The GMT900 Sierra was the better-finished truck when it was new, and owners who kept one usually kept it for that reason: a quiet cab, a smooth V8, a truck that still feels solid well past 150,000 miles. Despite the premium feel to most of the truck, there was still excessive body roll and rear end pogo'ing right off the lot due to inadequate shocks. Once they're tired, the nose pitches forward under braking and keeps moving after a highway seam, and a well-kept truck starts to drive older than it looks. Bilstein's 6112 puts the composure back. A 2.6-inch monotube body and 60mm digressive piston hold body motion firmly and settle the truck in one clean movement, at a front ride height you choose, from factory to 1.85".

We take the 6112 further than Bilstein's box. It normally ships as loose dampers, springs, spring seats and circlips, with a note that a spring compressor is required, and it reuses your factory upper mounts. Each pair is assembled on our bench at the height you order, with new OE-spec upper mounts, torqued and labeled by side. Your installer receives two finished coilovers and fits them like a pair of factory struts.

How We Build Them

Every pair is built to order once you choose your setting above. 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 Sierra, 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 since GM built the truck. 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?

• A strut swap, not a coilover build. The shop removes two struts and bolts in two finished assemblies. No spring compressor and no circlips to set, so the labor on the invoice stays short.
• Checked as a pair. Both coilovers are set to the same groove and measured before they're boxed, so the truck sits square side to side.
• New mounts included. The loose Bilstein kit reuses your factory upper mounts. Ours come with new ones.
• Everything new at once. Dampers, springs and upper mounts are replaced together, so no worn part is left in the front corners to undo the work.

We only build the settings Bilstein charts for this truck: factory height, 0.6", 1.25" and 1.85". Bilstein charts the kit for the 4x4 V8 Crew Cab and lists the SL, SLE, SLT and WT. The Denali, with all-wheel drive or 2WD and its own Z60 suspension, isn't on that list, so we don't build a Denali pair without talking to you first.

How to choose: Measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear; the difference is your rake. For a level truck on the factory rear springs, choose the setting nearest that number. If you tow often, one setting above level keeps the nose up with the trailer on. Own a Denali, a cab other than the Crew Cab, or aren't sure about Autoride? Send us your VIN and we'll check before anything is built.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

Give the rear the same attention. A composed front over original rear shocks leaves the back of the truck moving on its own, and you feel it from the driver's seat on the first rough stretch. The Sierra rear is a leaf-sprung solid axle, so rear height comes from the leaf pack and the shock only has to cover that height. Bilstein makes both a 5100 and a 5160 for it.

The Bilstein 5100 (24-293082) is the default. A 46mm digressive piston in a zinc-plated monotube body, for factory height up to 1" of rear lift (25.39" extended, 16.53" compressed, 8.86" of travel). Bilstein lists it for every 2007-2013 Sierra 1500 trim, including the Denali, so the rear matches the front's Bilstein feel.

The Bilstein 5160 (25-311297) is the towing choice. Its remote reservoir carries extra oil, so damping holds steady over a long pull with a boat or travel trailer. It covers factory height up to 2" of rear lift (26.33" extended, 16.12" compressed, 10.21" of travel).

Run the 5100 if:

• The truck sits on its factory rear springs, or up to 1" higher
• Most miles are highway and town, with a trailer now and then
• You want the same Bilstein feel at both ends

Run the 5160 if:

• A boat or travel trailer is behind the truck most weekends
• The bed carries weight, or the rear sits up to 2" higher
• The drive to the cabin or the ranch includes long gravel or washboard roads

When you need something else: A rear lifted more than 2" needs a longer shock. Call us and we'll match one to your truck: (213) 433-3616.

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

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

On the Road

Bilstein tunes for control first, and you notice it within a mile. The nose stays level when you brake, the truck takes a sweeper flatter, and a highway seam gets one settled movement instead of a bounce. It is firmer than a new factory strut and passes a bit more of a sharp edge into the cab; in return the truck feels tied down at speed and steady with a trailer. If a soft, floating ride matters most, the 6112 isn't the right part, and we'd rather say so now.

Off the Road

A Sierra's off-road life is usually gravel roads, ranch roads and the boat ramp. The Bilstein 6112 can handle all of this and much more. The bigger bore 2.6 inch body is designed to handle faster speeds and rougher terrain, so if that's your attitude offroad then this is the kit. The rear is still on leaf springs, so pair the front with a matched rear shock (see above).

The Honest Trade-Offs

• Not on Bilstein's list for the Denali. The 2007-2013 Denali is all-wheel drive or 2WD with a Z60 suspension. Call us before ordering for one.
• 4WD Crew Cab V8, without Z55 Autoride. That's the truck Bilstein charts. Other cabs: call us first.
• A level, not a lift. The top setting is 1.85".
• Firmer than factory. See "On the Road" above.
• Your height is set when we build it. Changing it later means taking the coilover apart with a strut compressor. Measure before you order.
• Built to order. Every pair is assembled for your truck, so it takes longer to ship than a box pulled off a shelf.

Install Notes

• Fits 2007-2013 GMC Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cab with a V8: SL, SLE, SLT and WT.
• Denali: call us before ordering. Bilstein's fitment for 47-310858 doesn't list it.
• Not for 2WD trucks or trucks with Z55 Autoride. The RPO sticker in the glovebox lists Z55 if your truck has it. Not sure? Send us your VIN.
• Extended Cab or Regular Cab: call us before ordering. Bilstein's chart for this kit is written for the Crew Cab.
• For a newer Sierra, you need a different kit: see our 2014-2018 Sierra 1500 assembled 6112 listing, our 2019-2026 Sierra 1500 listing, or the AT4 version.
• Having it installed? Any shop that replaces struts can fit these: two struts out, two finished coilovers in, no spring compressor. Ask them to check the ball joints and tie rod ends while the front is apart; worn steering parts won't hold an alignment.
• Have it aligned the same day. Any change in ride height moves camber and toe.
• Recheck the front height after the springs settle in over the first few hundred miles.

Who Should Buy These

Owners of 2007-2013 Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cabs (SL, SLE, SLT and WT) who intend to keep a well-kept truck for years and want it to drive composed again: settled on the highway, steady with a trailer, and level if they choose. Built for a shop install, with the assembly already done.