Actual measurements on 5100's.... you are not using all the suspension!

Lol...its an interesting experiment. When it really comes down to it though, 5100's don't cost much more than the high quality spacer sets. At that point, might as well spend the extra $170 for some OME lift springs and do it that way.

Then again, everyone has their own budget.

 

Yeah, I won't be touching my 5100 setup until I can go with a higher end coilover anyway. The idea of dropping them a notch and putting in a spacer for extra travel has it's appeal, though.

 

OME's have this "problem" even more so given their specs of a shorter collapsed length.

OME 90000/90021 front struts are 16.25in collapsed / 21.38in extended / 5.12in of travel
5100's are 17.03 collapsed / 22.56 extended / 5.53in of travel

a set of springs isnt going to change the fact the full shock is not being used.

and 5100's will offer ~ .75-.8in more of wheel travel.


So if anyone could get that measurement on the top plate that would be awesome.... cus this could be as simple as getting a top plate for a 1st gen taco to move the top of the shock shaft down.

 

I'll let you know in about an hour

 

^ SICK!!!! thank you sir.

I am guessing its more than the ~ 3/4 of an inch that im looking for.

 

sub'd I was thinking about this just the other day-use a top plate spacer with the factory TRD OR progressive springs. Keep the ride don't worry about the lean. Use a longer progressive bump stop to control movement. simple mild level lift to clear a 265/75/16's.

 

I'm measuring 1" or very close to it. So if it were flat you'd be looking at a 2" lift just from that.

You can see the 1" spacer is pretty level with it.

 

A few thoughts.....There are a number of vendors on this site that sell/manufacture top plate spacers. Their silence in threads where spacers are bashed speaks volumes. They obviously know that DONE PROPERLY, spacers are NOT the evil, destructive demon some people would like you to believe. And they sell tons of them. High quality shocks and struts are obviously better to some degree, but many people will never push their trucks to the limit of capabilities of OEM shocks and coils. Top plate spacers will do the trick, and again, DONE PROPERLY never cause a problem.

There's a limit as to how much lift you can get from a top plate spacer and NOT have issues. The drop dead limit seems to be somewhere between 2-1/4" and 2-1/2"....The lift spec that so many people shoot for.

You can read in (literally) dozens of threads where I've been a proponent of bump stops that are spaced nearly the thickness of the top plate spacers thickness. While I'm deciding what new suspension components I'll be putting on my truck after the shocks both failed in my previous lift, I installed top plate spacers that are 1-3/8" thick. My coils have 79,000 miles on them and have sagged a bit (TRD OR progressives) The spacers that COULD have raised a fresh, new set of coils some 2-3/4" actually raised the truck about 2-3/16ths" from what I understand to be what "stock height" of a 2011 TRD OR SHOULD have measured. I then installed a home-made poly spacer under the stock bump stops. It measured 1-1/4". After a couple off roading trips, I've found that the stock Bilstiens had never used the last 3/4" of travel. My measurement "technique" was probably not as involved as what has been shown in this thread, but I'm 110% positive the shocks have never been bottomed.

I was NOT pleased with the ride AFTER installing the aftermarket lift. I missed the stock ride after that. When I put the spacers in, I got that ride quality back. Again, I'm certain a quality aftermarket coil and shock could (and should) ride even better, but the ride quality with what I'm using in the interim is NOT bad at all.

Long story short, I've heard quite a few folks on TW make remarks about top plate spacers than make me question ANYTHING they have to say.....If their opinions are so tainted in the case where I know they're wrong, just how much more do they have to say that I can't rely on?

Spacers are NOT "junk". They just need to be installed correctly and used in a manner that doesn't push them beyond their capabilities. No, I wouldn't sail my truck over a dune at 90mph and get 10' of air.....But then again, I wouldn't do that with the majority of suspension components on the market. The rest of the truck isn't up to that sort of abuse, so why push it?

My stock front shocks now have 77500+miles on them. They are getting near their service limits. When I have the time, I'll be upgrading....probably to 5100's and I'm set on 885's.....But there won't be a day when I start bashing top plate spacers. They've served me well, caused ZERO problems, and when push comes to shove, gave me a MUCH better ride than a "high quality" well respected lift from a major brand....I'm NOT going to bash that kit either. There was "extenuating circumstances" that led to the failure of those shocks. I may have been very happy with this kit had it not been "damaged" before the install. They failed in less than 1500 miles of use. The vendor even offered to "help me out" with replacing them. I've just decided to go another direction.

 

exactly, looks like a 1in or less spacer would not harm anything given the measurements i have found. But often we see people run spacers that are taller which will cause issues.

Awesome! thanks for the response! If i used a flat top plate i would actually get NO lift as the spring would not change position, but the shock shaft would be moved down, allowing for more droop and full use of the shock travel.

I might take a measuring tape to my buddies 3rd gen 4 runner (same front suspension as a 1st gen taco) and see if those have the same stud layout. Idealy like stated i wish they were closer to the 3/4 of an inch mark for a little more wiggle room. (though thinking about it.... this would be easy to just space down the bump stop say a 1/4in and not have to worry about it.... HMMMMMM ideas is flowing to make this work)

I also might go out and pop a zip tie or something on the shock body that would get moved by the boot to measure max compression as it currently stands over like a good jump to get an idea of how much stock bumps compress.

Lastly. I dont think it would be an issue but the extra droop at the wheel would be about 2 in further down.... i wonder if CVs would start binding at that point.

 

Ahhhh I see what you're saying now. It took me a second to picture what was actually being moved down in that scenario haha.

The bolt pattern is the same as the 4th gen 4Runner. Those spacers in my picture have been on a 2gen Tacoma and a 4gen 4Runner. I'm assuming you meant 4gen and not 3gen?

 

Nope 3rd gen 4 runner 1st gen tacoma used same suspension components in the front, and they had a "flat" top plate, not one with the center bulge up like we got. So if i can get those for 30 bucks from wheelers and they have the same stud pattern, boom done, insta, no lift but 2 more in of droop.

 

But can the CVs handle that additional droop?

 

that was my only concern. I will get or make a top plate that is flat and see if the cv binds at full lock n full droop.

That stated.... 1st gen taco / 3rd gen 4 runner top plate is out.... studs are too close together.


BUUUUUT..... 1st gen tundra top plates are "flat" and have a larger stud pattern that might be the same exact size as our 2nd tacos.

 

Was referring to OME 883 coils (leveling springs) combined with the 5100's set at 0. Never looked into their struts, so thats good info

 

so after some digging. The 1st gen tundra top hats will NOT be a direct bolt on. Their stud pattern (triangle like ours) is too small, and is not centered on the shock shaft like ours.

BUT. This would not stop me from pushing the studs out of the original holes, drilling 3 more in the proper spot and pressing the studs back in... walla, instant flat top plate. I might stop by an auto parts store n take some measurements on them (coil ID etc) cus i might just go this route

Hell before i even drill holes ill press out the studs, mock up the shock and cycle the suspension to see if binding, or bottoming of the shock occurs.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...3_1418475_-1&keyword=strut&pt=02953&ppt=C0035

 

This is a great thread! @nd4spdbh Do you have any updates on this? What parts set up did you end up with?

It sounds like a 1/2" spacer, SuperBumps, and Billys at 1.75" would be a good setup with more up AND down travel than stock.

 

Sadly nope. I just have not had the time to dig into extrapolating the extra travel, but a half inch spacer on top of what i currently got and some wheelers superbumps for more compression would probably get you much MUCH closer to full utilization of the 5100.

 

Can the stock UCA handle the extra down travel or would they be a limiting factor?

 

Stock uca's will be a limiting factor. Even with 5100's using the stock mounting setup they would hit the coil on my truck and the ball joint was just about fully flexed out. SPC UCA's cured that and could easily handle the extra droop.

Ideally id split the difference, meaning the extra inch of unused shock would be utilized with say ~ a half inch spacer on the top hat then a slightly shorter height bump stop, reason being is id be a lil worried about CV joints if we drooped out ANOTHER 2inches (wheel travel ~ doubled compared to shock travel) on top of the extra droop already present from the 5100's (~1.5in)

 

I put 1/4" plates on both sides with 885s because of this thread. Paired with LR UCAs and Wheeler's superbumps, the ride and travel is fantastic. When the front is lifted off the ground, the CVs are at a pretty atrocious angle and the outer boots look pretty bad. I can't imagine forcing them to spend much time there, or even further down! I'm staying in this safe zone for now, but I love that you're actually quantifying how much travel can be squeezed from this setup.

Taco lean get brought up in every suspension thread. It shouldn't. It's not a suspension issue. My truck sits dead nuts level at 23" from center of hub to fender on both sides (1/2" body lift on cab) with both sides being perfectly even. Read this if yo want to know how to fix Taco lean https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/body-mount-bushing-install-now-with-pictures.432885/

With that said...

Back to milking every inch of travel from 5100s!! This makes me wish I had gone with 884s and 1/2" spacers.