Are the 5th Gen TRD suspension and Bilstein 6112/5160 the same stock?

[Mike07SE]

I installed my Bilstein 6112s last weekend and set the coil to the second clip which leveled the front of the truck with the stock rear. I have now put 200 miles of driving on both the streets and washed out rippled forest trail roads. I am disappointed to see a decrease in off-road capabilities since installing the new coils do to the lack of adequate damping.

The ride is very very harsh, I get a lot of shock feedback and with none of the awe, at both low and high speeds (45mph). On the rippled washout roads the truck feels more unsettled, probably due to the amount of additional body vibration, then it did when I was riding on the original OEM struts which had 124 thousand miles on them.

The only area of improvement I gained is stability and control during higher speed on-road driving on smooth roads. And it was nice to slightly raise the front of the truck which gave me better visibility and a balanced feel.

My 4runner is now really miserable to drive on anything other than a smooth as glass roads. I am really disappointed with the outcome and I have no idea why others have said good things about these shocks. I have no experience with the Bilstein 5100s, but I viewed the larger 2.5 6112s as an upgrade over the very populate 5100s.

This is not a good review to hear. I have to admit I got somewhat inspired by the article posted earlier here: Did Bilstein Just Make The Ultimate 4Runner Overland Suspension System? | Expedition Portal and wanted to follow this same path and basic principles.

That said, I went ahead and placed an order this past week for these via Amazon and am waiting on the backorder to catch up (ETA 6/30 - 8/1; not in a rush to get) which may now be a good thing. Looking to swap out my front 2.5 Radflo's for these and go with a more compliant road setup while keeping my lift, tires, and offroad capability for when the chance arises.

My only experience to date with Bilsteins or any other lifted 4Runner for that matter is a Toytec Ultimate lift that I put on a buddy's truck 6 - 7 years ago. IIRC they were very plush riding (where mine feel like an unloaded dump truck) and was hoping for the same general ride quality out of these 6112's. I would love to hear feedback from others that have made this specific upgrade or one like it (Toytec Boss, etc).

 

[joshik]

This is not a good review to hear. I have to admit I got somewhat inspired by the article posted earlier here: Did Bilstein Just Make The Ultimate 4Runner Overland Suspension System? | Expedition Portal and wanted to follow this same path and basic principles.

That said, I went ahead and placed an order this past week for these via Amazon and am waiting on the backorder to catch up (ETA 6/30 - 8/1; not in a rush to get) which may now be a good thing. Looking to swap out my front 2.5 Radflo's for these and go with a more compliant road setup while keeping my lift, tires, and offroad capability for when the chance arises.

My only experience to date with Bilsteins or any other lifted 4Runner for that matter is a Toytec Ultimate lift that I put on a buddy's truck 6 - 7 years ago. IIRC they were very plush riding (where mine feel like an unloaded dump truck) and was hoping for the same general ride quality out of these 6112's. I would love to hear feedback from others that have made this specific upgrade or one like it (Toytec Boss, etc).

if you do end up wanting to go with the billy 6112s, check out carid.com

http://www.carid.com/bilstein/6100-series-suspension-kit-mpn-46-227287.html

they will price match Amazon, even if it is out of stock. I got mine for $576 and then a $25 gift card for my next purchase (which was for billy 5160s). So effectively $551 no tax.

i'm happy with my 6112s so far. i would have went with icon coilovers but way outside of my budget. the front coilovers alone would have cost more than my entire lift (billy 6112s, new front top mounts, billy 5160s and icon 2" lift springs).

 

[BoostHog]

Just to respond to the pricing I saw on the 1st page. I don't think anyone is actually selling the full setup at $740 like what was posted.

The cheapest I have seen is $950+ for the four corners. I think the price that was posted for the 5160 on the first page ($170) was for one single shock.

-Ken

 

[ssmd]

Just to respond to the pricing I saw on the 1st page. I don't think anyone is actually selling the full setup at $740 like what was posted.

The cheapest I have seen is $950+ for the four corners. I think the price that was posted for the 5160 on the first page ($170) was for one single shock.

-Ken

I saw that price and thought i got hosed on my deal LOL. For pricing info here's what my stuff cost.

6112 for $492.83 on amazooon (they messed up my first order and sent me tein springs by mistake so I had to wait twice as long for the back order)

5160 $163 each (309.50 total shipped) from auto anything

1.5 rear springs $220 shipped. Wheelers OffRoad (formerly Sway-A-Way) made by Eibach.

$1,022 for 4 springs and 4 shocks.

 

[bbk077]

I installed my Bilstein 6112s last weekend and set the coil to the second clip which leveled the front of the truck with the stock rear. I have now put 200 miles of driving on both the streets and washed out rippled forest trail roads. I am disappointed to see a decrease in off-road capabilities since installing the new coils do to the lack of adequate damping.

The ride is very very harsh, I get a lot of shock feedback and with none of the awe, at both low and high speeds (45mph). On the rippled washout roads the truck feels more unsettled, probably due to the amount of additional body vibration, then it did when I was riding on the original OEM struts which had 124 thousand miles on them.

The only area of improvement I gained is stability and control during higher speed on-road driving on smooth roads. And it was nice to slightly raise the front of the truck which gave me better visibility and a balanced feel.

My 4runner is now really miserable to drive on anything other than a smooth as glass roads. I am really disappointed with the outcome and I have no idea why others have said good things about these shocks. I have no experience with the Bilstein 5100s, but I viewed the larger 2.5 6112s as an upgrade over the very popular 5100s.

Thank you so much for your experiment , you save my money , finally i found some one give honest advise for buying and installing and give a real result ,I read a lot and saw a lot of u tubes about front suspension and the result was, i am hesitating between the best of 2" lift is Bilstein 6112s and Rancho Quick-lift leveling Struts and from begining , I was afraid from Bilstein 6112s because it has no rubber seat spring to isolate the road noise to pass through and reach the bottom of the spring which can prevent the vibration to pass through the suspension , beside that Rancho Quicklift has 5 stars on amazon customers feed back , i was wonder the result you come with? if you can return them back and buy Rancho Quicklift , i think they suppose to be softer and comfortable as originl , or slight stiffer , but still acceptable with variable control ,
Best Regards

 

[aquilon]

I installed my Bilstein 6112s last weekend and set the coil to the second clip which leveled the front of the truck with the stock rear. I have now put 200 miles of driving on both the streets and washed out rippled forest trail roads. I am disappointed to see a decrease in off-road capabilities since installing the new coils do to the lack of adequate damping.

The ride is very very harsh, I get a lot of shock feedback and with none of the awe, at both low and high speeds (45mph). On the rippled washout roads the truck feels more unsettled, probably due to the amount of additional body vibration, then it did when I was riding on the original OEM struts which had 124 thousand miles on them.

The only area of improvement I gained is stability and control during higher speed on-road driving on smooth roads. And it was nice to slightly raise the front of the truck which gave me better visibility and a balanced feel.

My 4runner is now really miserable to drive on anything other than a smooth as glass roads. I am really disappointed with the outcome and I have no idea why others have said good things about these shocks. I have no experience with the Bilstein 5100s, but I viewed the larger 2.5 6112s as an upgrade over the very popular 5100s.

This is the first unfavorable review I've heard of the 6112 on 4th gens. I also read a review of someone that had 5100 with FJ springs and switched to 6112's and they claimed a dramatic improvement in ride quality.

What shocks/springs do you have in the rear?

One thing we should all keep in mind is that ride quality is extremely subjective, people perceive comfort in many different ways.

Some people want the suspension to be very soft, soft springs, soft dampers. This means that some light bumps are hardly felt, but if you hit a big bump that bottoms out the suspension it's felt very hard, and handling is also lazier and less responsive.

Some people want firmer springs and dampers to match, this can actually feel pretty comfortable but some types of bumps will be felt more than the previous type of setup. With this idea the suspension is firmer but if properly controlled with the damper you'll feel relative comfort and a more responsive system. It will also have less probability of bottoming out due to the firmer springs, so you could in theory handle harder hits and because it's not bottoming out, you'd feel less discomfort.

I've heard more positive reviews on the 6112 vs something like stock XREAS, so I'm going to say I think yes the 6112 will be firmer than the XREAS, but it should also be responsive and likely handle harder impacts with control. Heck I feel the XREAS stock hit limits on the highway over concrete expansion joints/bridges, it unsettles the chassis and I feel that hit in the seat as I feel the hit on the seat, and it takes a bit too long for the suspension to re-settle. I think the 6112 will solve this along with an appropriate rear setup, in order to get a 'flat ride'

 

[aquilon]

Thank you so much for your experiment , you save my money , finally i found some one give honest advise for buying and installing and give a real result ,I read a lot and saw a lot of u tubes about front suspension and the result was, i am hesitating between the best of 2" lift is Bilstein 6112s and Rancho Quick-lift leveling Struts and from begining , I was afraid from Bilstein 6112s because it has no rubber seat spring to isolate the road noise to pass through and reach the bottom of the spring which can prevent the vibration to pass through the suspension , beside that Rancho Quicklift has 5 stars on amazon customers feed back , i was wonder the result you come with? if you can return them back and buy Rancho Quicklift , i think they suppose to be softer and comfortable as originl , or slight stiffer , but still acceptable with variable control ,
Best Regards

Most factory spring coilover configurations with low road noise don't have a rubber seat for the spring, that's not a main point of NVH transmission of road noise, as long as the spring is compressed and not coming loose throughout the suspension's movement, it won't cause any noise that a passenger would appreciate. It's got thousands of pounds keeping it from moving around.

 

[tacoblur]

Old with the new.

The 5160s are nice and for $170 per shock I think they are a fair price.

Final result - levelled out.

It looks like your spring perch was installed upside down. If you look at the pic on bilsteins page it shows a flat bottom. looks good either way!BILSTEIN B8 6112

 

[RockyRider]

It looks like your spring perch was installed upside down. If you look at the pic on bilsteins page it shows a flat bottom. looks good either way!BILSTEIN B8 6112

The spring perch was installed correctly. The product example you showed has a different spring perch design.

 

[Pylot]

I will revive this thread a bit.

About a month ago I installed 6112's with the Bilstein springs at the first notch on my 16. Lifted the front about 3/4 inch.

Just got and installed today the 5160 rear shocks. The 5160's have been on back order from Bilstein so there is likely to be a surge of upgrades by a lot of us who just got the 5160's. Added a set of 1 inch corn fed spacers to get the rake back.

Came out nice. When you get the rake back the nose is a bit lower and the vehicle does not seem so big. Just a perspective thing but noticeable with the rake back.

And the ride is excellent. Firm and controlled but not harsh at all. I was shocked at how mushy the stock suspension was and let Toyota know in my follow up survey. In a good cross wind it was not stable. Now its a rock and very pleasant to cruise in traffic.

 

[V8eR_Runner]

Has anyone swapped out their TRD Pro front suspension for the Bilstein 6112's? I added a SSO slimline bumper and winch and trying to figure out what is going to get it sitting level again. I lifted the front 2" and the rear 1.5" to rid it of the rake now i am back to the factory rake. I don't want to loose the red coils but that might just have to happen.

 

[perf0rmance]

Thread Resurrection....



So here's some logically thinking:

(Premise)
If it is true that the front TRD Pro suspension shares many (if not most) of the components from the Bilstein 6112 front shocks, then any lift kit designed for the 6112 should work in conjunction with the front TRD Pro suspension.

(Conclusion)
So, if the 6112 shocks can handle a 2"-3" lift (by design), then the front TRD Pro suspension should be able to handle a 2"-3".

The point of this post is that some people are worried that the TRD Pro suspension is not designed for any substantial lift due to inefficient shock tube/shock shaft overlap.




Further investigation...
FACT:
The 6112 strut assembly apparently can reach up to 2.55" of lift (by design).
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/238729-bilstein-6112-lift-heights.html

(Conclusion - based on the FACT and previous Premise)
If so, then the stock front TRD Pro suspension could take an additional 1.55" over it's stock form (which already has a 1" lift over a factory NON-TRD Pro equipped T4R). In total, the stock front TRD Pro suspension could give a standard T4R a maximum of 2.55" of lift without having to worry about premature failure.

 

[perf0rmance]

I just realized that this thread is in the 4th gen section even though it’s in regards to 5th gen suspension.

 

[cognus]

Resurrecting old thread. That last post was a deal-killin' review, eh?

did others of you have the same sad outcome?

are we still without a way to tame the harsh ugly rock/roll ride?

 

[cognus]

Pylot, if you are still around ...
so you've had this awhile: tell me first, do you have experience with 4runner ONLY in the 2016 flavor or had you driven an older gen before?
is your 2016 a stock 4wd model or TRD or what?
you said you are running Bilstein springs on the front of your '16? which springs?

so, now that you've had longer, how is the ride on bad pavement? that is, 2 lane backroads with broken pavement, low water crossings, etc.. the usual gremlins ??

Someone above mentioned negatively the use of softer or better bushings? I can't fathom that. A hard bushing is just that - it is hard. A superb set of bushings should have excellent density AND absorption characteristics, and hopefully not age too quickly. What is the highest quality make/model bushings on the market for these vehicles?

i'm currently running 5100's and find the improvement marginal over stock. at higher speed is somewhat better. at low speed the nosedive is maybe 10% improved, but overall the ride is like it was before the swap: rock/roll/jolt on ever blasted defect it rolls over. and I run the best cushy tires I can find... always on the hunt for a better one

QUOTE=Pylot;2564745]I will revive this thread a bit.

About a month ago I installed 6112's with the Bilstein springs at the first notch on my 16. Lifted the front about 3/4 inch.

Just got and installed today the 5160 rear shocks. The 5160's have been on back order from Bilstein so there is likely to be a surge of upgrades by a lot of us who just got the 5160's. Added a set of 1 inch corn fed spacers to get the rake back.

Came out nice. When you get the rake back the nose is a bit lower and the vehicle does not seem so big. Just a perspective thing but noticeable with the rake back.

And the ride is excellent. Firm and controlled but not harsh at all. I was shocked at how mushy the stock suspension was and let Toyota know in my follow up survey. In a good cross wind it was not stable. Now its a rock and very pleasant to cruise in traffic.[/QUOTE]

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Curious on this as well.

I'm in an unloaded GX470 other than an ARB bumper. I have Old Man Emu. It's great on smooth roads and most dirt roads. But when it's cold out, and around cities where the roads are roughter consistently, mostly small bumps are transferred into the passengers a little too much. I also have pretty gnarly sink bug on the unloaded rear. I switched to a lighter rate Dobinson's spring which softened the rear a hair but also lifted it. It's the shocks that suck though.

I've never had a bad experience with Bilsteins though.

I'm hoping the Bilsteins in the rear will soften it quite a bit (thinking just 5160s since we have a lot of snow and road salt here).

But am thinking 6112s. Will put a winch in the ARB bumper too. Oddly the OME rode better and less harsh without the bumper, than with!

 

[57HotrodVW]

Thread Resurrection....



So here's some logically thinking:

(Premise)
If it is true that the front TRD Pro suspension shares many (if not most) of the components from the Bilstein 6112 front shocks, then any lift kit designed for the 6112 should work in conjunction with the front TRD Pro suspension.

(Conclusion)
So, if the 6112 shocks can handle a 2"-3" lift (by design), then the front TRD Pro suspension should be able to handle a 2"-3".

The point of this post is that some people are worried that the TRD Pro suspension is not designed for any substantial lift due to inefficient shock tube/shock shaft overlap.




Further investigation...
FACT:
The 6112 strut assembly apparently can reach up to 2.55" of lift (by design).
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/238729-bilstein-6112-lift-heights.html

(Conclusion - based on the FACT and previous Premise)
If so, then the stock front TRD Pro suspension could take an additional 1.55" over it's stock form (which already has a 1" lift over a factory NON-TRD Pro equipped T4R). In total, the stock front TRD Pro suspension could give a standard T4R a maximum of 2.55" of lift without having to worry about premature failure.

Good stuff!

The 6112 struts seem to be *very* similar to the large, TRD Pro struts, minus the adjustable spring perches.

What I'm trying to understand is whether moving the spring up from the bottom with a spacer (fixed height spring perch) is different than raising the spring perch.

If it's all the same, then it seems like those of us with TRD Pros can simply install 2" spacer lifts like the one below from Toytec, and be happy without having to spend more on the adjustable 6112s.

https://www.toyteclifts.com/fj4rpro-toytec-lift-kit-for-trd-pro-4runners.html

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