275/70-18 cooper discoverer at3 XLT E.
Any higher and it will look like I missed leg day (and I’ll need 295/70s)
Bilstein 6112/5160 Installed
- Thread starter Robert B
- Start date
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Any higher and it will look like I missed leg day (and I’ll need 295/70s)
After 500 miles and a nut and bolt check i had the truck back up on the alignment rack at my regular guy. At perch #3 (1.8”) and aftermarket uppers I’m at 5+ positive caster. My alignment guy gave me a 30 minute speech about how I should switch to SPC because all the adjustment is at the top and it eliminates messing with the lower arm adjusters. I knew at that low of a perch I would run into this issue but I was surprised he recommended SPC.
Right now I’m at 1/8th toe out and 1/4 degree negative camber both sides with minimal to no rubbing. Before the lift it was zero’d out. I’ll drive it like this for a bit, I have some work projects coming up that required me to have to have a working off road vehicle so I’ll address this later in the month, perhaps with OEM arms. I’d much rather be in the 2-3 degree range than 5+.
Right now I’m at 1/8th toe out and 1/4 degree negative camber both sides with minimal to no rubbing. Before the lift it was zero’d out. I’ll drive it like this for a bit, I have some work projects coming up that required me to have to have a working off road vehicle so I’ll address this later in the month, perhaps with OEM arms. I’d much rather be in the 2-3 degree range than 5+.
I’m contemplating going to notch 2
Swapped Built Right CroMo Uniball/Poly Uppers for Dobinsons Tubular Ball Joint/Rubber Uppers and went up one clip to #4. No more binding, camber and toe numbers near perfect, positive caster for days, and no rubbing. Drives like it did stock! Very happy with this combo! I might do a zero point when I get a chance but other than that I think I’m done with this project!
Ya need some public shaming for thinking uniball anything was a good idea in the first place
FS: lightly used uppersYa need some public shaming for thinking uniball anything was a good idea in the first place
I will say cromoly is way lighter than regular steel lol. That’s about the only good thing I can think of.
Are you guys finding that your alignment gets far out of whack when you go up or down a perch? I'm at five and I want to go down to four to give myself a bit of a rake to level me off when I have gear in the back.
yeah absolutely need an alignment if you change the front perch
Installing 6122/5160 and I have a question... which perch should I set the front to (to fit these tires and be relatively level - little to No rake)? I'm happy to do some molding/plastic cutting, want to stay as low as I can without scrubbing...
- 2013 TLC with 3rd row, otherwise NOT loaded
- Kenda Klever RT 35x10.5x17
- 0.5" Bora spacers available if needed
- Stock Rear springs
- 30mm Rear spring spacer available if needed
That looks great!
I’m on 3rd perch and about to add a 30mm spacer after adding drawers and tools, and such
Finally got my Bilsteins on. I went with the Shock Surplus pre-assembled strut kit on the first setting which they say is a 1" lift. Couple observations:
1. Surprising amount of lift in the front but I'm happy with it, it's perfect now.
2. Amazing ride, less nose dive for sure, very nice
3. At the same time, at 155K and 11 years old I'm amazed how well the original suspension was still holding up! The ride is better but not night and day, maybe 20% better.
4. I had a shop do it because it's winter and I ran out of time to do the install myself this fall. Based on the shop's general nonverbal feedback it was a good idea to have them do it instead of me, sounds like it was a PITA install. They also properly settled out the KDSS and re-aligned, that's all totally perfect as well. ~1500 labor inc. alignment.
Stock rear springs still.
Check it out:
1. Surprising amount of lift in the front but I'm happy with it, it's perfect now.
2. Amazing ride, less nose dive for sure, very nice
3. At the same time, at 155K and 11 years old I'm amazed how well the original suspension was still holding up! The ride is better but not night and day, maybe 20% better.
4. I had a shop do it because it's winter and I ran out of time to do the install myself this fall. Based on the shop's general nonverbal feedback it was a good idea to have them do it instead of me, sounds like it was a PITA install. They also properly settled out the KDSS and re-aligned, that's all totally perfect as well. ~1500 labor inc. alignment.
Stock rear springs still.
Check it out:
Anymore thoughts or comparisons on the dobinson ims set up to the billsteins?
I see a lot of people have kept stock rear springs, but never stock front springs?
Both front struts are height adjustable, if i understand correctly?
Thx
I see a lot of people have kept stock rear springs, but never stock front springs?
Both front struts are height adjustable, if i understand correctly?
Thx
Fronts are adjustable because the coils fit over the shocks, and the perch on the shock is what makes it adjustable.
Rear is different, where the coil spring is divorced from the shock. The equivalent to perches is to use coil spring spacers that are readily available in 5 mm spring packers or 10mm increment spacers. Even as spacers get a bad rap, they are a totally legitimate way to adjust ride height if you find the coil spring rate is right for load and dynamic performance. It's easy to incorrectly mix the concepts of spring rate, coil free length, and ride height.
Glad you found the Bilstein thread. That's a good one.
Thanks again, im not super savvy with this stuff yet. I get what you are saying.
Still not totally clear on, if I got either dobinson ims or billstein 6112 front struts, and kept the front oem front coils, I will still have the ability to lift the front just with the struts and front stock springs?
Thanks for all your insight and patience.
I ask because ive run 5100s on my 04 tundra and old 4runners where i thought i was able to level the front up while keeping stock springs..
I'm planning on pulling the trigger on this setup (if I can find in stock). I currently have stock suspension with the OEM front coil spacer. Looks like the rear spring will give me 1.75" of lift. I don't want to go any higher than that as I have a parking garage to contend with at the office. My thought is to go with circlip #2 in the front (1.4") and keep the OEM spacer in place. Thinking this will preserve some extra down travel over removing the spacer and setting to a higher circlip. Should also add back a little rake as I'm sitting dead flat at the moment and gets a bit squatty when loaded down.
Can someone smarter than me confirm that this is a good plan re: the coil spacer? TIA
Can someone smarter than me confirm that this is a good plan re: the coil spacer? TIA
Sharing my findings since the topic of 6100s has come up in this thread before. I’ve been running 3rd gen sequoia 6100 rear shocks (the normal load ones—there’s also an option for +400lb valved shocks) for the last 2,000 miles and I’m super impressed with them. The rear swaybar on AHC equipped 200 series will not clear the piggyback reservoirs on the 5160s so I’ve always been looking for a better solution than extending the rear endlinks a ridiculous length. Happened to stumble upon some measurements and found a pair on sale for 30% off so I decided to take the gamble.
5160s for the 200 series are 14.61” compressed and 24.17” extended. 6100s for the 3rd gen sequoia are 16.59” compressed and 25.18” extended. An additional comparison: bp51s are 15.27” compressed and 23.85” extended. Interestingly the only info I’ve been able to find about AHC shock dimensions are 16.75” compressed and 25.5” extended, measured by a mud member from shaft shoulder to center of eyelet. Curb weights of the sequoia and LX are basically identical. An SR5 4WD is 6,030 lbs and my 2011 LX is 5,995 lbs. It’s like it was meant to be.
The only concerns I had were bottoming out the shocks as they are nearly 1.5” longer compressed than most aftermarket for the 200 series. Though in my articulation measurements I’d have about 1/4” shock shaft left when the axle hit the factory bump. And extending long enough to need extended rear brake lines and rear diff breather hose—even though it may be similar to the AHC length. When installing, it visually seemed to droop further than I can remember AHC doing. But it has been over 2 years since I had AHC. To limit up travel I sourced some extended bump stops from Perry parts. They should limit my up travel an additional 3/4 to 1 inch from the factory AHC bumps. Fine with me since I could use that with the 35” tires anyways. At full droop with jack stands on the frame, those lines are pulled straight, but don’t seem to be too stretched. I think I’ll try bending some brackets to see if I can get a little slack. Otherwise may just swap to extended for peace of mind. With the axle articulated one way or the other, the lines seem just fine. The shocks themselves are a 100% bolt on affair and clear all around.
Impressions: this is the bilstein kit for the 200 series we should have gotten. The 5160 is good enough, but the 6100 is a huge step up in performance. It pairs way better with bilsteins HD rear spring than the 5160s did. I would describe the ride as more plush but also equally, if not more, composed when it comes to body control. Especially on larger suspension hits. Even small bump compliance seems to feel more comfortable too. Obviously I don’t have a ton of miles on this setup yet, but so far I’ve been really impressed. I’m probably not the best person to try and describe the ride differences, but it’s definitely a big improvement.
One thing I will note is that it seems to feel better with bigger, heavier tires. I first swapped the shocks in while on my 275/70/18 snow tires. I was impressed, but it felt even better when I swapped back to my 35/12.5/18 load E ko2s. And a step further, last week I swapped to 35/11.5/18 load C at4ws. Chefs kiss. Rides phenomenally.
I’m on 4th perch up front and on HD bilstein rear springs.
5160s for the 200 series are 14.61” compressed and 24.17” extended. 6100s for the 3rd gen sequoia are 16.59” compressed and 25.18” extended. An additional comparison: bp51s are 15.27” compressed and 23.85” extended. Interestingly the only info I’ve been able to find about AHC shock dimensions are 16.75” compressed and 25.5” extended, measured by a mud member from shaft shoulder to center of eyelet. Curb weights of the sequoia and LX are basically identical. An SR5 4WD is 6,030 lbs and my 2011 LX is 5,995 lbs. It’s like it was meant to be.
The only concerns I had were bottoming out the shocks as they are nearly 1.5” longer compressed than most aftermarket for the 200 series. Though in my articulation measurements I’d have about 1/4” shock shaft left when the axle hit the factory bump. And extending long enough to need extended rear brake lines and rear diff breather hose—even though it may be similar to the AHC length. When installing, it visually seemed to droop further than I can remember AHC doing. But it has been over 2 years since I had AHC. To limit up travel I sourced some extended bump stops from Perry parts. They should limit my up travel an additional 3/4 to 1 inch from the factory AHC bumps. Fine with me since I could use that with the 35” tires anyways. At full droop with jack stands on the frame, those lines are pulled straight, but don’t seem to be too stretched. I think I’ll try bending some brackets to see if I can get a little slack. Otherwise may just swap to extended for peace of mind. With the axle articulated one way or the other, the lines seem just fine. The shocks themselves are a 100% bolt on affair and clear all around.
Impressions: this is the bilstein kit for the 200 series we should have gotten. The 5160 is good enough, but the 6100 is a huge step up in performance. It pairs way better with bilsteins HD rear spring than the 5160s did. I would describe the ride as more plush but also equally, if not more, composed when it comes to body control. Especially on larger suspension hits. Even small bump compliance seems to feel more comfortable too. Obviously I don’t have a ton of miles on this setup yet, but so far I’ve been really impressed. I’m probably not the best person to try and describe the ride differences, but it’s definitely a big improvement.
One thing I will note is that it seems to feel better with bigger, heavier tires. I first swapped the shocks in while on my 275/70/18 snow tires. I was impressed, but it felt even better when I swapped back to my 35/12.5/18 load E ko2s. And a step further, last week I swapped to 35/11.5/18 load C at4ws. Chefs kiss. Rides phenomenally.
I’m on 4th perch up front and on HD bilstein rear springs.