Bilstein 5100s with a spacer?

Hello all,

I had ordered the bilstein 5100 struts and shocks for my Tacoma. The max lift they go up to is 2.5” however I was wanting more like 3.5” of lift. My plan is to put the ring on the second notch from the bottom giving me about 0.6” lift from the strut itself and adding a 3” spacer lift on top to give me my desired 3.5” lift. Will I run into any problems doing that? Thanks!

 

Don’t do it. You can not run a spacer on top of the Bilstein 5100s. Your option is to run on the clip setting for desired lift. Or get a lift coil and run it on the zero setting.

 

Friday already?

 

This is done often, and removed immediately.

You'll find the upper control arm will jam against the coil spring and you'll barely get the lower ball joint installed.

Don't do this. Run the spacer, or run 5100's. Not both.

 

Been researching this a while. This is what I eventually come to for Bilstein 5100s:

lower notch (less lift) = more down travel and less up travel for the shock

higher notch (more lift) = more up travel and less down travel for the shock (because it lifts the truck and extends the shock and so you have more up travel upwards and less downward, that is, up to the bump stop)

Problem with spacers: if you don’t have enough up travel, you risk bottoming out the shock before hitting the bump stops, which can severely damage the shock.

therefore, if you use spacers with the Bilstein 5100s, you need more up travel to ensure you hit bump stops before bottoming out shock. Therefore, it is better to use spacers with a higher notch setting because it gives more up travel.

but what gets me is that in the Bilstein 5100 instructions, it says if you are on the highest setting (the most lift) you use washers to shim up the bump stop implying that you’ll bottom out the shock before hitting the bumpstop. What??

 

look up the westcott design lift kit for the 5100’s. YouTube them also. There is a good video explaining the lift when installed on the 5100’s.

 

So my new plan is I’ll set the Bilstein 5100s to the highest setting giving me a lot more up travel availability in the shock. I’ll pair that with a 1” spacer lift (0.5” thick) to get my desired 3.5” lift. Since I’ll get more up travel availability from the shocks, I’ll hit the bump stop way before collapsing the shock all the way. Sound right?

 

yeah that should be fine.

 

I also have dirt King UCAs designed for 3” lift

 

you should be good to go

 

Awesome, and the spacer should also help give me some down travel too right? Because it physically pushes the shock lower a bit

 

i actually may go with the #4 setting and get a 2” spacer. The #4 setting gives 1.55” lift so I’ll get more up travel availability without sacrificing as much down travel. Then just install a 2” spacer to get my 3.5”

 

I wouldn’t do that. I’m telling you look up the westcott design lift kit. You will be way better off with that. You can buy their lift kit for the 4600’s or 5100’s. I’ll post a link.

 

https://westcottdesigns.net/product/bilstein-5100-preload-collar-lift-kit-front-only/

 

the westcott lift kit will get you a full 3” in front without the need to replace your upper control arms. So in the rear you can do an add a leaf, a new leak pack such as the icon rxt pack or a lift block. Whichever you prefer.

 

just checked it out. That looks pretty neat! So it gives you 3” with the stock clip setting on the shocks? Because they say “With our kit you don’t have to max out your 5100 and can retain a great ride.”

 

That’s correct. They have a video on YouTube that shows you what setting to put it at. I believe driver side is setting three from the bottom up and passenger side is setting two from the bottom up to accommodate for the taco lean.

 

You're doing a lot of work to try and avoid doing this lift the right way. What's the reason you feel you need 3.5" of lift? Seriously, just get the aftermarket UCA's, Bilstein 5100, run them on the highest setting, or look at adding a 1/4" spacer to the top, but no more. It'll look good, ride fantastic, and handle anything most people do offroad.

The math sounds good, on adding the spacers and all that to get the lift you want, but the suspension does not work like Solid front axles, you can't just keep adding spacers to get the lift you want for a low financial cost.

 

Great article to reference if you are curious on how it all functions:
https://accutuneoffroad.com/spacer-lift-vs-preload-spacer-vs-coilover-preload/

 

All of y’all have been so helpful and I appreciate it! I’ve already broke the bank and got the dirt king UCAs so I may as well use them! I’m thinking I’ll probably go with the westcott system mentioned by MGM above as it seems to give me a good lift without sacrificing ride quality or travel. If y’all have any other tips I should know, I’m open to them!