Thread: Spacers versus Lift Kit

personally I dont like spacers as they do nothing other than lift the vehicle up the distance of the spacer.

A well designed spring lift will give you greater wheel articulation - the more wheel travel, the more traction, the further you can go. Couple that with larger tyres = more lift again so even further you can go.

In the beginning I used to go for a spring lift, yes it does what I said above but it also raises your center of gravity meaning easier to lay on it's side (major amount of driver experience though) wheel travel didnt matter that much to me as I was playing in mud and river / creek crossings so I just wanted it higher for the electrics.

Then as I get better as a driver (and more adventurous) I started looking for was extra wheel travel along with the height, This gave a much better ride as well as better off road abilities.

in my personal opinion a raised vehicle with limited wheel travel is a bit of a dog to drive but that is only my opinion based upon what I try to do with my vehicles. Also as I have gotten older I need softer suspension so I dont break myself (it also doesn't break the car as fast either) - when I was younger I didn't care as much.

So I think the question you need to ask yourself is what do I want to do with my vehicle, once you have worked out that answer then you can work out what is the best modifications you need to do.

You could also think of spacers as a shim ... it will do final adjustments / level out your ride / or just breath a bit of life in your tired old drooped springs ... sort of a band-aid

The main problem with large spacers is that if the upward travel is not limited, the springs can go into spring bind before max upward travel is reached.
This can cause the spring to break, as the binding stops the necessary twist of the spring .
That is why you get longer free length springs usually with the same number of coils as the original to give a spring lift.
Regards Philip A

Secondhand springs for the lift you want will probably cost less than new spacers. Seek in markets on this site and see what you find.

cheers, DL

Originally Posted by 350RRC

Secondhand springs for the lift you want will probably cost less than new spacers. Seek in markets on this site and see what you find.

cheers, DL

This sounds like a pretty good option. I take it the standard shockies will still work ok with springs that have an additional 2"?