Legit Spacer Lift Question

I've always heard metal spacers ride better than rubber ones. My spacer lift is metal and it rides so smooth believe it or not. Once you go off-road and start flexing out the suspension is when it starts makin clunks and rides like crap. But for on road use, ride quality is not any better or worse from stock. I'll get hate for posting this but I'm not lyin.

 

The daystar kit. I bought the 4Runner used and it came with some pretty big Nokian tires. I just replaced the tires with stock ones so the lift will be coming off soon. The only reason for the stock tires and removing the lift is because I gave the car to my mother. So no need for all of the aggressiveness. If I was gonna drive it tho I'd keep the big tires and lift. Zero problems from 113,000 miles to around 150,000 when I stopped driving it

 

I won't hate. That's what I'm looking to hear.

 

That's a plastic material spacer right? Also do you have a pic of how the truck sits with that lift?

 

Yeah polymer or plastic idk what the material actually is. If you can wait a bit I can post up a picture later this afternoon. I will warn you though it looks goofy as hell since I put stock size tires on it. It's also the v8 so it may sit just a tad lower than a v6 with the same lift.

 

Yeah no problem! Haha

 

I had 2.5in spacer lift about a month after I got my truck. I thought the ride quality was fine, but I actually had a bit of a bro-lean. I got good deal on some 5100's and set them at 1.75. I noticed that was a little harsher. I now have 887s and 5100s at 0, rides great, but I use this setup of offroading. If I only stayed on pavement I would have been happy with spacers. I think the 5100s are a little better though and they aren't much more IIRC

 

I have 5100's with 884 coils on the front. Nothing done to the rear yet except 5100 shocks. Still a little nose high 9000miles later. I'm back and forth weather to put in AAL or just go with 1.5 inch block to raise the rear to level out more.

 

I'd go this route personally. With a large spacer, you no longer have bump stops if you bottom out unless you extend them. You shock becomes the bump. Theres always that slight chance that you bottom out city driving over some harsh roads. But its not my money...

 

I've owned 4 Tacoma's and used a variety of lifts. The one I have currently was bought "stock", had a Toytec Boss lift installed at a later date, then a spacer lift, and now Bilstein 5100/OME885X lift.

The Toytec lift had "issues". (Shocks were damaged by previous owner) I removed it, didn't have the coin at the time to put a full suspension lift on it, so I went back with stock shocks/coils, and a 2-1/2" spacer lift kit. There was ABSOLUTELY no difference in ride quality than with totally stock. The shock could have bottomed out before hitting the bump stops, so I made poly spacers for the bump stops. The lower end of the shock can bend/break if the shock is bottomed HARD. Unless you find yourself hucking giant whoops or slamming boulders at speed, this probably won't be an issues.

In the end, I finally put 5100's, 885X coils, Deavers 2" AAL, (from Headstrong Offroad) and Wheeler Super Bumps on the truck Ride is arguably better, but not by leaps and bounds.....It's just a better all around suspension.

Top plate spacers aren't nearly as evil as some will tell you. But there are FAR better alternatives. Bottom line, with a spacer, you still have the same spring, same spring rate, and same shock as what you had prior. Ride does NOT change no matter what someones imagination tells them.

THAT said, I do NOT like ANYTHING that adds preload to a coil. They are designed to operate at a given static height. Compressing a coil beyond that is a bad way to do business IMHO.

 

Check this link out below. I am going with a leveling kit this spring. There are a couple ways to do a leveling/spacer mod. All I want is the truck to be level - or maybe an inch higher. But- I see nothing wrong with these types of lifts for just puttin' around town.

http://www.tacomahq.com/66/tacoma-leveling-lift-kit/