Who's running a 3" spacer lift, and your opinion please

I'm thinking about buying the Readylift SST kit which includes top spacers for the struts, and 1" blocks for the rear. I'm also getting 265-75-16 for the stock wheels. I'm also getting the spring tsb done this week. I read a lot on here about how a lot of guys hate spacer lifts. I've seen the thread where one guy broke the front strut, and had a spacer lift. It seems all the major companys sell a spacer kit, and I really don't see how that type of lift is any different then preloading the coil with 5100's, or a taller spring. It all puts the suspension in the same place. Heck maybe I'm wrong. But I'd like to hear from the guys/gals running a spacer lift and get a opinion on it from them, along with any alignment issues or other problems. I'd also be keeping the stock UCA's. Thanks

 

dam they are going to kill you in here if you want to use a spacer kit...they are very frowned upon in here
and with good reason

 

I had one and it rode pretty rough. but I dont know what the difference of the billy or a spacer would be. the spacer pushes down on top of the spring and the billy pushes from the bottom...idk

 

I have a revtek spacer lift, with the blocks in the back. I think it is fine. It may not ride as smooth as a truck lifted with billies, but hey, it's a truck.

I like the looks, the stance and the added height it adds. I am running 285-60-18's on it.

As to breaking parts, I recently ran over a deer with the front drivers tire while doing 60 down the highway. The alignment was hammered, but the suspension was intact. And I hit this thing hard. Alignment was brought back into spec with no issues.

James

 

Your truck's stance is exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks

 

The one I'm looking at bolts on top of the assembly, so theres no preload involved.

 

What is your plans for your truck?

Spacers, coils, billies, etc... all will be a bit rough. All of these kits achieve the lift by extending the stock components. By changing the angles it will make the ride stiffer. (Just basic physics)
There are many other factors that will determine the ride quality but for the most part they are all about the same.

The biggest issue with the TOP spacer kits, is the fact that you will have the potential of overextending your suspension, due to the added down travel.
Other kits like billies and coils don't really allow this to happen because the shocks remain basically the same length. So the shock is the limiting factor. The suspension travel basically remains the same as a stock truck, just sits higher.

Just remember that you will get what you pay for. Lifting and altering your truck always comes with a trade off. To gain something you need to give something up.

Good Luck!

 

DONT

 

I used the Readylift SST kit for my 09 DC LB. I had the TSB done first. Then I did the front spacers for the coilovers and the front diff. That leveled it out. I will still be applying the blocks to the rear to raise it higher so that things are good when towing. So far, the ride has been just fine. No complaints on the routes I regularly take on the road. I don't off road except when the route requires it and even then it is not rock.

I read allot of crap about these kits. And I had spacers on my T100 and all was good and that truck had 205,000 miles on a 96. So, I had no issue using this kit.

As far as making the truck ride rough, I heard the same thing from the dealer regarding the TSB. They were so concerned that it would now ride like a truck. Well, that is what I bought, a truck and not a car, and I guess my ass is just hard enough to not mind or even notice a harsh or rough ride.

 

My plans for the truck are to use it for getting the family around town, and do some light off roading. Mostly hard pack trails with a few mudholes. NO rock climbing, jumping, or crazy articulation stuff. I've had it for two years now and its become the main family "car" but I miss having some off-road fun from time to time. I figured when I got it I'd wait for the shitty Dunlop 245's to wear out the start some mods. Well the time has come. I figured I'm gonna do a small lift with BFG 265's. Thats a good point about overextending the front, I'll have to give that some thought.

 

I have that exact spacer lift on my truck. I have had no issues with it what-so-ever. To me the ride seems just fine. (now granted I don't off-road either) I put it on merely for looks... to be able to get some lift to clear bigger tires (cause I love the stance). IMO it is the best way to go as far as an inexpensive way to add lift to your truck.

 

I see you have a Longbed. I highly recommend sliders. With the wheelbase of these monsters, sliders will definately save you some wrinkled door panels.

Oh, and Toku, every time I see a post from you with a pic of your truck, I drool hopelessly!

James

 

Totally agree

 

I have one and it sucks. WAY rough ride.

 

I have that exact spacer lift on my truck. I have had no issues with it.

 

Spacers come in for grief on these boards, but a lot are sold and they seem to work for some people.

That being said, a couple of caveats:

At 3" of lift, a 1" diff drop is well advised to reduce the angle on the CVs.

A 3" top spacer by itself can have binding issues between the UCA and spring - best to use a mix of top and compression (preload) spacers to get to 3" - Revtek spacer does this. Some but not all others do. Check the specific spacer you're considering.

A spacer gains height at the expense of some upward travel. Now, depending on the tire size you want to run, giving up a little travel at the top may not be a bad thing. You can't stuff a 285/75/R16 onto an unlifted truck without a lot of cutting. So if you're lifting without limiting upward travel at all, you'll have the same tire fit issues when the shock is compressed, as you would have with that same tire on the unlifted truck.

The folks who seem most unhappy with spacers seem to be the ones who do high speed desert driving over extremely rough roads. For those conditions, a smaller tire and a longer travel shock are definitely the way to go - e.g. bilstien 5100, OME, etc...

 

I have a 2.5 spacer on the front (on top of spring) and a 1" block in the rear with the TSB. My ride was odd at first until I got things aligned. The ride is more rough than factory but the truck sits where I want it to with no issues. I understand the point of people saying "you get what you pay for" but my issue was $$$$ and considering I am not a big off-road person it hasnt mattered one bit. If you can afford the billy's then by all means I would go that route.

As for tire size, I am running 265/75/16 @ 40psi (E-rated ply).

 

After looking at the toytec 884 kit you got me thinking about that now. Prices are about the same as the readylift and is coils. Now I gotta see if the rear add a leafs will work with tsb springs.