Your Silverado is somewhere between 13 and 19 years old, it's paid for, and you plan to drive it until something major breaks. The front struts gave up a long time ago, if they haven't already been replaced then we feel for you. The nose drops into every stop, the front floats and bounces over freeway expansion joints, and the truck leans hard on an on-ramp. The cheap fix is a leveling spacer, which raises the nose and leaves the worn struts in place. The 6112 replaces them. Bilstein-matched springs set the front height anywhere from stock to 1.85", and a 2.6-inch monotube body with a 60mm digressive piston brings back the damping the factory struts lost.

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 13 to 19 years. 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 doesn't approve every setting on every truck, so we only build the settings in the dropdown. On the 2007-2013 Silverado there are four: stock, 0.6", 1.25" and 1.85". Stock fixes the ride and leaves the stance alone. The other three take out some or all of the factory rake.

How to choose: Want it level? Park on flat ground and measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear. The difference is your rake. On the stock rear springs, pick the setting closest to that number; if you've added an add-a-leaf or blocks, add that rear lift to it. Steel bumper or winch up front? Go one setting higher. Stuck between two? Call us with your numbers and we'll pick it with you: (213) 433-3616.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

Do the rear while you're at it. Fresh struts up front and original rear shocks make the back of the truck hop and wallow more than it did before. The Silverado rear is a leaf-sprung solid axle, so rear height comes from the leaf pack (or an add-a-leaf or blocks), and the shock just has to cover that height. Bilstein builds both a 5100 and a 5160 for it.

The Bilstein 5100 (24-293082) is the default. It uses a 46mm digressive piston in a zinc-plated monotube body and covers stock height up to 1" of rear lift (25.39" extended, 16.53" compressed, 8.86" of travel). It replaced 24-186957. On our rear-pair listing, pick the 0-1" option; the 4-6" option is a longer shock for lifted trucks.

The Bilstein 5160 (25-311297) is for a rear that works for a living. The remote reservoir adds oil capacity, so it runs cooler and fades less with a trailer on the hitch 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).

Run the 5100 if:

• The rear is on the stock leaf springs, or up to 1" higher
• It's a daily driver or work truck that sees the occasional dirt road
• You want Bilstein at both ends for the least money

Run the 5160 if:

• You tow a boat, a camper or a trailer full of toys
• You've added an add-a-leaf or blocks, up to 2"
• You run long washboard or desert roads, where a shock without a reservoir heats up

When you need something else: More than 2" of rear lift needs a longer shock. Call us and we'll size one to your setup: (213) 433-3616.

Shop the Bilstein 5100 Rear Pair for the 2007-2013 Silverado 1500

Shop the Bilstein 5160 Rear Pair for the 2007-2013 Silverado 1500

On the Road

It drives like a tighter truck. The nose stays flatter when you brake, it leans less during on-ramps, and a freeway dip gets one motion instead of three. It's firmer than a new factory strut and a lot more controlled than a worn one. If you want it to ride soft and floaty, this isn't the part, and we'd rather tell you now than after the install.

Off the Road

The 2.6-inch body holds more oil than the factory strut and sheds heat better, so damping stays consistent on long washboard roads instead of fading. The digressive piston stays firm on small, quick inputs and opens up on bigger hits, so the truck stays planted when you pick up the pace on a gravel or rutted road. The rear is still on leaf springs and old shocks, so plan on a rear shock to match (see above).

The Honest Trade-Offs

• Tops out at 1.85". That's a level, not a lift. Want more? It's a different kit; call us.
• 4WD Crew Cab V8 only, per Bilstein's chart. Extended Cab, Regular Cab and V6 trucks: call us before ordering. Not for trucks with Z55 Autoride.
• 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.
• 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 2007-2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD Crew Cab with a V8.
• Extended Cab, Regular Cab or 4.3L V6: call us before ordering. Bilstein's chart for this kit is written for the V8 Crew Cab.
• Not for 2WD trucks or trucks with Z55 Autoride. Autoride is GM's electronic strut option. Look for Z55 on the RPO sticker inside the glovebox before you order.
• For a newer truck, you need a different kit: see our 2014-2018 Silverado 1500 assembled 6112 listing, our 2019-2026 Silverado 1500 listing, or the Trail Boss version.
• Taking off a leveling spacer? Leave it off.
• On a truck this age, check the ball joints and tie rod ends before you pay for an alignment. New struts don't fix worn steering parts, and a worn part won't hold the alignment.
• 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

2007-2013 Silverado 1500 4WD Crew Cab owners who plan to keep driving the truck, want the nose level or just the ride fixed, and would rather spend a Saturday in the driveway than pay a shop to run a spring compressor. It's a great fit for daily drivers, work trucks that see dirt roads, and anyone pulling a spacer off and doing it right this time.