Anyone running Bilstein 6112 on GX460? (1 Viewer)

[asintel]

I'm intrested to know if anyone has installed the 6112/5160 shocks on the GX460?

From what I gather, the 4runner versions would fit, but I'm curious about the weight difference. The GX is roughly 5,100 lbs vs the 4,750 on a 4runner.

Does the weight difference merit a higher spring rate than what comes with the 6112 4runner kit? I think it comes with a ~600# spring. I've seen 4runners with an aftermarket front bumper run 650# springs and the owners seem to be happy with this setup. This is best comparison to the GX460 I've found.

Also, are the listed ride heights accurate or are you getting lower lift heights due to the extra weight?

 

[asintel]

Went ahead and installed the 6112 up front with the 600#springs that came with the kit.. While the ride has improved over stock, i'm still getting nose dive under breaking. Would a higher spring rate help solve this problem? Maybe 650 or 700# would help stiffen up the ride more?

I've had the 6112s on a tundra and loved the way they drove. They were stiffer feeling but soaked up bumps well. And I had no nose dive with these. I think the tundra 6112 kit had a 700# spring but i could be wrong.

 

[Jstawgn]

Nose dive might be from the rear not having enough rebound and transmit more weight to front wheels. Its never recommended to mix and match suspension system. You might get lucky but the change is really slim you get good performance out of it.

 

[Erik Burga]

My 2 cents... Bought a GX460 '10 with 100k in may. Based on the mileage I thought I had to replace the shocks so I bought a pair of new 4600 Bilstein shocks for 4Runner for the rear - big mistake! Even though they fit well size-wise, they turned out to be softer than the used stock ones due to the extra weight of the vehicle (I guess). Only used them for a month and then took them off and put back the used stock ones. I posted them on Houston's Craigslist if interested.
The GX, the 4R, and the FJC all can fit the same shocks size-wise. But the weight differences are considerable.

GX - 5400 lbs
4R - 4800 lbs
FJC - 4300 lbs

 

[r2m]

You may want to also post this on the "For Sale" section of Mud...
Another penny to your 2 cents...

 

[ChiTown]

Shock valving will controlcontr dive also and not ruin the ride quality.

 

[subspd]

Anyone running the current 6112/5160 on a GX? Seems they have a 650lb front shock option. If so what clip setting did you use to get 2” of lift?

 

[Posersurfer]

Anyone running the current 6112/5160 on a GX? Seems they have a 650lb front shock option. If so what clip setting did you use to get 2” of lift?

Nobody ever answered here so I’ll resurrect this and add my experience as I wished I knew this and other details before install. This week we installed the Bilstein 6112 with the 650lb springs (BIL-47-281202) in our ‘17 GX460 Luxury (air suspension) with 40k miles and also added 3/16” of stainless washers under the rear airbag height sensors, Four M8 washers under each of the four 12mm ride height sensor bolts. Rear shocks remain OEM. The GX is nearly stock for now with less than 50lbs in mods (Front recovery points, switch pro 9100, lots of power receptacles throughout, and ARB compressor) but we have aluminum sliders and a CBI covert bumper on the way, hence the 650lb spring choice. The 6112 coilover unit weighs 6 lbs more than stock per side but we did remove 2 lbs of brackets and sensors.

The coilovers were adjusted and installed 3X before we achieved the target lift. No warning lights on the dash after install, even with removal of the front shock sensors and brackets to save weight. Measurements before and after from wheel hub center up vertical to the inside fender while putting the shock clips on the LOWEST setting are:

DF: Before 20 1/4”, After 22 1/16”
PF: Before 19 7/8”, After 21 7/8”
DR(N setting): Before 21 1/2”, After 22 1/8”
PR(N setting): Before 21 1/4”, After 21 7/8”

Initial impressions are the setup is definitely stiffer than stock with a bit more high frequency road imperfections transmitted (jiggle). But overall Road manners are still quite good. Brake dive is significantly less. The real magic is in hitting large bumps on trail. They are so much much better dampened up front, creamy smooth really, and we haven’t managed to bottom out the shock yet. For comparison, last week we drove the entire length of the 138-mile Mohave Road (4WD+8 inches clearance recommended) and we were able to harshly bottom out on deep whoops more than a few times when we didn’t keep speed in check. Similar hits now are smooth and controlled with the shock feeling like it has a lot of reserve. The worst part of the Mojave Road with the stock suspension was miles of washboard and I can’t wait to see how the new shocks help to smooth this out. We don’t have a trail with extended washboards near home to test this out.

The rear is clearly not keeping up with the front now as we are taking trails faster with the added confidence that the front provides. The front simply soaks it up while the back is a bit harsh and underdamped trying to keep up. I haven’t decided what we should do with the rear yet as from what we have learned, the 5160s are decent but simply not up to the damping nor durability of the 6112 and I’m not sure how they might work with the air springs. We will eventually replace the air springs when they start leaking or fail but for now they are great as we occasionally tow. Maybe we’ll add the 5160s next.

 

[GXplore]

Nobody ever answered here so I’ll resurrect this and add my experience as I wished I knew this and other details before install. This week we installed the Bilstein 6112 with the 650lb springs (BIL-47-281202) in our ‘17 GX460 Luxury (air suspension) with 40k miles and also added 3/16” of stainless washers under the rear airbag height sensors, Four M8 washers under each of the four 12mm ride height sensor bolts. Rear shocks remain OEM. The GX is nearly stock for now with less than 50lbs in mods (Front recovery points, switch pro 9100, lots of power receptacles throughout, and ARB compressor) but we have aluminum sliders and a CBI covert bumper on the way, hence the 650lb spring choice. The 6112 coilover unit weighs 6 lbs more than stock per side but we did remove 2 lbs of brackets and sensors.

The coilovers were adjusted and installed 3X before we achieved the target lift. No warning lights on the dash after install, even with removal of the front shock sensors and brackets to save weight. Measurements before and after from wheel hub center up vertical to the inside fender while putting the shock clips on the LOWEST setting are:

DF: Before 20 1/4”, After 22 1/16”
PF: Before 19 7/8”, After 21 7/8”
DR(N setting): Before 21 1/2”, After 22 1/8”
PR(N setting): Before 21 1/4”, After 21 7/8”

Initial impressions are the setup is definitely stiffer than stock with a bit more high frequency road imperfections transmitted (jiggle). But overall Road manners are still quite good. Brake dive is significantly less. The real magic is in hitting large bumps on trail. They are so much much better dampened up front, creamy smooth really, and we haven’t managed to bottom out the shock yet. For comparison, last week we drove the entire length of the 138-mile Mohave Road (4WD+8 inches clearance recommended) and we were able to harshly bottom out on deep whoops more than a few times when we didn’t keep speed in check. Similar hits now are smooth and controlled with the shock feeling like it has a lot of reserve. The worst part of the Mojave Road with the stock suspension was miles of washboard and I can’t wait to see how the new shocks help to smooth this out. We don’t have a trail with extended washboards near home to test this out.

The rear is clearly not keeping up with the front now as we are taking trails faster with the added confidence that the front provides. The front simply soaks it up while the back is a bit harsh and underdamped trying to keep up. I haven’t decided what we should do with the rear yet as from what we have learned, the 5160s are decent but simply not up to the damping nor durability of the 6112 and I’m not sure how they might work with the air springs. We will eventually replace the air springs when they start leaking or fail but for now they are great as we occasionally tow. Maybe we’ll add the 5160s next.

Where did you have this work done? I’d love to do the same exact thing and use the 5160 in tandem with the stock air bag in the rear for towing.

Thanks!

 

[Posersurfer]

Where did you have this work done? I’d love to do the same exact thing and use the 5160 in tandem with the stock air bag in the rear for towing.

Thanks!

We did the work in our carport although the shop down the street installed the spring on the coilovers for $40 and did the alignment after install. I’m mulling over going to 5160s In the rear with airbags or thinking a year or two ahead to our stage 2 and adding BP-51s back there. I wonder how those shocks would pair to the airbag. Let us know how the 5160s ride for you with the airbags if you do the mod first. I’ve seen a few reports of happy GX470 owners who did that combo.

I did try adding another 1/2” height in rear with a few more washers under the height sensors but the ride got pretty harsh with the increased pressure in the air bags so I brought it back down to one washer more than I described before for a touch of rake. Rake is less important functionally with the factory airbags as the GX auto levels with load. After we put on P-metric Wildpeaks (265/70/17) at 34psi the ride comfort did suffer a bit with the small high frequency jiggly stuff, likely a function of digressive valving plus higher rate spring, but medium and big movements are much improved. I’m guessing with the aluminum sliders I’m putting on this weekend (80 lbs) and the front bumper weight (whenever CBI decides to actually gets around to fabricating it, now on month five of wait) that things will smooth out and we‘ll achieve another 1/3-1/2” of drop up front.