Bilstein 8112 Shocks

[ApolloChurchill]

The next best is going to be the King 2.5 adj-res if that’s a requirement of yours. I still have a lot of questions about the kit because they’re only meant for the nominal F150. The geometry and extended/collapsed lengths are going to be different.

A lot of people on here are running Icon, but I’ve had bad luck with them from a QC standpoint so I’m not going back.

Yeah I've seen and experienced Icon stuff but it doesn't really suit me. Nothing against them I just didn't enjoy the ride as much as other options I've experienced. I reached out to Bilstein to see if they're going to add DSA+ versions and am hopeful to hear back. I would assume they will but who knows. Focused right now on Fox's and the Billy's right now but I do like King stuff for sure.

 

[PNWTremor]

Yeah I've seen and experienced Icon stuff but it doesn't really suit me. Nothing against them I just didn't enjoy the ride as much as other options I've experienced. I reached out to Bilstein to see if they're going to add DSA+ versions and am hopeful to hear back. I would assume they will but who knows. Focused right now on Fox's and the Billy's right now but I do like King stuff for sure.

King is the king, their entry level stuff out performs some higher end offerings from Fox and Bilstein, and their top-end stuff ends up in half-million dollar trophy trucks.

I think it’s safe to say their product’s are built well and you get exactly that. I can’t wait to throw some in my truck.

 

[McCarthy]

At the price point the 8112's are at, I also assumed they would be adjustable. Deal breaker for me.

 

[CAMDENN]

I wonder why the DSA+ versions aren’t available for the F150.
Could it be that the non-adjustable ones have 80-90% of the capability of the adjustable ones?
On a positive note, not having the the ability to manually adjust them definitely eliminates a possible failure point.

 

[ApolloChurchill]

I'm sure they're nice on their own without the ability to adjust them and bet Bilstein tuned them just right for the truck to deliver great all around performance and will still be a good upgrade for most I just like to perfect every little detail when I can manage it. I have been working a little bit with a couple Ford people on my truck to dial it in to be close to what a fictional factory produced Tremor R would be and it wouldn't be that without some end user tuning choices. I'm sure I'll end up setting them once and not touching them much after that but I did enjoy the adjustment on a set of Kings I've had on a past truck but I was messing with them way more as a daily driver with that one. My Tremor is more dedicated to roaming both in slow and high speed adventures so while less adjusting I do think it would be nice to have some range

 

[McCarthy]

I'm sure they're nice on their own without the ability to adjust them and bet Bilstein tuned them just right for the truck to deliver great all around performance and will still be a good upgrade for most I just like to perfect every little detail when I can manage it. I have been working a little bit with a couple Ford people on my truck to dial it in to be close to what a fictional factory produced Tremor R would be and it wouldn't be that without some end user tuning choices. I'm sure I'll end up setting them once and not touching them much after that but I did enjoy the adjustment on a set of Kings I've had on a past truck but I was messing with them way more as a daily driver with that one. My Tremor is more dedicated to roaming both in slow and high speed adventures so while less adjusting I do think it would be nice to have some range

A Tremor "R" is called a raptor lmao

 

[ApolloChurchill]

A Tremor "R" is called a raptor lmao

I mean yes but since the Tremor is not a Ford Performance product it's nice to imagine that line being drawn between them. The Raptor is definitely a different market for sure. The Tremor was created under Fords DR2 program, it's intended to be a different tier of product where the Raptor is DR1.

 

[traymore]

Anyone tried them? They now come with a dual adjuster rear version.
The 8112 are leagues ahead of the kings. See video below. Only reason I don’t have those yet is I am concerned with the rear measurement for our Tremors.

 

[CAMDENN]

Anyone tried them? They now come with a dual adjuster rear version.
The 8112 are leagues ahead of the kings. See video below. Only reason I don’t have those yet is I am concerned with the rear measurement for our Tremors.

It’s known that one will have to get aftermarket wheels for the rear DSA shocks to fit without clearance issues.

 

[ApolloChurchill]

It’s known that one will have to get aftermarket wheels for the rear DSA shocks to fit without clearance issues.

It’s weird because at least according to what I’ve come up with, our Tremor wheel offset actually passes their clearance requirements.

 

[ApolloChurchill]

Anyone tried them? They now come with a dual adjuster rear version.
The 8112 are leagues ahead of the kings. See video below. Only reason I don’t have those yet is I am concerned with the rear measurement for our Tremors.

I’ve got them and love them. I really have no patience at this point to boutique a shock for the rear dilemma. Run it and if it breaks I’ll ask Bilstein about the Jeep Gladiator rear shocks because they’re a little longer. I’ve done a couple very light jumps and a large drop off by accident with no issues.

 

[CAMDENN]

It’s weird because at least according to what I’ve come up with, our Tremor wheel offset actually passes their clearance requirements.

Interesting.
I was thinking that a wheel like a Method with a +25 would be the ticket for clearance.
I guess the only true way to tell would be to try them with the OEM TREMOR wheel.
I’m definitely leaning towards the non-DSA’s because one, I’m definitely not interested in purchasing new wheels and two, those many adjustments would drive me crazy.
A guy at SS even suggested combining the non DSA 8100’s with my 6112’s because he’s not sure if Bilstein will make a 6100 for the F150.
I’m sure the combination would be fine but, my OCD would get the better of me for not having matching series.

 

[ApolloChurchill]

Interesting.
I was thinking that a wheel like a Method with a +25 would be the ticket for clearance.
I guess the only true way to tell would be to try them with the OEM TREMOR wheel.
I’m definitely leaning towards the non-DSA’s because one, I’m definitely not interested in purchasing new wheels and two, those many adjustments would drive me crazy.
A guy at SS even suggested combining the non DSA 8100’s with my 6112’s because he’s not sure if Bilstein will make a 6100 for the F150.
I’m sure the combination would be fine but, my OCD would get the better of me for not having matching series.

Haha very valid reasoning and it’s why I ended up not bothering to wait. I know without a doubt I’d screw with them once or maybe twice and then overthink my settings are being counterproductive and wish I didn’t give myself the freedom of choice. So far they seem very well tuned. I do think I need to mess with the front height settings a little. I left them set at what they were out of the box and think they are riding right in the middle of two zones right now but also still need an alignment anyways so I’ll wait to see if they settle in after that and then adjust them. I don’t mind going up a little more but it’s not needed I don’t think. I wasn’t really shooting for level just wanted to get rid of the belly rubbing look which it did perfectly out of the box. Methods and 35’s will be next for my overall clearance bump.

 

[DirtyMitch]

Anyone tried them? They now come with a dual adjuster rear version.
The 8112 are leagues ahead of the kings. See video below. Only reason I don’t have those yet is I am concerned with the rear measurement for our Tremors.

My kings were due for a rebuild so I decided to give the 8112's a shot. Have put ~1000 street miles on them. In summary, I miss my kings.

Small bumps and overall on road comfort the bilsteins are more compliant. However, they are much more noisy. Going over something like a speed bump produces a decent thud from the front. Apparently this is normal for these shocks, but its not the most confidence inspiring. Have not taken this on any trails yet, but honestly am concerned they will be too soft for anything more than crawling.

 

[ApolloChurchill]

My kings were due for a rebuild so I decided to give the 8112's a shot. Have put ~1000 street miles on them. In summary, I miss my kings.

Small bumps and overall on road comfort the bilsteins are more compliant. However, they are much more noisy. Going over something like a speed bump produces a decent thud from the front. Apparently this is normal for these shocks, but its not the most confidence inspiring. Have not taken this on any trails yet, but honestly am concerned they will be too soft for anything more than crawling.

Interesting. I haven’t directly compared them to Kings in this generation but I found them to be overall much better than how soft Kings felt overlanding in the 13th gen. I agree that thud on abrupt impacts does sound wild and was off putting for me the first few days with them. They handle phenomenally for me offroad, a lot of stability and confidence. But that can definitely be a personal perspective someone else might not find.

 

[DirtyMitch]

Interesting. I haven’t directly compared them to Kings in this generation but I found them to be overall much better than how soft Kings felt overlanding in the 13th gen. I agree that thud on abrupt impacts does sound wild and was off putting for me the first few days with them. They handle phenomenally for me offroad, a lot of stability and confidence. But that can definitely be a personal perspective someone else might not find.

Well that gives me some hope for the trails! King did not change the design of the coils/shocks from the 13th Gen. I purchased my kings from Accutune. They prefer a softer spring from what came from King, but my set up was the standard spring with the adventure tune. From everything I was told that should have been a pretty soft tune, but I found it firm for the road. It is very subjective and everyone has their own tolerances, but this is coming from someone who typically drives cars with track suspension on the street without issue.

 

[traymore]

My kings were due for a rebuild so I decided to give the 8112's a shot. Have put ~1000 street miles on them. In summary, I miss my kings.

Small bumps and overall on road comfort the bilsteins are more compliant. However, they are much more noisy. Going over something like a speed bump produces a decent thud from the front. Apparently this is normal for these shocks, but its not the most confidence inspiring. Have not taken this on any trails yet, but honestly am concerned they will be too soft for anything more than crawling.

That’s street riding though. The sound comes from the zones and internal bump stop. Go full speed in rough terrain and I don’t think you will miss the king. They destroy the king offroad in direct comparison including jumps and bumps, I linked the video earlier.

 

[Aliass24]

I’ll probably try them out pretty soon. I’ve experienced the 3.0 Factory Race from Fox on a Tremor already so I know those are good to go but for half the cost I’d like to give Bilsteins internal bypass a shot first.

Since you have driven trucks with the fox 3.0 and your own truck with the bilsteins how do you think they compare?

 

[ApolloChurchill]

Since you have driven trucks with the fox 3.0 and your own truck with the bilsteins how do you think they compare?

Not enough difference to justify the cost. My experience was limited in summary to a tech demo of them more than any real chance to drive with them directly. I've been very happy with these Bilstein's and likely would have regretted the investment of the Fox's. They're pretty much identical but I have a very limited viewpoint to be able to use. I don't do a lot of dune crushing, they might have the edge on that but from a few invites to some dunes I have had no problem pacing stock Raptors with the Bilstein setup. They lack a little poise in the rear but I think that can be compensated for with the recent release of the 8100 DSA version for the rear plus it could have been just how the Tremor rear leafs are configured. Overall have been hugely satisfied with the Bilstein package and was glad we got to collaborate together to build this truck with those.