Advice on alternatives to Bilstein 5160

[wfo9]

Interesting related video. You can skip to about the 3minute mark to see how the tacoma Bilstein shocks did. This is where OME shines. I've done this with them with no issues at all. But I did always air down.. I do wonder how that test would have went with proper tires pressure.

 

[tacoyota]

You should be fine with a good brand name non rebuildable 2.0 shock. King, Fox, Radlo, Icon. If you really do not want to worry about it or your climate is hot then go for a 2.5 but you mentioned you are not hardcore wheeler.

 

[IceCold81]

Hey this is funny timing actually ha..... But I'm right in the process of getting ready to commit to most likely the 6112/5160 combo but today I had a moment to reflect on this, and started to wonder if maybe going with a standard ICON 2.0 in the rear is a good idea or not rather then the 5160?

Any chance anyone may be interested in providing some feedback?

I'm not a hardcore wheeler, truck is 99% on pavement around town, and mild trail exploring around AZ on fire roads and such every once and a while. Not carrying any extra weight consistently, no rear bumper weight.

thoughts on pairing this rear with the 6112 up front?





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[NVSteve]

You won't see OME or any of the high end stuff breaking like the budget bilsteins either.

I had one of my OME shocks split open right after one year of very moderate use. Not sure if the warranty is currently the same, but mine had a whopping one year warranty. I won't be going down the OME path again.

 

[tacoyota]

honestly go with icon 2.0 or 2.5 non resi. Should fit your needs and be reliable.

Hey this is funny timing actually ha..... But I'm right in the process of getting ready to commit to most likely the 6112/5160 combo but today I had a moment to reflect on this, and started to wonder if maybe going with a standard ICON 2.0 in the rear is a good idea or not rather then the 5160?

Any chance anyone may be interested in providing some feedback?

I'm not a hardcore wheeler, truck is 99% on pavement around town, and mild trail exploring around AZ on fire roads and such every once and a while. Not carrying any extra weight consistently, no rear bumper weight.

thoughts on pairing this rear with the 6112 up front?






.

 

[weeeee]

I apologize as I do not wish this to be a thread-jacking... Can you point me to a thread with more information about the Icon Quality Issues? I have been on the fence about what to go with, and Bilstein/Icon/OME are my runners in the final race.

Coil buckets failing, resi hoses leaking and fixed with instruction changes (without notifying previous owners), shafts breaking. I have a friend who bought Icons and had his rears leak all their oil twice, has since switched to Kings.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/icon-waaa-waaaa-waaaaa.475231/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/icon-coilover-leaking-oil-2016-tacoma.487580/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/icon-leaking-resi-warning-notching-bs-and-f-ks-given.483316/

 

[weeeee]

I don't understand why people keep buying bilsteins when you can get a quality shock for just a little more. You really do get what you pay for folks. If you are picky.. pay for the good stuff and be done with it. Yes you will service them every 50k or whatever... not a big deal. It's that or keep throwing away shocks or go with something like OME and accept what they are ( a shock built to be a compromise of durability with no rebuilds and performance)

You won't see OME or any of the high end stuff breaking like the budget bilsteins either.

5100's yes, I think they're a garbage shock and agree completely.

6112/5160's on the other hand, I still think are a pretty good bang for the buck. Roughly $1000 for front/rears, way better specs (2.5" fronts, 2" rears w/ rem resis) than anything else at that price point. Didn't have any issues with mine for as much weight and trail time they saw.

 

[tacoyota]

My friend swears by icon and they seem to do very well in the offroad crowd but my other friends 2.0 shock leaked after few thousand miles. Bad luck maybe. Teams race on Kings/Radflo/Fox etc...and are race proven technology and strong...and most expensive. One perspective would be...is a few hundred dollars worth peace of mind, safety, being stranded offroad, towing fees, time loss or maybe a mad spouse (haha)?

5100s are budget daily driver setup. Too many broken shafts when pushed offroad.
6112 and 5160s seem to be a good mid range setup but again it is a fairly new system and some reviews are negative. Maybe spends a little more and go with top tier components.

 

[916T4R]

I have to say I am really shocked (no pun intended) by the Bilstein issues people talk about. This is my first off road rig in 25 years and I can say on the car side of things Bilsteins are awesome. Beat the life out of B8 (sport in the old days) shocks on several platforms and they just kept right on going. And when I say beat, I mean lots of track days, rallies, auto-x , etc. all on lowered springs and street driven on shitty roads. even ran some PSS's (B14 or 16 now?) that never had an issue. I truly wonder why their off road stuff is considered entry level or sub par by so many? Or is this just a matter of small sample size with only the bad experiences speaking up?

I ask cause I had planned to do 5100's for my 99.5% on the road SR5 to improve the ride and kill the nose dive as much as possible without destroying the compliance. Is it just the rear 5160's that are problematic? Does it make more sense to buy the TRD stuff in stead of a 6112/5160 set up? Sorry for so many questions, I am finding so much conflicting info the more I read...


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[007Tacoma]

Coil buckets failing, resi hoses leaking and fixed with instruction changes (without notifying previous owners), shafts breaking. I have a friend who bought Icons and had his rears leak all their oil twice, has since switched to Kings.

I would love to do Kings, but my budget won't let me do that for at least 2 more years.

5100's yes, I think they're a garbage shock and agree completely.

6112/5160's on the other hand, I still think are a pretty good bang for the buck. Roughly $1000 for front/rears, way better specs (2.5" fronts, 2" rears w/ rem resis) than anything else at that price point. Didn't have any issues with mine for as much weight and trail time they saw.

This is where I am leaning. Either that or start talking to Mike at Dobinson's when I get my bonus next year.

I have to say I am really shocked (no pun intended) by the Bilstein issues people talk about.
...
Sorry for so many questions, I am finding so much conflicting info the more I read...

You are not alone. I had Bilsteins on my Tacomas, my Golf TDI, my GTI, my RX-7, and on my Scion tC. I loved them, but I do stuff in my 4Runner that is already destroying the stock suspension. So, which way do I go next without going full on Long Travel Baja Fox Raptor Dual Shock Xbox Duke Nukem level like [MENTION=124732]LawnDart[/MENTION]design? (Sorry, Isaac)

:spy:

 

[tacoyota]

If you stay on road most of the time, the 5100s are perfect. Don't buy the TRD stuff.

I have to say I am really shocked (no pun intended) by the Bilstein issues people talk about. This is my first off road rig in 25 years and I can say on the car side of things Bilsteins are awesome. Beat the life out of B8 (sport in the old days) shocks on several platforms and they just kept right on going. And when I say beat, I mean lots of track days, rallies, auto-x , etc. all on lowered springs and street driven on shitty roads. even ran some PSS's (B14 or 16 now?) that never had an issue. I truly wonder why their off road stuff is considered entry level or sub par by so many? Or is this just a matter of small sample size with only the bad experiences speaking up?

I ask cause I had planned to do 5100's for my 99.5% on the road SR5 to improve the ride and kill the nose dive as much as possible without destroying the compliance. Is it just the rear 5160's that are problematic? Does it make more sense to buy the TRD stuff in stead of a 6112/5160 set up? Sorry for so many questions, I am finding so much conflicting info the more I read...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IceCold81]

Dude you and me both smh... As soon as you think your starting to establish a trend it goes to hell. It's exhausting.

Sorry for so many questions, I am finding so much conflicting info the more I read...

 

[IceCold81]

This is EXACTLY the balance I'm within and tearing through different peoples "Reviews" or perspective is ugh blah..

I'm a 99/1% for sure. Mostly on road/commuter, with some exploring off road from time to time or a random trip up to Sedona AZ and play around on Schnebly or some of the trails up there. But very infrequently.

The lift that I THINK I've come to terms on to hopefully cater to both on road manners, and reliable longevity with an ability to do a little "Fireroad/mild trail" exploring is the following:

6112's in front set to approx 2"-2.25"
5100's in rear w/wheeler T13 1.5" coil.

Also trying to accomplish the lift above while not creating excessive rake. Kind of where I'm at for now.

If you stay on road most of the time, the 5100s are perfect. Don't buy the TRD stuff.

 

[tacoyota]

Hmm. Your plan is fine but it is a little mismatched front to rear performance wise. It is preferable to keep the systems the same since bilstein tuned the shocks to work together. 6112 is a larger/stronger shock than the 5100.

This is EXACTLY the balance I'm within and tearing through different peoples "Reviews" or perspective is ugh blah..

I'm a 99/1% for sure. Mostly on road/commuter, with some exploring off road from time to time or a random trip up to Sedona AZ and play around on Schnebly or some of the trails up there. But very infrequently.

The lift that I THINK I've come to terms on to hopefully cater to both on road manners, and reliable longevity with an ability to do a little "Fireroad/mild trail" exploring is the following:

6112's in front set to approx 2"-2.25"
5100's in rear w/wheeler T13 1.5" coil.

Also trying to accomplish the lift above while not creating excessive rake. Kind of where I'm at for now.

 

[IceCold81]

Sure thats understandable, but there is no 6112 rear so you can't match exactly, and being a rear shock, I've had a number of folks say it's more then enough for a rear. Which would make sense since the front is taking a lot more of the brunt of performance with the added engine weight.

Hmm. Your plan is fine but it is a little mismatched front to rear performance wise. It is preferable to keep the systems the same since bilstein tuned the shocks to work together. 6112 is a larger/stronger shock than the 5100.

 

[007Tacoma]

Hmm. Your plan is fine but it is a little mismatched front to rear performance wise. It is preferable to keep the systems the same since bilstein tuned the shocks to work together. 6112 is a larger/stronger shock than the 5100.

Agreed. If an analogy could be made, I would think of it has having 2 awesome off road tires in the front, and then putting two low roll resistance highway tires on the rear.

The 5100's performance is not even close to the 6112. The typical pair up with the 6112 is the 5160. The characteristics of the 5160 is a much better match.

 

[916T4R]

Dude you and me both smh... As soon as you think your starting to establish a trend it goes to hell. It's exhausting.

ha. seriously. started to throw my hands up and say, stock isn't so bad...

probably do wheels first now.

 

[tacoyota]

Sure thats understandable, but there is no 6112 rear so you can't match exactly, and being a rear shock, I've had a number of folks say it's more then enough for a rear. Which would make sense since the front is taking a lot more of the brunt of performance with the added engine weight.

For the desert and mid to high speed, the rear is actually what takes a beating and burns up. If you can swing it, try to get 5160 or icon vs2.0/2.5 non resi.

Buy once, cry once. Try to do it right the first time so you don't have to pay twice if you could potentially be unhappy with 5100s. I went from spacers to cheap fabtech lifts and was never happy. Dove in with full Fox Long Travel Tacoma and it was worry free smiles for 50k miles! Just my honest opinion but it is your truck/wallet HAHA!:tea:

 

[borfoo3]

Hey bro quite a rig you got there enjoy

Do you mean that fox will drive better when loaded, steel bumper, etc.?

It's not about the brand, its the shock itself.. The 5160 is great value, and works great on stock/ near stock heights and loads..

In my case the move up to premium shocks is to get some sort of adjustable rebound/ compression knobs to tune for my setup. The downsides are obviously $$$ and the maintenance involved.

In short, the 6112/5160 combo is a great, hassle-free upgrade to a stock (non-TRD pro) truck. You will only 'outgrow' them once you dive deeper into different coil spring setups/ steel bumpers/ misc. constant weight on the vehicle and under more aggressive driving.

 

[Throwback]

Does the TRD setup have a better warranty than the 5160? I realize it's a whole lot more expensive but it may be worth the up front cost to have a dealer installed factory suspension.