EXPLAIN WHY SPACER AND BLOCK LIFTS ARE CONSIDERED SO INFERIOR TO OTHER 3" LIFTS (all Gens)

There will always be a correct way of doing things.

 

I've been through many suspension setups on many different rigs. I've had stock, stock with spacers, 6" drop brackets, etc. There's a reason I bought Kings for my current rig. You may (or may not be right) about spacers offering 80% of the benefits of leaving stock. But have you compared stock to a high-end setup? Radflo, Fox, Kings, etc? My guess is you haven't or you wouldn't be asking this question.

 

IMO I think it boils down to form vs function..

I live in a college town. There's tons of Tacos that owners have thrown a spacer lift under just to get the desired height/wheel/tire combo.. for the looks of it. (Yes, I'm generalizing a little, deal with it ) Yup, they've got the look down.. but that spacer lift isn't gonna help much else for that truck.

Then there's guys like me, who'd rather get a working, functionable suspension like a 5100 and OME spring combo that will supplement the ride quality of the truck as well and provide some lift (and look good in the process).

 

The 5100's were great in conjunction with a UCA in comparison to stock. But, I will say the bilsteins are closer to stock, than the coilovers are to the bilsteins.

For what you suggest you will do with them, 5100s and an upper control arm will work wonders. I used the bilsteins with a Camburg balljoint UCA and lift spindles in the desert for several years before it's final form, which is Dirt King uppers and lowers, with a 2.5 King C/O. Still use the lift spindles too though. I like my clearance

On road was more plush than stock, soaked up a lot of the drop offs, and step ups, but still acted like stock over your average speed bumps around town. In the dirt, the 5100 shocks really shine. But, it's always a give and take. You can either tune for a washboard, and not be able to handle hitting large bumps at high speed, or you tune for large bumps, and the washboard shakes the literal shit out of you. Tire pressure can definitely assist you as well, I personally drop to 15 psi when offroading. Changes the whole game!

To summate this into a short answer,

Yes

 

Also, not everybody needs a triple bypass long travel King setup with beadlocks and a winch. A good chunk of them don't even need 4wd and they damn sure don't need 35" M/T's. For THIS group of people a cheap spacer lift is perfectly fine. No need to spend thousands of dollars on parts you will never need just to get your truck lifted a little(yes, just for looks). I suppose if you find yourself bending shocks left and right you might have underestimated your driving style and should consider upgrading to something a little more performance oriented.

 

Awesome. Thanks!

To the OP: Hope this was a good addition to the thread and not a hijack.

 

Yep, that's me too. Need the function or I wouldn't even bother with a lift, but I like the look too.

 

Not to mention, some of us have heavy rigs. The stock shocks are fine for a stock truck that gets driven to the grocery store. But start adding weight and mix it with offroading, stock shocks will get hot fast leading to premature wear. Spacers don't add oil capacity. That's the main reason I went with 2.5" shocks with reservoirs.

 

Man this is some great info. I read the entire thing.

 

The dealerships up here charge $1500 for a spacer lift on your brand new tacoma (or tundra for that matter). So I guess the coolest thing would be to say I have a $1500 spacer lift and sound likes to echo in my skull

 

My hell

I'm ok with spacer lifts for people who don't need/want more suspension performance, but not at that cost. I've paid maybe $50 for a set and even that was pushing my limits.

 

Yeah I laugh every time I see it when I go there for parts or oil. but for $4500 you can get that spacer lift with rims and tires!! great deal lol

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/when-spacer-lifts-go-wrong.499037/

Everyone's definition of offroading is different, but those that live on the west coast with access to the desert and a desire to off-road will off-road there, most of those that go offroading in the desert will inevitably haul some ass at some point, and everyone that hauls ass in the desert will miss a washout, rock, or rut at some in their travels Missing something while hauling ass isn't a matter of "if" but "when" and "when" you hit a "oops I didn't see that ________" with a spacer lift it will fail.

Not that any of that matters, this thread sounds like the OP is just trying to validate his decision to lift his truck the shittiest and cheapest way.

 

I've seen plenty of broken balljoints, tierods, axles, tires, wheels, spindles, control arms, etc etc fail while off-roading. Everything can fail. Everything has failed. I've seen a number of broken 5100's on here and just as many Icon shocks. Everything has a failure point. If you're wheeling that hard you need to upgrade and if you're wheeling that hard you damn sure shouldn't have lifted your truck with a spacer lift.

 

Maybe I'm not such an ass after all.

 

I have to totally agree with you. If all you want is something that looks better and has a small amount of function (larger tires) for light OR use. The a spacer lift will provide the needed improvements. If you want a more versatile set up for heavier off road use then it will not.
It will all depend on your needs.

Pulling this. You might need that big Turbo Diesel Dually you've been eye balling down at the local Chevy, Ford or Dodge dealer.


Pulling this. Your Taco would do just fine.