What are the pros/cons of the Cornfed Lift on Burtman's website?

[orangeblast22]

Hello,

I plan to go with some REVO's 265/70/17's on my 2006 SE and also wanted to do a slight lift.

I've been eyeing the Cornfed Spacer Lift kit sold on Jason Burtman's site.

What would be the pros and cons of a spacer lift kit?

I notice there are so many types of lifts...suspension...body lifts...spacers...

I've seen many go with the cornfeds with good results (as I don't want to get rid of my XREAS) I have also seen many peeps go with the body and suspension lifts...why? whats the difference?

shed some light on this for me?

thanks!

 

[sketch1]

I have been told that really all a spacer lift does is make your ride a little taller. The positive effects of it and the negative effects pretty much balance each other out almost equally, so you really don't gain anything other than clearance. But don't quote me on that, that just what my off road Savvy friend has told me.

 

[ebelen1]

Don't know anything about Xreas but the spacer lift will stiffen your suspension as the spacer will sit between your spring and the top hat (in the front). In essence, you gain height at the expense of a harder ride.

Having said this, I used to have a Revtek spacer lift on my 3rd gen and it's not much stiffer than my coilovers (that I have now). Since your truck is new, I would think that spacers would fit the bill if you want extra height. I had issues w/ my rear spacers as the spacer made the rear spring sag more than w/o the spacer. This is only my opinion but I believe this to be true.

 

[snap315]

Since you have X-REAS and plan on keeping it the only real option you have is to go with a spacer lift.

A suspension lift would require that you remove the X-REAS system.

I just finished putting a 1 inch Cornfed spacer lift on my T4R (with LOTS of help from several local T4R members ) and I love it.

I went with a 1 inch lift because I just needed to restore some clearance in my front wheel well after getting BFG AT KO 265/70/17 tires (which I also love ).

I didn't notice any change in stiffness of center of gravity with the lift installed. :awais:

 

[Expat]

Just quick - hope this is close enough to give you an overview.

Spacers = increased ground clearance to chassis from 0.5-3.0" and slightly stiffer ride (negligible IMO) Need alignment after. Retains XREAS. CHEAP - less than $500

Body Lift = increased ground clearance to body, usually 1-2.0" depending upon application - may lead to small gaps between body and chassis/bumpers/towbar. Retains XREAS. CHEAP

Suspension lift = increased ground clearance to chassis from 1-3.5" . Improved handling (arguable) over XREAS and much better articulation. Alignment afterwards. Removes XREAS. MORE COSTLY $1000's for complete system

All can be done within a day. Require very few specialized tools. Best done with two people.

 

[orangeblast22]

thanks for the input

Snap: this is good news! The only real problem I can see is the reduction in MPG.

 

[MAC4Runner]

The biggest benefits are it adds height, allowing for larger tires, and levels out the T4R so it doesn't look nose down. The trade-off is slightly firmer ride. Well worth it in my opinion. :bigok:

 

[snap315]

The biggest benefits are it adds height, allowing for larger tires, and levels out the T4R so it doesn't look nose down. The trade-off is slightly firmer ride. Well worth it in my opinion. :bigok:

A spacer lift only "levels" out a 4Runner if you get different sided spacers on the front than the rear. For me, I went with the same size front & rear to keep the vehicle "factory level".

 

[AlexJet]

I've ride with Cornfed spacers for nearly a year, plus I used two setups: experimental and production. I can say that Cornfed will let you leave XREAS on the vehicle, but will make the ride stiffer especially on the rear. It also limits your shock travel (most noticeable in the rear). This is good setup to put larger tires and some easy off-road. As you go for some medium and or hard off-road, you'll have problems. So if you need it for look and city driving - good choice, well worth the money. For serious off-roaders I'd recommend OME or DR/DO coilovers.

 

[orangeblast22]

yea, I don't plan to do any crazy heavy off roading

I would like to go camping and perhaps may run into easy to medium offroading, I would just want my runner capable of accomplish just that.

nothing heavy.

 

[cphair]

I've got the Cornfed lift with 285's and it's a great set-up. The ride is fine and the X-Reas system is still intact. Worth the money in my opinion!

 

[sgvnut]

285's and no rubbing issues or anything? also, does it fit on the spare?

 

[4RunnerRon]

I'm also considering a spacer lift for my 06 Sport, but have been hesitant after reading about the over-extension of the rear shocks and a stiffer ride. What I'm thinking about doing to avoid (or at least minimize)that is doing a custom kit. If you aren't already aware, Cornfed can make custom spacers kits to your specifications. That way, you can either go with their standard (3"front/2"rear) or something like I'm considering: somewhere between 1.5"-2" front and maybe 1"-1.5" in the rear. Hopefully, this would give me the look I'm going for, while retaining decent ride quality.

 

[Bluto]

thanks for the input

Snap: this is good news! The only real problem I can see is the reduction in MPG.

Larger/heavier tires will reduce MPG. I have not noticed any measureabe MPG difference with spacers.

 

[sgvnut]

would it be ok to lift it first then get tires later on? would it look funny or anything? or would it be better just to do it all at once. gotta save up for some tires

 

[AlexJet]

You can do in any ways you want, but tires larger then 265/70-R17 wouldn't fit without the lift.
I got 265/70-R17 Revos first, then Cornfed.

 

[dsams]

why do you think that the Cornfed lift is not good for medium to serious off-roading?

dan

 

[AlexJet]

Spacers are preload the springs. This means that: first, your springs are preloaded and stiffer; second, by adding spacers you are limiting the shock travel. First causing jumping over obstacles, second would limit your axle/suspension travel and will put shocks to extreme load, it also makes shocks work as "limiting straps".
Result: too bumpy ride which makes all suspension parts work harder = last less + break more often; damaging shocks + shock liking. Both breakdowns are very expensive to fix, for example, XREAS shocks cost $1500 for the set.
Complete OME kit will be up to $1000, Donahoe Racing - $2500 (awesome coilovers, work even better then XREAS).

 

[dsams]

what would you do if you had the XREAS system?

dan

 

[00328]

I'm also seriously considering capping off the Xreas and going with OME, wanna do it right the first time. But, I've also read of members stating that even with OME the rear stiffens up a little, maybe not to the extent that spacers do though.