Bilstein 5100 Advice/Experience

[uncbsba]

I picked up a 2006 GX470 that already had the budget Bilstein 5100 lift, including stock springs and the airbag trick. It rides surprisingly well, but is a little too soft (body roll) up front and I want to go coils in the rear. The front springs are likely old and sagging and since I plan to go bigger on the tire size (currently running 265/70/17 and ideally want to get closer to a 34" tire like a 285/75/17) I want to make sure I'm getting all of it. Do any of you fine folks have experience pairing aftermarket springs with these shocks (likely Dobinsons or Iron Man)? I plan to eventually change out shocks too, but I need to pace myself on expense. I'd love to hear anyone who has a similar setup and their experience.

Thanks in advance
Jason

 

[jiggletits]

My advice? Save the money and invest in useful mods like lockers or a winch. 34" tires are a waste of fuel, kill acceleration, and are a real pain in the ass to get rid of rubbing. A fully locked axle or two, or a winch will get you a hell of a lot more places than an extra 1" of axle clearance and won't kill your fuel tank range.

 

[cgs2k2]

Okay here is an actual answer to your question:

You can run aftermarket springs on the 5100's but typically it is frowned upon to run "lift" springs AND set the 5100 to a higher setting. So, you can run the 5100 with new springs, but set them at 0" and let the longer/stiffer coils provide the lift.

I have run 5100 and IMO, there are MUCH better options out there. Perhaps you could get some new higher quality coil overs and sell the 5100+stock coil combo you've got to make some money back.

 

[uncbsba]

Okay here is an actual answer to your question:

You can run aftermarket springs on the 5100's but typically it is frowned upon to run "lift" springs AND set the 5100 to a higher setting. So, you can run the 5100 with new springs, but set them at 0" and let the longer/stiffer coils provide the lift.

I have run 5100 and IMO, there are MUCH better options out there. Perhaps you could get some new higher quality coil overs and sell the 5100+stock coil combo you've got to make some money back.

thanks for the relevant advice. I was thinking I would buy lifted coils and then move the collars on the shocks to the stock height setting. Not bad advice on the selloff but the Dobinsons IMS looks like it will run 2k and I'm guessing I could maybe get 300 for the Bilsteins.

 

[Arailt]

I ran 5100s on the lowest setting and OME springs on my Tacoma. They paired well. I used 884x springs and got ~2" of lift. Stiffened it up nicely over stock. I don't have a link, but I'm sure there's a chart out there somewhere with OME spring model to lift height on a GX.