Spacers and Moderate Off-Roading

[nickcarver]

Hey everyone. New to the forum and a new 3rd Gen (2000) 4Runner owner. I'm in love with my truck and proud to be part of the 4Runner community.

Got a question about lifting it. Already read through the Lift FAQ, which was really informative, but wanted to get the opinion of some experienced 4Runner owners.

Basically, I want to get about 3 more inches of ground clearance (but no more than that) without breaking the bank. I want to off-road a lot and I like to tackle basic obstacles, but I'm not planning on doing any crazy rock crawling or hill climbing that would require top-of-the-line suspension. Just want to be able to get more places with a bit more ground clearance and some heavier-duty tires.

I don't like the look of empty wheel wells, I really want to maintain how my car rides now and I'm not planning on adding a brush guard, winch or changing out the bumper. After the lift, going to do a roof basket with plenty of lights and that's about it on the mods. Also, I'd like to avoid having to do a diff drop or brake line extension.

A 2" lift via spacers plus 2" taller tires sounds like it would do the trick (total of 3" lift), but I wanted to know if the warnings to not do off-roading with spacers is a real concern. Are spacers fine so long as you're not pushing the limits of physics and gravity?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[4ganger]

I'm about to have a full set up for sale. I'm redoing my 2000 lift which right now is a Revtek spacer kit & shocks. The shocks have some mileage on them but still work ok. Send me a PM if you are intersted. Its a 3" front and 2" rear leveling kit.

 

[BrianSD_42]

If you have the $$ get a System 1.2 from Sonoran Steel. If you are a DIY then take a risk and hope for the best. There are a lot of guys with great rides on their lifted 3rd gens but if you are new to suspensions I suggest you pony up $1200 and get a full suspension lift from Sonoran Steel.

BTW, my System 1.2 rides better than stock. I am not kidding ask the other SS 1.2 owners. What I ended up doing to make this operation cost effective was wait until my factory suspension was near dead ~130k and then do the upgrade.

Good luck. Read the stickies!

:zoom:

 

[nickcarver]

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like it might be overkill for me. Plus the Sonoran Steel site said that kit is best with custom front and rear bumpers plus rock sliders. I'm not planning to change any of that.

 

[blcktpgsr]

You will be fine with the spacer kits to go off-roading, yes they will not be as comfortable compared to suspension upgrade kits, but they will perform just as well.

And with the 2", no diff drop or brake line extension is required, but you will rub with the 2" and a bigger set of tires.

 

[BrianSD_42]

--------------------------------

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like it might be overkill for me. Plus the Sonoran Steel site said that kit is best with custom front and rear bumpers plus rock sliders. I'm not planning to change any of that.

I am not sure why Steve advertises his lifts that way; I am pretty sure it turns some people off because they think it is too aggressive. Trust me it is not like it sounds. The SS 1.2 is 2.75 in front and 3.5" in the rear. Many many guys have extremely similar custom lifts using Tundra and Landcruiser coils - SS just sells a nice all in one for a premium. It comes with every part you need plus instructions plus support - if you call Steve he will be glad to help you out over the phone.

I have had the SS 1.2 for several years and I went almost 3 years with stock front and rear bumpers. I added the sliders but they don't affect the lift in any way, they just add to the overall setup.

When choosing a lift I would be cautious, saving extra $400 isn't going to be worth it if you just decide to sell the parts and swap it out with something else 2 years later because the ride is bad.

If someone has a spacer kit to sell you, ask yourself why are they selling it and what are they putting in. A lot of people are selling "used lift parts" on this forum. Clearly it isn't very easy to get it right the first time. You want to go with the best the first time. This makes the $ premium you pay for a ToyaTech or SS setup worth it IMO.

Also, I think the reason many people do it themselves is because they have access to a garage, friends who know trucks, and the time to re-do a suspension several times if necessary - luxuries not all of us have.


Choosing the right shocks isn't easy, you can't just put in a spring and hope for the best - there is math involved when companies and pros pick their coils. -- Remember CALC II - spring compression ....

"Hooke's law is a mathematical consequence of the fact that the potential energy of the rod is a minimum when it has its relaxed length. Any smooth function of one variable approximates a quadratic function when examined near enough to its minimum point; and therefore the force — which is the derivative of energy with respect to displacement — will approximate a linear function.

Force of fully compressed spring:
F{max} = [ E d^4 (L-n d)] / [16 (1+v)(D-d)^3 *n ] "

My point is that if you talk with Steve he can explain exactly why the coils he sells ride the way they do for each setup, how much weight, what compression they are rated for, .. how it will ride ect.

I would suggest that you put together your plans and the price of the DIY setup then call Sonoran Steel and explain that you are considering the DIY method with X gear but are interested in hearing the benefits of SS instead. I'm not an expert - this is just my 2 cents.


Good luck!

:snacker:

 

[Hepar]

You can do a top-end spacer in the front, which won't be as bad as one within your coil assembly that would essentially pre-load your front strut assemblies. As far as the rears, I would probably go with a set of LC coils (not much more, if at all, over spacers) and a set of longer shocks. That whole setup wouldn't cost you too much and sounds like it would fit your needs.