front strut spacer question.

im looking to level the front of my truck out, what would be a good sized spacer for the front? the rear from the ground to center of the wheel well is about 32.5" and front is 31".

basically im asking if a 1.5" spacer will yield only 1.5" of lift or is there other aspects im not taking into consideration.. i have read spacers can yield more lift than what the actual width of the spacer is (on a f150 anyways).

ps, spacer availability isn't an issue seeing as how my friend will make them for me on the cnc machine at the fab shop he works at.

thanks for any help

 

It'll ride like poop... But yes you can fit that tire on it with it. Might have to shave down your frame behind the front tires where the cab mounts.

 

I think you'll get around 2x the amount of lift as compared to height of spacer.

 

Max is right

 

unless you have a budget no one here really recommends spacer lifts as they can and have been proven to make the shock fail by breaking... if your looking to level out the front look into buying bilstein 5100s and eibach coils.. the 5100s are adjustable from stock height to about 2.5 inches of lift the eibach coils themselves give about 1.6 inches of lift

 

The fact of shocks breaking is more of a problem when you stack a spacer on top of the strut assembly. Not so much when you preload the spring.

 

LOL you could always gusset the bottom of the shock

 

Like this?

 

yes that was one of the things I was thinking about...

 

Is the shock breaking due to it bottoming out before the LCA hits the bump stop on compression?

If so, wouldn't an extended bump stop solve the problem?

 

Yes but that would be a huge bump stop. Why not just get a 5100 instead?

 

The OP is looking into leveling out the truck with 1.5 inch spacers. for a better ride i recommended the 5100s and eibachs set at 0 to achieve 1.6 of lift to level out the truck and for a better more comfortable ride. and yes i was talking about the thick top plate spacers that cause the breaking since all they do is push the suspension down and cause bottoming out in the shock which in turn could and has cause breaking. for on road use spacers are find but personally i would do it the right way first. just my two cents

 

maybe i worded it wrong? i wass only looking to add a spacer on top of the whole assembly not extend the length of the strut at all. just like the spacers in this picture, but not as thick.

 

I had a spacer lift on my 4runner and the ride was nice. I don't understand why it would put more stress on the shock or spring, all the spacer does is sit on top of the strut mount and changes the distance between the strut plate and the body.

They actual travel of the strut/shock does not change.

 

you are correct on the fact it doesn't change the travel of the shock/strut but it changes the up travel it because the spacer is pushing the suspension which the shock/strut would bottom out before hitting the bump stop

EDIT: this picture shows what can happen by using a spacer lift

 

IMO, with that little bit of rake & just looking to level, why not just use the toytec taco lean 1/4" top plate spacers on each side to get 1/2" of lift of front? 40.00 for both & you don't need any longer studs or to disassemble nothing but 3 nuts up top with the front jacked up off the ground for droop. That would make it 31.5 up front and 32.5 out back. Any leveler than that and it'll start lookin like bro lean and anything in the bed will make it point to the sky too.

And why all the scary spacer lift stories for someone wanting to level up 1.5"? It isn't like OP is shooting for LT spacer lift or anything crazy like that.


Here, do one of these on each side for 1/2", wallah, level, 40.00.............

Then there is the 3/4" lift using this kit with stud extenders for 64.00
page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=58700&category_id=64&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=72

I did the 1/4" on both sides to level my reg cab. It has 1 1/2" rake afterwards and looks pretty much level.

 

The spacer is pushing just as if you added a longer strut/ spring or coilover. There's no harm there.

I think there's some major details missing in relation to the pic you posted . There's no way that can happen from just adding a spacer on top of your strut.

Looks to me like the driver took his pretty much stock truck on a baja run and hit jumps at 50mph...

 

"Bro i saw this at the baja 1000 (jump, smash) its these damn spacers"

Thats probably the case, ive hit huge ruts that threw my alignment out but the shock stood strong i only have a 3" spacer lift i think this might only happen to the people that have a huge spacer on their shocks.

 

I believe this is what happens in that circumstance

Youtube Bro destroys Tacoma in Desert

If you read through the thread it explains the shock acts as the bump stop and not the bump stop, therefore broken shock. (some shocks do have internal bumps though...)

 

Different geometry

Yes, it can.

The factory strut allows (pulling a number out of my ass) 5" of travel.
The factory snubber allows 4.5" of travel before the LCA hits it.

That leaves 1/2" of unused travel in the strut.

Adding preload on the spring simply extends the relaxed state.
You lose downtravel but gain clearance. You now have 7" of travel available in the strut, and the snubber now allows 6.5" of travel.
You still have a 1/2" safety margin.

Any properly engineered lift will still allow the snubber to arrest upward movement of the LCA.

A spacer lift does not do this.

Add a 3" spacer lift, you now have 7.5" of travel available before the LCA contacts the snubber... but you STILL only have 5" of travel before the piston slams the end of the strut and that force ends up acting on the weakest part of the system... the stem at the bottom, unless it is sleeved.
It is also pounding the shit out of the piston and valving.


It's not going to be a problem for a mall crawler.
It's not going to be a problem for the guy who "4-wheels" on basic rough roads but keeps it mellow enough so as not to upset SWMBO and the kids.