Excellent video! So many questions off-roaders have asked over the years answered in 7 minutes! 5100's are extremely popular, and with the rising popularity of the 6112's I would be very interested in a 5100 vs 6112 comparison. Keep up the good work!
Hear, hear! Although, I’m reading that the travel distance, compressed length, and extended length is the same for both the front 5100 and 6112 shocks.
I have 6112 in my 03 Sequoia and I was under the impression they are simply a bigger diameter. Interesting question. It would be nice to know if adding a thin spacer would add down travel to my current setup.
my assumption of the 6112 is that its just a thicc 5100, I am running a first gen tundra 6112 because it works out to about .5in extra shock travel over the 4runner. 5100s share the same travel numbers
This content is phenomenal. Just straight facts, not bs or regurgitated broscience. What a refreshing change from the usual 4x4 and off-road community content.
Thank you for your continued analysis of the Toyota front suspension. At the very least it is educational and for those who actually off road and can apply some of what you share with us I'm sure they find valuable. It's quite clear that the suspension system on our vehicles is a most important aspect of the vehicle's overall performance. I watched a video the other day of a tour of SVC in California who make/install/tune true long travel suspensions particularly on the Ford Raptor and that was a GREAT video. It doesn't matter how much power you can squeeze out of your engine if you can't put it to the ground effectively.
I would love you to list package builds on your opinion from basic lifts to advance. Too many shops just over sell products to consumers that are getting into this field. Your channel is definitely very educational.
I'll be changing out my stock 1st gen tacoma struts for Bilstein 4600s very soon. I'll do a side by side measurement to check for extended travel. Thanks for your efforts on Toyota IFS.
I ran 5100s and OME springs for a couple or so years. Put about 70k hard miles on them. Loved them never had a complaint. The only reason they got replaced with the Dobs longtravel IMS setup was because I wasn't running bumpstops and broke the shaft from one of the lower mounts in the rear. When I pulled them off they still had strong rebound. A guy bought the kit from me for only $100. No doubt he will get plenty more use out of them. Anyhoo great video yet again. Always learn a lot from watching your work.
I'm running Dobinsons extended travel shocks/springs from Apache Offroad, and they definitely add more travel! I'm also running JBA high caster UCAs though which has helped a lot with steering.
I'm seeing a problem with your Icon extended travel math. You are comparing the extra droop Icons extended travel gives to Icons regular varrient, but comparing bilsteins extra droop to oem shock. The problem is that Icons' regular shock is already extended a little. The Icons Extended travel extended length is 22.57, and Bilstein 5100 is 22.59. If you compair those both to the stock extended shock length it's almost the same amount of droop.
What is the maximum stroke length at factory ride height before potentially damaging limitations (ball joint, cv's etc) occur? I cannot find straight answers anywhere. Just parrot talk and bro science as well as salesman speak. I have 3rd gen tacoma and want better shocks with more travel, but no lift. I use my truck for work and don't want to lift heavy items any higher than I already do, but more articulation on the trails is always a plus. Specifically I have had my eye on fox performance elite, and your videos make me think I *might* be able to get away with the 0-3" front c/o's set to oem height. But only data can tell me for sure. (Accutune thinks I'm going to lift it to 3" with oem uca, but im not. I told them that but they don't believe me.) I just want daily driver/sleeper abilities.
I have a lot of respect for how you deliver your information. When you find that what you believed for fact from previous videos may not be as clear cut as you once understood, you have no problem showing those facts. Much respect to you for this!!!
Well I can tell my experience on the Toyota Hilux, the suspension between the tacoma, prado, 4runner and FJ is very similar. The factory UCA is good up to 2" of lift. With a extended ball on the factory UCA you can go from +2" to +3.5" of lift, even 4" but with some flex limitations. UCA replacements are stronger but some of them limit the flex a lot and will be hitting the coil spring like the Dobinsons UCA.
Love the videos. At 1:22 you showed the wheels droop, I think you should split the screen right in the center of the wheel instead to show the difference in before/after instead of overlapping the footage cause it just blurs it. Keep the videos coming.
My rear cheap icons are slightly longer than my old 5100. And run those in the back with longer sway bar links and 5100 up front on 1.75”/1” lift. Running 255/80r17. Perfect set up, although I kinda want to stuff some 255/85 in it. Not sure I even need to do much.
Your channel is amazing ! I did this same experimentations ona brand new 2023 Toyota Hilux 4x4. And I managed go from 16cm travel to 22cm by lowering down with the sock rod bump stop with a smal spacer. Keeping factory suspension offset. Thanks for the detailed info. As you, I had same issues figuring out all the shock specs and sizes, even for huge companies like Monroe. I live in Argentina BTW and most of the products you show aren't available here.
Excellent videos! I've watched them multiple times to make sure I get the most out of them! Im looking at ways to maximize travel without going LT and have been frustrated by the lack of details. It would be amazing to see how much travel each brand has, similar to what you did here. Similarly, it would be really interesting to see how the rear suspension does as well. I know there are several different strategies for gaining length such as the Metal Tech LT which uses a longer shock but requires a 3" bumpstop compared to the Sonoran Steel Radflo option that is the same length as stock but uses a remote resi and internal trickery to give about the same length as the MT LT but with the stock bumpstop. It seems like they provide a similar length of travel but in different ways. Being that I have KDSS, I'm also interested in the different panhard bars that attempt to alleviate contact with the KDSS system on uptravel. It would be great to see if the different strategies like Treaty Oaks KDSS spacer, basic panhard bar upgrade (i.e. Dobs, Ironman, etc.), or Sonoran Steel bar make a difference. Love everything you are doing and cannot wait to see what you come out with next. Definitely interested in the UCA convo, especially since I've had a OME lift with stock UCA for 90k miles sitting at 23.5 up front (effectively 3.5" lift) with no issues at all. I'm sure an extended travel shock and slightly less lift would help the ride since it's pretty stiff but that's a whole other story!
Thanks! You have some good points made. I pieced together my rear long travel with random shocks for other vehicles just to help retain up travel. If you haven't already, check out my KDSS video which I showed how the rear panhard and kdss spacer help.
Look at the factory replacement offerings for lifted IFS vechicles in Austarlia buy Monroe. Typically 3/4 longer over the factory specs. I run imported Koni Raids on my 2018 Chevy Colorado. Koni also has diffrent part numbers for lifted IFS suspensions. I run Koni part number from the Holden Colorado and Izuzu D-Max.
And again, ironically, Rough country lists their lengths which is funny since I can't find anything from Icon. Running TRD pro personally. Switching to 2.5" Icon for adjustability. But Rough country's coilover setups offer more length, about the same as ironman I think. Nearly a 6" stroke
Great info as always. I've often wondered how much more travel the ext. travel coilovers added. Cause I would think that in the end it's limited by Lower control arm down travel and my the tires hitting on the upper control arms reducing the travel.
I'm putting Bilstein 6112's on my 1st gen. double cab Tacoma. I have at least 3" body lift. Maybe, I should think about long travel suspension? First, I have to replace my leaf springs because they are super sagged like they look upside down.
Please make a video on how we lubricate Option Upper Control Arms and all the other ball joints and moving parts on the front suspension system specially those with no grease nipples. OR how we can put grease nipples to those parts who doesn't have
on my gx470 (which i mob) , my cross weights are trash and truck wallows , the 45lb battery is in the very front drivers side behind the headlamp, driver side also has fuel tank and my weight... im raised 1.5"f and 1" r with spc upper arms for -1.8 front camber and a decent amount of caster ..
Great videos. Debunking myths through actual engineering and not just marketing lingo. Carpe Diem! Following your style, it would be great to see a side-to-side comparison of the most popular coilovers. Something similar to what Project Farm in his channel does. Would gladly help you set something up for that.
It makes me happy to have Bilstein 6112 Kit from TRD for my FJ Cruiser that was used in the TTUE FJ Cruiser. The performance on and off road is excellent.
I'm running the ironman stage two and love it, so far it's been great system, places I go that they sell icon lift kits call the ironman "entry level" 😂😂😂
@@TinkerersAdventure in eibachs instruction manual for the Pro truck leveling springs it says "Note: The Pro Truck Leveling springs must not be used with the OE shocks. Extended travel shocks are required to avoid damage to the suspension." So I would assume that means the pro truck suspension has ext travel shocks. If you have a email I can send you the manual.
Love these videos! Can you also do a video that looks at rear travel and shock length? I've done extended setups before and the shock I used was a Fox 10" but I don't recall the exact length it was with the stock arms. I want to build something similar with my FJ and I have extended length sway bar links but not sure what shock to go with to get the added droop.
Thanks for your research, this just makes me want to buy any Toyota trd pro version and keep all the suspension stock going off of what you’re saying. I have king shocks “regular” not extended adjusted to about 2” to level the front on my tundra like the trd pro with stock UCA and it bottoms out quite a bit going fast off-road hitting some unseen little whoops
You can rebuild your King and let them swap in a shorter top out spacer to gain some down travel. I really like the TRD Pro Fox coilovers. They are internal bypass, which gives ride characteristics these Fox/King/Icon 2.5 diameter coilovers can't even touch.
@@TinkerersAdventure yea I was gonna take them off soon to get rebuilt and tell them that, like you said Toyota made the pro suspension with stock UCA so I’ll stick with that
Bilstein requires UCAs on their extended travel 6112 skus, fyi. Well, by word, they won't actually force you. I'm running the ext travel 6112s, 5160s and B8 UCAs on my Silverado. 6112s on their lowest perch of 1.85", rear is +1" with progressive springs. She rides reeeeeal nice
Not 100% about the Tacoma, but many vehicles I’ve lift/level, the control arm actually with hit and bind on the coil spring where a aftermarket control arm is required to avoid this. I changed mine for better alignment specs and more clearance. Plus the OME control arms look fantastic. Even Toyota installed a new control arm in the TRD Pros.
Good point. I plan to mention this in my UCA video. On Toyotas the UCA will contact the coil with incorrect setup that adds way too much droop, such as strut top spacers. I verified the factory UCA will not contact the coils with extended travel coilovers in 2.5 diameter shocks. But there won't be room for remote reservoir hose.
Can you explain the shock ajustment on shocks. Primarily the Bilstine 5100? I have 2002 Tundra 4x4 & bought Bilstien rears & front shocks/coilovers, or what ever they are. They came with instructions for adjustment heights for different vehicles. There are 4 or 5 rings on the shocks for height ajustments. The adjustment for Tundra is recommended to be at the number 3 postion, which only offers 1.5" rise in the front, which brings up my front. But it is still not level with the rear Bilstines. Should I remain with the #3 position and add a 1" spacer or move the ajustment up to the next highest postion? T4TV'S.
So youre saying i really dont need a front diff drop OR aftermarket uca for a simple ~2.5" Bilstein 5100 lift?!? Have you had the chance to put you hands and brain on the Eibach lift shocks/springs?
sooooo..... regular bilstein 5100's with adjustable lift up to 2.5" may actually be better than a 3 or 3.5" lift kit. since it adds down travel and only lifts 2.5". seems that is a more optimal kit than a RC 3.5 lift kit that may actually limit down travel even though lift is higher. thoughts?
Why cant you pre load OME coil springs on Bilstien 5100's? I have this set up , uninstalled at the moment but about to move forward. I have the springs and shocks put together at the zero pre load mark as specified but do you know why Old Man Emu springs are like this? If it works in Australia it will work here I suppose.
Even though i have yet to get a long travel kit, let alone a mid travel, I been binge watching all your videos to soak in the information so I can make the best decision!
wait, so if my vehicle DOESNT have aftermarket support, how do i determine if i could even fit extended travel coil overs? i'm so confused 😖I have an rx 350 which uses the same suspension as a 2013 highlander, but i really want to get some more suspension travel off road without having to do much in other modifications. I also want to know its going to fit before i buy bc i dont want to spend money and then have to return the parts and do the disassembly and reassembly process twice. also, does a longer travel coilover require the use of longer brake lines?
Thanks for the extremely informative videos. Wonder if you are familiar with the Bilstein 6112 front coilovers and if they have the same extended travel that is provided on the Bilstein 5100 coil overs? Thanks
Love it more flex cool. Now I have a job for everyone find me a direct comparison to the icon rxt 2.5 rear shocks for a tundra because I love bilsteins but they have nothing within a 2 inch length that the icon has and it sucks!!!!
As always, fantastic material and discussion. I have the 6112s on my GX460 and have been happy with their performance off-road. I wonder if they have similar extended travel to the 5100?
According to Bilstein (who I've been exchanging emails with) they are same as stock.. 21.62". But putting a 0.5" spacer on top of a 6112 might work just fine to get the same extended travel. Someone needs to test this.
Thanks! I don’t have first hand data. Looks like Chris got your answer. But bilstein’s tech support is horrible. Before I posted this video, I gave them a call to asked them why they didn’t advertise the extended travel for 5100. The guy tried to convince me 5100 doesn’t add travel and down travel is not limited by coilover length.
I found that the cheap icon rear shocks are better than the rear for the Bilsteins. So I run 5100 up front and icon in the back. I’m tempted to go with the Ironmans next.
I'm curious, were your findings wrong in your previous video about stock UCAs being the limiting factor in getting more droop from extended travel coilovers? Didn't your video show that the UCA was the first thing to bind with extended travel? However, like you said, Bilstein has been making extended travel all along without issues. So I guess I'm just confused, haha. By the way I seriously love your videos! So informative and quickly becoming one of my favorite channels to watch! Can't wait for the next one!
Thanks! In my previous video, UCA was the first thing to bind with “NO” coilover. I later showed with an extended travel coilover, I had to back up by 0.5” to install the coilover bolt
Hey Kai, wondering if you could help me out with a question I had. I’ve been running the bilstein 5100 with OME 885 spring on my 4th gen 4runner. Because it’s the v8, I didn’t get quite as much lift as I thought I would so I added a 3/8” top hat spacer. Do you think I should remove the top hat spacer and instead set my spring perch up 1 level on the 5100? The top hat spacer still isn’t quite enough. Or will this be too much pre-load? From what I’ve seen on the forums, people advise against this, but watching your videos, I realized most forums are just people repeating the same misinformation
Don't add top hat spacer above the 5100, as it will over extend the droop. Use the spring setting. There isn't such thing as too much pre-load. There is issue with too much lift and lack of down travel. But nothing to do with "load". Check out this video where I went over this topic. ua-cam.com/video/l1tTelhdEiM/v-deo.html
@@TinkerersAdventure that video along with this video is what actually got me thinking about getting rid of the top hat spacer and going up 1 on the spring perch. Also thanks so much for the quick reply and the amazing info.
@@TinkerersAdventure This part is a bit confusing. So how much extra droop is available with the 5100 before it would bottom out? On your other video you said a stock shock (looked like a stock bilstein from the FJ) you had comfortably about .6 of an inch of room so a .5 inch spacer for a 1 inch lift would be a great combo. Is it because the 5100 is about .5 longer than the stock shock that there isn't that much room available so the 5100 is already maxed out and should not have a spacer?
Thank you so much for this, I have 5100s currently, and I am satisfied with it's performance. However lately I've been wanting to research the possibility of adding a bit more travel to it, little did I know, it already has more travel. I wish you were closer to me so that we can do a flex test with my truck to compare to stock, any plans to do a comparison video between the 5100 and stock travel?? I know that at full droop, my inner cv's already bind, so I am expecting to have a bit more travel, but I would like to know how much compared to stock, perhaps it would be ideal to upgrade to the 6112/5160 combo just to have a bit better shocks?
Thanks! If you're referring to the actual articulations, the 5100 will perform just like the Ironman Foam cell pro tested in my previous video:ua-cam.com/video/l1tTelhdEiM/v-deo.html. Different spring rate, vehicle weight, lift height and the balance of front and rear suspension stiffness will all impact the final result. If you want even more travel than what you currently have, going long travel IFS is your best bet. 6112 will be more resistant to damping fade for prolong high speed offroad. I'm not sure if the valving provides a different ride characteristics.
@@TinkerersAdventure thank you for your reply, my current goals are occasional overlanding trips, with mild crawling, I don't see any high speed stuff in my near future. I guess I just need to come up with some sort of sway bar disconnect for my 4th gen 4runner and I will be set in the suspension department
4:34 Am I understanding correctly, that a 0.5” spacer on TRD Pro suspension would effectively shift the coilover down to match the down travel of the 5100/Ironman while adding 0.5” of up travel before it contacts the bump stop, which should be the limiting factor? If that’s true, then TRDP suspension + 0.5” spacer would be a strong contender for a quality suspension upgrade on a base SR5 4Runner, without having to change UCAs or adding a diff drop.
i am planning to upgrade my fj stock suspension system with 2.5” dobinsons IMS , 265/70/17R tire. what is your advice, do i need to upgrade the UCA or stick with stock UCA. Thanks 😊
Dude! You are absolutely killing it with these videos! Thanks for doing the research and for sharing.
That thing hitting the back of your throat ?
For real, this guy destroys all the BS in this community lol.
Excellent video! So many questions off-roaders have asked over the years answered in 7 minutes! 5100's are extremely popular, and with the rising popularity of the 6112's I would be very interested in a 5100 vs 6112 comparison. Keep up the good work!
I'll second this request! Love to see a 6112 video.
Hear, hear! Although, I’m reading that the travel distance, compressed length, and extended length is the same for both the front 5100 and 6112 shocks.
I have 6112 in my 03 Sequoia and I was under the impression they are simply a bigger diameter. Interesting question. It would be nice to know if adding a thin spacer would add down travel to my current setup.
my assumption of the 6112 is that its just a thicc 5100, I am running a first gen tundra 6112 because it works out to about .5in extra shock travel over the 4runner. 5100s share the same travel numbers
I agree!
This content is phenomenal. Just straight facts, not bs or regurgitated broscience. What a refreshing change from the usual 4x4 and off-road community content.
Thank you for your continued analysis of the Toyota front suspension. At the very least it is educational and for those who actually off road and can apply some of what you share with us I'm sure they find valuable. It's quite clear that the suspension system on our vehicles is a most important aspect of the vehicle's overall performance. I watched a video the other day of a tour of SVC in California who make/install/tune true long travel suspensions particularly on the Ford Raptor and that was a GREAT video. It doesn't matter how much power you can squeeze out of your engine if you can't put it to the ground effectively.
These suspension videos are hands down the best straightforward explanation of IFS out there. Well done and keep them coming. 👏
Appreciate all the research and real world testing you do!
I'd be interested in hearing about digressive vs. linear/progressive damping. Thanks for your detailed information and hard work.
Another great video, Kai. Thanks for sharing this information with the community.
Thank you!
Y'all owe Kai some sponsorship money. I've got the Foam Cell Pro in my shortlist to replace my TRD Pro suspension
I would love you to list package builds on your opinion from basic lifts to advance. Too many shops just over sell products to consumers that are getting into this field.
Your channel is definitely very educational.
Thanks. That is a good idea. I'll do a video like that in the future
I'll be changing out my stock 1st gen tacoma struts for Bilstein 4600s very soon. I'll do a side by side measurement to check for extended travel. Thanks for your efforts on Toyota IFS.
I ran 5100s and OME springs for a couple or so years. Put about 70k hard miles on them. Loved them never had a complaint. The only reason they got replaced with the Dobs longtravel IMS setup was because I wasn't running bumpstops and broke the shaft from one of the lower mounts in the rear. When I pulled them off they still had strong rebound. A guy bought the kit from me for only $100. No doubt he will get plenty more use out of them. Anyhoo great video yet again. Always learn a lot from watching your work.
I'm running Dobinsons extended travel shocks/springs from Apache Offroad, and they definitely add more travel! I'm also running JBA high caster UCAs though which has helped a lot with steering.
So basically 5100 is more than enough for 99% of ppl ?
Thank you for taking the time to measure and put together all of this data, Kai. Very eager to see new videos.
I'm seeing a problem with your Icon extended travel math. You are comparing the extra droop Icons extended travel gives to Icons regular varrient, but comparing bilsteins extra droop to oem shock. The problem is that Icons' regular shock is already extended a little. The Icons Extended travel extended length is 22.57, and Bilstein 5100 is 22.59. If you compair those both to the stock extended shock length it's almost the same amount of droop.
What is the maximum stroke length at factory ride height before potentially damaging limitations (ball joint, cv's etc) occur? I cannot find straight answers anywhere. Just parrot talk and bro science as well as salesman speak. I have 3rd gen tacoma and want better shocks with more travel, but no lift. I use my truck for work and don't want to lift heavy items any higher than I already do, but more articulation on the trails is always a plus. Specifically I have had my eye on fox performance elite, and your videos make me think I *might* be able to get away with the 0-3" front c/o's set to oem height. But only data can tell me for sure. (Accutune thinks I'm going to lift it to 3" with oem uca, but im not. I told them that but they don't believe me.) I just want daily driver/sleeper abilities.
These videos are fantastic please dont stop making them
I have a lot of respect for how you deliver your information. When you find that what you believed for fact from previous videos may not be as clear cut as you once understood, you have no problem showing those facts. Much respect to you for this!!!
Awesome research! Thanks for the information and for the shoutout in the video! 😁👍
Thanks for sharing the only numbers i could find on the entire internet!
Well I can tell my experience on the Toyota Hilux, the suspension between the tacoma, prado, 4runner and FJ is very similar. The factory UCA is good up to 2" of lift. With a extended ball on the factory UCA you can go from +2" to +3.5" of lift, even 4" but with some flex limitations. UCA replacements are stronger but some of them limit the flex a lot and will be hitting the coil spring like the Dobinsons UCA.
As an engineer I appreciate the detailed analysis and comparison.
Love the videos. At 1:22 you showed the wheels droop, I think you should split the screen right in the center of the wheel instead to show the difference in before/after instead of overlapping the footage cause it just blurs it. Keep the videos coming.
That is a great suggestion. I will keep that in mind for future illustrations. Thanks!
My rear cheap icons are slightly longer than my old 5100. And run those in the back with longer sway bar links and 5100 up front on 1.75”/1” lift. Running 255/80r17. Perfect set up, although I kinda want to stuff some 255/85 in it. Not sure I even need to do much.
Your channel is amazing ! I did this same experimentations ona brand new 2023 Toyota Hilux 4x4. And I managed go from 16cm travel to 22cm by lowering down with the sock rod bump stop with a smal spacer. Keeping factory suspension offset. Thanks for the detailed info. As you, I had same issues figuring out all the shock specs and sizes, even for huge companies like Monroe.
I live in Argentina BTW and most of the products you show aren't available here.
Excellent videos! I've watched them multiple times to make sure I get the most out of them! Im looking at ways to maximize travel without going LT and have been frustrated by the lack of details. It would be amazing to see how much travel each brand has, similar to what you did here. Similarly, it would be really interesting to see how the rear suspension does as well. I know there are several different strategies for gaining length such as the Metal Tech LT which uses a longer shock but requires a 3" bumpstop compared to the Sonoran Steel Radflo option that is the same length as stock but uses a remote resi and internal trickery to give about the same length as the MT LT but with the stock bumpstop. It seems like they provide a similar length of travel but in different ways. Being that I have KDSS, I'm also interested in the different panhard bars that attempt to alleviate contact with the KDSS system on uptravel. It would be great to see if the different strategies like Treaty Oaks KDSS spacer, basic panhard bar upgrade (i.e. Dobs, Ironman, etc.), or Sonoran Steel bar make a difference. Love everything you are doing and cannot wait to see what you come out with next. Definitely interested in the UCA convo, especially since I've had a OME lift with stock UCA for 90k miles sitting at 23.5 up front (effectively 3.5" lift) with no issues at all. I'm sure an extended travel shock and slightly less lift would help the ride since it's pretty stiff but that's a whole other story!
Thanks! You have some good points made. I pieced together my rear long travel with random shocks for other vehicles just to help retain up travel. If you haven't already, check out my KDSS video which I showed how the rear panhard and kdss spacer help.
Look at the factory replacement offerings for lifted IFS vechicles in Austarlia buy Monroe. Typically 3/4 longer over the factory specs. I run imported Koni Raids on my 2018 Chevy Colorado. Koni also has diffrent part numbers for lifted IFS suspensions. I run Koni part number from the Holden Colorado and Izuzu D-Max.
Please do a video on custom longer travel shocks, i'm apart of that 5%
Bloody brilliant yet again by far the best no bs facts love it mate cheers
And again, ironically, Rough country lists their lengths which is funny since I can't find anything from Icon. Running TRD pro personally. Switching to 2.5" Icon for adjustability. But Rough country's coilover setups offer more length, about the same as ironman I think. Nearly a 6" stroke
Thank you so much for this super useful information. I’m much better informed now that I am shopping for coil overs.
Great info as always. I've often wondered how much more travel the ext. travel coilovers added. Cause I would think that in the end it's limited by Lower control arm down travel and my the tires hitting on the upper control arms reducing the travel.
I just fitted bilstein 5100 was about 25mm longer than the factory coil over from my 2015 n70 toyota Hilux. I ordered a 2inch lift kit.
I dig the data only bias. Helps me decide, still gonna run my Bilstien max height 😂. “ I don’t want peace, I want want problems, ALWAYS “
Awesome helpful content! Keep it up! It would be great to know if those with 6112 setups can add a 0.5" spacer to get the same travel as 5100s
Thanks and I hope so! Most shocks I’ve seen have over 0.5” of compression left at bump stop
I’m looking at Icon what would you recommend for 2012 4Runner limited in a 2-3” lift ? And I would like deleting the Xreas suspension on it .
I'm putting Bilstein 6112's on my 1st gen. double cab Tacoma. I have at least 3" body lift. Maybe, I should think about long travel suspension?
First, I have to replace my leaf springs because they are super sagged like they look upside down.
Please make a video on how we lubricate Option Upper Control Arms and all the other ball joints and moving parts on the front suspension system specially those with no grease nipples. OR how we can put grease nipples to those parts who doesn't have
Please you must digress further
on my gx470 (which i mob) , my cross weights are trash and truck wallows , the 45lb battery is in the very front drivers side behind the headlamp, driver side also has fuel tank and my weight... im raised 1.5"f and 1" r with spc upper arms for -1.8 front camber and a decent amount of caster ..
I wish I would have measured the 6112s on my 06 Tundra before installing to see if they are extended travel like the 5100s.
I just ordered bilstein 6112s for my Tacoma. I hope they have as much down travel as the 5100s.
Hello! what are your thoughts on 1" Dif drop for a 2022 tacoma with a 2.5 to 3' lift?
When comparing droops, my non existent girlfriend would agree that 1” more is a significant difference
Can you make a video in benefits/cons of body lift in terms of maximizing travel?
Great videos. Debunking myths through actual engineering and not just marketing lingo. Carpe Diem!
Following your style, it would be great to see a side-to-side comparison of the most popular coilovers. Something similar to what Project Farm in his channel does. Would gladly help you set something up for that.
Can you explain the use of having adjustable rear upper and lower control arms to set pinion angle for vehicles like 4Runner and FJ cruiser?
It makes me happy to have Bilstein 6112 Kit from TRD for my FJ Cruiser that was used in the TTUE FJ Cruiser. The performance on and off road is excellent.
Wow, another outstanding video. Thank you for putting these together. They're helping me a l
I'm running the ironman stage two and love it, so far it's been great system, places I go that they sell icon lift kits call the ironman "entry level" 😂😂😂
I’ve read in the Tacoma forums you don’t need UCA for 2” or less of lift. 3” lifts is a must for aftermarket UCA’s.
Man your banging these vids out, awesome info as usual brother.
Thank you Richie!
Another awesome video! I'm curious if the Eibach 2.0 coilovers are "extended" or not. I'm installing them very soon.
Thanks! Line them up side by side to your factory one. I’m curious to know!
@@TinkerersAdventure in eibachs instruction manual for the Pro truck leveling springs it says "Note: The Pro Truck Leveling springs must not be used with the OE shocks.
Extended travel shocks are required to avoid damage to the suspension." So I would assume that means the pro truck suspension has ext travel shocks. If you have a email I can send you the manual.
Love these videos! Can you also do a video that looks at rear travel and shock length? I've done extended setups before and the shock I used was a Fox 10" but I don't recall the exact length it was with the stock arms. I want to build something similar with my FJ and I have extended length sway bar links but not sure what shock to go with to get the added droop.
Beautiful, just beautiful.
Thanks for actually breaking out a tape measure and checking things. Rare these days.
Dude. Your videos are legit. You answer a lot of questions I've had for a long time. I hope you keep making content like this.
Thanks for your research, this just makes me want to buy any Toyota trd pro version and keep all the suspension stock going off of what you’re saying. I have king shocks “regular” not extended adjusted to about 2” to level the front on my tundra like the trd pro with stock UCA and it bottoms out quite a bit going fast off-road hitting some unseen little whoops
You can rebuild your King and let them swap in a shorter top out spacer to gain some down travel. I really like the TRD Pro Fox coilovers. They are internal bypass, which gives ride characteristics these Fox/King/Icon 2.5 diameter coilovers can't even touch.
@@TinkerersAdventure yea I was gonna take them off soon to get rebuilt and tell them that, like you said Toyota made the pro suspension with stock UCA so I’ll stick with that
Bilstein requires UCAs on their extended travel 6112 skus, fyi. Well, by word, they won't actually force you.
I'm running the ext travel 6112s, 5160s and B8 UCAs on my Silverado. 6112s on their lowest perch of 1.85", rear is +1" with progressive springs.
She rides reeeeeal nice
I truly appreciate your videos. Thank you!
Top notch content my friend ❤
Not 100% about the Tacoma, but many vehicles I’ve lift/level, the control arm actually with hit and bind on the coil spring where a aftermarket control arm is required to avoid this. I changed mine for better alignment specs and more clearance. Plus the OME control arms look fantastic. Even Toyota installed a new control arm in the TRD Pros.
Good point. I plan to mention this in my UCA video. On Toyotas the UCA will contact the coil with incorrect setup that adds way too much droop, such as strut top spacers. I verified the factory UCA will not contact the coils with extended travel coilovers in 2.5 diameter shocks. But there won't be room for remote reservoir hose.
Can you explain the shock ajustment on shocks. Primarily the Bilstine 5100?
I have 2002 Tundra 4x4 & bought Bilstien rears & front shocks/coilovers, or what ever they are. They came with instructions for adjustment heights for different vehicles. There are 4 or 5 rings on the shocks for height ajustments.
The adjustment for Tundra is recommended to be at the number 3 postion, which only offers 1.5" rise in the front, which brings up my front. But it is still not level with the rear Bilstines.
Should I remain with the #3 position and add a 1" spacer or move the ajustment up to the next highest postion?
T4TV'S.
So youre saying i really dont need a front diff drop OR aftermarket uca for a simple ~2.5" Bilstein 5100 lift?!?
Have you had the chance to put you hands and brain on the Eibach lift shocks/springs?
How about dirt king, they increase suspension travel to 13.5”! That a huge improvement over the pathetic factory suspension travel.
sooooo..... regular bilstein 5100's with adjustable lift up to 2.5" may actually be better than a 3 or 3.5" lift kit. since it adds down travel and only lifts 2.5". seems that is a more optimal kit than a RC 3.5 lift kit that may actually limit down travel even though lift is higher. thoughts?
Why cant you pre load OME coil springs on Bilstien 5100's? I have this set up , uninstalled at the moment but about to move forward. I have the springs and shocks put together at the zero pre load mark as specified but do you know why Old Man Emu springs are like this? If it works in Australia it will work here I suppose.
Even though i have yet to get a long travel kit, let alone a mid travel, I been binge watching all your videos to soak in the information so I can make the best decision!
wait, so if my vehicle DOESNT have aftermarket support, how do i determine if i could even fit extended travel coil overs? i'm so confused 😖I have an rx 350 which uses the same suspension as a 2013 highlander, but i really want to get some more suspension travel off road without having to do much in other modifications. I also want to know its going to fit before i buy bc i dont want to spend money and then have to return the parts and do the disassembly and reassembly process twice. also, does a longer travel coilover require the use of longer brake lines?
factory shock with lift (OME 884) springs? is this doable if i want to keep shock dampening controls on lexus gx?
Thanks for the extremely informative videos. Wonder if you are familiar with the Bilstein 6112 front coilovers and if they have the same extended travel that is provided on the Bilstein 5100 coil overs? Thanks
Love it more flex cool. Now I have a job for everyone find me a direct comparison to the icon rxt 2.5 rear shocks for a tundra because I love bilsteins but they have nothing within a 2 inch length that the icon has and it sucks!!!!
Nicely explained,
Loving the content, still looking for resources related to torsion bar front suspension 😉
Billstein actually doesn’t have more travel. The shocks are longer but you don’t get more flex.
More videos! Mooorrreeeee
As always, fantastic material and discussion. I have the 6112s on my GX460 and have been happy with their performance off-road. I wonder if they have similar extended travel to the 5100?
According to Bilstein (who I've been exchanging emails with) they are same as stock.. 21.62". But putting a 0.5" spacer on top of a 6112 might work just fine to get the same extended travel. Someone needs to test this.
Thanks! I don’t have first hand data. Looks like Chris got your answer. But bilstein’s tech support is horrible. Before I posted this video, I gave them a call to asked them why they didn’t advertise the extended travel for 5100. The guy tried to convince me 5100 doesn’t add travel and down travel is not limited by coilover length.
sir you have bp51 vs ironman foamcellpro review?
planning to buy bp51 but i saw your video for ifcpro.
Honestly some of the best youtube content available on the subject. Fantastic job.
I found that the cheap icon rear shocks are better than the rear for the Bilsteins. So I run 5100 up front and icon in the back. I’m tempted to go with the Ironmans next.
If this dude talks about your brand. Either you’re fucked or you’re going to get free advertising hahah
I have a 2015 silverado 4x4 and put zone uca”s and measures an extra 4” of down travel.
I'm curious, were your findings wrong in your previous video about stock UCAs being the limiting factor in getting more droop from extended travel coilovers? Didn't your video show that the UCA was the first thing to bind with extended travel? However, like you said, Bilstein has been making extended travel all along without issues. So I guess I'm just confused, haha. By the way I seriously love your videos! So informative and quickly becoming one of my favorite channels to watch! Can't wait for the next one!
Thanks! In my previous video, UCA was the first thing to bind with “NO” coilover. I later showed with an extended travel coilover, I had to back up by 0.5” to install the coilover bolt
what about the axle angle if you have a 3.5 lift will you recommend the inner cv boot replace
I would love to see your take on fancy bumpstops.
Thank you for the great videos.
Hey Kai, wondering if you could help me out with a question I had. I’ve been running the bilstein 5100 with OME 885 spring on my 4th gen 4runner. Because it’s the v8, I didn’t get quite as much lift as I thought I would so I added a 3/8” top hat spacer. Do you think I should remove the top hat spacer and instead set my spring perch up 1 level on the 5100? The top hat spacer still isn’t quite enough. Or will this be too much pre-load?
From what I’ve seen on the forums, people advise against this, but watching your videos, I realized most forums are just people repeating the same misinformation
Don't add top hat spacer above the 5100, as it will over extend the droop. Use the spring setting. There isn't such thing as too much pre-load. There is issue with too much lift and lack of down travel. But nothing to do with "load". Check out this video where I went over this topic. ua-cam.com/video/l1tTelhdEiM/v-deo.html
@@TinkerersAdventure that video along with this video is what actually got me thinking about getting rid of the top hat spacer and going up 1 on the spring perch.
Also thanks so much for the quick reply and the amazing info.
@@TinkerersAdventure This part is a bit confusing. So how much extra droop is available with the 5100 before it would bottom out? On your other video you said a stock shock (looked like a stock bilstein from the FJ) you had comfortably about .6 of an inch of room so a .5 inch spacer for a 1 inch lift would be a great combo. Is it because the 5100 is about .5 longer than the stock shock that there isn't that much room available so the 5100 is already maxed out and should not have a spacer?
Still loving this series, Kai. So helpful!
This furthers my opinion that bilstien is the best
Great info as usual. Can you do something on leaf springs and shackles? For example LC 70 series.
Thanks! Maybe one day. I don’t have much experience with leaf spring yet
Thanks man
Thank you so much for this, I have 5100s currently, and I am satisfied with it's performance. However lately I've been wanting to research the possibility of adding a bit more travel to it, little did I know, it already has more travel. I wish you were closer to me so that we can do a flex test with my truck to compare to stock, any plans to do a comparison video between the 5100 and stock travel?? I know that at full droop, my inner cv's already bind, so I am expecting to have a bit more travel, but I would like to know how much compared to stock, perhaps it would be ideal to upgrade to the 6112/5160 combo just to have a bit better shocks?
Thanks! If you're referring to the actual articulations, the 5100 will perform just like the Ironman Foam cell pro tested in my previous video:ua-cam.com/video/l1tTelhdEiM/v-deo.html. Different spring rate, vehicle weight, lift height and the balance of front and rear suspension stiffness will all impact the final result. If you want even more travel than what you currently have, going long travel IFS is your best bet. 6112 will be more resistant to damping fade for prolong high speed offroad. I'm not sure if the valving provides a different ride characteristics.
@@TinkerersAdventure thank you for your reply, my current goals are occasional overlanding trips, with mild crawling, I don't see any high speed stuff in my near future. I guess I just need to come up with some sort of sway bar disconnect for my 4th gen 4runner and I will be set in the suspension department
You never fail to blow my mind on every video!
Such great info!
Another clearly articulated video
Thanks for another great video!
I will ask to make a video on "what kind of suspension and lift to put on KDSS 4runner 5th generation without cutting anything".
Thanks !!!
Maybe I didn’t understand your question but no lift requires cutting on KDSS.
@@TinkerersAdventure yeah, I mean if you would also includ tire size ! Thanks !
This is FANTASTIC content!
I am running the Bilstein 5100 and OME med coils up front and Bilstein 5160 with OME coils in the rear on my 07 FJ Cruiser. It’s a great budget lift.
4:34
Am I understanding correctly, that a 0.5” spacer on TRD Pro suspension would effectively shift the coilover down to match the down travel of the 5100/Ironman while adding 0.5” of up travel before it contacts the bump stop, which should be the limiting factor?
If that’s true, then TRDP suspension + 0.5” spacer would be a strong contender for a quality suspension upgrade on a base SR5 4Runner, without having to change UCAs or adding a diff drop.
i am planning to upgrade my fj stock suspension system with 2.5” dobinsons IMS , 265/70/17R tire. what is your advice, do i need to upgrade the UCA or stick with stock UCA. Thanks 😊