Your Land Cruiser is built to go a long way from pavement and come back. Loaded for a trip, with a fridge, recovery gear, a steel bumper and a winch, the front end sits low, the nose rakes forward, and the factory struts start to wallow on long washboard and float over fast dirt. These Bilstein 6112s raise the front 1.0" to 3.0" and give it real damping in one part. The 2.6-inch monotube body and 60mm digressive piston carry far more oil than the strut they replace, so the truck stays composed on day five of a trip the same as it did on day one. They work with KDSS, so the system Toyota built into this truck keeps doing its job.

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 Land Cruiser, 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 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 Land Cruiser 200, Bilstein uses the same groove on both sides. 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 the last hundred thousand miles or more. 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.
• No mismatched sides. A common 6112 mistake is setting the two sides one groove apart by accident, which leaves the truck leaning. Ours are set and checked as a pair.
• 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 charts six grooves for the Land Cruiser 200, all approved, and we build every one. There's no stock-height setting on this truck: the lowest groove lifts the front 1.0", the highest 3.0". If you want the factory height with better damping, call us before you order.

How to choose: Measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear. The difference is your rake. Keeping the stock rear coil springs? Pick the setting closest to that number. Adding taller rear springs? Add that rear lift to the rake. Running a steel front bumper and winch, or plan to? Go one setting higher, because that weight settles the front. 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 Land Cruiser 200 rides on coil springs in back, on a solid axle with four links. Rear height comes from the springs, and the shock just has to cover the travel at that height.

Bilstein doesn't make a 5100 for the Land Cruiser 200. For a truck kept at stock rear height, Bilstein's answer is the B6 4600 rear (24-269049), a stock-replacement monotube.

The Bilstein 5160 is the rear to run with this kit. It's a remote-reservoir monotube sold per side: 25-311402 (left) and 25-311419 (right). Bilstein rates it for stock to 2" of rear lift, with 24.17" extended, 14.61" compressed and 9.56" of travel. The reservoir holds extra oil, so it stays consistent on long, hot runs of washboard with a loaded cargo area.

Run the 5100 if:

• There's no 5100 for this truck, so here's when the B6 4600 makes sense:
• The rear stays at stock height on the factory springs
• The truck is mostly pavement and graded dirt
• You want Bilstein control in the rear for the least money

Run the 5160 if:

• You're adding taller rear springs, up to 2" of rear lift
• The truck carries a full overland load: drawers, fridge, water, a rear bumper or tire carrier
• You run long washboard or desert roads where shocks get hot
• You want the rear to match the 6112 front in control

When you need something else: More than 2" of rear lift, or a heavy rear bumper and swing-out carriers on the stock springs? Call us and we'll size the rear springs and shocks to the weight you actually carry: (213) 433-3616.

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Left (25-311402) for the 2008-2021 Land Cruiser 200

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Right (25-311419) for the 2008-2021 Land Cruiser 200

On the Road

Bilstein tunes for control first. Compared to the factory struts, expect a tighter front end on a heavy truck: less nose dive under braking, less body motion on highway dips, and a nose that settles in one motion instead of bobbing. The Land Cruiser still rides like a Land Cruiser, just with the float taken out. If you bought the truck for a soft, quiet ride, know that this is firmer.

Off the Road

The 2.6-inch body holds more oil than the factory strut and sheds heat better, so damping stays consistent through miles of corrugations instead of fading. The digressive piston stays firm on small, fast inputs and opens up on bigger hits, which keeps a 6,000-pound truck from pitching through whoops. Plan on the matching rear (see above): new fronts on 15-year-old rears leaves the back of the truck behind.

The Honest Trade-Offs

• No stock-height setting. Every setting lifts the front, from 1.0" to 3.0".
• Not for the Lexus LX570. The LX570 runs hydraulic Active Height Control (AHC), and this kit isn't on Bilstein's US fitment for it.
• 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.
• At #5 or #6, the bump stops change too. Bilstein's instructions say to pull the factory front jounce bumpers (two per side) at the top two settings, add the spacer washers that come in Bilstein's box, and reinstall them. That's part of the install, not the coilover. The washers ship with your pair.
• The top settings change the alignment. Near 3", the factory upper control arms run at steeper angles and the CV axles work harder. If your alignment shop can't bring camber back into spec, aftermarket upper control arms fix it.
• 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 2008-2021 Toyota Land Cruiser 200 (URJ200), US-market 4WD 5.7L V8, with KDSS.
• Lexus LX570: not compatible. The LX570 uses hydraulic Active Height Control (AHC) in place of coil-over struts. Not sure what you have? Send us your VIN.
• Circlip #5 or #6: pull the front jounce bumpers (two per side), add the supplied spacer washers, and reinstall them at 20 lb-ft (27 Nm), per Bilstein.
• Torque the top locknut to 53 lb-ft (72 Nm) by hand. Bilstein says no impact wrench on the top nut.
• KDSS: after the lift, have your shop check that the KDSS system sits level. Toyota's service procedure covers it.
• 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

2008-2021 Land Cruiser 200 owners building for long trips: a bumper and winch up front, a loaded cargo area, and a lot of dirt between fuel stops. You want the nose level, the front end controlled, and 1" to 3" more clearance, without giving up the composure the truck came with, and without a spring compressor anywhere near your driveway.