Swede

Okay, so I got bored one day and decided to try some monkeying around with the front end lift.

Since I put in the Revtek spacer the ride quality has been much too stiff for my liking. I've read tons of articles about how a spacer lift effects the ride blah, blah, blah... so I decided to try something a little different. Instead of having the spacer in between the top of the coil and below the top plate of the strut, I took out the spacer so the coil can go back to it's original position and put the spacer above the top plate and then mounted it on the rig. I also put back in the rubber cushion that was originally between the top of the coil and the top plate. As for the spacer that I put in, I took the Revtek top-out spacer and copied them using 1/2" plate instead of the 3/8 that the Revtek uses and doubled them up to get 1" of spacer. So with the plates and the rubber cushions the total lift in front is only 1/4" lower than what it was with the Revtek spacer.

Anyway, the ride is noticably smoother, with a lot less bounce. The Revtek set-up always seemed to find every little imperfection on the road (and you can imagine how it was off-road), whereas this set-up seems to be a little more compliant. I'm back up to running 35psi in my tires now too because of the ride quality on-road. I haven't had a chance to run them off-road yet but I will soon.



Here's a pic of how it looked before and how it is now:

Swede

Update:

I FINALLY found a set of Tundra coils and put them in the other day. The verdict... impressive! The ride overall is noticeably smoother. Although it's no caddy, it is definitely less harsh than what I was using before. I didn't install the top out spacer as some have done because I'm still running the Revtek spacer in the rear and it sits pretty level right now. Now to find some LC coils...

Swede

Another Update:

I added top-out spacers to the front a few months ago as I needed a little more clearance to fit the 35's and to bring it up a bit to match the LC Coils whenever I got them put in. So anyway, I got the LC Coils installed last night and she's definitely higher in the rear, 2 3/4" higher to be precise, over the stock OEM/Revtek spacer setup! Hopefully it'll settle down a bit over the next little while. Plus with the winch and recovery gear in the back it should be weighed down some more as well. Now to play around with the panhard bar and brake line... It never ends!!!

BEFORE:



AFTER:





BEFORE:



AFTER:

toytech76

Find someone with a taco who is doing a SAS and is ditching their 4" lift. I just did that and its sits just about perfectly level with my LC coils

Swede

I was thinking the same thing, but after a nice weekend of 4X4ing they've settled down a bit. I cannot believe the difference in ride quality though, what an improvement!

cutter

How big was the top out spacer that you put in? I just picked up a set of TRD Tundra coils that have a 1" top out spacer and was wondering how big your spacer was and if it leveled out your runner with the LC coils in the rear? Also how did you adjust your pan hard bar? did you get the SS adjustable bar or fab something yourself?

Swede

Right now and for the last 8 months or so I have been running the 3/8" Revtek topout and a homemade 1/2" topout spacer together giving me almost a 1" spacer on top of the Tundra coils. The rig sits perfectly to my taste but I'm thinking about taking one of the spacers out as I feel like the CV's are at their limit for angle and I don't want to lose any more strength up front. I haven't felt the need to modify the panhard bar as of yet but I will modify it when I get the chance.

Gerdo

I'm not sure if you wheel your 4runner but top outs can be deadly for CVs. Since the top out is on top of the shock it will allow the wheel to droop further than originally designed. This extra droop can over extend the CVs which can cause bind and breakage.

(This is also true for spacer lifts)

Swede

I know, which is why I want to take one out. I think it's too much for the CV's.

CYi5

I can't believe this is the first time this has been mentioned in a thread that's been open for three years. = topouts.

Johannes

Wow, good to know. I had no idea that spacer lifts could damage the CV's. I just went to my local 4Wheel Drive shop and they told me that the best life they've ever used is the Revtek spacers and blocks for the rear. I never really liked this idea, just didn't seem like it would maintain the ride that I have now with the TRD package (that I love). The guy seemed to think that my Taco would nosedive during hard braking and that the spacers would help this out. I'm not sure how much experience he had with the Bilsteins but my hood doesn't dip that much.

I'm still trying to decide which lift to get, I'm not really all that into the spacers idea, but the info here was awesome. Thanks OP.

Fink

I would stay away from spacers - I can't say this enough as I have typed this very sentence at least four times today.

Spacers, IMO, are a temporary solution to a permanent need.
If you're going to lift your rig and keep it that way just do it right - full suspension.

I personally recommend OME to everybody - readily available, extremely high quality products and great customer service.
I also recommend ordering them from Toyota of Dallas (strap22 or trdparts4u.com on here) - competitive pricing with the best customer service you'll find.

I ran spacers on my 3rd gen and the ride quality was crap and the CV's shot grease like crazy.

Fink

CYi5

I wouldn't return to that shop for your toyota needs.

Swede

Ditto on skipping the Revtek spacer lift. The ride is definitely stiff!!!