Shocks vs coil overs for ride/handling improvement?

J

JRinTX83

Active Member
I have a 2017 TRD SPORT 4x4.

I read that changing the rear shocks would help the ride quality, which it did, slightly. I used Bilstein 4600s. No plan to lift.

Not completely happy, I’m going to change the front next, and naturally thinking of 5100s.

The question is shocks only vs coil overs/different springs. 6112s come with springs, but I’m afraid of how this will affect handling. I love the handling of the sport since I’m 99% on road. I want a softer ride but without giving up much handling. I hate nose dive during breaking and bobbing up and down on the rough roads around me. What’s a good compromise? Anything special about the Sport’s springs that are different that will cause the 5100s to be less effective? Will springs make a huge difference?Thanks in advance.
 
Generally coil overs are to add weight packing ability to the leaf springs if added, so will just make it stiffer and ride worse. I would imagine if you rarely carry much weight you could remove a leaf in the back spring back. I actually had a too stiff Ford I once pulled a leaf out of each side on and it helped a bit. Pickup trucks generally do not ride well, certainly no Lincoln town car smoothness.
Hopefully someone with a lot more suspension knowledge than me chimes in soon.
 
I'm with you on the softer ride. I have a 2020 TRD Sport 4X4 and the ride was very stiff. I changed to the Bilstein stock TRD off road shocks. Still a little stiff but better and I think it's probably because of the sport springs being a different rate than the off road version. I'm not ready to change springs at this point so I'll just go with what I put into the truck for now. Whatever way you go, I don't think your handling would be adversely affected. Just my $.02
 
There’s a guy on TacomaWorld that emailed Bilstein and asked about which springs to run with the 5100s. Their reply was to use the oe springs. The said the shocks were engineered for the springs that came on the truck. Using different brand springs will cause a harsher ride and void the warranty. The thread is Bilstein 5100 Settings for dummies if you want to see the actual email to and from Bilstein. It’s near the bottom of p. 4.
 
Thanks guys. I thought I read somewhere that the sport’s springs were different and that’s probably my biggest problem with the ride while also being the reason I like the handling as well. Hope I’m not wasting money on the 5100s but I guess all I can do is try and see. I’ll have to report back in a couple weeks when I swap them.
 
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