is a front shock with shims equivalent to a spacer like lift?

Most shocks only go up to 2.5 or so inches and some folks want to achieve a 3” lift. So i’m curious if you add me a shim and max out the aftermarket shock doesn’t that defeat the purpose and you might as well do a spacer lift for less?

thank you

 

Are you talking about body diameter or lift height?

 

I’m referring to overall ride quality and durability.

 

Ride quality/durability, ride height compression and droop, and shock body diameter are all three very different things.

Shimming as I am interpreting from your standpoint is the same as a spacer lift and is not advisable.

Really we need more information with pictures to better understand as apparently the terminology isn't being conveyed appropriately.

It appears you may be in a little over your head and have attempted to educate yourself and have gotten confused in the process.

 

Let me try my best to give you an example from my perspective. Okay lets the say the scenario is that i want to achieve a total lift of 3” in the front. I install the front bilstein 5100’s at max height which is 2” leaving me 1” under my desired goal. So in order to compensate for that 1” i have to add a shim kit or whatever their called. On the other end, i could simply get a 3” spacer lift and call it a day. So in the end what would be the differences between either lift methods?

 

I'll make it simple. Any time you compress a spring more than what it was designed for it will degrade the ride.

This does not take the compression and rebound of the shock into consideration but, in almost all applications, an overly compressed spring will not improve the performance of the shock.

 

The difference? The suspension is under less stress with the 5100's and a smaller spacer but negligible and the spacer lift is cheaper.

Neither are good or recommended.

If you *need* 3" exactly of lift and plan on doing anything but being a pavement princess I highly recommend going to a threaded body coil over with appropriate springs.

That said; I'm running a 285 75 17 (tall 34") on my truck with 5100's OME 887 springs on 2nd notch and Unibal upper control arms and I like the way it rides though it is a little harsher than stock, any lift will be, especially a spacer lift like you're asking about.

That's another consideration, if you plan to run a 285 wide tire you need different upper control arms as the side wall will get torn by the stock upper control arm, especially on stock wheels but even with most aftermarkets.

Personally it sounds like you're doing this for looks and want to do this on the cheep, my advice, don't waste your money man.

 

Combine the two and get 5 inches........

 

No i’m just curious to know what the differences are in general. But another question to follow up is, what are the most affordable 3” lift without having to do new coilovers/springs?

 

Bilstein 6112s give about 2.75” of lift Even though they advertise less. It’s pretty capable off road and is still comfy on the street. That’s what I run and a lot of other people run it who want the lift and better performance without spending the thousands of bucks on foxs or kings. I highly recommend them

 

I need help too. I did a three inch lift and my tires are still rubbing at full turn. What are my cheapest options to get a little suspension lift to clear the inner fender well and corner of the frame?

 

Your cheapest option is to get a cmc. You’d have to lift your truck to the point where 285s look silly if you don’t wanna rub.

 

Before you go too far down this rabbit hole, I suggest you measure how much down travel you have in the front. These trucks only have about 3” from the factory. You don’t want to make it 0”.

 

Unless you plan to never drive over a bump, a lift isn’t going to help you. You need to make the wheel well larger by trimming metal and plastic.