Waxing off topic now, if I was really cheeky while Ken and Brendan are out of the country, I'd say go the body lift with a 2-3" suspension lift because the headlights will be too high to do both a BL and Ultimate's suspension according to the ADRs!
I may be out of the country but this forums global mate you’re lucky though...I will let it slide this time. Without getting too far off track, both products are well designed and it just depends on the individual's budget and application. Our most common suspension products are still the 2" lifts, but the 4" Smart Lift is a great option for customers seeking:
-Better comfort and handling
-Ability to fit larger tyres without scrubbing
-correct driveline geometry
-increased clearance and articulation.
-strengthened steering components
-better sex appeal
SPRING SPACERS are fitted between the coil spring and the top hat of the strut.
STRUT SPACERS are fitted between the strut top hat and the chassis strut mount.
Two very different modifications with two very different results. Neither result is good but need to be looked at separately. People will need to look at different failure points as these products work very differently and cause different issues.
Regards,
Cam
What are the differences you guys identified between the two? Coil spacers on a live axle vehicle are different but I can’t see the difference on a strut. All of the cases we have seen have shown the spacers (either type) simply limit bump and over extend droop. Unless I’m not thinking straight (and it is a late at night in Dubai), the spacers will have the same effect as they both produce the same pressure on the coil and bring it to the same height. The only thing I can think of is a strut collet to reposition the coil seat. We use this design on our struts but it doesn’t not have any adverse affects on the suspension travel or strength.
yeah rod ill jack mine up on the crossmember and just let the front wheels droop. ill measure from wheel arch to centre of wheel. mines running stock with spacers. im interested in this cos i can see every ones point about my down travel prob being a danger. ill get pics as well. be good chance to check it out as well.
We have repaired vehicle which have damaged CVs and shocks from running spacers with OEM Struts. It’s simply because the Hilux does not have a bump stop for the rebound unlike some other models. The spacers still over extend the droop which may not dislocate the CV, but can still force it to operate at bad angles. Working at the sever angles significantly reduces the life of the CVs and can cause them to fail in certain circumstances (e.g.- hitting something while at full droop or turning on full lock). Here’s a picture below of vehicle running raised height coils and spacers with OEM struts. This was taken at static height and you can see the CV is already at a sever angle and the top control arm is forced down onto the coil. Considering this is static height, imagine how dangerous and rough this is for both on and off road driving. (sorry about the quality....they were taken with my phone)
There’s a lot of dodgy and illegal products out there now which are putting vehicles and lives at risk. My personal opinion is to stay with the proven technologies and do everything right the first time round. It may cost more in the beginning but can save you thousands in the long run.