Bilstien 6112 & 5160 on 4th Gen 4runner : Review

samuelashirley

Observer
Hey Everyone,

Wanted to give some feedback on my recent suspension purchase for those looking around.

TL;DR - 6112 and 5160 is an amazing setup.

The truck:
2005
4x4
v6
SR5 (no XREAS)
114k miles
265x75x16 BFG K02

What I wanted:
Nice highway ride, this is my DD.
2inches of lift over stock.
Good washboard/fire roads handling - I live in Colorado and do a bit of camping and there are always miles of washboards to crush in order to get anywhere good.

What I got:
6112- Front
5160 - Rear
Toytec Superflex 2in coils - rear

The suspension that was on the truck was stock, I'm assuming original - it was in pretty bad shape, but still drove 10x better than my old 1st gen taco with Oriley special and spacers.

I set the 6112 on the 4th clip from the bottom on the driver side and 2nd clip from the bottom on the passenger side. According to the manual, this will lift about 2.1 inches over stock. I would say that is pretty accurate. I installed the toytec 2in coils in the back and they gave 2in over stock. From the point my shocks were at I'd estimate my truck grew 3 to 3.5 inches.

The ride on road - This setup rides as if BMW made suspension for a 4runner. Very little body roll in turns or under braking. Tiny bumps are still there, this does not ride like a lincoln town car, boat, marshmallow set up whatever you want to call it - this is more on the German SUV / Large touring sedan type ride. 85 mph is buttery smooth and extremely stable, even before the alignment.

The ride offroad - Where this setup shines! Washboard at 35-40 mph is the smoothest I have ever felt and all of those giant cringe worthy bumps are soaked up like they are not there. Multiple times my wife braced for a bump, just to find it was butter going over.

I like a little rake, but there is a little more rake than I expected. RTT goes on tomorrow, I imagine with that and 100lbs of gear, it will lower the back about an inch.

The size of the 6112 compared to a size 10.5 shoe
IMG_0058.jpg

Before
404C08B0-A99B-4BFE-BF3E-6845A1BC1BCD.jpg

After
IMG_0059.jpg
 

hour

Observer
Looks good.

Was this you behind me a little less than 2 years ago up at Argentine/McClellan?

11062799_10153446412592716_1109583605464617473_o_zpsrowvrkr0.jpg
 

SWITAWI

Doesn't Get Out Enough
Also wondering if you reused the OE front coils. Just last week I did the 6112/5160 upgrade to my '08 FJC using the 600lb Eibach front coils in the Bilstein kit, and the same Toytec Superflex 2.0 rear coils.

I went with the 4th slot up from the bottom for the front spring perch height adjustment, what Bilstein states as a "2" Average Lift", but in reality is more like 2.5" on an otherwise stock weight FJC.

Went to PINS last weekend and while I did not get to drive near as much as I wanted (and also had to observe the 15mph speed limit most of the time) when I did get a long stretch of open, unoccupied beach the difference in the suspension was pretty damn nice.

It will be a few months before I also spring for new front upper control arms, but soon I'll be putting in some Wheeler's Offroad SuperBumps up front and Skyjacker (SBE702) 3.0" extended sway bar links at the rear.

Before...
FJC%20Suspension%20Before_zpstquyk1ss.jpg~original


Immediately After...
FJC%20Suspension%20Bilstein_zpspwlmrdun.jpg~original


After 1-week daily driving and pounding sand on a 3-day weekend beach run...
FJC%20Suspension%20Bilstein%20After%20PINS%202017_zps5gfuuavr.jpg~original
 
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samuelashirley

Observer
Did you set the driver side at the 4th perch and the passenger side at 2nd perch like the manual said? That's the setup I did but looks like you got more lift than I did. Even with the RTT I still have more rake than I wanted - seriously debating moving the spring perch up one click on each side... but that sound like a ton of work for just installing them last week haha.
 

samuelashirley

Observer
Here it is with the RTT, still has a bit of rake.

Going to try tonight with all of my gear and see if that levels it a little.

IMG_0016.jpg
 

SWITAWI

Doesn't Get Out Enough
Did you set the driver side at the 4th perch and the passenger side at 2nd perch like the manual said? That's the setup I did but looks like you got more lift than I did. Even with the RTT I still have more rake than I wanted - seriously debating moving the spring perch up one click on each side... but that sound like a ton of work for just installing them last week haha.

I set both my front perches the same, at the 4th/2in slot up from the bottom. The sheet of Bilstein instructions I received don't say anything about setting the left/right heights differently, though it does recommend not going above the 2in slot for 'optimum ride quality' -
http://cart.bilsteinus.com/pdfs/E4-WM5-Y428A00.pdf

I'd say that FJCs with their already large wheel openings almost always give the appearance of more lift than the similar 4Runners and Tacomas, especially with the stock 265/70-17 tire size like I still have. Though it seems less exaggerated after a week of commute driving and a 3-day weekend beach run. I just edited my first post with a third picture to show what it looks like now. EDIT: Now that I look at the pictures side-by-side it pretty much looks the same, lol. I guess it's just my perception and I'm getting more used to the look of it.

If I ever get an ARB front bumper fitted I might/might not have them adjusted to the top/5th slot depending on the amount of rake the bumper weight induces. I'm okay with a little rake, just didn't want the same severity of 'nose low' that a stock truck has which is why I gambled on the 4th slot. I know exactly what you mean by not wanting to turn right around and have to disassemble/reassemble them again just to change notches.

:beer:
 
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