Who has had problems with spacer lifts?

I put a Daystar spacer on my 5-lug and regretted it almost immediately. should've gone with spindles. I bottom out on speed bumps and its not even level. pretty sure the spacers are part of the reason my front shocks are shot too

 

Can you adjust the suspension to gain a tad more down travel and possibly take it away from the up travel?

 

True story, this was the cheapest alternative I can find, considering spindles for the second gen. are $1700.

 

Actually if you are running an OME lift kit that uses a top plate spacer you can remove that. IT will lower the truck between .5 to :75 depending on which size spacer it is. After that you will loss lift but gain that amount of down travel back. It all depends on what you want to do

but to asnwer your question: no you cant. The only way to gain more travel is take away from the lift itself or aftermarket uca's to gain a bit more!

 

Does this mean people who go with a 6in have -2in of down travel? JK, but seriously....?

 

No a 6" lift is a drop bracket lift. IIRC if keep the upper a arms stock position but drops everything that deals with the lower portion of the suspension ie lower control arms. They give who a whole new setup. The thing with 6" lifts is that they do absolutely NOTHING for ground clearance, they are just for looks IMO they do nothing.

 

x2. DB's are just for looks. i've seen to many of them break out here where i live. ill never wheel in one again. id rather run the set-up i have now...

 

O.k. So I haven't seen anything about front shocks for a five lug, what about this: The kit from fat bob's that I have came with longer travel rear shocks. Would it be possible to just get another pair of those and use them in the front, or are front shocks significantly different? Here is a link to the kit I have:

http://store.fatbobsgarage.com/toyota-tacoma-2wd-5-lug-suspension-lift-kit--2005-2009-p7611.aspx

 

fronts are WAY!!! different.


longer travel shocks are not the issue. the uca's are the limiting factor, not shock length

 

After reading through all the posts; whew. I would say a spacer lift is just fine if you are just street driving & want the look of a lifted truck, & don't haul ass over speed bumps. If you're going off road, spend the cash & get the right components for what you're doing. I have had the 3" spacer lift for 3 yrs.; have only done light trails a couple times at slow speeds; inspect everything regularly & have no problems. Allignments every 7.5k miles & tire rotations & no issues. Even just driving around the farm I think I would go with some decent adjustable coilovers.

 

^ This...I've had my front spacer lift for over a year and haven't had any issues

 

Bottom line is when u lift a truck(any make moddel with any brand lift) you will wear out stock parts faster. Spacers or full strut assembly aslong as you have stock hubs and stock balljoints they will wear out because you canot grease them.
if you lift your truck and a tierod end goes out buy one stronger than stock with a grease fitting so you can prolong the life if the part.

 

I will respectfully argue with you

Spindle lifts, as far as I can see/experience will not wear anything faster because IT DOES keep the factory specs, or so I am told

 

Im not happy with my ome coils with spacer on oem shocks. ride sucks Clicking cv joint or something. TC UCA i LOVE. But the lift i wish i would have saved the money to buy a good lift. I want ICON coilovers and 5100's will this solve or help my clicking. Will it result in less stress on my front end? If so Im saving pennies Im at 24" or just over from hub to fender. Am i over 3"

 

with the spacer and tc uca your suspension will "droop" more than stock. this is no good for the cv joints. IMO i would not lift more than 2.5" and keep my down travel at near stock capacity. with the spacer and not having the stock ucas to limit your down travel your over doing it for the cvs. either ditch the spacer or get limiting straps to save the cvs and stop the clicking

 

Ok so I am new to the tacoma world but not new to lift kits at all, what you guys are arguing about if a spacer or strut puts different strain on a suspension is just amazing me.

When you take a stock indepentent suspension and increase the lenght of the strut or add a spacer, or torque a torsion bar you are causing the upper and lower arms to drop. Thus is will make for a rougher ride due to the suspension dropping down and hitting the bumpstops(the upper arm will stop thus stopping the spindle) or will bottom out cause the lower arm can't go any further.

The arguement that a spacer preloads the stock strut is just rediculous. Weither you increase the strut lenght by longer springs and shocks, or you add a space you are basically doing the same thing by causing the stock geometry to come closer to bottoming out.

Now the aftermarket parts might take more abuse( ie jumping or fast desert running) but that is all, a longer strut will still cause a rougher ride unless the shock valving is different to compensate.

I am probably gonna catch flak for the post but I read the whole thread and just had to comment. Cause the arguements didn't make sense a spacer lift should be just as good as a strut lift since they are both changing the geometry the same, but the spacer will not sag or be too high at first cause it is not worn in yet.

Again I know there will be comments on this, but I have been in the offroad world for almost ten years wheeling jeeps( wrangler, grand cherokees, and commanders and lifted them all) and chevy pickups, I have also done dozens of lifts on these vehicles maybe tacomas are a weird vehicle that have magic suspensions but math and experience tells me otherwise.

 

Wow just realized I resurected a 2 year old thread, ignore my rant

 

Zombie thread from 2010.

At least you hit it on a Friday.

Good job.