Understanding Why WD's Spacer Lift Is Different
A spacer on top of the front spring retains the front suspension geometry too and allows same suspension travel as without, so I still don't see advantage of Westcott, more $$ and complex install seems to me.
Digging it up from the dead, but for anyone wondering going forward....bear with me, this will be difficult to explain without graphics to help. I'll link to my source material at the end. Hopefully that will pull it all together.
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The way I understand it, the PRO Fox shocks have the same stroke as an extended travel shock (not long travel, which requires longer control arms). The Fox shocks leave some travel unused at full extension. The lower spacer on the WD kit extends the shock to the end of that travel at full extension. So now, you've added that distance in droop, while pushing up on the spring, adding part of the lift.
The upper spacer in the WD kit is a top hat spacer, which pushes down modestly on the entire coilover, which is what raises the vehicle. So now you have maximized your extension, and your LCA still hits the factory bump stop under full compression. The coils maintain almost all of their length, so they won't stack on top of each other under full compression. So you've also maintained the maximum available up-travel (still limited by the same factory bump stop). Overall travel has increased to the maximum allowed by the UCA and LCA, and you're still close to the middle of the stroke at your higher static ride height.
Top hat spacer lifts just push the coilover down lower in the stroke (truck goes up). This means you lose travel on the droop side, unless you go to a UCA with added inside clearance so it doesn't contacts the spring, and with a higher angle ball/heim joint. They're trying to get some of that droop travel back. It also means a more extreme CV angle, which explains the 'need' for a diff drop to prevent premature failure of that connection,
Pushing everything down in the travel also means that on compression, either your coils will stack up on top of each other before the LCA hits the factory bump stop, or the spring rate will increase enough that the truck can't compress enough for the UCA to contact the factory bump stop under stock vehicle weight.
In both cases, you've lost up-travel because your LCA isn't making it all the way to the factory bump stop. Because the coilover is now taking so much force at the end of that travel, and the bump stop isn't taking that load, it can bend or snap off the bottom of the shock. This is why top hat spacer lifts often require longer bump stops...but again, you're stopping the up-travel before it swings thru the full available stroke. So you've lost droop and up-travel, meaning you've lost overall travel, and your suspension crashes into itself or the longer bump stop earlier, making the ride feel harsh. Not really a problem at Costco, but when off-road, your suspension is now much worse than stock.
Yes, WD is technically a 'spacer lift', but it's a well engineered spacer lift that opens up the full available travel, and maintains the ride quality of the factory PRO suspension, while still lifting it. The cheap spacer lifts reduce travel and compromise ride quality to achieve lift.
Unfortunately, I don't feel like Jeff does a very good job of describing these technical benefits of the WD spacer lift, but he's certainly come up with the best lift possible that utilizes and retains factory suspension components. The only way to get more travel without compromising ride quality is to go to long travel.
Here are the videos that helped me understand what the WD lift is doing:
Toyota IFS Construction and Limits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_68Hc8GtLko&feature=youtu.be
Common Myths About Toyota IFS Lifts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tTelhdEiM&feature=youtu.be
Extended Travel Coilovers for Toyotas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATmyTbMJL3o&feature=youtu.be
UCAs Functions and Misconceptions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huMztKaHsUE&feature=youtu.be
Once you have that theory and knowledge in mind, apply it to understand what Jeff is saying in the final video.
WD Lift Description
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RHFcE4OTsI&feature=youtu.be
Cheers! :usa2:
