Are Spacer Lifts REALLY that bad?

Hi all... I bought my 2020 TRD Off Road just a little over a month ago. The truck has aftermarket wheels and AT tires, but no lift/level and therefore has the factory rake. I looked into getting a 1.5" or 2" spacer lift and WOW there are a lot of strong opinions about spacers (both negative and positive).

I don't want/need any lift in the rear. All I want is for the truck to sit level and not have a rake. The main negative that I have read about spacers is that they kill ride quality. Coming from a Jeep Wrangler with 37's I can say that the current ride quality of this truck is PRISTINE and I don't want to do anything to mess that up. It literally rides like a sedan. Will spacers really make the ride quality that bad? Even just like a 1" spacer in lieu of 1.5" or 2"?

Any input is good input, thanks in advance

 

There are spacers that go between the coil and the top hat. Those will change the feel and make it stiffer. The spacer that goes on top of the top hat will not change the spring rate.

 

Do you like your truck riding like a rock? If so, get a spacer lift.

You want to do it right? Get a suspension lift.

 

Your truck looks perfect... don't change a thing. If you ever plan on towing or hauling weight in the back you'll want that rake.

 

I ran spacer lifts on 2 Wrangler JKs and my 2019 Tundra. Most people that give advice never used them. Spacers are fine as long as not going extreme - stay under 3in in the front. You are still using OEM shocks and springs so the ride will be close to being the same.

 

I have spacers, can confirm ride quality suffers off road. On road, not so much. Really the only time I felt how bad the ride quality was off road, was during an hour long mountain climb. First 30 minutes it was fun and everything was fine but after the initial 30 min, my back and pelvis began to ache.

 

3rd gen Tacomas have very little rake from the factory. If you lift the front you will want to lift the rear, or the truck will look like it is squatting. If I had a 3rd gen that didn't go offroad. I'd get 5100s all the way around, and pair them with the coils from the Trail Edition on the lowest setting, along with the same size block from the TE.

 

Do yourself a favor and just throw some 5100s on the front and set to a 1 inch lift if you want to keep a nice ride and level it out.

This will be very cheap, will improve your ride quality and offers up to 2 inches of lift total through adjustability if you ever wanted to do it.

End of thread.

 

Preload does not change the spring rate.

 

Whatever you end up doing, make sure that you aim your headlights once you are done.

thanks

 

I hated my spacers. For not much more just get new coil packs. They have to pull the coil anyway to install the spacer. Might as well just get the coils to start with . Or a spindle lift. I don’t mind blocks in the rear, but I would get a new leaf pack over add a leaf. Just personal preference there

 

there are spacer haters are everywhere on here. if you use the same springs, and shocks, your ride will be no harsher than stock (it cant be, you have the same spring rates, and shock valving).

if you want level, just go with an inch spacer up front. if you go anymore, you will have a Carolina Squat going on. I started with 2" spacer up front, and an inch in the rear, and was level. once I put anything in the bed, it was squatting. I ended up adding a 2 inch spacer in the rear to get my factory rake back. and now even with 2 dirt bikes in back, the truck is almost level. do your research, dont believe everything you hear. decide how much off roading you do, and choose a lift style. Ski

 

Not to derail, but what’s everyone’s thoughts on a 1” block lift to help level out weight of a leer cap? Front is stock and staying stock.

 

Spacers get a lot of hate here but they have their place if you understand what you are doing to the truck’s suspension and drive it accordingly.

They're not bad as long as you stay within their operating limits. (In all honesty the same can be said about all suspension upgrades.)

Spacer "lifts" are really more for aesthetics and are in no way performance oriented. Your stock suspension remains in place, but you have now placed it in a position to perform outside of it's designed parameters. Spacer lifts are popular because you get the aesthetics of a lifted truck without the bigger investment of a complete suspension lift. Where people run into problems are when they drive their spacer lifted trucks like an actual suspension lifted truck and things start to break- namely shocks reaching the end of their travel and bottoming out or over extending.
There is elitist mocking when it comes to spacer lifts, but if I was just using my truck to drive around town and take the kids to practice, then spacers would not be an issue.
For the most part people that buy spacer lifts either don't know about what it really takes to lift a vehicle in the first place OR, they start to learn and eventually "upgrade" to a full suspension lift.
My advice to you is to purchase what is best designed for your intended use of your truck. If you don't have any plans to go off-road and just want the look of a lifted truck, spacers are fine for that application. If you think that you'll eventually end up getting into off-roading or more remote camping/traveling, then save your money for something more suited to that.

Spacers are an aesthetic upgrade not a performance upgrade.

Good luck.

 

I have Toytec spacers on my Tacoma to level it out and 5100s on my Tundra.

The Tacoma rides better on and offroad. Zero problems after 4 years.

 

I recently added 1 inch to the rear to get the nose back down where it belongs. My shocks are still stock. I compared my Sport to my neighbors and he’s driven mine. He has no spacers. We can’t tell any difference in ride. Most of my driving is on pavement. But, mine definitely looks better with higher stance. Believe what you want.

 

I have 1/2" toytec spacers on the front for 1" of lift. Leveled the truck perfectly. Also theres a video on compression and droop and he says nothing is suffered by an additional 1/2" spacer up front. I believe him. I highly doubt it does much of anything negative. When you go to a 1" or 2" spacer, thats when your starting to affect things.

 

Honestly, the factory suspension rides like hot garbage. A set of 5100s will give you a lift and much much better valving. Folks may hate me for this but you can tune the ride a bit by where and when you tighten the lower shock bolt, tighten it down with the suspension unloaded you get a bit of a stiffer ride, tighten it with the suspension compressed it will soften the ride. But regardless the factory shocks are floaty hot garbage.

In the back a 2" lift block has mine riding like junk. I still need to do 5100s back there but there was a distinct ride change in back. You won't want to do 2" in front and no lift in back. This thing looks looks like it has no rake factory, 1" is level but will squat in the back of you haul more than a piece of paper, and 2" will give it the "dog scooting it's butt on the carpet" look. I would maybe suggest a 1" rear block if you go 2" in front

 

Top hat spacers add height and don't reduce that much ride quality. The problem is the geometry and you tend to lose too much downtravel, which translates into poor ride quality when the truck is under demand. So gravel roads, hauling etc.

The toytec spacers are preload and they basically stiffen the spring to create ride height, so the geomtetry is far better, but ride quality takes a hit all around.

I'd suggest the smallest top hat spacer in front for the best ride with limited trade offs. Usually this is 2 1/4" which I ran for years no issues.

I'm a stock height guy now. I like having full up and down travel.

 

not mine but a friend had a spacer lift on his tundra.