Bilstein 5100 Install on 2021 OR - Lift height surprise.....

I installed my 5100s with 47 miles on it the same day I brought it home from the dealership. I used the second from the top setting and get exactly what was expected - just under 2".

Not sure your extra height can be blamed on the "newness" of the vehicle.

 

There's 4 different height setting rings on them for different heights. I reset mine 3 times each before I was happy. My 61year old back, knees and everything hurt. I got really good and fast from experience. Whether you wanted to or not.

 

My 55 yr old back and knees aren’t far behind.

The second clip from bottom initially got me nearly 1 1/4” lift in front, pic above in front of garage after a 30 mile drive on a winding road trying to get them to settle in. It didn’t settle noticeably, even after an alignment.

After 300 miles (it’s not a daily driver so took some time,) it finally settled to around a 1/2 inch.

As it sits today in pic below with the 5100’s all the way around and some rear Firestone helper airbags, not pumped up, cargo space empty. 36 1/2” in rear, 35 1/2” in front. Ultimately about a 1/2” lift to the front, as I was originally expecting.

Patience I guess…..

 

Hey I get it. I started with wheels, tires and had to replace Xreas at 200k finally. I had things I knew I would be using for last 2 years. I do one thing that leads to something else. I like to learn from changing and driving to. I have been learning about adjustable sway bar links and how it changes ride and handling. My mistake was to much negative wheel offset, but it looks good. Staying with an 8" wide wheel with no more than -4 offset and you should not rub with 33s. I'm just doing things as I go to observe different changes. I've lost control now wanting air intake, aluminum radiator and whatever is next. I like to replace my hoses around 300k and I know plastic radiator won't last, so I upgrade to help down the long road. Sounds good anyway.

 

Thank you for this post! I recently installed the 5100’s on my 2018 4Runner and couldn’t figure out why it was sitting so high in the front. Turns out I installed the lower spring perches upside down. Reading through this thread helped me figure it out. I guess “We do things right because we do them twice” will be my motto on this one ☹️

 

Did you install the 5100s (then remove, reset, & replace them) yourself, or have a shop do it? Glad you figured it out.

 

I installed them myself, I just figured out what I did wrong last night. I'm going to take them back out and correct it myself this weekend then bring it in for an alignment.

 

Good luck with the fix. I'm curious what you used for compressing the springs to install them on the 5100 shocks...

You should snap some before and after photos of both the 4Runner & the mounted spring/shock - it might help someone else determine they've done the same thing down the road. I wish I had more photos of my install several years ago. It would be interesting to see a photo of the spring perch mounted upside down with the assembly off the vehicle. A "don't do it this way" tutorial.

 

I used this set from Amazon:
https://a.co/d/fxfIMsm
It worked as intended, probably not the best one out there

 

Whatever works. I did the "no spring compressor" method, using a floor jack & the weight of the vehicle to compress/decompress the springs.

 

that looks like 1.75 setting to me - i have mine set at the .85 and it is closer to level than that - i wish there was setting between the two settings
i did a ton of research before i did mine and that is not the .85

 

same here. Easy Peezy