Why are Tacoma Spacer Lifts so bad?

[@jesusguido6986]

If you are looking to off road and push the suspension than a good upgrade is the only option. If you are looking to lift the truck to gain more clearance such as fitting a bigger tire, than a spacer is the affordable option. Specially if your truck comes with a stock off rd suspension.

[@joseruano4844]

Ive been running a 2” rough country spacer on my Tacoma for over a year and have not had any of these problems

[@Slking507]

Yeah I have a 3" space or a front and and I don't have any of those issues.

[@Outdoors-ty8hp]

Take it off-road , like real off road and you will.

[@jaysonyang1441]

Yeah and when you bottom out the shock cause the stock bump stops no longer stop you from bottoming out the shocks say bye bye folded shock😅

[@Strawman333]

…on your pavement princess

[@darthjarjar8048]

​@Strawman333 there's nothing wrong with keeping your truck on road tardo

[@williamk9881]

I farted while I was watching this.

[@UnhappyMike]

Just did as well.

[@trdrockwarrior_sport4432]

ok i have a 2024 tacoima trd sport i bought a RC 1.5" can i run it with factory suspention. i just talked to one of you guys about shocks he told me you guys are located in el cajon i told i was stationed in camp pen anyways???

[@accutuneoffroad]

Is the RC 1.5" a spacer lift like we show in this video? If so, we don't recommend them if you are wanting a lift with improved ride. More details about spacer lifts discusses here: accutuneoffroad.com/articles/spacer-lift-vs-preload-spacer-vs-coilover-preload/

[@stacksmasher]

Yea dont get this $80 spacer, buy about $1600 in parts and $600 in labour from us! This dude is a little biased. There are literally hundreds of thousands of trucks with spacers without any issues ever.

[@Mr_Lasagna]

Agreed

[@juanfigueroa4506]

That what u think they don’t have any issues. I ran spacers for 600 miles and blew my shocks

[@accutuneoffroad]

We are simply showing you what happens at full droop with tall spacer lifts. You do not need to buy $1600 coilovers to avoid these issues.

[@jackz4149]

@@juanfigueroa4506 spacers are a big no. I simply went with King 2.5 and made my Tundra ride like a Lexus

[@Joetrout]

Spacers are bad, we have this $2500 kit and we only charge $800 to install. Its the best thing for you pavement warriors!

[@samsammy6210]

Guess must be a difference from 96. Ran cornbred spacers out of Va. I’m in NC. Didn’t have much in the way of off road mods.Had to hunt for them. Later had a supercharger installed and several other items. I sold the Tacoma 4x4 10 years later saw the truck several times 3 years ago. Only problem I had was binding of the rear differential. Placed a 3 degree wedges under the leaf springs. Ran this truck a few times in Uwharrie Mountains,NC. No problems.

[@chrisking6695]

What I don’t understand is why an extended coil over wouldn’t cause the same issues. If my struts are an inch longer than my stock struts and if I haha that inch more travel then the control arm will hit the coils the same way. What am I missing here?

[@accutuneoffroad]

The top hat spacers often time make the extended length of the coilover longer than a extended travel coilover. So more droop than an aftermarket coilover would provide. Then the lack of added bump spacer also causes issues. We dive in deeper to both spacer lift options here: accutuneoffroad.com/articles/spacer-lift-vs-preload-spacer-vs-coilover-preload/

[@rileyalec]

I don’t off road, just wanting literally 1” inch more of height. Is a 1” spacer okay in my situation!

[@anthonyc3352]

Yea you should fine. Doesn’t cause enough force to wear out the parts like off-roading does

[@sterlingstroebel]

I love the look of the Tacoma Trail Edition but want more options. Was thinking about a 1/2" spacer up front and 1" block in back on a TRD Off Road to essentially get the exact same 1" lift up front as on the Trail. Would a really small 1/2" spacer still cause the same problems for a truck that will never go off road?

[@accutuneoffroad]

Really up to you and what you are willing to do and can afford. For that amount of lift, maybe look at doing a preload lift instead.

[@oofmeister24]

​@@accutuneoffroad Would it be better to go with a pre load collar lift? Found one by westcott designs.

[@APtS_Gh0stHunt3R]

im so confused with this. so u cant use strut spacer to lift by 2" and upgrade the bump stop and this is bad. but okay to upgrade for $1600 suspension?

[@accutuneoffroad]

Strut spacers are not equal to upgrading to aftermarket shocks that provide lift. If you run a spacer and extended bump stops that will certainly help keep things happy, however most will not or even know how much to add.

[@danielkalston6977]

Nothing wrong with a good quality spacer an a correction control arm the fact that no one is talking about replacing the bump stops is the real problem

[@accutuneoffroad]

Very true. New upper control arm and bump stop spacers can help alleviate most of the issues. This however, is something we hardly ever seen done.

[@danielkalston6977]

@@accutuneoffroad 100%

[@KWright8754]

Can bump stops help prevent coil and uca rub??

[@raffikkiz]

@@KWright8754yes. Prevents the tire from traveling too far upward and crashing into the frame. Might need a lift to clear the UCA though?

[@CAborn1112]

Any shops near Shreveport Louisiana?

[@accutuneoffroad]

We only have one location in San Diego CA.

[@saiyanwarrior828]

A little bit of droop with some perk is good

[@scottdouglas1602]

I your going to any sort of spacer lift or leveling make sure to use a diff drop kit.Toytec makes a good aluminum kit for $80

[@raffikkiz]

The main reason people break their cv is because they hammer the gas pedal. Rotation x torque = breaking something. Don't need a diff drop if you don't spin the wheels like crazy.

[@jtec99]

It's my understanding that only 2.5" and up needs the drop kit

[@chrisking6695]

Diff drops are useless. They don’t change the cv angle by much. But they reduce you ground clearance.

[@wyatt_wolly]

can someone tell me what to buy for my 2012 tacoma under $300 that wont cause problems that i can put on myself.

[@tacocruiser4238]

What about the Rough Country 2 inch strut levelling kit for the Tacoma?

[@accutuneoffroad]

If its a spacer on top of the coilover, its the same thing.

[@tacocruiser4238]

@@accutuneoffroad No, its a replacement of the stock struts with Rough Country struts. No spacers. It's significantly more expensive than the spacers.

[@accutuneoffroad]

@@tacocruiser4238 If its full replacement coilover, then its fine. Those will have the proper compressed and extended lengths to work with factory cv angles and steering. May require an upper control arm

[@tacocruiser4238]

@@accutuneoffroad will I need a wheel alignment if I replace the struts?

[@eddiesaninocencio7486]

@@tacocruiser4238 Yes, anytime you dissemble the front end, its advisable to get an alignment.

[@christianalonzo4931]

someone please recommend a small leveling kit for 1st gen tacoma

[@ArbitraryLifestyle]

Just grab a simple 2" spacer lift from Rough Country. Should cost you about $40 and they're simple to put on.. no need to compress the spring or anything like that.

[@JoseChavez-oq1vn]

Wouldn't a spacer lift with aftermarket UCA'S work pretty good

[@bluesmanDon]

Exactly, it does the same thing as running a longer strut. A lot of aftermarket struts don’t offer more travel, just a longer body to lift the truck

[@MTNHobbies]

Only if you never plan on off-roading. You would fix the issues he is discussing but you still leave yourself open to coilbind. If you use a coilover like the Bilstein 5100’s it increases preload as you set the spring higher, decreasing your chance of binding your springs. Spacer lifts are for the “all show, no go” crowd. If you are after the “look” then you’re fine just don’t try to go over much difficult terrain.

[@accutuneoffroad]

A new UCA will definitely help avoid some issues, but not all. You would also need to add proper length bump stop spacers so the shock doesn't bottom out first. We've seen plenty of photos online with shocks snapped in half due to only running spacers. For a daily drive, this might work fine, we are simply showing you whats going on with a spacer lift & what issues can come up.

[@NWPURSUIT]

Thanks for the explanation!

[@randallbrusher503]

"Here is VIDEO PROOF and a quick yet thorough explanation on why spacer lifts are bad." *youtube commenters* - Well that's simply not true. C'monnnnn guys, damn. Did you even watch the video? Or just go straight to the comment section.

[@Strawman333]

If you want a proper lift for off roading, it’s gonna cost you. Spare no expense if you want it done correctly. If you cannot afford it then deal with it. You’ll be ok.

[@BurtBowers]

Any alteration lifting any vehicle will have issues best advice I can give is leave vehicle stock.

[@sandeepveeramani]

LOL.. 89 seconds of my life were just wasted... he talks about CV boots not liking it.. swapping a spacer with a longer coilover doesnt solve this either..

[@scottfergusson8411]

Sumo springs !

[@t_0mie492]

No matter how you lift your truck, the lower upper and axles will droop down that can cause premature wear overtime. 😂 Spacer lifts are not the reason why those things happens, it’s lifting the vehicle itself. 😂 Do you guys not know basic physics?

[@larrykates3910]

Lol get outta here

[@mikejones4801]

Not true

[@accutuneoffroad]

What exactly is not true in this video?

[@mikejones4801]

@@accutuneoffroad recommending to get extended travel coil overs will accomplish exactly the same as a spacer and you do not always run into clearance issues especially with an 1 1/4 spacer the drop would be less than an extended travel coil over and even with an extended travel coil over your parts will wear regardless, be prepared to change out prematurely worn inexpensive parts,upper control arms should be changed and generally it’s under 100 to change out ball joints if necessary or any other small cost parts in the general area

[@luisg1653]

@@mikejones4801 the parts that wear out are normal maintenance parts. Most people throw a set of spacers on and think its all fine. Spacers do wear parts out faster, especially if you drive off road. Extended travel coilovers with upper arms will cycle properly. No over extension, no need to limit compression. Spacers won't do that. I have had extended coilovers and uniball upper arms on my truck since 2009. I have replaced all the joints twice in 12 years, no big deal.

[@mikejones4801]

@@luisg1653 can you explain to me what wears out differently when you add a spacer as opposed to a longer travel shock because there is no difference what negative effects does it have on the truck what gets “damaged quicker”

[@luisg1653]

@@mikejones4801 upper ball joints when you're clacking over speed bumps. The shocks themselves- I've seen them snap at the lower eyelet or collapse lots of times because when you run spacers you also should space bump stops but nobody does that. Buy what you want, you don't have to believe me. Don't say this isn't true though.

[@Mr_Lasagna]

Well i mean you’re not going to offer leveling kits so you can sell people lifts 🙄

[@accutuneoffroad]

We do not sell spacer lifts, because they can cause a lot of issues which are discussed in this video. We specialize in high performance suspension that will provide an exceptional improvement in ride quality both on and off-road. That cannot be done with spacers

[@Mr_Lasagna]

@@accutuneoffroad like I said, you’ll go with will benefit you. It’s okay 😌

[@jackz4149]

@@Mr_Lasagna only peasants go for spacer lifts, aristocrats like me only get King 2.5 or Icon Stage 5

[@t_0mie492]

@@accutuneoffroadif you’re really hones, the CV boots will droop down no matter how you lift your vehicle. There will always be a premature wear in any suspension components when it’s not stock height.