MikesTE
New member
Last weekend I had Bilstein 5100s installed on all four corners of the 4Runner to correct the crazy nose dive/sailing sensation that is the stock suspension.
Some background: I was EXTREMELY disappointed with the stock suspension when coming to a stop - the brake assist was causing a lot of headaches on the way home in city traffic - I reckon my reactions are just too quick or something... so every time the hood dove and ABS kicked on I got closer to torching the 4Runner (interesting side note - I would swear that the 2010 TE I had did not have nearly the issues that this 12 does in the nose dive dept). After searching for fixes on T4R.org I came to three conclusions; first, perform the zero point calibration (ZPC); second, get a good alignment; third, mess with the suspension. I had already swapped to LT tires in the form of Michelin LTX AT2s so there was no more firming up the shoes to decrease nose dive. In accordance with everything all of you recommended I completed a ZPC with a paperclip (no overzealous brake assisting in the week after I did this - I might have been driving better too). I then took the truck to get aligned (I did this before the shock thing to see if things would improve any before the 5100s arrived). The alignment helped a lot. For some reason the toe on the right front side was off and the caster was in the 2.0 range, which could have contributed to the diving, I suppose. I went ahead and replaced the shocks to try and tighten things up a bit more and had the local goodyear shop install them for me with another alignment ($430). I bought the shocks from Shock Warehouse for $371 w/2 day shipping. AMEX is happy with me.
After driving the truck around for a week with the new 5100s I can say the following:
First, it's hard to tell the front was lifted at all with the front shocks set to .85!
Second, as others have reported, nose dive is greatly improved as is road 'feel.'
I wouldn't say the 5100s firm up the suspension (though they do, but not in a sports car way) - I'd say the compression/rebound of the shocks enable the 4Runner to feel more connected to the road. Again, to second (or third) everyone else on the forum, things feel more precise - I get more feedback from the road but it doesn't generate the roll/floaty feeling of the stock shocks. The limited off road I did today felt fine - no increase in harshness from stock, which is very nice. Things feel more dampened on all fronts, which I really didn't expect from shocks alone (still have stock springs).
Overall, I'm very glad to have made the leap to these shocks. I decided to replace all four of the shocks since I was already committed to doing the front - it fell under the category of 'might as well.' This is the first time I've modified any car/truck/SUV/etc's suspension and I have to admit it was well worth it. I am extremely puzzled as to why the 4Runner doesn't come with these, they really are made for each other! I highly recommend others in a similar mindset follow the lead of many others and pull the trigger on new shocks. The only drawback is now that I see how good life is with the .85 in the front I'm itching to make the 4Runner taller all around. My wife is going to kill me...
Here's a pic of the truck after install.
Some background: I was EXTREMELY disappointed with the stock suspension when coming to a stop - the brake assist was causing a lot of headaches on the way home in city traffic - I reckon my reactions are just too quick or something... so every time the hood dove and ABS kicked on I got closer to torching the 4Runner (interesting side note - I would swear that the 2010 TE I had did not have nearly the issues that this 12 does in the nose dive dept). After searching for fixes on T4R.org I came to three conclusions; first, perform the zero point calibration (ZPC); second, get a good alignment; third, mess with the suspension. I had already swapped to LT tires in the form of Michelin LTX AT2s so there was no more firming up the shoes to decrease nose dive. In accordance with everything all of you recommended I completed a ZPC with a paperclip (no overzealous brake assisting in the week after I did this - I might have been driving better too). I then took the truck to get aligned (I did this before the shock thing to see if things would improve any before the 5100s arrived). The alignment helped a lot. For some reason the toe on the right front side was off and the caster was in the 2.0 range, which could have contributed to the diving, I suppose. I went ahead and replaced the shocks to try and tighten things up a bit more and had the local goodyear shop install them for me with another alignment ($430). I bought the shocks from Shock Warehouse for $371 w/2 day shipping. AMEX is happy with me.
After driving the truck around for a week with the new 5100s I can say the following:
First, it's hard to tell the front was lifted at all with the front shocks set to .85!
Second, as others have reported, nose dive is greatly improved as is road 'feel.'
I wouldn't say the 5100s firm up the suspension (though they do, but not in a sports car way) - I'd say the compression/rebound of the shocks enable the 4Runner to feel more connected to the road. Again, to second (or third) everyone else on the forum, things feel more precise - I get more feedback from the road but it doesn't generate the roll/floaty feeling of the stock shocks. The limited off road I did today felt fine - no increase in harshness from stock, which is very nice. Things feel more dampened on all fronts, which I really didn't expect from shocks alone (still have stock springs).
Overall, I'm very glad to have made the leap to these shocks. I decided to replace all four of the shocks since I was already committed to doing the front - it fell under the category of 'might as well.' This is the first time I've modified any car/truck/SUV/etc's suspension and I have to admit it was well worth it. I am extremely puzzled as to why the 4Runner doesn't come with these, they really are made for each other! I highly recommend others in a similar mindset follow the lead of many others and pull the trigger on new shocks. The only drawback is now that I see how good life is with the .85 in the front I'm itching to make the 4Runner taller all around. My wife is going to kill me...
Here's a pic of the truck after install.
