Your Tahoe does the school run all week and pulls the boat or the camper on the weekend, usually with the whole family and a full cargo area. By now the factory front struts are part of the problem: the nose dips hard when you brake, the front floats over freeway dips, and the trailer tongue pushes the whole SUV around. The 6112 replaces those struts with a 2.6-inch Bilstein monotube and a 60mm digressive piston, on Bilstein-matched springs that set the front 1.6" higher. You get a front end that stays settled with a load on, and a little more room under the fenders.

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 Tahoe, or save you a couple hours of labor at a shop.

How We Build Them

Every pair is built to order at Bilstein's approved Tahoe setting. 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 2015-2020 Tahoe, Bilstein approves one groove for this kit: #1 on both sides, for 1.6" of lift. That's where we set every Tahoe pair.
• 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 Tahoe was new. 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 vehicle, and on the Tahoe it approves one. With the current 47-310834 kit, groove #1 lifts a 2015-2020 Tahoe 1.6", and Bilstein marks #2, #3 and #4 "Do not use." Older charts showed stock to 1.85"; those were for an earlier Tahoe-only kit that Bilstein has replaced. We only build #1.

How to choose: There's one setting, so the question is whether 1.6" suits your Tahoe. Measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear. The difference is your rake. If the front sits about 1.5" lower than the rear, 1.6" levels it on the factory rear springs. If your rake is smaller, the front ends up a little higher than the rear; a rear coil spacer of up to 1" brings the back up, and the 5100 rear below covers it. Want less than 1.6"? Call us before you order: (213) 433-3616. Not sure whether your Tahoe has Magnetic Ride? Send us your VIN.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

Do the rear while you're at it. Fresh struts up front on top of the original rear shocks leaves the back of the Tahoe bouncing after every dip, and it's worst with a trailer on the hitch. The 2015-2020 Tahoe rear is a coil-sprung solid axle, so rear height comes from the coil springs (or a spacer), and the shock just has to cover that height.

The Bilstein 5100 (24-251778) is the rear for this Tahoe. It uses a 46mm digressive piston in a zinc-plated monotube body and covers factory height up to 1" of rear lift (24.17" extended, 15.58" compressed, 8.59" of travel). It fits 4WD and 2WD Tahoes and gives the back the same Bilstein control as the front.

Bilstein doesn't list a 5160 for the 2015-2020 Tahoe. On this Tahoe, the 5100 is the rear to run, towing or not. If you tow heavy every weekend, call us and we'll talk through the rear springs.

Run the 5100 if:

• The rear sits on the factory coil springs, or up to 1" higher on a spacer
• It's the family car during the week and the tow vehicle on weekends
• You want Bilstein control at both ends

Also run the 5100 if:

• You tow a camper or a boat most weekends
• The cargo area is loaded to the roof for road trips

When you need something else: More than 1" 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 2015-2020 Tahoe

On the Road

Bilstein tunes for control first. With the family aboard and the cargo area full, expect less nose dive when you brake, less lean in highway curves, and a front end that takes a dip in one motion instead of three. Hook up a trailer and the nose stays calmer when the tongue weight pushes. It's firmer than a fresh factory strut. If you want a soft, floaty ride, this isn't it, and we'd rather tell you now than after the install.

Off the Road

Most Tahoes see gravel roads to the campground, the boat ramp, and snowy forest roads, not rock trails. The 2.6-inch body holds more oil than the factory strut and sheds heat better, so damping stays consistent on long washboard stretches instead of fading. The digressive piston stays firm on small, quick inputs and opens up on bigger hits. Match the rear (see above) so the back of the Tahoe doesn't become the weak link.

The Honest Trade-Offs

• One setting: 1.6" of lift. Bilstein approves only groove #1 for this kit on the Tahoe. No stock-height option and nothing higher. Want to stay at factory height? See "Who Should Buy These" below.
• Not for Magnetic Ride Control. Bilstein's retailer listings exclude MRC trucks. That includes the 2015 LTZ and any Tahoe with the RST Performance Package. Premier owners: send us your VIN before ordering.
• The rear may need to catch up. On a Tahoe with little factory rake, 1.6" up front can leave it slightly nose-high. A rear spacer of up to 1" fixes it.
• 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 2015-2020 Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD (LS and LT) without Magnetic Ride Control.
• Not for Magnetic Ride Control, the Suburban, 2WD Tahoes, or police (PPV) Tahoes. Magnetic Ride came standard on the 2015 LTZ and with the RST Performance Package. Not sure? Send us your VIN.
• For a 2007-2014 Tahoe, Bilstein uses a different kit (47-310858) with its own chart. For a 2021 or newer Tahoe, you need a different kit. Call us for either.
• 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.
• 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

2015-2020 Tahoe owners who haul the family, tow on weekends, and want the front end to feel tied down again, with no spring compressor in the driveway. It's a great fit for LS and LT Tahoes that pull a boat or camper, road-trip loaded, or run gravel to the campsite. If you'd rather keep factory height, the Bilstein 5100 adjustable front struts reuse your springs and set from stock up to 1.6".