Bilstein 5100/Cornfed Spacer Suspension Upgrade

Looking for any advice or extra info on this setup. I’ve got Bilstein 5100 front and rear struts to install with a 1” rear cornfed spacer using factory springs. 2017 TRDOR. Anything I need to be especially aware of? Going to try and find a local shop here in Rochester, NY to do the install. Thanks for any words of wisdom!

 

What are you setting the front shocks (not struts) at for height?

 

1 3/4 inches. Looking for a modest lift and a decent setup for some beginner level over landing and off-roading.

 

Per my installer in front Bilstien5100 is good for 2.5in of lift. If you add a 1/4in Cornfed spacer you should get full 3in lift front. Rear will lift 1:1. If you get 1in Cornfed spacer over rear spring you will get 1 in rear lift. If you get 1.5 spacer - 1.5in rear lift, etc...

Edit -
Bit of advice. If you go 2.5 - 3in front lift I would highly recommend a good aftermarket UCA. I like SPC UCA and there are other UCA as well where people love. I would highly suggest to pick an installer who is specialized in Toyota 4wds. I also prefer to have diff drop at 3in lift. But there is a famous Youtuber say its not needed and plenty of members will support it as well. So this is just what I would do (adding UCA + diff drop).

 

Thanks for the info and advice. My thought was 1 3/4 inches of lift in front using the shock setting and adding the 1 inch of lift in the rear with the spacer to add an overall inch of lift to the current stock appearance while maintaining a slight 1/4 inch forward rake. I’d like to avoid new UCAs if possible and will likely stick to the 265/70/17 tire size but go with a more aggressive A/T. I’ve seen some folks with this setup who’ve had success and ultimately the look I’d like, but I’m very new (one might say uneducated) with this and want to make sure I’m doing my due diligence.

Definitely agree with having a shop familiar with Toyota do the work - having a tricky time finding one locally but hopefully that luck changes.

 

Check out @nimby's build. He has done almost the exact same setup, albeit with Eibach shocks vs. Bilstein. He could give you some good input.

 

I have 5100's (set at the stock height) with Dobinsons 302 springs up front, 1" rear Cornfed spacer and am very pleased with the ride and look. I initially had Dobinson 599's on the back but didnt care for how high it sat, was around 1.5" on my stock weight 4Runner. Sold the 599's and installed the 1" Cornfed and it was perfect. Springs can be tricky regarding final ride height. I also have P Metric 285/70/17 Falken WildPeak ATW3's, great tires for my type of driving.

 

Sorry if I got it wrong. So you got 2.5in lift in front (assuming no additional weight) and 1 in lift rear? Or you have additional weight to have 2in front and 1in rear? I bet a side profile pic would help OP to decide. I too love the 285s look on 4R.

 

Correct, no additional weight.

 

I just installed Bilstein 5100's front & rear with 1" Cornfed rear spacers this past s
Saturday at home in my garage. Set the front at 1.75". Results look great - I'll try to post photos soon.

On the rear, I had to really sag the axle quite a bit to get the coils out and then back in. Be very careful not to over-stretch the brake lines and some other wires attached to the frame/axle. I disconnect a couple of brackets on the axle to provide a safe amount of slack.

 

You should have no problems with what you're going for.

The only thing that caught my eye was the part about 1/4" of rake.

When you lift your front end 1.75", you'll essentially be leveling out your truck because of the rake that comes from the factory. So if your truck is now level with 1.75" up front and you add a 1" spacer to the rear, you'll have 1" of rake instead of 1/4". That's all fine and good but I just want you to be aware of that beforehand. If you're looking to be closer to level but still retain some factory rake, perhaps a 0.5" rear spacer is more appropriate. Totally up to you and your situation.

No need for UCA's with this lift height. You'll easily be able to maintain good alignment numbers.

 

Hi @nimby , is it we have 1 in front rake from factory?

I was thinking if we do 2in front and 1in rear we will be level. If we do 1.75 front and 1in rear we have a tasteful 1/4in rake front. Did I got that wrong?

 

Exactly this when I did my set up which is exactly the same. Results are great, rides much better

 

SR5's and Offroads have roughly 1.75" of factory rake.

Pro's are somewhere around 0.75 - 1" higher in the front than SR5's and Offroads with the same rear height, giving them around 1" of factory rake.

I've never measured a Limited, but they look more leveled to me with less factory rake.

 

I did the 5100’s set at 1.75” with 1” Cornfed in the rear. With this setup I actually measured a 2” increase in clearance to the engine skid plate right after install. My frame is also level in comparison to the ground when measured. The rear does look higher because there’s greater distance measured from center of axle to wheel arch, but as many threads state, the rear arches are slightly higher than the front. I consider the 2/1 lift to be level.

 

I’d just lift up the nose an 1” or so and leave the tail alone.

 

This is a good distinction to point out.

When I was talking about the numbers above, I'm basing those on middle of hub to bottom of fender measurements......and to me those measurements make the most visual impact because the rear fender are cut higher than the fronts.

Take a look at a Pro or someone else that has done a lift ratio of 1" up front to 0" in the back. This would also include a 2:1" and 3:2" lift or any other variation. Ask yourself if it has zero rake (level). I think the vast majority of people would say it still has factory rake.

 

Thanks to all for the information and feedback. It is all extremely helpful for a newby like myself, I appreciate it very much! Happy Holidays to all!

 

what size tires are you running on your rig? i’m currently running 275/70r17 e rated toyo at3 but the ride is so stiff considering going back to a c rated 265 with this setup

 

When I said that in the past there were comments saying its BS, have no problems with e rated tires.

I tried 40psi all the way down to 32psi. Did not help. Probably my 3 ply side walls didn't care with stock weight of the 4Runner.

I sold my Load Es at a lost via FB market place and got Load Cs.

 

what size are you running?

 

I’m on factory sized Falken Wildpeaks. Since it’s an aggressive looking tire, I don’t think it has an issue with the the tires looking too small with the lift.

 

After a lift I ran BFG KO2 LT285/70R17 Load C. I trimmed the lower part of the bumper, pushed the fender liner forwards. Since my TRD ORP had TRD Offroad wheels if was no big deal fitting 285.

This is why I choose same TRD Offroad wheels for my Limited when fitting P285/70R17.

 

Currently I have the setup you are looking at on my 4Runner. Bilsteins set at 1.75 in the front with 1” Cornfed spacer in the rear with stock springs. The tires are 265/70/17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. Yeah it’s dirty but that is the only pic I have of this setup with 265’s.

 

Love those wheels!

 

I see several of you mention not getting exactly what you expected out of the selected clip setting on your 5100s. That's where I'm at.
After installing mine set to 1.75" (with a cornfed 0.5" lean correction shim on driver side) the resulting lift is 2.875" driver and 2.375" passenger. This puts me a little higher in the front than I wanted to be when I ordered the 0.75" rear spacer kit...
David from cornfed says it's not unusual to get 2" out of the 1.75" setting on the 5100s, but 2.375"??
I just hope it aligns ok.
Any thoughts?
Also, the lower spring perch is definitely installed the right direction.

 

Sounds like you didn’t need the cornfed spacer.

 

Yes, i should have mentioned that I started out with the driver side almost a half inch lower than passenger. Hub center to fender now measures 22.25" on both sides, so the spacer did its job. Just 5/8" too much lift out of the shocks.
The 5100s were way more difficult to compress than the originals, which might contribute in a small degree. The truck only has 300 miles so maybe it will take time for everything to settle.

 

Stock coils, right?

Are your coils clocked correctly so they sit in the little groove stops on the lower perches?

 

Oh yeah, stock springs. I marked coil and isolator positions with a paint marker before starting. It all went back together perfectly.
Lowered the truck and rolled it back and forth to settle any binding before I torqued cam bolts to emiminate that factor as well.
I watched every video and read every write-up there was to find before I got started.
It's crazy but the rear also came out higher than expected. Only possible explanation is the gas charged 5100s exert more force on the body as they want to be extended than the mushy oem shocks did. I'll never know because I installed shocks and spacers simultaneously.
I took meticulous measurements before starting, parked back in the exact same spot as before, etc.
The lift itself looks nice, a 4' level on the frame shows it almost parallel to ground. Just hope there is enough cam adjustment to end up with decent caster angle.

Is 22.25" hub-to-fender a typical result of 5100s set to 1.75"? Maybe the average 4R starts out higher than mine did and i got a normal amount? I've got a full tank of gas and I know the sunroof adds some weight...