20. What about SPACER LIFTS, like Toytec, Cornbred, Revtek, Daystar and others. Spacer lifts are what they are. It was my first lift and the rear spacers keep me happy for 6 months or so and the fronts for less than 9 months. If a spacer lift is the only thing you can afford, so be it. It is better than nothing, or is it? After you read the drawbacks of a spacer lift, maybe stock would actually "work" better off road.

Benefits of a Spacer Lift:
1. Lifts the truck 1-3" higher
2. Very Inexpensive

Downfalls of a spacer lift:
1. The biggest one is that they re-use your stock coils, which is not really a good thing if you are looking for a lift. 96-98 4Runners were 3/4" to 1" lower than the 1999 model year, 2000 was along the lines of 96-98 and 01-02 4Runners were the lowest yet, over 1" lower than the same model 1999 4Runner. When your starting out 1" to 2" lower your 2"-3" spacers are only going to get you 1" or so above a 1999 4WD 4Runner bone stock. Replacing the coils is a far better way to actually gain lift. Take a look at our front coil comparison for yourself.

2. Spacers placed inside the spring pack preload the coil for lift, make it live in a smaller area, by reducing the area it is allowed to live in you in turn reduce upward travel. So you now have less travel than stock, that is not a good thing when you start with so little. Also making the coil live in smaller area without adjusting your a-arms bump stops to compensate will over compress the coil and cause it to stack and fail at a very fast rate. Ask around and see how many people had coils sag or drop with spacers over time. Spacers placed outside the coil pack like the Daystar 1.5" and the Downey spacer increase the shock length which will lead to excessive droop, as the 96-02 4Runners do not have the droop stops of the 86-95 Trucks and 4Runners. This excessive droop will cause the outer CV to bind and literally rip the star out of the joint, resulting in a broken CV axle and a dead truck. Front shock length is critical on these vehicles. This can be fixed with limiting straps, but why not do it right from the beginning.