Bilstein 6112 installed!

Sierra Dan · June 10, 2019

It's an Aesthetic principal I guess.

Red_5 · June 10, 2019

Something I just noticed from the Bilstein site is that the 5160s only have a 90 day warranty. I guess that's why they weren't concerned about the finish or adding dust boots.

Edit: I just got off of the phone with Bilstein and they said the bodies of the 5160s are triple coated and should be fine where I live even though I'm close to the ocean. He said if I lived in the rust belt it might not be a bad idea to add some extra and it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Red_5

Red_5 · June 12, 2019

Something happened when my 6112s were being assembled with aftermarket shock top mounts and the top mount broke. Unfortunately, this ruined my plan for not having to go to a shop to have the parts swapped. This does give me another day or two to decide which position to have the 6112s set.

I'm new to modifying trucks and honestly haven't spent much time underneath mine. In the case of using the 6112s to raise/level the front, it only raises the body of the truck but not the differential height right? Only bigger tires will raise the differential height? Thanks.

Sierra Dan · June 12, 2019

Red 5,

By raising the shock ring position higher it will push the A-Arms down, thus essentially lifting the front end (body, bumpers, plastic air dam, diff etc) off the ground.

Add in a larger diameter tire and you will achieve even more lift off the ground.

If memory serves me correct I went from about 9 1/4" from ground to bottom of air dam to about 10.5" with my 5100s on the 3rd clip.

All trucks and suspension packages are slightly different so your results may vary.

99bluebird · June 12, 2019

In mine the top mount made it perfectly level, 38-38.5” at all corners. The third position would give 1.3 instead of 1.8” of lift so probably a tiny rake but largely unnoticeable. I personally dont think anything under 2” is a problem for these ifs trucks. My arm angles certainly look reasonable. More than 2 you should probably do a diff drop. And if ball joints wear out in 50k miles it makes a great excuse to get some upgraded upper a arms!

Im going to stuff some 34s in here, will let you know how it goes.

Pivot · June 12, 2019

Just returned from the shop that installed my 6112's up front and 5100's in rear.

I have the Z60 suspension and liked it. Truck is basically new and has 4k miles on it.

I was originally going to set at max setting (4) and install a 2" block in the back to achieve a level. I talked to the installer awhile before dropping it off and he asked what I was hoping to achieve. Basically told him this is part of a process to allow larger wheels and also not sacrifice ride quality, hopefully improve. He immediately asked how big of tire and I told him 275/60/20. I'm on stock 20" rims and 275/55/20 tires. He rec'd setting the front adjustables to third setting and leave the stock blocks in back. Told me I would look level and should have a rake of right around 1". After changing my mind multiple times, I went with the 3rd setting and eliminated swapping out the stock rear blocks.

First impression. I pulled up and saw my truck out front. It pretty much looked the same. Stock wheels and rims still on. Only since I've been measuring and focused on wheels, tires, could I tell that there was a little more open space in the front wheel well. Most people would never notice. Truck appeared level.

I paid and jumped in the truck to head home. Immediately noticed my hood was a little higher, but nothing dramatic. I had about a 15 mile ride home and I took all the back roads back and they are in poor condition. I don't know if it was in my head, but they seemed a little smoother. I could feel the potholes, but only once and the suspension quickly recovered. I was moving at a good clip to test the changes and came around a corner where a car was turning and had to hit the brakes pretty hard. Immediately noticed brake drive was gone. I know the suspension is firmer, but only say that because I could hear a slight rattle near glove box, passenger seat. I never drive without tunes playing (had them off) and that might be some of it. Also had all the oem coils and struts in back, parts on passenger floor and my locking lug nut piece was still on a lanyard in the cup holder. I'll clean things up later, but suspect the passenger seat rattle might be due to stiffer ride, possibly loose stuff clanking. Time will tell.

Bottom line, I noticed two big changes. #1 The truck stays level in turns at speed. #2 Brake dive dramatically decreased. I felt like I could drive faster on rough roads and the truck was tracking straight after bumps.

Now to the measurements.

I dropped the Truck off and measured everything before the swap.

Front center point on wheel well was 36 3/4 stock, rear was 39 1/4 = 2 1/2" of rake

Bilstein 6112 with Bilstein 5100 in rear

Front center point on wheel well 38 1/4, rear unchanged at 39 1/4 = 1" rake.

So, I gained a hair over what I expected. It could settle a bit, we'll see. Bottom line right after install I gained 1 1/2" up front on 3rd setting.

I'm happy with the ride, but coming off new shocks and coils , it wasn't huge. It certainly didn't get rougher or unpleasant.

Next, I'll be looking hard at rims and tires to complete this project. Then, what I want the most is a tune. The owner and another mechanic both said they love my exhaust and wanted to know what model I had. I laughed and said it's a Borla Atak, really barks at start up when cold. They agreed and said they all really liked it except one guy. I wasn't sure what was so funny till they whispered and pointed to another mechanic. I looked and he had a Tshirt on with coffee stains up front. I guess he was standing next to it early am sipping coffee and it really startled him when it started and he split hot joe all over his white t-shirt.

I can also confirm that the Bilstein 6112's at the third setting will show 2 rings exposed below the spring cup.

Pretty happy so far and really looking forward to putting bigger tires and new rims on next. I'll have to drive it on the highway next to see what changed.

Darmichar · June 12, 2019

48 minutes ago, Pivot said:

I could feel the potholes, but only once and the suspension quickly recovered.

This was the game changer for me when I installed 5100's on my 2014. It was a huge improvement over the OEM's.

Red_5 · June 12, 2019

Pivot, do you have any pics of your truck from the side you can share?

I have 37k miles on my '15 Sierra and my passenger seat rattles too. Still on stock NHT suspension but I have E load range KO2s usually inflated to around 50 psi.

Thanks for the write up!

SWOYER · June 12, 2019

Thanks for the write up, waiting for mine to come in. I also just picked up hellwig bars F/R and new Falken Wildpeak AT3's.

I'd be a little cautious about ordering from BattleBorn/MRT. After a bad experience, I went with 4WP and I got an actual reply to my email (wow so difficult!) and they let me know actual ship dates. The peace of mind, customer service and warranty are worth the extra little bit of $$$.

Red_5 · June 13, 2019

48 minutes ago, SWOYER said:

Thanks for the write up, waiting for mine to come in. I also just picked up hellwig bars F/R and new Falken Wildpeak AT3's.

I'd be a little cautious about ordering from BattleBorn/MRT. After a bad experience, I went with 4WP and I got an actual reply to my email (wow so difficult!) and they let me know actual ship dates. The peace of mind, customer service and warranty are worth the extra little bit of $$$.

Overall my experience with Battleborn was positive, I’d buy from them again based on that.

The main reason I went with Battleborn in the first place is that they’re a sponsor of this forum so I wanted to support those who support the forum. What do you mean about the warranty? Why would there be problem buying from Battleborn?

Pivot · June 13, 2019

2 hours ago, Red_5 said:

Pivot, do you have any pics of your truck from the side you can share?

I have 37k miles on my '15 Sierra and my passenger seat rattles too. Still on stock NHT suspension but I have E load range KO2s usually inflated to around 50 psi.

Thanks for the write up!

Sure. Tried to park in same place. Lighting was different. Just got done washing it

Pivot · June 13, 2019

Bilstein 6112's front. 3rd setting. Bilstein 5100 rear. Rear block untouched. It might be hard to tell by eye. Measurements were made in garage on level concrete. 38 1/4 front 39 1/4 stock rear. Rake reduced from 2 1/2 to 1. I took the pictures at the same location. Top picture is stock. Pictures that follow are Bilsteins installed.