You bought the Silverado used, it's paid off, and now you want it to sit right: nose up, room for a bigger tire, and a front end that doesn't feel like it has a decade of potholes in it. A spacer gets the look for cheap, but it keeps the tired struts and cuts into down travel. This kit is the step past leveling. Bilstein's 6112 lifts the front 1.85" to 2.75" on new springs, with a 2.6-inch monotube body and a 60mm digressive piston doing the damping. At this height Bilstein requires aftermarket upper control arms, so plan the job as struts plus arms, not struts alone.

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 Silverado, 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 Silverado, 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 a decade 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.
• Less time on jack stands. Assembly is the slowest part of a coilover job. With that done, your weekend goes to the upper arms and two bolt-in coilovers.

Bilstein charts three settings for this kit on the 2014-2018 Silverado: 1.85", 2.3" and 2.75". We only build those three. There's no stock-height setting, and Bilstein requires aftermarket upper control arms at all three. If you just want it level, our stock to 1.85" Silverado 6112 kit is the leveling version.

How to choose: Start with the rake. Measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear. With the rear on the stock leaf springs, #1 (1.85") is the closest to level. #2 and #3 put the nose above the tail unless the rear comes up too, with an add-a-leaf or blocks. Add your planned rear lift to the rake and pick the setting closest to it. Steel bumper or winch? Go one setting higher. Stuck between two? Call us with your measurements: (213) 433-3616.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

Size the rear to the front. With the nose up 1.85-2.75", a lot of owners bring the rear up 1-2" with an add-a-leaf or blocks so the truck sits level. The Silverado rear is a leaf-sprung solid axle, so rear height comes from the leaf pack, and the shock has to be long enough for that height. That's why the 0-1" rear shock that pairs with our leveling kit isn't the default here.

The Bilstein 5100 (24-285896) is the default. It's the 46mm digressive monotube Bilstein rates for 2" of rear lift (26.2" extended, 16.57" compressed, 9.63" of travel), the match for a rear brought up to meet this front. Leaving the rear at stock height? The 0-1" version (33-238319) is on the same listing.

The Bilstein 5160 (25-311297) is for a rear that works. The remote reservoir adds oil capacity, so damping holds up with a trailer behind it or on long washboard roads. It covers stock height up to 2" of rear lift (26.33" extended, 16.12" compressed, 10.21" of travel), so it fits whether the rear stays stock or comes up 2".

Run the 5100 if:

• You've added up to 2" in back with an add-a-leaf or blocks (24-285896), or kept the rear stock (33-238319)
• It's a daily driver that sees dirt roads and the odd trail weekend
• You want Bilstein at both ends for the least money

Run the 5160 if:

• You tow (boat, camper, side-by-side on a trailer)
• You run long washboard or desert roads, where a shock without a reservoir heats up
• You haven't settled on rear lift yet: it covers stock to 2"

When you need something else: More than 2" of rear lift needs a longer shock. The 5100 for 4" of rear lift (24-285902) is on the same listing; for anything in between, call us and we'll size one to your setup: (213) 433-3616.

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2014-2018 Silverado 1500 (pick 2" for this kit)

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Pair for the 2014-2018 Silverado 1500

On the Road

It drives tighter than what you're on now. Less nose dive on the brakes, less lean on on-ramps, and the front settles after a dip instead of bouncing twice. It's firmer than a new factory strut. If you want a lifted truck that rides like a couch, this isn't the part, and we'd rather tell you now than after the install.

Off the Road

This is the height where a Silverado starts to make sense on rough roads: more clearance, room for a bigger tire, and a strut that can take the heat. The 2.6-inch body holds more oil than the factory strut, so damping stays consistent on long washboard roads, and the digressive piston stays firm on small, quick inputs and opens up on bigger hits. The rear is still on leaf springs, so plan on a rear shock sized to your rear height (see above).

The Honest Trade-Offs

• You need upper control arms. Bilstein requires them with this kit at every setting. Budget for the arms and plan the install as struts plus arms. Bilstein's B8 kits for this truck are 51-304676 and 51-304669; which one depends on the factory arms on your truck. Not sure? Send us a photo of your upper arm or your VIN.
• There's no stock-height setting. The lowest is 1.85". If you want a level instead of a lift, the stock to 1.85" kit is the one.
• 4WD V8 only, and not with Magnetic Ride Control. Bilstein charts the 4x4 V8 Crew Cab and Double Cab.
• 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.
• The front axles work harder. At 2.3" and 2.75" the CV axles run at a steeper angle than stock. Lots of time in 4WD means more wear on the boots.
• 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 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD with the 5.3L or 6.2L V8, Crew Cab or Double Cab.
• Requires aftermarket upper control arms (Bilstein B8 51-304676 or 51-304669, depending on your factory arms). They go in at the same time as the coilovers.
• Not for 2WD, the 4.3L V6, Regular Cab, or trucks with Magnetic Ride Control. Not sure? Send us your VIN.
• For a 2019 or newer Silverado 1500, you need a different kit: see our 2019-2026 Silverado 1500 assembled 6112 listing, or the Trail Boss version.
• Taking off a leveling 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.
• With a floor jack, jack stands, a socket set and a ball joint separator, the coilovers are the easy half. The upper arms take longer, so give it a full day, or have a shop do the arms and the alignment.

Who Should Buy These

Second and third owners of 2014-2018 Silverados who want more than a level: real front lift, room for bigger tires, and Bilstein control instead of a spacer on worn struts. It fits the guy doing his own work who is already planning upper arms, a rear add-a-leaf, and a set of all-terrains. If you just want it level, the stock to 1.85" kit is less to buy and less to install.