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Often questions arise as to how ball joint spacers will affect vehicle performance when contrasted to simply cranking the torsion bars or installing new torsion bars. This page will explain.

What do torsion bars do? While it seems obvious, it's not always. Torsion bars simply resist the twisting force, or torque of your truck's upper control arms. You can adjust them such that the truck sits higher, or lower, but in the end, all they do is resist that torque. Adjusting them up does not increase the preload (actually it decreases it). After all, the load is a result of the truck's weight which did not increase when you cranked up the bars. There is an interaction where the the force of the truck's wheels results in a lower torque when the upper a-arm is not parallel with the ground. This is why the preload drops (and ride gets stiffer) when the bars are cranked.

So, do I need new bars if I want to lift my truck via the torsion bar? NO. You can adjust your stock torsion bars for what ever lift you want just as you can adjust an aftermarket bar similarly. You will sacrifice down travel for up travel with no gain in over all travel. Lifting a truck by adjusting the torsion bars will make it ride stiffer and the lack of down travel can adversely affect drive quality and trail flex. However, this lift is free and that is its benefit.

So what does an aftermarket bar really do fo me? This is simple, a larger diameter bar makes the suspension more stiff. Typically, we want our suspension to flex more not less, therefore stiff bars are not what we want. However, there are cases for them. One is when a vehicle has a heavy winch/bumper bolted to the front end. This can cause the truck to bottom out (run out of suspension travel) often. Here, a stiffer torsion bar can help. The other is the case of those who like to jump their trucks. Ultimately, that type of driving requires an expensive long travel kit due to the extremely high stresses on the vehicle's chassis. However, for those who want to try this on a budget, stiffer bars will help with the bottoming out and hopfully put off the inevitable damage for a while that can occur when a vehicle runs out of suspension travel repeatedly.

How do ball joint spacers work into all of this? Ball joint spacers do two things, increase the window of travel and increase the flexibility of the suspension. By design, they are intended to lift the truck 1.5" over stock. The user has the option to further adjust the torsion bars to set the suspension to their liking. The suspension can be set for only 1" of lift which means the truck now has 1" more compression travel and .5" more downtravel than it had stock. At 1.5" of lift, the truck has 1.5" more compression travel and equal downtravel as stock. The result is that the truck can absorb a larger bump than it could stock and do so without sacrificing the downtravel necessary for good trail flex and on road drive quality. Since the spacer helps to lift the truck while keeping the a-arm more parallel with the ground, the flex characteristics are improved as well.

Can I set my suspension for more than 1.5" of lift? Yes but there are trade offs since the steeper a-arm angles mean steeper drive axle and steering angles. The CV boots can wear faster and idler arm stress increases. It can make the the CV more prone to failure, but typically that failure requires a front locker, open front differentials do not apply enough stress to break CV axles. One can mitigate the CV boot wear by installing manual hubs. If manual hubs are present, then the CV boot wear is not really an issue. The idler arm is more prone to fail when the a-arm angles are steep. This can be addressed with an idler arm brace like that from Downey.

Can I fit 33X12.5's with just spacers? The truth is no, not without rubbing. The spacers permit the suspension to travel upwards until the lower control arm hits its bumpstops. While there is more clearance than stock when the truck is at rest, there is similar clearance when a wheel is stuffed. As a result, a 33X12.5 tire that clears under normal street driving conditions might rub on the trail when the suspenion is compressed and front wheels turned. There are numerous ways to address the rubbing ranging from pounding/trimming fenders to adding a body lift. Since 33X12.5" tires are not all the same size and width, how much clearancing you will have to do will vary depending on the tire you chose. Typically, the spacer lift combined with a 2" body lift will clear most 33X12.5" tires. It should be noted, 33X10.5" tires will fit with no lift and work well with ball joint spacers.

Are ball joint spacers compatible with my 4" bracket type lift kit? Yes! Ball joint spacers interact with the suspension differently than the 4" kit and can actually augment the performance of such kits in the ways described above.

Hopefully this helps to explain how one's truck can benefit from ball joint spacers. The addition of this lift not only improves the truck's capability but actually improves the ride quality. That is not someing one can do by simply cranking up the torsion bars or purchasing a more expensive bracket style lift kit.