The 12th-gen F-150 has turned into the truck people buy with 150,000 miles on it and keep for another 100,000. The 5.4L Tritons, the early EcoBoosts and the Coyote 5.0s all run a long time, so the frame and drivetrain usually outlast the front struts by a wide margin. By now most of these trucks are on original or bargain-bin struts: the front clunks over expansion joints, it rocks after every dip, and the nose still sits lower than the bed the way Ford built it. These Bilstein 6112s put a 2.6-inch monotube body and 60mm digressive piston where that tired strut was, with springs Bilstein matched to the 2009-2013 truck, and they bring the front up as little or as much as 1.75". That's a damper upgrade first and a leveling kit second.

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 F-150, 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 F-150, 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 well over a decade. 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 this kit by cab, so pick yours first and we only build the settings in the dropdown. Both cabs stay at factory height at #1. The SuperCab goes up to 1.75" at #5. The SuperCrew reaches 1.75" one groove sooner, at #4, and Bilstein doesn't recommend #5 on it.

How to choose: Measure from the center of each front and rear wheel up to the fender lip. Rear minus front is your rake, and on most of these trucks it's between 1" and 2". To level on the stock rear leaf pack, take the setting for your cab closest to that number. Running a heavy front bumper or winch? Go one setting higher, since the extra weight pulls the front back down. Adding a rear add-a-leaf or blocks? Add that rear lift to the rake first. Between two settings? Send us your measurements and we'll call it with you.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

Out back, the 12th-gen F-150 runs a solid axle on leaf springs. The leaf pack decides rear height; the shock only has to reach it. Bilstein makes a 5100 and a 5160 for the 2009-2013 4WD rear, both sized for stock height up to a couple inches of rear lift.

The Bilstein 5100 (33-187501) is where most trucks should land. A 46mm digressive piston in a zinc-plated monotube body, at 28.9" extended, 17.68" compressed and 11.22" of travel, for stock height up to 2" of rear lift. It replaces the rear shocks that let the axle hop on washboard and keeps the back end from bouncing after the front has settled.

The Bilstein 5160 (25-311280) is the one for a truck that works. Same 0-2" rear lift range, with a remote reservoir that adds oil and pulls heat out of the shock, so it doesn't fade halfway down a long grade with a camper behind you or on a long gravel road.

Run the 5100 if:

• The rear sits on the factory leaf pack, or up to 2" higher
• It's a daily driver that tows a few times a year
• You want matched Bilstein valving front and rear for the least money

Run the 5160 if:

• A trailer, a camper or a loaded bed is a regular part of the truck's week
• You drive long stretches of washboard or desert road, where shocks without a reservoir get hot and go soft

When you need something else: Rear lifted 4" to 5"? Bilstein makes a longer 5100 for that (33-255057), and our 5100 listing sells it. Anything else, call us and we'll size a shock to your setup: (213) 433-3616.

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2009-2013 F-150 4WD

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Pair for the 2009-2013 F-150 4WD

On the Road

Bilstein valves the 6112 for control, not Cadillac, but that's not to say these shocks are uncomfortable. Next to worn factory struts, the front end stops nodding after highway seams, dives less when you stop hard, and leans less through a fast off-ramp. Small, sharp bumps come through a little more than they did on soft stock struts. Most owners call that "tight." If you want the truck to feel softer than it does now, this is the wrong kit, and we'd rather say so up front.

Off the Road

Off pavement, the bigger body and extra oil keep damping steady on a long washboard road or rutted forest trail, where a worn factory strut heats up and starts to pogo. The digressive piston stays firm on chatter and opens up on bigger hits like ruts, potholes and cattle guards. The rear leaf springs and old shocks are usually what kick the back of these trucks around on dirt, so budget for rear shocks to match (see above).

The Honest Trade-Offs

• Small lift range. This kit tops out at 1.75". It levels the truck and leaves room for a slightly bigger tire, but it isn't a lift kit.
• Your cab changes the numbers. At the same groove, a SuperCrew sits higher than a SuperCab. Pick by cab, not just by the lift you want.
• 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.
• Heights are typical, not guaranteed. Bilstein's numbers assume a healthy factory suspension. Sagged rear leaves, a heavy bumper or a different engine weight can move the result a few tenths. Measure before you pick.
• 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 2009-2013 Ford F-150 4WD SuperCab and SuperCrew with the 4.6L or 5.4L V8 (2009-2010), or the 3.7L V6, 5.0L V8, 6.2L V8 or 3.5L EcoBoost (2011-2013). Bilstein charts the heights by cab, and they're the same for every engine.
• Not for the SVT Raptor. The Raptor uses its own wide-track front suspension, and this kit doesn't fit it.
• Regular Cab owners: call us before ordering. Bilstein's chart covers the SuperCab and SuperCrew only, and we won't guess at your height.
• Not for 2WD trucks. The 2014 F-150 isn't on Bilstein's list for this kit either; call us if you have one.
• Have a 2004-2008 F-150? See our 2004-2008 F-150 assembled 6112 listing. For a 2015-2020, see the 2015-2020 F-150 assembled 6112 listing.
• 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

2009-2013 F-150 owners who plan to keep the truck: a front end that's finally under control again, a level stance, and a bolt-in job with the spring compressor work already done. It suits high-mile daily drivers, weekend tow rigs, and hunting and camping trucks that see dirt roads. If you want more than 1.75" of lift or more wheel travel, you need a full lift kit with control arms instead.