Bilstein 5100 adjustables with stock springs

[crunchtime]

Anyone run this? I'm only looking to get an extra 1-2 inches anyhow and I came across these. They have an adjustable collar for up to 2.5 inches of lift. They say you can just run stock springs with them. I've looked up other threads and haven't seen anyone running them, I've read that if you run these with lifted springs you have to set them to the stock position.

 

[Cow_doc.308]

It can be done. I haven't done it but seems like I've seen it done.

New springs, either stock height or lift, will improve you're current ride. I'f you're driving a 3rd gen of any year with stock springs, chances are you could use some new ones.

 

[3rzrunner]

I have the billie 5100's in the front and I also have old man emu coils,
and I can tell you for a fact the ride quality on and off road went up drastically from the 15yr old springs and shocks.

if you are going to the work might as well do it right.

but to answer your question, if you really want to use the oem springs the billies will still give you a lift (depending on which perch you use)

 

[BrianSD_42]

They have an adjustable collar for up to 2.5 inches of lift.

No, they will not give you 2.5" of lift with stock springs.

In fact what most people are using are the Tundra shocks with Tundra (or OME for Tundra) Coils for lift. This requires using a Tundra fitting shock.

If you keep the 4Runner coils you will need a 4Runner Bilstien adjustable shock. It is adjustable as well but is a totally different Bilstien part number.

 

[1985taylor1925]

To be clear, there is a Tacoma 5100 and a Tundra 5100. I have been running Tacoma 5100s with oem 99 coils for 2 months now. They have 3 settings, while the Tundra 5100s have 5. I got the 5100s new, and the coils used, with 90k miles according to the owner. The ride is great, and yes I did have a full 2.5" of lift in the front. In fact I just lowered it to the middle setting last week as I felt it was a little too high, and Im tired of tearing cv boots. On the top perch the lift was higher than my previous oem tundra/bilstein lift (not 5100), which was around 2". It also rides great. Im very happy with it and plan on keeping this setup for a long time.

Depending on how worn your coils are you may or may not get 2.5" of lift on the top setting, but you will certainly get a lift. If they have seen their life, then you can always replace with new or low mileage used oem coils as I did.

 

[my92t4r]

No, they will not give you 2.5" of lift with stock springs.

In fact what most people are using are the Tundra shocks with Tundra (or OME for Tundra) Coils for lift. This requires using a Tundra fitting shock.

If you keep the 4Runner coils you will need a 4Runner Bilstien adjustable shock. It is adjustable as well but is a totally different Bilstien part number.

Not true...........You can use your stock springs/top hat and isolator with the Tundra 5100. I have mine on 3rd perch with 99 tall.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Not true...........You can use your stock springs/top hat and isolator with the Tundra 5100. I have mine on 3rd perch with 99 tall.

How do you like the Tundra 5100s with the 99s?

I have the Tacoma 5100s with 99s, and really love the setup. Unless I add weight to the front I will never go back an aftermarket lift. I just wish they had as many settings as the Tundra 5100s. Better yet they should have just put threads on the shock body like the ICONs. I dropped mine from the top to middle notch last week, and man its a pain with having to compress the spring. Took over two hours

 

[my92t4r]

How do you like the Tundra 5100s with the 99s?

I have the Tacoma 5100s with 99s, and really love the setup. Unless I add weight to the front I will never go back an aftermarket lift. I just wish they had as many settings as the Tundra 5100s. Better yet they should have just put threads on the shock body like the ICONs. I dropped mine from the top to middle notch last week, and man its a pain with having to compress the spring. Took over two hours

i have the arb up front without winch and road manners is excellent and light trails are awesome too. I also have it paired with tundra 5100 and stock 99 tall, but i thinking of going with OME 906 in the future.

 

[crunchtime]

To be clear, there is a Tacoma 5100 and a Tundra 5100. I have been running Tacoma 5100s with oem 99 coils for 2 months now. They have 3 settings, while the Tundra 5100s have 5. I got the 5100s new, and the coils used, with 90k miles according to the owner. The ride is great, and yes I did have a full 2.5" of lift in the front. In fact I just lowered it to the middle setting last week as I felt it was a little too high, and Im tired of tearing cv boots. On the top perch the lift was higher than my previous oem tundra/bilstein lift (not 5100), which was around 2". It also rides great. Im very happy with it and plan on keeping this setup for a long time.

Depending on how worn your coils are you may or may not get 2.5" of lift on the top setting, but you will certainly get a lift. If they have seen their life, then you can always replace with new or low mileage used oem coils as I did.

These don't specify if they are tundra or tacoma, they description says 3 position so I'm assuming tacoma, I found them under 4Runner parts. It's $173 for the set of fronts, which is as good of a price on 5100s as I've found anyhow. Worst case, if I'm not happy I could always get some OME springs later on.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Well I stand corrected. I thought you could only get 1" lift this way.

Anyone discuss the downsides?

 

[1985taylor1925]

These don't specify if they are tundra or tacoma, they description says 3 position so I'm assuming tacoma, I found them under 4Runner parts. It's $173 for the set of fronts, which is as good of a price on 5100s as I've found anyhow. Worst case, if I'm not happy I could always get some OME springs later on.

Yeah, that's the Tacoma 5100, and a great shock. Keep in mind one thing . . . if you decide to change the lift setting, it's a lot of work. You have to remove the coilover and then use spring compressors to get the shocks off. I dropped mine from the top to middle ring last weekend, and it took me two hours working fast. I don't know if you've ever used the compressor tools to separate a coilover, but it's a pain, and apparently dangerous. Though Ive done it literally about ten times now with no issues. Just have to be careful and do things right.

Bilstein should have made these shocks with threads on the shock body, like ICON does. I would be willing pay more money for that convenience

 

[Illicitdream]

i have the arb up front without winch and road manners is excellent and light trails are awesome too. I also have it paired with tundra 5100 and stock 99 tall, but i thinking of going with OME 906 in the future.

Whats the measurements from hub to fender, even with all the extra weight of the winch and bumper?

 

[my92t4r]

Whats the measurements from hub to fender, even with all the extra weight of the winch and bumper?

22.7" driver and 22.9" passenger, stock H/T 265 tires with crappy treads

 

[Illicitdream]

22.7" driver and 22.9" passenger, stock H/T 265 tires with crappy treads

Thanks man

 

[my92t4r]

Thanks man

my pleasure

 

[crunchtime]

Yeah, that's the Tacoma 5100, and a great shock. Keep in mind one thing . . . if you decide to change the lift setting, it's a lot of work. You have to remove the coilover and then use spring compressors to get the shocks off. I dropped mine from the top to middle ring last weekend, and it took me two hours working fast. I don't know if you've ever used the compressor tools to separate a coilover, but it's a pain, and apparently dangerous. Though Ive done it literally about ten times now with no issues. Just have to be careful and do things right.

Bilstein should have made these shocks with threads on the shock body, like ICON does. I would be willing pay more money for that convenience

I have used the compressor tools before, but they scare the hell out of me. I'm checking with some of the guys around work who do auto work on the side to see if anyone has a wall mounted compressor in their garage. Here's to hoping.

 

[hour]

My thoughts on 5100's with stock springs - don't do it.

I did it on my 2012 Tacoma and it was awful (set at 2.5" setting). The 4runner always rode much better with 5100's at lowest setting and Toytec/Eibach coils. The Tacoma was basically new when I did the lift, I think 6,000 miles, so it's not like the springs were worn out or anything. It was just a really rough ride. I also did 5100's with stock springs on my 2014 Ram a couple months ago and it's almost as bad as the Tacoma was.

I think you can get away with the lower settings of the 5100's without sacrificing too much ride quality, but on both of these trucks it feels very much like riding around in Fred Flintstone's car every time you hit even the most minor imperfection in the road.

If you want to avoid spring compressors for the install, I would suggest doing the spring compressor-less method. I keep posting about it because it's my hope that more people find it in their searching, and after fiddling around with spring compressors probably 20 times in my life (and fearing for my life every time), I'd say this is quicker and safer (okay, safer than using autozone rental compressors). Just jack up the one side and support with a jackstand and take the tire off, disconnect 4 lower ball joint bolts, and disconnect your sway bar. You can then jack up the lower control arm with a floor jack until there's no tension on the top bolt- and remove it, then slowly lower the jack and remove the bottom bolt on the billies. The top hats of the struts stay in place (you don't touch the three bolts that hold those in), and you can pull out the factory shock and spring in two pieces with ease.

To reinstall, just slap your new spring (or old) on your 5100s at whatever setting you choose and put in the bottom bolt. Jack up the lower control arm again, lining up the threaded piston on the bilsteins with the hole at the top. Once you get it through a little bit, screw on the top nut and continue to lift the LCA until you can tighten the bolt adequately.

I first did it on my Tacoma and was delighted to see the same principle applied to the 4runner. I did have to use the stock bottle jack in some funny ways to get things to line up perfectly, but I did it outside with snow flurries coming down in an apartment complex lot by myself. I'm also master at screwing up DIY projects but I can do this job in like 30 minutes per side with no issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVLBOnAifc

 

[my92t4r]

My thoughts on 5100's with stock springs - don't do it.

I did it on my 2012 Tacoma and it was awful (set at 2.5" setting). The 4runner always rode much better with 5100's at lowest setting and Toytec/Eibach coils. The Tacoma was basically new when I did the lift, I think 6,000 miles, so it's not like the springs were worn out or anything. It was just a really rough ride. I also did 5100's with stock springs on my 2014 Ram a couple months ago and it's almost as bad as the Tacoma was.

I think you can get away with the lower settings of the 5100's without sacrificing too much ride quality, but on both of these trucks it feels very much like riding around in Fred Flintstone's car every time you hit even the most minor imperfection in the road.

If you want to avoid spring compressors for the install, I would suggest doing the spring compressor-less method. I keep posting about it because it's my hope that more people find it in their searching, and after fiddling around with spring compressors probably 20 times in my life (and fearing for my life every time), I'd say this is quicker and safer (okay, safer than using autozone rental compressors). Just jack up the one side and support with a jackstand and take the tire off, disconnect 4 lower ball joint bolts, and disconnect your sway bar. You can then jack up the lower control arm with a floor jack until there's no tension on the top bolt- and remove it, then slowly lower the jack and remove the bottom bolt on the billies. The top hats of the struts stay in place (you don't touch the three bolts that hold those in), and you can pull out the factory shock and spring in two pieces with ease.

To reinstall, just slap your new spring (or old) on your 5100s at whatever setting you choose and put in the bottom bolt. Jack up the lower control arm again, lining up the threaded piston on the bilsteins with the hole at the top. Once you get it through a little bit, screw on the top nut and continue to lift the LCA until you can tighten the bolt adequately.

I first did it on my Tacoma and was delighted to see the same principle applied to the 4runner. I did have to use the stock bottle jack in some funny ways to get things to line up perfectly, but I did it outside with snow flurries coming down in an apartment complex lot by myself. I'm also master at screwing up DIY projects but I can do this job in like 30 minutes per side with no issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkVLBOnAifc

Ditto on the "No compressor" need to swap them out....

I disagree on the comfort of the 5100 w/ stock springs. My azz feels fine, although i have do not have it on the highest setting (5th perch) so i can't tell you how it feels.

 

[toyotaoffroadaz]

Tundra 5100 on 4 perch?

Hey guys, this is one of my first posts here. I was thinking about running the Tundra Bilstein 5100s on stock '99 springs on the fourth perch. I want a bit of rake to run with OME 890 in the rear. I'm looking for about 1/2-1" lower in the front. Is anybody running this? About how much lift did you get on the fourth perch? Thank you

 

[phattyduck]

Keep in mind that since this thread was started, there are now 4Runner specific 5100's - so there are 3 5100 choices that fit (Tundra, D558 Tacoma and 4Runner). The perches on each version are slightly different, so you might just have to try it and see how it goes.

-Charlie