An Outsider's Review: Bilstein 6112s/5160s + 2in Icon Springs Lift + 275 BFG KO2s

[the_economist]

I recently upgraded my tires and suspension on my 2016 SR5 (after running stock for about 50,000 miles). I wanted to share my experience here as someone without a lot of background in vehicle mods, in case there are others out there considering whether upgrading their tires and suspension makes sense for them.

How I Use This Truck: I spend a lot of time in the national forests in California, mostly backpacking, camping, shooting, snowshoeing, and generally getting as far away from people and the city as I can. I don't offroad for its own sake -- I drive offroad to get places that are awesome and where others can't go. No rock crawling etc. And I don't care at all how my truck looks -- I just want it to be tough, reliable, and sturdy.

Upgrades I Did This Month: I bought the truck new in 2016, and until now the only mod I've done was putting C-rated BFG KO2s on it, and recently putting on RCI skid plates (which are super awesome, and I'm really happy with). After 50,000 miles, I decided it was time to:

-Upgrade my tires one size to 275/70/17 E-rated BFG KO2s (which is up from C-rated also);

-Upgrade my suspension with the following combo: Bilstein 6112s in front, set to 1.2" lift (link). Bilstein 5160s in rear (link). Replaced rear springs with Icon 2" springs (link).

Where I Did the Work: I got the suspension work done at SWAT Customs in Freemont, CA. Really impressive shop to work with -- they are really good. All in cost with parts, labor, and an alignment was around $2.2K, and was done in less than a week. Tires were done separately at America's Tire in Walnut Creek (which is Discount Tire here) for an all-in cost of around $1.4K for 5 tires (I did the spare also).

What's Different After The Upgrades:

-Higher Up: The new rear springs gave me about a 2" lift in back, and the Bilstein 6112s gave me about 1.2" lift in front. The truck feels a little higher in the driver's seat, which is great. But just a little higher -- most people would not even notice this very mild lift. I now have about 10-10.5 inch clearance from the road to my skidplates (which are 3/8" steel themselves).

-Stability and Ride: The ride is way more stable overall -- less swinging on turns, less nose-dive on stops -- and eats up road bumps much better than stock suspension. It probably dampens road bumps about 20-30 percent IMO.

-Weight and Speed: No noticeable change in acceleration, weight, or MPG so far (it's been about a week). Going from C-rated 265 BFG KO2s to E-rated 275s was a really minor change in my opinion, and the truck basically drives almost the same, with a very very slightly rougher ride on the E-rated. But honestly if you switched these tires without me knowing, I would never notice the difference in how they drive on pavement. For reference, I'm running the 275s at ~40 PSI all around. The 275s don't rub, the spare fits perfectly under the truck, and they balanced out perfectly from the tire shop with no highway vibration or other problems.

-Durability: I've left my truck mostly stock for 3 years because my main concern is reliability and durability. I couldn't care less if my truck looks cool, I just want it to be tough as nails and let me go anywhere I want in the outdoors. The Bilsteins seem really, really well built, and I'm happy with the Icon springs in the rear as well. I don't think I've sacrificed any long-term reliability by making these moderate upgrades, which have really improved the vehicle a lot.

-Cost: I threw a total of about $3,600 at these upgrades, as I didn't do any of the work myself on this. Yes, those are high SF Bay Area prices (but remember Bay Area salaries are really high to compensate). I'm glad I had a top-notch 4x4 shop do the suspension work -- I trust myself to do oil changes and to put on RCI skid plates, but not suspension stuff. So if you pay a shop to do this, be prepared to burn a lot of cash.

Was It Worth It? Am I Happy With the Result? Yes, I am really happy with the result I got. I should have done these upgrades 3 years ago. The truck still feels stock in the sense of feeling solid and reliable, but the suspension is so much more stable, a little higher up, and the E-rated tires offer a lot more protection offroad while still riding about the same as the 265 C-rated BFG KO2s that I drove almost 40,000 miles on before these. I would definitely do this upgrade again, and I would recommend this set up for any mild offroaders out there like myself who are looking for a moderate suspension / tires upgrade.

Some pictures of before and after to follow:

Before the lift and tires, with stock suspension and BFG 265s:

After the lift, but before the new tires, with my old BFG 265s:

Final result, after the lift and new tires:

The parts (Bilstein 6112s, 5160s, Icon 2" springs):

And the awesome guys at SWAT Customs who did the work (thanks Brian!):

 

[Jeff_DML]

thanks for the review.

What was your rational for basically leveling the car? Doesn't look like in the pics but based on your 1.2" and 2" numbers.

 

[16RedRunner]

Too much rake for me front needs to be higher.

 

[the_economist]

thanks for the review.

What was your rational for basically leveling the car? Doesn't look like in the pics but based on your 1.2" and 2" numbers.

That's 2 inches up in the back, and 1.2 inches up in the front. When unloaded, as in those photos, I actually added a little more rake, not leveled out.

When you haul a heavy load, or hook on a trailer, it's basically level.

 

[boyguan]

Your front shocks are set to the lowest or 2nd to lowest perch. I would recommend you go up to 4/5 to have the level look. I have a similar combo. Also a a trick for the rear shock boots. Use a clamp or zip tie to hold it up. After a while they will fall down and hold moisture