Put a steel bumper, a winch, drawers and a fridge on a 5th-gen 4Runner and the factory front gives up: the nose sits low, dives hard on the brakes, and bottoms on the first big hit. The standard 6112 is tuned for a stock-weight truck. This one isn't. Bilstein's heavy-load 6112 carries stiffer springs and valving for a built rig, and it's tuned to run with heavy-load rear lift coils. Same 2.6-inch monotube and 60mm digressive piston, set up for the weight you actually carry.

Heavy load means heavy load. Bilstein says this kit isn't recommended for a stock-weight truck. If your 4Runner, FJ or GX460 is stock up front, the standard 6112 kit, 47-310025 is the right one.

What's in the Box

One front pair, as Bilstein boxes it. Everything comes loose, for you or your shop to put together:

• 2 Bilstein 6112 dampers. 2.6-inch zinc-plated monotube bodies with a 60mm digressive piston and a row of numbered circlip grooves. The circlip ships on the body; you move it to the groove you want.
• 2 Bilstein heavy-load coil springs.
• 2 billet aluminum spring seats. The seat sits on the circlip and carries the bottom of the spring.
• Top hardware: rod adapters, upper bushings, upper and lower washers, and new locknuts.
• Spacer washers for the two top settings (#5 and #6), used with the jounce bumpers. Follow Bilstein's instructions.
• Not in the box: upper mounts. Bilstein's kit reuses your factory upper mounts and the rubber bushing glued under them. If the rubber is torn, collapsed or loose, replace the mount now, not after the job.

Setting Your Height

Bilstein uses three patterns on this kit. 4Runner with KDSS and GX460: same groove both sides. 4Runner without KDSS and FJ Cruiser: driver two grooves higher. TRD Pro: driver three grooves higher. Here's the order:

• Find your column on the chart. KDSS trucks have hydraulic cylinders and lines tied into the sway bars where other trucks have plain end links.
• Set the driver / passenger pair exactly as printed (for example #6 / #4 on a non-KDSS truck).
• At #5 or #6, add Bilstein's spacer washers as the instructions show.
• Check the groove twice. One groove off on one side and the truck sits crooked. Count from the bottom groove (#1) on both bodies.
• Seat the circlip all the way into its groove. It should sit inside the spring seat and turn by hand. Bilstein warns that a half-seated circlip ruins the shock.
• Seat the spring seat on the circlip. The spring seat sits on the circlip and carries the Bilstein spring. It only goes on one way.
• Compress the spring safely. This is the step to respect: a coil spring under load stores a lot of energy. Use a mounted, shop-grade strut compressor. Don't use a rental clamshell compressor or anything you have to improvise. Any suspension shop with a mounted compressor does this step in minutes, so if you don't have one, let them.
• Reuse the factory upper mount and torque the locknut to 20 lb-ft (27 Nm). Hold the shaft with an 8mm wrench and use a torque wrench. Bilstein says it plainly: no impact wrench on the locknut.
• Mark driver and passenger before you install. Set each side to the chart, check it twice, and label it, so the truck doesn't lean.

Want it assembled? We don't list this heavy-load kit pre-built. Our assembled 6112 listings for the 2010-2024 4Runner, 2010-2014 FJ Cruiser and GX460 use the standard kit, 47-310025, built to the height you choose. If your truck isn't carrying the weight full time, start there.

Bilstein charts this kit from #1 to #6 only, and every setting lifts the truck: 1.0" is the lowest on a TRD Pro, 0.9" on a GX460. The heights assume the weight is on the truck. Bilstein's numbers are for a built rig, so on a lighter truck it will sit taller than the chart.

How to choose: Measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear, with the bumper, winch and gear on the truck. Front minus rear is your rake. Pick the setting in your column closest to that number plus whatever lift your rear coils add. Stuck between two? Call us with your measurements and build list: (213) 433-3616.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

The rear of the 4Runner, FJ Cruiser and GX460 is a coil-sprung solid axle on four links. The coils (or a spacer) set rear height; the shock only needs the right length for it. Pick the rear in the Rear Shock option above and it ships with the kit. On a heavy-load build, plan the rear coils first: Bilstein tunes this front to run with heavy-load rear lift coils.

Bilstein 5100 (33-313146, pair): the everyday match. A 46mm digressive piston in a zinc-plated monotube body, sized for stock height to 2" of rear lift (23.5" extended, 14.91" compressed, 8.59" of travel). The same shock fits the 4Runner, FJ Cruiser and GX.

Bilstein 5160 (25-311211 left, 25-325096 right): for a loaded rear. The remote reservoir adds oil, so it runs cooler and holds its damping with a drawer system, a rooftop tent or a trailer, and on long washboard roads. On a truck heavy enough to need this front, the 5160 is usually the right rear.

Run the 5100 if

• Your rear coils lift the truck 2" or less
• The weight is mostly up front (bumper, winch)

Run the 5160 if

• The back carries real weight: drawers, a fridge, a rooftop tent, recovery gear, a trailer
• You run long stretches of washboard or desert road, where a shock without a reservoir gets hot

When you need something else: More than about 2" of rear lift needs a longer shock. A GX460 still on its factory rear air springs needs a plan first. Call us: (213) 433-3616.

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Pair for the 2010-2024 4Runner 4WD

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2010-2024 4Runner

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2010-2014 FJ Cruiser

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the GX460

On the Road

With the weight on, the front stops sitting nose-low and diving under braking, and it settles in one motion after a dip instead of wallowing. Without the weight, it rides stiff and sits tall. That's the trade for a kit built for a loaded truck.

Off the Road

The heavy-load springs keep the front off the bump stops with a bumper and winch hanging out front, and the 2.6-inch body holds more oil than the factory strut, so damping stays consistent on long washboard roads. The higher settings cost angle at the upper control arms and CV axles.

The Honest Trade-Offs

• You need a compressor or a shop. The kit arrives as parts. Budget for a shop to put it together if you don't own a mounted strut compressor.
• Not for a stock-weight truck. Bilstein says so. Without the weight it rides stiff and sits taller than the chart.
• No factory-height setting. Every groove lifts the truck.
• Changing height later means doing it again. The circlip sits under a compressed spring, so a new setting means pulling the coilovers and using the compressor again. Measure before you set it.
• The top settings need supporting parts. From about 2.5" up, the factory upper control arms and ball joints run at steep angles. Aftermarket upper control arms bring camber back.
• 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 2010-2024 Toyota 4Runner 4WD (with or without KDSS, TRD Pro), 2010-2014 FJ Cruiser 4WD and 2010-2024 Lexus GX460. No 2WD fitment.
• Built for a heavy front end: steel bumper, winch, armor. Bilstein pairs it with heavy-load rear lift coils.
• How to tell if you have KDSS: KDSS trucks have hydraulic cylinders and lines tied into the sway bars where other trucks have plain end links. Not sure? Send us your VIN.
• Limited with X-REAS, or a GX460 with rear air: call us before ordering.
• Spring compressor or shop required. Use a mounted, shop-grade compressor. A suspension shop builds the pair in minutes.
• Reuse your factory upper mounts (with the rubber bushing glued underneath). Bilstein doesn't include them.
• Torque the locknut to 20 lb-ft (27 Nm). No impact wrench.
• Stock-weight truck? Use the standard kit, 47-310025.
• 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.

Who Should Buy These

4Runner, FJ Cruiser and GX460 owners whose trucks are built: steel bumper and winch up front, drawers or a fridge in back, carrying that weight every day. If your truck is stock or close to it, the standard 47-310025 kit rides better.