Getting to Level on Bilstein 6112's for Access Cabs

I need some help deciding what I’ll need to purchase next to achieve a level on my 2000 Toyota Tundra. I just threw some Bulstein 6112’s from FirstGenOffroad a couple of days ago which gave me a 2 inch lift in the front. No rear shocks just the front struts. currently have a 1 inch squat when it should be level, and I’m guessing the culprit is the 24 year old leaf pack in the back


Measuring from the top of the tire to the chassis I get 8” on the front, 7” on the back.

 

From the "So you wanna buy/just bought a 1st Gen Tundra" guide to everything 1GT:

• For rear lifting, try to avoid using blocks (esp. if towing, axle wrap is bad mmmkay), consider an AAL (add-a-leaf) kit to get an extra 0.75" - 2.0" lift instead (*if* you don't need your overload leaf!), or many members have found a new ATS "HD" leaf pack was a very wallet-friendly way to get a solid, no-brainer 1.5" - 2" lift, part# 90-221HD for 4WD, 90-287HD for 2WD and it includes an overload leaf. WARNING: The Icon 51100
  $190 add-a-leaf kit for 1999-2021 toyota tundra - 21.5" short AAL set with isolator pads and square bend u-bolts
  add-a-leaf kit ONLY gives 1st Gen Tundras between 0.5" - 0.75" of lift IRL! The Wheeler's offroad kit is a better option for 1.5" (ish) of lift. NOTE: You should look into buying an LSPV relocation bracket unless you want a lesser braking experience after lifting.

 

Sooo I’ll probably go with the Icon 51100 kit to get at least closer to level, unless someone has a kit that is known to give 1 inch of lift in the rear.

Either that, or I can save up and get a new leaf pack in the future and see if the springs will “settle”. Though, I know it’s definitely not going to settle by 1 inch.

 

How does it ride with the 6112? Trucks looking good man

 

The other thing you could consider is adding a set of air bags. They will give you more flexibility for added weight. I see you have a bed topper. Not sure what you carry around in there, but this solution will for sure level the load.
https://www.1stgenoffroad.com/store...WDFirestoneRideRiteAirBagHelperSprings.html#/

 

Thanks brotha. At first it was rough going down some not so well paved roads but after driving it to and from work this week, which is about a 30 minute commute, I’ve noticed a significant difference. Mostly on large stuff, but it’s much softer and also turns tighter which I really like! Not a lot of sway on 650lb springs.

 

For now I’m just hauling stuff to and from home for college. Eventually going to do some truck bed camping. Maybe some boat towing in the near future. It might be worth the purchase, I’ve always thought airbags were really cool and practical

 

For about the same price, and because chances are your leaf springs are worn out after 24 years, here's an option.
https://www.autoandtrucksprings.com...vy-duty-rear-leaf-spring-both-sides-90-221hd/

 

I mean the truck has been babied all 24 years of its life, only towed Jetskis and no off-roading ever, so it might be okay. I’ll take a picture when I get back home later today

 

No side shot?

What settings on each side did they use on the 6112?

Don't bother with the ICON kit, it's garbage. Get the Wheeler's Offroad kit.

 

Updated the above post, side shot makes it look level since it’s on a sloped angle, I’ll try to get a better one when I get home along with some measurements.

I’ll ask the salesman from firstgenoffroad too, they never specified

 

You shouldn't be measuring top of tire to chassis to determine level or not. I'd measure on flat ground, from the ground to the edge of the fender flare.

If it truly is squatting, having a different wheel/tire set on will likely make that less noticeable.

But back to the other question: Do you know what settings FGO used when assembling the 6112s? It'll usually be different per side. I'm only asking b/c I eventually need to set mine up and I do not want to be as lifted as you are. Seems excessive, like he set them up for a double cab to me. But maybe it's just the wheel/tire set that's on it now.

 

New Husky HD rear leafs (we suspect are the same as ATS and Dayton and most of the other 5 leaf HD packs) from rockauto with new U bolts and shipping was about $530. I got maybe an inch of lift, but like you, I also have a camper shell on mine.

 

I should hear back from FGO soon and I’ll update you on which clip it’s on when I do. know they’re properly set for driver side sag but that’s about it.

I think it just might be the wheel, because I did the top of the wheel to chassis measurement (improper I know) and it did achieve 2 inches of lift. Again I’ll remeasure when I can. What’s the stock setting on height on a level surface? That’ll help me determine if I got more lift than I asked for while I wait for the FGO response in the meantime.

We’ll see how it looks on Thursday when I throw the 285’s on.

RockAuto for the win, I’ll check those out, along with airbags since we’re pretty similar truck wise. If the leaf springs are completely blown then that’ll probably be my purchase. I’ll take a picture of them soon

 

Typical measurement is center of wheel to edge of fender on all four corners.

But if you want to know if the truck is “level” or not, measure from the ground to the edge of the fender flare. In theory, it should be same or similar to the above. Is it really accurate? Probably not, because I’m not convinced the fender openings are technically the same front and rear. I feel like one is shallower than the other, but whatever.

Or maybe I’m doing it wrong.

But stock measurements? Both before and after lift? See this sticky thread: https://www.tundras.com/threads/how-big-is-yours-measure-up.46186/

My various lift iterations are on page 5 and 6, starting at reply #133. I think I have 3 entries total. After coilovers, after ICON AAL, after ATS Leafs. We both shoulf be similar stock/before numbers.

 

Rear (Right, Left)



Front (Right, Left)



Leaf Springs:

Right:



Left:




Measure from center of wheel. Let me know what y’all think since I don’t know what I’m looking at with the leaf packs lol

I’ll give them a thorough look over tomorrow when I got daylight!

 

Also here’s a dark side view. I don’t know if y’all see it but I have a very slight squat going on. Or maybe I’m just crazy

 

Yeah it’s high up front by 1.25”, probably after it settles. I’d get ATS HD or Husky springs. Or lower the front.

 

with the current height I have, is this going to affect the fitment of the 285/70/17r wheels I’m going to put on it?

That’ll depend on how urgent I gotta get the packs. If it isn’t that urgent, I’ll give it some time.

 

So wouldn't the Wheelers AAL basically level it with may...be .25" of rake that could look fine depending on your preference and eye tolerance to see such a thing while helping with any rear loads? Have you measured with the gas tank empty and full? Likely will be a little different under various circumstances. Wheeler has 25% off sales and the AAL is distributed through Summit Racing with free shipping currently for $202.34.

 

If my leaf packs are good, which I’ll check tomorrow, I’ll probably go down the path of getting that AAL unless someone tells me otherwise. I don’t have a strong eye tolerance to that and for most it’s hard to achieve a perfect level.

Either that or I’ll snag the leaf packs off Rock Auto for the same effect. I’m a strong supporter of buying quality once and never again. Not saying Wheeler’s is cheap, but leaf packs approaching 25 years might be pushing it when I take it off road eventually. That could just be me being paranoid though since leaf springs aren’t a common failure point and they’ve never been ran rough.

 

That's one hell of a deal. But only one left in stock! I would've jumped all over that if it'd had been an option when I did the ICON pack. Inability to get it in 48 hours was the deciding factor for me. That, and shipping thru Wheelers direct was absurd.

 

But @michael.crg, no, I doubt anything you do in front, including lowering an inch, would impact your fitment with 285s with your current setup. A lot of fitment revolves around your wheel choice and alignment.

As long as we're not talking about MT/mud terrain tires or similarly aggressive ones (like my E-load Mickeys) which will have more tread and thus overside, I legitimately think someone could probably clear 285/70r17 with 1.75" lift and have minimal rub. At the end of the day what'll help you clear rub more than lift is how far it's centered off the hub (wheel offset/backspace) and how it's centered in the wheel well front-to-back (caster). Your major challenges now are to pick an appropriate wheel, and add caster, either by way of afermarket uppers, getting someone knowledgable with alignments, or both. I think it's a pain in the ass to find someone who can properly align. At least it has been a challenge for me.

 

From your photos those leaf packs look minty fresh!

I'll throw another recommendation out for an airbag kit. The adjustability is nice to have, especially since you are using the truck for varied use. Loaded to the gills for some camping, or towing a trailer? add some air pressure. Unloaded and in commuter mode? less air. The ride is Cadillac plush with bags.

 

If you had to do it all over again, and with your custom built camper shell + added gear, do you think stock leafs and airbags would have been good? The reason I ask is I'm in a similar situation. I was thinking about going with either ATS or Deaver HD leaf packs, but when I'm unloaded I don't want a stupid stiff ride. I've got 5100s all around right now but the ride is still kind of wallowy. Stock 21 year old springs. I'm thinking 2884s up front and bags on the rear. I'm not going for any more lift. These have plenty of ground clearance for what I do, and I'm going to maintain stock size wheels and tires. All perfectly capable and still achieve reasonable fuel economy.

 

I think the no brainer solution for me is to snag some airbags. I can see the cost effective solution is to buy the add a leaf right now, but future me will appreciate buying some bags for when I do a lot more with the truck. Chances are, if I get the add a leaf, I’d still buy the airbags down the line and in total spend more money. It’s pricier but makes more sense.

I’m also going to wait a bit to make that purchase since I’ve been running my wallet deep this whole summer on the truck and I also might be running it further depending on if I have fitting issues on the 285/70/17r BFG KO2’s and have to get wheel spacers or UCA’s. So at the moment getting truck out of a squat is the not so urgent thing on the table.

And to answer @shifty` thing about my wheels I snagged some Stealth Series Custom F5’s in Matte Black which are 17x8.5, -10mm offset so about a 4.3 inch backspacing. So hopefully no fitment or alignment issues on Thursday! Going to a super reputable shop in my home town and we got lifted trucks EVERYWHERE since it’s Florida lol

 

Yup, lived there for 1/3 of my life all over in between Tampa and Gainesville, coast to coast, so super familiar with it.

Instant no-cost solution to level would be to use a spring compressor and drop to lower the settings on the 6112. Your truck looks excessively high in the front, and it's possible Josh set it higher than what Bilstein recommends, I want to say Bilstein warns in the instructions against exceeding #4 and #6 settings, respectively, although I think we have some AC V8/4WD guys on here running #5 and #7. I suspect that, like the 5100s, running higher at the #7 / #5 positions will result in a harsher ride on our AC trucks. Actually here, here's the chart, straight from Bilstein's documentation. It's really easy to crawl under your truck and see where you're setup at currently, just count the rings. Passenger side should be a lower setting than driver to account for natural lean these trucks have.

I don't understand what the difference is in these two charts (EDIT: Ah, one is 2WD and other is 4WD). For my truck, I'd probably be on the fence between running #4/#3 in the 2nd chart if that were applicable to 4WD (which it's not) or maybe #3/#2. But going by the first chart which is for my 4WD aC, #6/#4 is the max and I'm only getting 1"?! I can't imagine the dront diff and CVs are causing that much extra weight/drop.

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Oh and this is what @BluegrapeVr6 said in another thread:

I finally emailed bilstein and they said : "Standard cab and AC cab vehicles have a shorter driveline then DC and encounter suspenion and driveline suspension and geometry issues quickly when lifted. "

** please note this is just off memory, i did send shifty Bilsteins email too. But this was their (billy) justification to limit to 1" of lift on non- DC body styles.

Now , i personally think its a weight or clearance with spring to factory UCA thing as the 6112's are beafy. I have spoken to two shops that have installed them no problem on 2002+ RC and AC and both stated to use same circlip unless DC and that 05+ DC (crew cabs) have more weight on fuel tank side. I was told for RC and AC #2=1", #3=2" and to not go any higher without aftermarket UCA or clearance could become issue.

* please note this is all non-first hand experience , but a few guys witg AC and RC do run them on here and dont post a ton. If I could sell the 6122's i would prob go toytec. But have come to like to KYB ride quality for my use. The whole lifting IFS thing and different circlips is weird to me as well, but, plenty of people love them. ​

 

No, but...

My truck is purpose built for a pretty narrow use case. It will have the additional load of being a camper full time, so I absolutely wanted the extra spring rate that the bastard pack provides.

Perfect use case for airbags. You could always do the leaf springs at a later date.

 

So I went out and took some more pictures with daylight. This is the tire that’s going to go on it, minus the wheels since those are getting replaced. The wheels on the truck right now are 275/45/20r so they look tiny compared to the 285’s, but I see what you mean @shifty` about a higher lift in the front, so I did more digging


Passenger side strut


Drivers Side:


Assuming the visible clip count is the current setting, then according to the chart I’m set 7/5, or if it’s on the clip I’m at 6/8, and I’m guessing I get over 2 inches of lift and that’s why I’m not level. Will get that confirmation from Josh probably Monday.

I mean if it’s a clearance issue with the UCA issue, I’ll just get UCAs. I guess I should’ve done some more research before purchasing the 6112’s, but it looks like I can make it work.

Either that or a steel bumper in my future to compensate for not being double cab