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Strut spacers or leveling kits are a common way to lift your truck and get the look you are after.
However, there are some important drawbacks to strut spacers that must be considered as they do revolve around safety.
So, in today’s article, we’ll go over why you should avoid strut spacers and why it may be a better idea to invest in a proper lift kit.
How Do Strut Spacers Work?
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Strut spacers are simply a piece of steel that sits between your struts and the strut mounting points to push down your suspension by a couple of inches. This gives you the lift you need without breaking the bank.
However, unlike a proper suspension lift, you do not get additional shock travel or improved shock properties.
In most cases, the ride gets worse as the shocks you have were not designed to work this way.
Why Do Most People Use Them?
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Most pickup trucks sit slightly higher in the rear from the factory and that’s to compensate for the sag when the truck is loaded.
Some truck owners do not like that look and want to balance out the rear to the front. As this is purely a matter of looks and not performance, strut spacers are often the go-to source.
This is the most cost-efficient way of doing it, but there are some issues.
The Drawbacks of Strut Spacers
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On-road performance and road manners are the main issues here. In many cases, the upper control arm will hit the coil springs at full droop and because everything is sitting at a different angle the handling and ride quality of the truck will never be the same.
Most importantly, however, is damage to the shock itself. When your truck’s suspension is fully compressed, the bump stops take all the pressure and dampen the forces.
With strut spacers your entire suspension is now spaced down; therefore, when at full compression the bump stop won’t be tall enough to contact the chassis and absorb the forces.
Instead, all the force will now go through your struts which can bend them and cause an accident.
Save Your Money and Go For a Proper Lift Kit
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So, strut spacers in many cases will ruin your vehicle’s ride, handling, and will also make it weaker.
The best way to go about lifting your truck is with a proper lift kit. Lift kits don’t just increase ride height, they also improve ride quality, handling, off-road abilities, towing abilities, hauling abilities, and will last longer.
So, instead of choosing the cheap option that will make your truck look better, but will ruin it in every other way, save your money and go for a proper lift kit.
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