TheBoro85 said:
I am going to purchase a 3" lift kit very soon. I have pretty much decided on the Cornfed Suspension. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of Cornfed as a company and the pros and cons of spacers and coils? I will be going on offroad trips about 8 to 12 times a year on VERY "easy" to "moderate" trails. And I want to purchase the kit before the spring, and spacers is all I will be able to afford by then. Late summer would be able to get me coils, wheels, and tires. That sucks. I guess I'll hope for a huge tax return.
Pros and Cons of Cornfed:
Don't have cornfed spacers and never did business with Cornfed (David), at least not yet, so I can't give ya any "pros and cons." But I can tell ya a little bit of history. The first commercially marketed spacers I can think of are the ones sold by Downey (1.5" lift, I believe). Downey was the only company that offered anything for the Tacoma when it first came out, by the way. Then came Dave. His spacers were first called "cornbred" spacers, or "CB's" for short. Don't know why they changed to "cornfed" later on, though, but the corn reference stems from David's home state of Nebraska and, I assume, his affection for the Nebraska Cornhuskers (who, incidentally, got beat several times by my favorite team and alma mater, Florida State - hehe). Anyway, David took the time to test out several sizes and versions of spacers on his own Tacoma. Thanks to his testing, he was one of the first to publicly disclose his findings on the internet that the cv axles AND the upper ball joints were prone to breaking past 3" of lift. He also used to frequent the TTORA chat and was generous enough to patiently take the time to educate and explain to me his findings and the geometric intricacies of Tacoma suspensions, which helped me when it came time to lift my Tacoma almost 5 years ago. He then decided to sell spacers part-time to TTORA members as a way for us to get a cheap 2" to 3" lift. He also took the time to figure out which length rear shocks should go for what specific amount of rear lift. A few years later, Revtek and Daystar came into the market.
Pros and Cons of spacers vs. coilovers:
Spacers and coilovers add lift in the same way, by pushing down on the control arm assembly, which in turn pushes the front of the truck upwards. A spacer sits on top of the stock strut/coil, which adds to its overall length, thereby pushing the lower control arm downward (and pushing the front of the truck upward). It adds no "performance" benefit as an aftermarket coilover should, which is one of the differences between the two. The other difference is that a spacer is usually much cheaper than a coilover, especially the high-end performance coilovers. If I remember correctly, there are two (maybe 3) different spacer designs. Unfortunately, I'm not sure about the difference in performance (if any), reliability or quality between them. I think one design helps prevent the upper balljoint from hitting the stock strut/coil spring during downtravel if no limit strap is in place, but I could be wrong about that.
A coilover includes a coil spring with a higher spring rate. The stock coil is about 420-480 lbs. per inch, while an aftermarket coil ranges between 500 to 700 lbs. per inch, depending on brand and option. A higher spring rate makes the ride stiffer and less likely to "flex", but it also helps prevent bottoming out on compression and less body lean while taking turns on road. A coilover also includes an improved shock when compared to the whimpy, skinny stock shock/strut. For instance, the King coilover includes a shock that is 3" in overall diameter (much bigger than a stock shock/strut) and uses desert-racing inspired technology in its internal parts. The bigger diameter allows the shock to take more abuse before it heats up (more volume - more time it takes to heat up), and heat is one of the biggest causes of shock fade. All of this translates to improved handling both on and off-road, which a spacer does not necessarily provide. Then again, the improved handling also results in a higher price than a spacer.
Hope this helps.