better to remove the front spacer and set them to 2.5? I am leaving the rear 1.5 spacer in regardless just want to know what others usually run upfront.

Don't use spacers with 5100 shocks. They are extended travel, yes I know they don't advertise that for some stupid reason, and if you push the shock down with a spacer it will extend your cv's to far, and your uca's can hit your coil, and your tie rods won't like it either. I think you said 2wd, so no worried on the axle, but still just to much stress. I'd put the Billy's at 2.5 with stick or FJ springs if using a 1.5" spacer out back. It'll sit level then.
I have mine set at 2.5 with Tacoma coils. Still to soft in the whoops... I really need to upgrade! Here's a link to my build thread if you'd like to check it out. Pics of broken shocks, my setups, and all sorts of stupid ramblings in there. Lol
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?t=170390

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

 

[sport2004]

Lol, Ya for daily driving they were fine. Road good and everything, if a bit chattery over potholes occasionally, but offroad they couldn't keep up. Was constantly hitting the bump stops, they bounced all over the place, kicked the ass up in the air over whoops, and just felt really unstable. Not enough valving for sure.
And ya, I wheel mine often... flog her like an Irish whore!!!

Sent from the drivers seat of my 05 4runner.

Maybe, just maybe, you weren't runnin the right springs...? :couch2:

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Actually, not a bad point. What springs were you running man? When I had my FJs in the rear, my 5100s bounced around like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don't have a comparison, because I swapped out my 5100s with the OME Nitros at the same time I put in the 895s.

I have 885s/5100 in the front though, and it doesn't bounce much. Still have a nose-pop up when accelerating though.

 

[sport2004]

The 5160 is a remote reservoir shock, which should be much more expensive. Those pair with the 6112s in the front.

I was gonna go this route, until I saw some input here about the 5160's failing. So, now I'm back to 5100's in front, not sure what to do in the rear. Right now the rake is 3". I'd like to cut that in half, which I now see as difficult, since available rear shock combo's look to be about 2" lift. Any comment on this appreciated, and hopefully helpful to the conversation.

 

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

I was gonna go this route, until I saw some input here about the 5160's failing. So, now I'm back to 5100's in front, not sure what to do in the rear. Right now the rake is 3". I'd like to cut that in half, which I now see as difficult, since available rear shock combo's look to be about 2" lift. Any comment on this appreciated, and hopefully helpful to the conversation.

Honestly, I think the best set for the money is the ARB/OME combo. Nitrochargers all around, 885/895 for springs. Nets you a fairly level 3/2 lift. Back is slightly higher than the front, but that could also be my winch/V8 weighing down the front. It runs closer to $1K for the full setup. I'm going to swap the fronts out when the time is right.

 

[pipo6007]

Just got an email from Down South and they sated there is a 4+ week delay on the 5100's due to them being on back order. So not sure to either cancel and get from amazon or if this is a sign to wait for a full suspension lift. My head right now....:fencing:

 

[sport2004]

Honestly, I think the best set for the money is the ARB/OME combo. Nitrochargers all around, 885/895 for springs. Nets you a fairly level 3/2 lift. Back is slightly higher than the front, but that could also be my winch/V8 weighing down the front. It runs closer to $1K for the full setup. I'm going to swap the fronts out when the time is right.

Thanks for that insight... [MENTION=101553]t-man[/MENTION] might need it when he's installing my stuff...LOL