Are spacers really that bad?

OP,

I had this happen to me back in 2009. I was driving on the beach and ran over a hole that someone had dug up pretty hard. Don't think that this will happen to you when going over speed bumps at your local supermarket with your family unless you go super fast, hard and try to make your truck like superman. It is/was my DD back then and still is and yes it was to transport my family from point A and B on weekends as well. Only thing I recommend is to upgrade your UCA if you still intend on getting a spacer lift as the stock UCAs will be at a pretty bad angle.

It is up to you whether to get the spacer lift or Bilsteins. With the adjustable Bilstein 5100s I don't think you'll need new springs either, I could be wrong though.

 

ahh what to do? what to do?

 

If you have the money, get the 5100's. They ride nice

 

i don't know if this will help you but i made this thread earlier to show the difference between stock and 5100's at 1.75" it's a very subtle difference.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/251782-difference-between-5100s-stock.html

and you can check my build thread to see my truck with 5100's. might not be the lift you want, might be

 

what if you get a larger/higher bump stop installed? i know they sell differnt size.
wouldnt this stop strut from bottoming out?

 

What would you recommend?

 

So... spacers go like this.

top plate

pre load

Top plate spacers sit on top and lengthen the whole assembly. If the assy bottoms out before your LCA hits the bump stop, you're gonna have a bad time. If not fuck it.

Pre load spacers sit in the assembly and don't add any length. If the coil compresses into itself before the LCA hits the bumps, you're gonna have a bad time (though won't have the same effects of the top plate bottoming out). If not fuck it.

 

Wouldnt it be more likely with a 6 inch lift then a 3. There is more wheel travel with the 6 so if you run with the spacers you will have the same travel except you will bottom out / break your shock before you even bottom out. The 3 inch are fine.

 

On IFS a 6" lift requires a drop bracket that lowers the front diff down, so a 6" IFS lift doesn't have anymore travel than a 3" lift because travel is limited by the cv axle. The idea isn't perfect, but that is why drop bracket lifts are typically frowned upon for offroading.

 

Actually planning on the OME after doing some research (and finding a good deal ).

Just a hypothetical question, anybody run spacers on top of an OME/Bilstein 5100 lift? Not that I am going to do it, would mean mega bro lean. But purely as a hypothetical question, would it work?

 

I know OME says to get a 3" lift out of their 884 and 885 coils (2nd gen) that you have to run a spacer on top. 886's will achieve 3" without a spacer, but they ride rough if you don't have the recommended weight on there (plate bumper and winch)

 

884's are 10mm shorter than 885's

 

and 885's are 7 mm shorter than 886's.

True. We are talking about a .66" difference between the 884 and 886 whereas conventional spacers are anywhere from 1-3".

 

5mm

and it goes at the bottom

 

As long as you didn't bottom out the coil against itself and your bumps hit before you bottomed out the shock, it could "work".

 

Since I have a first gen, the coils are 881, 883, and (i think) 885 for added front weight? They say the 883s provide 3" lift but I'm thinking of going with some 10mm top plate spacers just in case. (By the way, anybody know where I might find those top plate spacers for a 1st gen??)

 

Yes

I should have been more clear , I meant you couldn't use the same spacer on both coils to net 3" of lift

 

I believe it is 881, 882, and 883's and Ben could tell you more than I could. He just got some OME coils.

I never meant that you could. haha

 

Just so everyone is clear the trim packers don't add any length to the overall assembly, they simply preload the coil.

 

Which kind of adds length to the overall assembly via stretching out the shock more. Just like raising the adjuster on the 5100's really.