Simple question about strut shims.

So if he were to just adjust them both to 3” they aren’t in “working condition”? It hurts nothing to have them both unevenly adjusted.

“Go slow” all I need to hear. The whole premise of adding Kings, Fox, Icons, etc, is to be able to go faster off road.

 

OP and I are both in a 2021, I don't think high speed off roading is going to be our primary use. There is nothing wrong with buying quality parts for good results all the way around.

 

Fair enough. So after OP adds his bumper and winch as stated here, then loses 1-2” ride height, what then? More spacers? In the end, he needs to preload the springs. There’s no getting around it.

 

Buying high quality parts is a great thing. Throwing a spacer on top of a high quality adjustable part is hokey

 

Maybe that's why he is trying to preserve adjustment, I have a heavy Ranchhand bumper myself and also 700# springs that I preloaded a bit. No, I don't have shims installed. Bought some, but couldn't justify them at the time. Still don't mean OP doesn't know what he is doing. It's not going to kill anyone if he installs a shim. Just as long as his lower control arm hits the bump stops before the shock absorber bottoms out all will be fine.

 

Sometimes you want to load a truck and still have a lift to provide tire clearance. Springs alone don't always provide enough.

 

then one needs heavier spring rates

 

No, because one is not always loaded. One needs compromise. You can't make it perfect for both ends of a wide spectrum.

 

The hell does this even mean? Adjustment is adjustment. Why does one need to save it for later?

A bumper and winch is full time loaded. There’s no compromising here. Under sprung is under sprung.

 

First off springs lose lift over time, secondly some of us pull heavy trailers with weight distribution hitch which if properly used will in fact add significant weight to the nose. Not everyone builds an expensive truck for show, some actually use it for a truck and to travel with the family both with and without a load. There is no one size fits all.

 

The question was.. can a shim be installed on top of the coilover, the answer is yes it can. We can debate the subject forever, don't change the answer to the question.

 

You assume too much. The winch that I am going to use is a hidden winch bumper where it is incorporated into the middle of the stock bumper. I live in the mountains and have need for a winch every once in awhile. My driveway is a 4wheel road when it's wet or snowy. I have two snow plow vehicles. I don't need a behemoth bumper. While I like the looks of a lot of the bigger bumpers I don't want one just because of the weight. Why do you assume that you know what bumper that I am going to use? Kinda going off the deep end here aren't you? Lions and tigers and bears, oh my, all from one little 1/4 inch shim.

Like NOBODY in the whole history of this forum has never corrected the Tundra lean with one 1/4 inch freakin shim, right? Mountain into a mole hill kinda thing.

 

So your idea is to wait till the springs are old and tired and have lost spring rate, then preload them? Wow.

It’s a valid assumption. Even the stealth SSO bumper for Tacomas with a winch is upwards of 150 lbs total. Way too much for those 600 lb/inch springs on those Fox’s. Even without the added weight overextension can happen. Which could lead to ball joint/CV failure.

 

It's not a valid assumption. The weight of the hidden bumper I that I have been looking at is around net 45 pounds, The weight of the winch (10,000 pound) is about 65 pounds. Your assumption is faulty.





"Weighs 80lbs, around 45lbs more than the stock parts removed."
https://www.victory4x4.com/product/VTU3FB.html

 

@Kelvin and @Hbjeff just forget it. You can't teach people about spacers. I've gone on this merry-go-round many times. Nobody likes using the right spring rates and heaven forbid the thread count per side doesn't match.

 

You’re right. Can’t fix stupid or cheap people. If he wants to pay for 2 alignments go for it.

I’ll just wait for the day his UBJ separates from the spindle since he’s essentially running it as extended travel.

 

@Darkness has a meme image for all situations!!

 

I wouldn't wish them any ill or call them stupid but some people use strange methods to solve easy problems and don't recognize the unintended consequences they might earn. No use having a debate sometimes.

OP hope whatever your goal is gets reached. Look into Victory here before locking into that decision as well, some pretty bad things happened and they aren't a vendor here anymore for good reason.

 

Thank you to the sane people on this thread! I was just reading through wanting scream at everyone for suggesting shims on adjustable coilovers. Like drop bracket kits on Raptors...WTF

 

Adding limit straps is always a possibility too, which is a decent way to keep the cv shafts happier.

 

If you just use the coilovers and adjust them to be level enough side to side, you will have no problems at all. It is the easiest, the cheapest, and the least problematic approach. Setting up the coilovers so that they have a longer effective length at full extension creates a need for bandaid solutions. I suppose if it never sees dirt and tip toes over speed bumps he will be fine.

I shake my head when people worry too much about side to side leveling. Once I hop in my truck the driver side is lower than passenger side. The ground is never level anyway, its a waste of calories to pursue.

 

Nobody wants to be seen leaning to the left. Just sayin.

 

See I’m not sure why people were so quick to dismiss me. I’m not retarded. I’ve been here before. The only situation where I see using a small spacer on high dollar coilovers even remotely tolerable is back when Icon had that garbage top hat design that kept breaking. In the end this guys quest to “cut as little as possible” and “fit a pretty big tire” is retarded. The wheel and tire compress to the same spot no matter how much you cut at static ride height.

 

Your meme game isn't strong enough!

 

Two questions
1) after adding 1/4” shims for 1/2” lift, does it require an alignment?
2) do I need new bolts for the 1/4” shims?