spacer lift offroad

i just put on a 3" spacer lift and 2" block in the rear so i could clear 285 tires. from what ive been reading latley spacer lifts arnt good if you go offroading. What risks am i running by going offroading with the spacer lift? and also if i were to redo the lift again with a different method of lifting it what would be the best system for the money? Now im only 16 so im not loaded with money so i cant afford the $1200+ lifts. i really dont want to be spending anymore than maybe $800. are the spindle lifts good for offroad? or should i get stick with the spacers for another couple of years and save for the coilovers?

 

Im no expert but it seems spindles would hold up better than spacers

 

I just used billies set at 2.5 and toy tech 2 inch aal cost under 300

 

Adjustable 5100s or for something a little better try the OME suspension lift kit both under your budget.

 

Not to start an arguement but my friends truck has spacers and we wheel the shit out of it mostly crawling, no high speed whoops or deserty stuff here so cant say much about that but for the crawling it worked fine nothing broke...yet

 

^^^this guy has spacers

 

worse case the spacer lift can cause the upper balljoint to fail because instead of maxing out the travel of the shock, the upper ball joint stops the travel at full down and the shock is still being loaded by the spring...not good then youd be fawked if ball joint fails. blocks in the rear cause severe axle wrap on the cheesy 2 leaf + overload stock springs. better off with add a leaf.

for a 800$ range good lift. id go with the OME (Old Man Emu) lift kit from toyteclifts.

 

I want OME

 

I'd say it depends on the final result you want. if spindles or 5100s would keep you happy as a "permanent" lift, i'd swap it out for those. but if you see yourself wanting to get a set of high-end COs (icon, fox, king, etc) i would just keep the spacer until you can afford those. no need to buy 3 different lifts. I wanted a lift, but couldn't afford the set of foxs i want at the time. so for now i'm on a strut spacer up fron and aal in the rear untill i can afford fox all around and a new leaf pack. it is serving me just fin off road for now, and handles better than i thought, i just know i have different limits than someone with new COs. if you keep that in mind, you should be fine untill you upgrade, whatever/whenever that may be.

 

The way i look at it, ARB makes awesome shit. Bumpers, lockers, so its only fair they make badass suspensions. And theyre priced really fair. I want 886 coils with their shocks, front bumper, and dakar rear springs and shocks

 

With spacers your travel is gona get maxed out and when you have some travel going on thats when stuff can break. I would stick with the spacer ride it for a few years until you have money then get a coil over or a drop bracket.

 

Leeper MFG is trying to dump the coilovers that Donahoe Racing left them with... They are selling them for $500 plus shipping for the set...

 

shhhhh stop telling people i want there to be stock left when i get my fat overtime check friday!!! LOL

 

Did you have to remove your springs from the shocks to install the spacers? Spacers that don't require removing the spring from the shock with a spring compressor are the ones that will trash your ball joints. If it required removing the spring and placing it in between the spring and top plate you'll be fine no matter how hard you bash.

 

Not true. With the preload coil spacers, you get rid of a lot of the down-travel of the shock, making it easier to top them out.

 

yes, but you want a preload spacer over a top load spacer if wheeling the truck...

unless you want to deal with a lower ball joint repair...

it would be better to top out the shock than to overextend the lower arms... its easier to drive on a broken shock than a broken arm...

 

I wheeled with a spacer lift for a little over a year before getting coilovers. Its not ideal but it will work as long as you dont plan on jumping your truck

for a prerunner the ideal setup (other than long travel) would be spindles and coilovers.

right now you can get a set of really nice coilovers for 500 bucks. check this out and give the shop a call for the discounted price.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/bu...er-2-5-coilovers-quality-cheap-coilovers.html

 

Yes this is true but coilovers do not cure this issue. Billys have the same extended length as the factory shock. So do Icons and every other bolt in coilover unless it is extended travel which only adds like 3/4 extra down travel.

The only way to gain more travel when you have a pre loaded coil over is to go long travel and get a longer coil over.

 

Yes but the shock is better designed to handle higher spring rates(rebound). stock shock with overly preloaded spring will get hammered. the stock shocks are cheap/weak compared to 5100s or good COs and can pull apart, not likely but it happened to me on an overpreloaded CO on my last truck. not something to mess with.

 

I'd get those LEEPERS for the Fronts right now and 5100's for the rear. You'll have a pretty decent set up for under $800.
(Then "Save' to get SPINDLES in the Future)
Crank the LEEPERS down and you'll have an awesome ride.

or

Wait for a Nice "USED" set-up for cheaper later on. . .
Start saving up and being ready to buy
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