You chose the Yukon for how it carries itself: quiet, solid, a step above the Tahoe it shares a frame with. A few years and a lot of highway miles on, the factory front struts are the part letting it down. The nose dips on every stop, the front needs two or three motions to settle over an expansion joint, and with a trailer behind it the whole SUV feels less planted than it should. Bilstein's 6112 brings the composure back: a 2.6-inch monotube body and a 60mm digressive piston for firm, single-motion control of body movement, on Bilstein-matched springs that set the front 1.6" higher.

We take it one step further. Out of Bilstein's box, the 6112 is loose parts (dampers, springs, spring seats and circlips) with a "spring compressor required" note, and it reuses your factory upper mounts. We assemble every Yukon pair on our bench at Bilstein's approved setting, add new OE-spec upper mounts, torque them to spec and label them by side. Your installer bolts in two finished coilovers, the same job as a pair of factory struts.

How We Build Them

Every Yukon pair is built to order. Here's what happens on our bench:

• Set the circlips. The 6112 body has a row of numbered grooves, and the groove the circlip sits in decides ride height. For this kit on the 2015-2020 Yukon, Bilstein approves groove #1, on both sides. Every Yukon pair we build is set there.
• 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 Yukon left the factory. 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?

• Installs like a factory strut. Your shop pulls two struts and bolts in two finished assemblies. No spring compressor and no circlips to set on your SUV, which means less labor on the invoice.
• Checked as a pair. Both sides sit on the same groove and are checked before boxing, so the Yukon sits level 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 all fresh, so nothing worn is left in the front corners to undo the upgrade.

Bilstein approves one setting for this kit on the Yukon: groove #1, 1.6" over factory height. It marks #2-#4 "Do not use," so we don't build them. Bilstein also doesn't list the kit for Magnetic Ride Control, which every 2015-2020 Denali has, so we don't build it for the Denali.

How to choose: With one setting, the decision is whether 1.6" is right for your Yukon. Measure from the center of each wheel to the fender lip, front and rear. If the front sits about 1.5" lower, it comes out level. If it sits closer to level already, expect the nose to end up slightly higher; a rear spacer of up to 1" squares it up, and the 5100 rear covers it. Not sure whether your Yukon has Magnetic Ride? Send us your VIN and we'll check before anything is built.

Matching the Rear: Bilstein 5100 or 5160?

Give the rear the same treatment. A composed front on original rear shocks leaves the back of the Yukon bobbing on its own, and you feel it most from the second row and with a trailer hitched. The Yukon rear is a coil-sprung solid axle, so the coil springs set rear height and the shock just has to cover it.

The Bilstein 5100 (24-251778) is the rear to pair with it. Monotube body, 46mm digressive piston, zinc-plated finish, rated for factory height up to 1" of rear lift (24.17" extended, 15.58" compressed, 8.59" of travel). It gives the back of the Yukon the same Bilstein feel as the front.

Bilstein lists no 5160 for the 2015-2020 Yukon. The 5100 is the matched rear, whether the Yukon tows or not.

Run the 5100 if:

• The rear rides on the factory coil springs, or up to 1" higher
• Highway miles, a trailer on summer weekends, and the occasional gravel road
• You want the same Bilstein feel front and rear

Also run the 5100 if:

• Regular towing with a boat or travel trailer
• A full cargo area on long road trips

When you need something else: Lifting the rear more than 1" calls for 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 Yukon

On the Road

Bilstein tunes for control first, and in a full-size SUV you notice it in the first mile. The nose stays level under braking, the Yukon takes on-ramps flatter, and an expansion joint gets one clean movement instead of a float. It's firmer than a new factory strut and gives up a little isolation over sharp edges; what you get back is an SUV that feels planted at speed and steady with a trailer. If a soft, floating ride is the goal, the 6112 isn't the right part, and we'd rather say so now.

Off the Road

Most Yukons see gravel roads to the lake house, the ski area and the boat ramp rather than trails. That's where the 2.6-inch body pays off even though it can handle a lot more: steadier damping on long washboard stretches, and a digressive piston that stays firm on small inputs and opens up on bigger hits. Pair it with the matched rear (see above).

The Honest Trade-Offs

• Not for the Denali. Every 2015-2020 Denali has Magnetic Ride Control, and Bilstein doesn't list this kit for it.
• One height: 1.6". There's no factory-height option with this kit, and Bilstein rules out the higher grooves.
• 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 2015-2020 GMC Yukon 4WD (SLE and SLT) without Magnetic Ride Control.
• Not for the Denali, the Yukon XL, or 2WD Yukons. Not sure about Magnetic Ride? Send us your VIN.
• For a 2007-2014 Yukon, Bilstein uses a different kit (47-310858) with its own chart; a 2021 or newer Yukon needs a different kit again. Call us for either.
• Having it installed? Your shop treats it as a front strut replacement: two struts out, two finished coilovers in, no spring compressor. Home mechanics with a floor jack, jack stands and a socket set can do it too.
• Book the alignment for the same day. A change in ride height changes camber and toe.
• Recheck the front height after the springs settle in over the first few hundred miles.

Who Should Buy These

Yukon SLE and SLT owners who plan to keep the SUV and want it to drive with the composure it had new, or better: settled on the highway, steady with a trailer, and sitting a little taller up front. If you'd rather keep factory height, the Bilstein 5100 adjustable front struts for the Yukon reuse your springs and set from stock up to 1.6".