The Ram 1500 Classic is the truck Ram kept building for buyers who wanted a full-size Ram without the new-truck price: Tradesman and Express trucks on job sites, fleet trucks bought at auction, and plenty of first trucks. It's the same proven body and coil-spring rear as the 2009-2018 Ram, which means the same weak point up front. The factory struts were built to a price, and after a few years of work the front dives at every stop, floats on the highway, and bounces twice after a pothole, while the truck still sits nose-down. Bilstein's 6112 replaces the strut and the spring in one part. The 2.6-inch monotube body and 60mm digressive piston carry far more oil and damping than the factory strut, and the springs are matched to your engine and cab.

Here's where we come in. Out of the box, the 6112 is a kit: two dampers, two springs, two spring seats and the circlips, plus a note that says you need a spring compressor, and it reuses your old upper mounts. We assemble each pair on our bench at the setting you pick, add new OE-spec upper mounts, torque and label them, and ship two finished coilovers. Your truck is down for an afternoon, and if a shop puts them in, you pay for a strut swap instead of a coilover build.

How We Build Them

Every pair is built to order after you pick your engine, cab and setting above. This is the work you aren't paying a shop to do:

• Set the circlips. Each 6112 body has a row of numbered grooves, and the groove the circlip sits in decides ride height. Bilstein uses the same groove on both sides of the Classic, and we set both to the number 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 since the truck left the line. 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?

• Skip the spring compressor. Compressing a coil spring is the dangerous part of this job, and a rental tool in a driveway is the worst way to do it. That step is done before the box ships.
• Both sides match. Setting one coilover a groove off is the most common 6112 mistake, and it leaves the truck leaning. Ours are set to the same groove and checked as a pair.
• New mounts included. The loose Bilstein kit reuses your factory upper mounts. Ours come with new ones.
• A cheaper install. A shop bills this as two struts out and two in. No coilover assembly on the invoice.

We only build the settings Bilstein approves for each Classic. The Hemi Quad/Crew Cab runs from factory height at #1 to 2.8" at #8. The EcoDiesel Crew Cab runs from factory height at #4 to 2.3" at #9. The Regular Cab Hemi starts at 0.8" and tops out at 2.8".

How to choose: Start with your engine and cab. Then park on flat ground and measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear. The difference is your rake. To level the truck on the factory rear coils, pick the setting closest to that number. If the bed carries a toolbox or material all week, measure it the way it usually sits. Steel front bumper or winch? Go one setting higher. Not sure? Call us with your numbers and we'll pick it with you: (213) 433-3616.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

The Classic carries the same five-link, coil-sprung rear as the 2009-2018 Ram 1500, so rear height comes from the coil springs, and the shock only has to match that height. Bilstein makes a 5100 and a 5160 for it.

The Bilstein 5100 (24-187374) is the value pick. A 46mm digressive piston in a zinc-plated monotube body, rated for factory height up to 1.5" of rear lift (26.73" extended, 16.75" compressed, 9.98" of travel). For a truck that mostly hauls and commutes, it's the least expensive way to get Bilstein damping at all four corners.

The Bilstein 5160 adds a remote reservoir. More oil means it stays consistent when the truck works hard: a trailer every day, a bed full of material, long gravel roads. It comes in two lengths: 25-311389 for factory height up to 1.5", and 25-325089 for 2" to 3" of rear lift.

Run the 5100 if:

• The rear is at factory height, or up to 1" higher
• The truck commutes, hauls, and tows light
• Budget matters more than reservoir capacity

Run the 5160 if:

• The truck tows or carries a heavy load most days
• You run long gravel or washboard roads to job sites
• The rear is lifted 1" to 2.5" (25-325089)

When you need something else: If the rear sits more than 2.5" over stock, it needs a longer shock. Call us with your setup: (213) 433-3616.

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2019-2024 Ram 1500 Classic 4WD

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Pair for the 2019-2024 Ram 1500 Classic

On the Road

It drives like a tighter, more expensive truck. The front stops diving on every brake application, holds flatter through on-ramps, and takes a highway dip in one motion instead of three. It is firmer than a new factory strut, and an empty work truck will let you feel sharp bumps. If ride softness is the top priority, this isn't the part, and we'd rather say so now.

Off the Road

Most Classics leave the pavement for job-site dirt, gravel county roads and the occasional two-track. That's where the bigger body earns its keep: more oil than the factory strut, steadier damping when it heats up on washboard, and a digressive piston that stays firm over small ripples and gives on big hits. Match the rear (see above) so the back of the truck isn't still bouncing on worn shocks.

The Honest Trade-Offs

• Your cab and engine set the numbers. A Regular Cab Hemi sits 0.8" higher than a Quad/Crew Cab Hemi on the same groove, and the EcoDiesel sits lowest. Order the option that matches your truck.
• Set once. Ride height is fixed when we build them. Changing it means a spring compressor and a teardown, so measure before you order.
• Firmer than factory. See "On the Road" above.
• Built to order, not pulled off a shelf. Allow time for the build before it ships.
• Alignment at the top settings. At 2.4" and up, camber can run out of factory adjustment. If your shop can't bring it into spec, ICON Delta Joint tubular upper control arms fix it.
• No air suspension, no V6 chart. Bilstein lists this kit for trucks without air suspension, and its chart doesn't cover the 3.6L Pentastar V6, the Classic's standard engine. Call us first if either applies.
• The spacer comes off. A leveling spacer stacked on a 6112 pushes the front past what the factory arms and axles are built for.

Install Notes

• Fits 2019-2024 Ram 1500 Classic 4WD with front coil springs: Quad Cab or Crew Cab with the 5.7L Hemi, Crew Cab with the 3.0L EcoDiesel, and Regular Cab with the 5.7L Hemi.
• 3.6L V6 owners: call us before ordering. The Pentastar V6 is the Classic's standard engine, and Bilstein's chart doesn't list it.
• Warlock owners: call us before ordering. The Warlock left the factory with about 1" of extra lift, and Bilstein's chart doesn't describe it.
• Not for 2WD trucks or trucks with factory air suspension. Not sure? Send us your VIN.
• Not a Classic? The new-body 2019 and newer Ram 1500 needs Bilstein 47-293540: see our 2019+ Ram 1500 assembled 6112 listing. A 2009-2018 Ram 1500 uses this same kit: see our 2009-2018 Ram 1500 listing.
• Pulling a leveling spacer? It stays off.
• Align it the same day. Any change in ride height changes camber and toe.
• Check the front height again after a few hundred miles, once the springs settle.
• A floor jack, jack stands and a socket set handle the swap in an afternoon. A shop treats it as a strut replacement.

Who Should Buy These

Ram 1500 Classic owners who bought the truck for value and want it to drive better without spending new-truck money: a front end that stays composed with a load, a level stance if you want it, and an install a shop bills as a strut swap. A good fit for Tradesman and Express trucks, used Classics on tired struts, and work trucks that tow on the weekend. If you only want the level stance for the least money, the Bilstein 5100 adjustable front struts reuse your factory springs.