[delloro]

How much lift can I get using spacers with the stock shocks?

Thanks.

[1engineer]

Two choices:
1. No lift as you run the risk of topping out the shock on rough terrain, thereby ruining the shocks.
2. Subscribe to the "Ignorance is bliss" magazine, put the spacers (any tattoo, any where, any style, any length spacers) on with stock shocks, have no worries and try not to hit the speed bumps fast at the mall lol.

[WiscoTundra]

How tall are the spacers?
That's how tall the lift will be!

[Swarty]

Originally Posted by delloro

How much lift can I get using spacers with the stock shocks?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by 1engineer

Two choices:
1. No lift as you run the risk of topping out the shock on rough terrain, thereby ruining the shocks.
2. Subscribe to the "Ignorance is bliss" magazine, put the spacers (any tattoo, any where, any style, any length spacers) on with stock shocks, have no worries and try not to hit the speed bumps fast at the mall lol.

It seems like both the front and rear suspension already "top out" the shock on big terrain... Not sure it makes a difference?

You've just removed travel distance I would think so for every inch you lift you lose that much travel. If you are worried about over extending the shocks you could get limit straps... But it's a rookie move

Seriously, stop being such a miser: Bilsteins 5100s all around are $400 and remove the need for front spacers(which are like $100 for no good reason). Why wouldn't you replace the shocks on the truck you want to perform at it's best? Those Bilstiens will improve all kinds of handling issues like brake drive and roll in the corners. For the same price as rear spacers you could run airbags that let you adjust your truck for your load. Your at $500 and S/H if you DIY. $300 if you just do airbags in the rear.
Yeah I get that you can get spacers for around $225 but the price to performance is miserable and the install is the same. You get a ten fold improvement in handling for twice the cash and have a truck that acts bad ass instead of simply appearing bad ass.

[delloro]

Originally Posted by Swarty

It seems like both the front and rear suspension already "top out" the shock on big terrain... Not sure it makes a difference?

You've just removed travel distance I would think so for every inch you lift you lose that much travel.

if that is true, then it does argue against spacers.

[cjacob316]

You could always go with something like this abomination, but it will ride like crap and you will more than likely break something.

[STX4Runner]

Originally Posted by cjacob316

You could always go with something like this abomination, but it will ride like crap and you will more than likely break something.

Yikes! Brodozer Toyota?

[delloro]

Originally Posted by STX4Runner

Yikes! Brodozer Toyota?

Broyota

[STX4Runner]

Originally Posted by delloro

Broyota

Perfect! A new term has been born!

[Ron4RNevada]

Had a 2 1/2" spring lift on my 2004 Land Rover Discovery (solid axles both ends). Drove it for 130,000 miles (about 30% off-road.

Lots of times lifting a wheel a foot off the ground crossing deep ravines. Never had any problems with the stock shocks. OEM shocks are tough; not only that but when you are doing extreme articulating you are going really, really slow. A shorter shock with taller springs also keeps your springs from unseating.

Personally I think Bilstein and other aftermarket shocks are overhyped. Those things are made for people who run things like the Baja 1000 where one is going airborne for hundreds of feet while doing 100 miles per hour and then crashing down hard.

Sometime when you have been off roading for about 150 miles on a 100 degree day, stop and feel your shock absorbers. They aren't even warm.

Longer travel shocks not needed.
Remote reservoir shocks not needed.
- Just from my experience.
- Been driving everything for over 65 years. Had to replace ONE shock in all that time - Right front wheel on a 1946 Dodge Club Coupe because I took some railroad tracks at about 80 miles an hour (blew both front tires while doing it). I've grown up some since then.

[STX4Runner]

Originally Posted by Ron4RNevada

Had a 2 1/2" spring lift on my 2004 Land Rover Discovery (solid axles both ends). Drove it for 130,000 miles (about 30% off-road.

Lots of times lifting a wheel a foot off the ground crossing deep ravines. Never had any problems with the stock shocks. OEM shocks are tough; not only that but when you are doing extreme articulating you are going really, really slow. A shorter shock with taller springs also keeps your springs from unseating.

Personally I think Bilstein and other aftermarket shocks are overhyped. Those things are made for people who run things like the Baja 1000 where one is going airborne for hundreds of feet while doing 100 miles per hour and then crashing down hard.

Sometime when you have been off roading for about 150 miles on a 100 degree day, stop and feel your shock absorbers. They aren't even warm.

Longer travel shocks not needed.
Remote reservoir shocks not needed.
- Just from my experience.
- Been driving everything for over 65 years. Had to replace ONE shock in all that time - Right front wheel on a 1946 Dodge Club Coupe because I took some railroad tracks at about 80 miles an hour (blew both front tires while doing it). I've grown up some since then.

I'm gonna respectfully disagree about Bilstein's being overhyped. Many people on here report "clunking" noises after installing a spacer lift and driving on the street or over speed bumps, not slow speed offroad driving. It may not catastrophically damage the shock, but over time, I can't imagine it's good to overextend your shocks. For $400 or so you can have four new shocks that don't do this and give you a better ride (IMHO) than stock.

On the other hand Icon, Fox, King, etc. may not be overhyped for the right applications (heavy duty offroading, desert running, etc.), but they probably are overkill for a lot of people that run them on fire roads and mild trails. They sure would be overkill for me.

I'll have to see if you're correct about the shocks not heating up next time I'm offroading, though. I'm interested to see if that's correct.

[Ron4RNevada]

Just giving you all my experience is all.

You probably get more heat generated by driving down a "smooth" highway at 65 miles per hour than you ever will driving 5 miles per hours in rocks.

Think about it:

On a highway at speed your wheels are oscillating up and down at hundreds of reps per minute - and the shocks are only moving perhaps an inch - all the heat concentrated over only one inch of the shock cylinder.

Off Road you wheels and the shock travel up and down perhaps a dozen times per minute and the piston travels perhaps the full length of the cylinder (not wearing a groove in one tiny spot). And this at a very slow piston speed.

I wish I were still in engineering some times; as I would even think that off-roading would probably correct damage done to shock cylinders by burnishing the ridge produced by high speed highway driving.

Another aside: "overextending" a shock is kind of a misnomer; the shock piston can only move as far as its regular travel being stopped by the elastomer pad at the end of the cylinder.

[m85476585]

Originally Posted by 1engineer

Two choices:
1. No lift as you run the risk of topping out the shock on rough terrain, thereby ruining the shocks.
2. Subscribe to the "Ignorance is bliss" magazine, put the spacers (any tattoo, any where, any style, any length spacers) on with stock shocks, have no worries and try not to hit the speed bumps fast at the mall lol.

If the spacers are inside the spring stack it will top out harder or more frequently against the stock shock, which is presumably bad. Top hat spacers won't affect top out, but you are still limited by how much the rest of the suspension components can move, and if you lift too much you could top out against something else that's not designed to take it, like the upper control arm joint.

Now that I think about it, top hat spacers seem like the best lift if you aren't going to do a full long travel setup. Why do people not like them?

Originally Posted by WiscoTundra

How tall are the spacers?
That's how tall the lift will be!

In the front there's actually a ratio between how much length you add to the shock/spring assembly and how much the wheel is lifted because the shock attaches partway up the lower control arm. A 1/2" thick spacer might give you a 1" lift. In the rear it's 1:1.

[1engineer]

Originally Posted by STX4Runner

I'm gonna respectfully disagree about Bilstein's being overhyped. Many people on here report "clunking" noises after installing a spacer lift and driving on the street or over speed bumps, not slow speed offroad driving. It may not catastrophically damage the shock, but over time, I can't imagine it's good to overextend your shocks. For $400 or so you can have four new shocks that don't do this and give you a better ride (IMHO) than stock.

On the other hand Icon, Fox, King, etc. may not be overhyped for the right applications (heavy duty offroading, desert running, etc.), but they probably are overkill for a lot of people that run them on fire roads and mild trails. They sure would be overkill for me.

I'll have to see if you're correct about the shocks not heating up next time I'm offroading, though. I'm interested to see if that's correct.

Let me interject here. @Ron4RNevada you know that Bilstein shocks are OEM for millions of vehicles produced worldwide right? Bilstein is an OEM supplier to most OEM vehicle manufacturers for the high and low end shocks in both passenger and truck market. You might not recognize them though because they private label many of their shocks. I would agree that the smaller boutique shops like ICON, Fox, King and others are purpose built for specific applications and require much more maintenance due to their specific designs. Bilstein 5100's are basically a grade above the OEM shocks but still are economical and require no maintenance as they are designed for a long life and then thrown away.

Shock length should be determined by suspension geometry and never be fully extended or compressed. Shocks are not designed to be a bump stop or a limit strap. If you lift your shock length should be adjusted accordingly. Same for lowering. Hope this helps.

[Ron4RNevada]

OK, agree that Bilstein makes more than Baja type shocks. I mentioned that name generically referring to remote reservoir type shocks.

Now then - On many many of the past cars/trucks I've owned and driven the shock WAS the limiting factor on coil spring travel.