The first-gen Tundra is the truck that convinced a lot of people a Toyota could do full-size work, and plenty are still on the road with 250,000 miles and the original struts. You feel it: the nose dives on every stop, the front floats over highway dips, and a load in the bed leaves the front light and busy. These Bilstein 6112s replace that strut with a 2.6-inch monotube body and a 60mm digressive piston, far more oil and control than what came off, built to a height you pick.

We take it one step further. The 6112 normally shows up as a box of loose parts: dampers, springs, spring seats, and circlips, with a note that says "spring compressor required." Bilstein's kit also reuses your factory upper mounts. We build them for you, at the height you choose, with new OE-spec upper mounts, so what shows up at your door is two finished coilovers ready to bolt in to your Tundra, or save you a couple hours of labor at a shop.

How We Build Them

Every pair is built to order after you pick your cab and lift setting above. Here's what happens on our bench:

• Set the circlips. The 6112 body has a row of numbered grooves, and where the circlip sits decides your ride height. On the 2000-2006 Tundra, Bilstein sets the driver side two grooves higher than the passenger side to level the truck side to side. We set each coilover to the setting you ordered.
• Seat the billet spring perch. The anodized aluminum spring seat sits on the circlip and carries the spring.
• Compress and install the Bilstein spring. We use a mounted, shop-grade strut compressor. This is the step that makes DIYers nervous, for good reason: a coil spring under load stores a lot of energy.
• Install a new OE-spec upper mount. The rubber in your factory mounts has been soaking up every pothole for twenty years. Reusing tired mounts on fresh coilovers is like putting new tires on bent wheels. New mounts come on every build.
• Torque, check, label. The top nut gets torqued to spec, each coilover is checked and marked driver or passenger, and the pair is boxed together.

Why Buy Them Assembled?

• No spring compressor. Rental "clamshell" compressors are the most dangerous tool most people will ever use in a driveway. You skip that part entirely.
• The right offset, every time. The driver side sits two grooves above the passenger side on this truck. Get it wrong and the Tundra leans. Ours are set, checked and labeled driver and passenger.
• New mounts included. The loose Bilstein kit reuses your factory upper mounts. Ours come with new ones.
• Faster install. Assembly is the slowest part of a coilover job. With that done, the job is removing two struts and bolting in two.

Bilstein doesn't approve every groove on every Tundra, so we only build the settings in the dropdown. The Access Cab keeps factory height at #3 / #1 and tops out at 1.0"; Bilstein marks its two highest settings "Do not use." The Double Cab starts at 0.3" and reaches 2.0".

How to choose: Measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear. The difference is your rake. Most stock Tundras sit lower in front, so the setting closest to that number levels the truck on the stock rear leaf springs. Adding an add-a-leaf? Add that rear lift to the rake. Steel front bumper or winch? Go one setting higher. Stuck between two? Call us with your measurements and we'll pick it with you: (213) 433-3616.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

The first-gen Tundra rear is a leaf-sprung solid axle, so the leaf pack sets rear height and the shock just has to cover it. Bilstein builds a 5100 and a 5160 for it.

The Bilstein 5100 (24-100144) is the default. A 46mm digressive piston in a zinc-plated monotube body, rated for stock height up to 1" of rear lift. With Bilstein valving at both ends, the front doesn't feel sharp while the rear bounces on tired stock shocks.

The Bilstein 5160 (25-311273) is for loaded or working rears. The remote reservoir adds oil, so it runs cooler and fades less when the truck tows all day or runs long washboard roads. It covers stock to 2" of rear lift.

Run the 5100 if:

• You're keeping the stock rear leaf springs, or adding up to 1"
• It's mostly pavement and dirt roads, with a trailer now and then
• You want Bilstein at both ends without paying for reservoirs

Run the 5160 if:

• You tow often or the bed carries real weight
• You're adding up to 2" in back with an add-a-leaf
• You run long washboard or desert roads

When you need something else: More than 2" of rear lift needs a longer shock. Call us and we'll size one to your setup: (213) 433-3616.

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2000-2006 Tundra Access Cab

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2004-2006 Tundra Double Cab

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Pair for the 2000-2006 Tundra

On the Road

Bilstein tunes for control first. Against worn factory struts, expect less nose dive under braking, less body roll through a sweeper, and a front end that settles after a highway dip instead of bobbing. If you want a soft, quiet ride, this isn't it, and we'd rather tell you now.

Off the Road

The 2.6-inch body holds more oil than the factory strut and sheds heat better, so damping stays consistent on long washboard roads. The digressive piston stays firm on small, quick inputs and opens up on bigger hits. The rear is the other half: axle hop on a rough road comes from the stock leaf springs and shocks, so plan on a rear to match (see above).

The Honest Trade-Offs

• Mild lift. This kit levels more than it lifts: the Access Cab tops out at 1.0", the Double Cab at 2.0". If you want more, call us.
• 4WD V8 only. Bilstein charts the 4WD Access Cab and Double Cab with the 4.7L V8. RWD, V6 and Regular Cab: call us.
• Your height is set when we build it. Changing it later means taking the coilover apart with a strut compressor. Measure before you order.
• Firmer than stock. See "On the Road" above.
• Built to order. Every pair is assembled for your truck, so it takes longer to ship than a box pulled off a shelf.
• Don't stack a spacer on top. A strut spacer on top of a 6112 pushes the front past what the factory arms and axles are built for.

Install Notes

• Fits 2000-2006 Toyota Tundra 4WD V8: Access Cab (2000-2006) and Double Cab (2004-2006). Choose your cab above; the heights are different for each.
• RWD, V6 or Regular Cab: call us before ordering. They aren't on Bilstein's chart for this kit.
• For a 2007 or newer Tundra, you need a different Bilstein 6112 kit (47-310971).
• Removing a strut spacer? Leave it off.
• Get an alignment right after install. Any lift changes camber and toe.
• Recheck the front height after the springs settle in over the first few hundred miles.
• Most people with a floor jack, jack stands, and a basic socket set can swap the pair in an afternoon. The heavy lifting is done.

Who Should Buy These

First-gen Tundra owners who plan to keep the truck and want the nose leveled with a real damper instead of a spacer, with no spring compressor in the driveway. A strong fit for the high-mileage 4WD you just bought on worn-out struts.