Bilstein 5100+Stock spring+BFG KO2 feedback

It really seems to me that the tires are more of the issue here than the shocks. A TON of guys are running the 5100s here, myself included. I'm running .85 front with stock springs so I can give a fair judgement compared to stock and I'm telling you my truck is running better in every way.

Once you start adding spacers in the rear you're changing the compression dynamics of the springs since they're preloaded now. This can lead to a worse ride.

Add to that heavy tires that are pretty aggressive for mostly street or highway use, and a heavier tire on top of it, and ride quality is going to suffer over the stock highway tires that come on the 4Runner.

I think realistic expectations are imperative. Tires play such a big part in ride quality and my money is on those for the overall dissatisfaction. The noises and other issues could also be due to a bad suspension installation job. I'd have the work checked simply because my experience is completely different and I've taken the 5100s off road and put them to the test.


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Decipher said:
It really seems to me that the tires are more of the issue here than the shocks. A TON of guys are running the 5100s here, myself included. I'm running .85 front with stock springs so I can give a fair judgement compared to stock and I'm telling you my truck is running better in every way.

Once you start adding spacers in the rear you're changing the compression dynamics of the springs since they're preloaded now. This can lead to a worse ride.

Add to that heavy tires that are pretty aggressive for mostly street or highway use, and a heavier tire on top of it, and ride quality is going to suffer over the stock highway tires that come on the 4Runner.

I think realistic expectations are imperative. Tires play such a big part in ride quality and my money is on those for the overall dissatisfaction. The noises and other issues could also be due to a bad suspension installation job. I'd have the work checked simply because my experience is completely different and I've taken the 5100s off road and put them to the test.


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Click to expand...
100%. I have the same shock set-up as the OP, but with P rated Michelins, and I noticed no increase in ride harshness at all, just a more solid feel and reduced sway and brake dive. I'm sure it's the tires.
 
I had 5100's set to the top notch on my '13 FJ Cruiser with the stock springs. I used a spacer for the rear and ran 285/70R16 BFG MT tires and it was a vast improvement in ride quality which is why I plan to do the same setup for my new 4Runner. The only difference this time is I'll probably go with KO2's vice the muds.
 
I'll share my experience with this setup. Sorry if this is lengthy (not sorry).

I have a '17 SR5P with Bilstein 5100's on all 4, set at 1.75" in the front with stock springs all around and a 1" cornfed spacer in the rear. I went with the BFG 275/70R17 (E Rated) tires. I'm also running spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers simply for aesthetics as I am running the TRD Pro wheels and love the look. I did tires for about a month before doing the lift and then added wheel spacers last.

It seems like it's really subjective and one persons "greatly improved" is another person's "too rough". But that being said, in my research here on the forums there are far more people who love the 5100's and the KO2's and their improvements than there are people unhappy with them. I think doing research based on others experience and having realistic expectations is another factor that leads to this.

I'll start with the tires since that's what I had first. For me I settled on the 275 (E rated) for the size, look, and piece of mind on some of the nasty roads we take to hiking trails here in the Northwest. The shop inflated them to 32 psi and they seemed "floaty" in the highway ruts and had a bit more road noise then I expected. I went up to 42psi after some research and that greatly reduced the road noise and floaty feeling. No weird vibrations or noises here. They also decreased a little of the body roll. I didn't notice any acceleration loss more than the gutless feeling the 4runners already have and only about a 1/2 mpg loss. No rubbing for me on stock height. Bottom line is I am very happy with them and the "stiffness" took away some of the negatives and in my opinion was an improvement.

Bilstein 5100's 1.75" + 1" Cornfed. I knew there were better shocks out there and I debated on the 6112/5160 combo. In the end I decided I wouldn't notice or care about the difference and settled on the 5100 based on a majority of happy reviews and an awesome price. Install was amazingly easy and I think anybody with jack stands, a floor jack, a few sockets, and some YouTube videos can do it. After the install I found that the body roll and nose dive were nearly eliminated. To me it feels more grounded and sporty, corners better and drives stable and straight. Some things feel a tiny bit harsher, but overall drives great for me on rough streets to freeways and the few dirt roads I've been on since.

Obviously if I had done it all at once from stock to KO2s+Lift the change would have been more drastic but as it is the changes did exactly what I thought it would do and in my opinion improved the look and feel. Now is it the best possible ride? No, but for me personally it is the right improvements in the right areas for the right price. What's more, it's my wife's daily driver and she says she can't notice a difference driving it and loves the look, Win!!

d400d562ffc40af69a171cefab31167b.jpg
 
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JMaisch said:
I only have this one. I need to take more and still haven't gotten a good before/after comparison.
Click to expand...

Is this with a 1" spacer as well? The stance looks a lot different than others with the same setup, maybe the ground is uneven here or you have a load in the back perhaps. Either way looks great!
 
samwhich said:
Is this with a 1" spacer as well? The stance looks a lot different than others with the same setup, maybe the ground is uneven here or you have a load in the back perhaps. Either way looks great!
Click to expand...



I think it's the ground playing tricks. This was also right after we pulled it out of the shop and it might have settled since. I'll try and get some better pics later. This is 1" spacer in the rear
 
[MENTION=170834]samwhich[/MENTION] [MENTION=154369]Superwhite17[/MENTION]

Top: w/275's Before 1500's
Bottom: After 1500's + 1" Spacer

01fe40843bd0742dbf6b0bab2d1e2b21.jpg


72e070250b4e6d5770364bc8c4f26cec.jpg
 
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Are you guys install 5100 yourself? Go to dealer? Or auto shop? What's the cost for labor?


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JMaisch said:
And what's more, it's my wife's daily driver and she says she can't notice a difference driving it and loves the look, Win!!
Click to expand...

Yeah thats a hell of a win. Im sitting here in bed trying to justify 720.00 worth of RCI skidplates.... and Im drowning
 
Decipher said:
It really seems to me that the tires are more of the issue here than the shocks. A TON of guys are running the 5100s here, myself included. I'm running .85 front with stock springs so I can give a fair judgement compared to stock and I'm telling you my truck is running better in every way.

Once you start adding spacers in the rear you're changing the compression dynamics of the springs since they're preloaded now. This can lead to a worse ride.

Add to that heavy tires that are pretty aggressive for mostly street or highway use, and a heavier tire on top of it, and ride quality is going to suffer over the stock highway tires that come on the 4Runner.

I think realistic expectations are imperative. Tires play such a big part in ride quality and my money is on those for the overall dissatisfaction. The noises and other issues could also be due to a bad suspension installation job. I'd have the work checked simply because my experience is completely different and I've taken the 5100s off road and put them to the test.


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Click to expand...



I switched to bfg tire long before the 5100. I didn't feel any bumpiness with stock shocks... But I agree that tire may amplify the stiffness of 5100. When I chose tire, the bfg ko2 was $160 each on discount. So I decided to give it a try.


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jamesq said:
I switched to bfg tire long before the 5100. I didn't feel any bumpiness with stock shocks... But I agree that tire may amplify the stiffness of 5100. When I chose tire, the bfg ko2 was $160 each on discount. So I decided to give it a try.


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Click to expand...

That's a crazy good deal for KO2s!
 
I have the 5100s set at 1.75" with a .75" Cornfed spacer in the back. I am also running 275/70s with FN Six Shooters and think it rides just fine. Don't get me wrong it is not a Caddy but it rides very close to stock. I think perhaps the key for me was that I was very careful to choose a new wheel that helped to offset the added weight of the new tire.
Per my calculations the stock TE wheel is 31.5 lbs and the stock tire is 39 lbs for 70.5 lbs on the OEM setup.

Now if you add a 55 lb 275 K02 to the factory wheel you are up by 16lbs to 86.5 lbs, that is a lot of additional unsprung and rotational weight which will hurt ride, handling and acceleration.

However, by choosing the FN Six Shooters which only weight 20.5 lbs my total weight gain with a 275 K02 is only 5 lbs per corner which is much closer to stock. I think this helped immensely with making my new setup feel much closer to stock.

So, the moral of the story is don't just buy on looks really pay attention to what things weigh and how they will effect the overall performance outcome. I spent $900 on the FNs delivered, I sold the factory trail wheels for $450 so to me the additional $112.50 per corner was well worth it in looks and performance.
 
Longbowkid said:
Just because the E rated tires say 80 psi, doesn't mean you need to run them there. 32 psi without a load is totally in the realm of normal.
Click to expand...

it is underinflated, my c-range tires need almost 40 psi to match the factory rating

30psi on e-range tires is so significantly under-inflated enough that you are at risk of a major failure, you are using a tire that requires more pressure for the equivalent load rating and you are using it with less pressure. your tires are underinflated, underinflated KO2s have a bad track record of blowouts at speed.

here are some references on how to determine what pressure you need, keep in mind that the factory tires are p-rated so de-rate them by 10%
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/589830/23447320/1378330097907/Discount+Tire+inflation.pdf
https://toyotires-1524598101.netdna...ication_of_load_inflation_tables_20151020.pdf

to match the factory rating you need a bit over 2,000lb load capacity per tire, which probably works out to over 40psi on those e-range KO2s
 
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e60ral said:
it is underinflated, my c-range tires need almost 40 psi to match the factory rating

30psi on e-range tires is so significantly under-inflated enough that you are at risk of a major failure, you are using a tire that requires more pressure for the equivalent load rating and you are using it with less pressure. your tires are underinflated, underinflated KO2s have a bad track record of blowouts at speed.

here are some references on how to determine what pressure you need, keep in mind that the factory tires are p-rated so de-rate them by 10%
http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/589830/23447320/1378330097907/Discount+Tire+inflation.pdf
https://toyotires-1524598101.netdna...ication_of_load_inflation_tables_20151020.pdf

to match the factory rating you need a bit over 2,000lb load capacity per tire, which probably works out to over 40psi on those e-range KO2s
Click to expand...



Thanks for the info. It's C rated, not E.


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