KING’s vs 6112’s

Looking at doing a Small lift for my 2020 trd sport. Originally planned on doing 6112 and 5160 with a 1.75 leaf spring lift in the back to maintain rake.

However now I’m considering something a little more premium with KING 2.5 remote reservoirs in the front and something matching in the rear.

My question is - for those who have experience with both of these sets. Which would you recommend? How would you describe the ride qualities vs stock for each?

It’s been years since I’ve lifted a vehicle

 

You wont regret the kings, the billies are good. but adjustability is a big factor to consider. Fine tuning is really nice.

 

This isn't really a comparison. Its apples to rocks.

Kings:
Progressive piston, more cushier ride that firms up as shaft speed is increased. Better components, better valving, and premium product.

Billies:
Digressive piston, so firmer ride that then firms up further as shaft speed is increased. Mass produced components. Unknown valving to me, but its a digressive piston and I am not a fan. Definitely less of a premium product and in my biased opinion, the wiper seal tech they use on bilsteins sucks. All wiper seals will leak eventuatlly, but i've had 5100, 6112, 7100s and their coilovers which all leaked from the wiper seal area.

As a side note, if you look up radflo and why that company was started in the first place, the owners say that they started making shocks because they couldn't keep bilsteins from leaking. Food for thought.

If you want to nerd out: Accutune has a pretty good series on shock info.

Piston description reference:

 

Digressive might not be as good for pure offroading, but I would argue its probably better for daily use. What if the guy tows? Does he want a shock thats soft initially for when hes hitting undulation on the freeway with 800 lbs of tongue weight on the hitch?

 

Are you really gonna use the Kings? If not, save your money for something you'll actually use.

 

The 6112s are throwaway shocks I believe, I don't think you can rebuild them. So in the long run the Kings are probably cheaper too.

 

Sure... i guess. Shocks aren't supposed to be load carrying objects though. That's a spring issue. Also, the beauty of the kings and their compression adjusters is that you can change them on the fly. The inverse can be asked about the digressive piston without a flutter stack on washboard roads. 6112s straight suck in the situation. Also, soft is relative. Are they softer? yes. Are they soft? nope. Your situation would quickly engage the valve stack depending on shaft speed. However, if he gets the adjusters, he can increase the compression resistance to his liking and address the hypothetical that you mentioned.

 

How long of a run though? I have had Bilstein 5100's on my F150 for nearly 90k miles and they are still solid. How many times would the Kings have been rebuilt at that point? Probably enough times to buy a set of 6112's

 

100%. Perfect example is my F150. I put air bags in the rear to help support the load of my fiberglass topper and hundreds of lbs of camping gear. Sure it stiffened it up and corrected the ride height but still wallowed around because it was underdamped.

Yes, he could get the adjusters to the tune of $1500 for just the rears and $2300 for the fronts, when a set of 6112's and 5160's are no more than $1100. You are literally talking >3x the price for a guy who is apparently just wanting to lift a truck.

 

I prefer the digressive for daily use. Truck does not float/dive in corners etc. as much, I do tow, off road some and like my truck to feel like a truck with a firm ride. Currently have 5100’s up front set for the lowest lift setting, and happy with them. Factory TRD Off-road in back. Works for me and low $ solution.

 

I didn't see anything in his post that said price was an issue? He asked for feedback and I gave him technical feedback based on my experiences and shock rebuilds I do on the side.

 

ADS also makes a great shock. I would throw that in the mix over the bilstein.

 

I don't think the King's would "need" to be rebuilt any more than your billies. The thing is, you can rebuild them and change valving if you so desire. The King parts are readily available and rebuilding is kinda fun or at least educational. The potential setback to rebuilding your own shocks is the requisite nitrogen recharge. I've invested about $300 in nitrogen fill equipment. But, nitrogen pressure is a large factor in how the shock performs ie. stiffer/softer. For me, with 6 shocks and 2 bump stops it's well worth the investment especially since I opt to rebuild my shocks very frequently ~20k miles.
That said, I'm not advocating King, Fox, ADS as the appropriate choice for everyone. For a lot of drivers the premium shocks make no sense, they'll never realize the benefits. For some the bling factor will make 'em happy. Others require premium shocks primarily for off road performance.

 

I hear that a lot and I suppose the same could be said for any upgrade we install on a vehicle. Are those off-road tires really necessary? Are those nice wheels necessary? Do you really need that light bar? etc...

The way I see it, suspension is like the seats in your truck or the bed you sleep on at night. You will actually be using it every day. Quality off-road suspension will absolutely ride nicer than cheaper shocks. They are not designed for off-road only. Same with the bed you sleep on. You get what you pay for. Personally I really enjoy driving my truck every day with the upgraded tuned Fox suspension. Being comfortable on long road trips has been awesome. IMO, The value is there since I feel it and use it daily. If you plan on keeping your nice new truck for many years and drive it daily, I would definitely look into a nicer set of shocks and invest for the long term ride quality benefits. Just my .02

 

Thats not how shocks work. Rebuildable shocks have a minimum recommended service interval of 50K KM, however this interval can be severely reduced to just few thousand KM depending on use. Mall crawlers can easily reach the 50K minimum while heavy offroading cuts it down to 5-10K km and as little as 2-3K (prerunning).

No diffrent than an engine or transmission needing shorter maintance intervals from lots of towing, etc.

 

I agree. I ride on Foxes lol. However, Bilsteins aren't trash. I can remember when my Dad bought shocks at the local parts counter and he told me we couldn't afford the best but could definitely afford better. He bought Monroe or Gabriel lol. Hell, none of us would put that on our trucks. Bilstein was a brand that I looked up to growing up.

 

I dont tow anything regularly. I am building a capable truck that’s still daily drivable. I off road when i go hunting but I’m not doing any extreme over landing (hence why i only want a 2” lift)

 

Every week? No. 6 times a year? Yes.

 

Every hunting trip involves about a 5 mile drive down a washboard dirt road. Something that absorbs that would be worth the money

 

I wear a dive watch daily and I’ve never been for scuba diving once lol

 

I daily drive my ADS equipped 2018 and would not ever want less after having these. An investment (can you call it that?) for sure, but it’s no joke how well it performs. I do get it off road occasionally, but let’s be honest. Less than a day per month on average. Still, it’s nothing but grins when I bomb through bumps, dips, drops, hollows, wallows, humps, and thumps. Hauling ass up washboard logging roads at 50+ mph without spilling my coffee? Not sure I could do that with 5100’s…

 

dont rule out ICON ive had no issues with mine
3.0 up front 2.5 rear about 3 1/2 years

 

Agreed, I had ADS on my 2011, loved them. Have Kings on my Sequoia. Definitely worth the money if you can afford them. Wouldn't hesitate to go with AccuTune's Fox's though either.

 

What do you need for ur shocks to do? If just looks and not a lot of fast off-roading, 6112/5160 is perfectly fine. Heck it’s already much better than stock and lots of the basic suspension kits for tundra. I have been using them for two years and they hold up fine in my daily commuting and off-roading once a month. But. I don’t do any fast off-roading, if that’s ur thing then kings or fox, if not, then bolstering is fine.

 

I just recently bought a 2020 platinum and love the car. I want to add a lift for the look and to add some all terrain tires (total noob with lifts and this is my first truck haha). I found the 6112/5160, they aren't crazy expensive and fit within my budget. Do you have any other recommendations for < $2000? I don't do any off roading (if anything maybe 1x a year for a camping trip) and I don't tow anything yet (possibly a boat in the future).

Also, how large of tires can you fit? I was hoping to fit 35s.

 

I have my take-offs listed for sale on here. 6112/5160, +3 CB shackles, 3 CB shims and Builtright uniball UCAs... went for the big boys 3.0 ICON CDVC Coilovers, 2.5 OMEGA R/R bypass, ICON billet UCAs and ICON RXT leafs...I like going 60+ MPH across the desert..... I really liked the Bilsteins setup until the extra 250lbs from the C4 bumper and winch setup dropped my front over an inch. I am also pretty damn Heavy... 7200lbs

 

You only live once, go with kings!

 

Since I only have used stock and 6112/5160, I can’t really recommend anything else I haven’t used, so far I love my 6112/5160, they provide close to stock look and much better on road/Offroad than stock, I have used mine extensively Offroad and so far it meets my need. If I ever wanted to do fast off-roading, maybe kings but I don’t see that in my near future. Also, I have fit 35s no problem, as long as you have +25mm offset wheels (perfect for fitting 35s on our gen tundra)

 

I won't be using it for off road so it'll just be for on road riding mainly. What height setting do you have yours on to fit 35s? I'm guessing max height at 2.5"? If so, is the ride any different than stock (stiffer?). Did it require any cutting/trimming to fit the 35s? I may make a post just so I can get some more suggestions as I plan to get this done this upcoming summer.

 

I have mine set on 1.9inch lift, believe it’s the second from bottom notch. Only trimming needed are removing the mud flaps and heat gun the front plastic area.