Aftermarket Coils vs. Spacer lifts

[Riddick]

One of the first things most of us do to our trucks is lift it. In stock form these trucks ride fairly firm, especially when driving through the city. The best way to describe the ride quality is harsh, you feel all the bumps in the road. I installed a Thuren Sway bar which helped tremendously with uneven surfaces but still felt the general harshness from the stock springs. Some of us get stuck in the debate between coils vs. spacer lifts and which one to purchase. I originally had a 1" Traxada spacer lift on my truck and just switched out 1" Thuren Front coil springs. Everyone on here raved on how good the Thuren coils rode compared to stock springs so I had to try them out. I will review each of these below in hopes this post helps someone out in the future.

1" Traxada
From a cost perspective this is hands down the cheapest option to lift your truck. Many people report that spacer lifts cause a rougher ride than stock. While this may be true in some cases I did not experience any change in ride quality. Maybe for the higher lifts (2"+) they ride worse?? I put roughly 6k miles on mine and really don't have anything bad to say about it. In my opinion the truck rode nearly identical to OEM. The only reason I said nearly identical is I also installed Fox shocks with the spacer so the ride did change slightly. So, if you are fine with the stock ride quality you should consider a spacer lift, you will get the look you want for a fraction of the cost.

1" Thuren
From a cost perspective you will pay nearly 4 times more for these vs. a spacer lift. Install is 99% the same as a spacer, in my case I noticed I had to drop the front axle a few more inches to install the coils. I assumed they would be the same height as the stock springs with the spacer but they were taller. On my test drive I immediately felt the difference the second I pulled out of my driveway, the truck is without a doubt softer in the front. Even when hitting bumps in the road there is a pretty big difference on how the truck reacts. Sure, you can still feel the bumps but they are dampened vs. the harsh feeling the stock springs provided. I only have about 15 miles on them but am happy so far, I am looking forward to logging more miles.

In my opinion if you have the coin spend it on the coils, even if you think your truck rides fine in stock form you will be amazed at how much better it will handle. Between the sway bar and the coils I think I have the perfect budget suspension set up. I am looking forward to the OEM tires to wear out so I can put on a taller set which should improve the ride quality even more. Many report the Thurens make your truck ride like a 1500, in my opinion that's a little bit of a stretch but like I said, there is a huge improvement over stock.

Also, if anyone is in the market for a 1" spacer hit me up and we can work out a deal.

 

[Alligator John]

Great write up on your experience. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Scooter29]

What shocks did you use with your coils? I have the Thuren sway bar on and 1.75” coils waiting to go on. Wanted to do .5” coils to keep it low but wanted to get the advantage of the extra uptravel and now deciding on shocks.

One of the first things most of us do to our trucks is lift it. In stock form these trucks ride fairly firm, especially when driving through the city. The best way to describe the ride quality is harsh, you feel all the bumps in the road. I installed a Thuren Sway bar which helped tremendously with uneven surfaces but still felt the general harshness from the stock springs. Some of us get stuck in the debate between coils vs. spacer lifts and which one to purchase. I originally had a 1" Traxada spacer lift on my truck and just switched out 1" Thuren Front coil springs. Everyone on here raved on how good the Thuren coils rode compared to stock springs so I had to try them out. I will review each of these below in hopes this post helps someone out in the future.

1" Traxada
From a cost perspective this is hands down the cheapest option to lift your truck. Many people report that spacer lifts cause a rougher ride than stock. While this may be true in some cases I did not experience any change in ride quality. Maybe for the higher lifts (2"+) they ride worse?? I put roughly 6k miles on mine and really don't have anything bad to say about it. In my opinion the truck rode nearly identical to OEM. The only reason I said nearly identical is I also installed Fox shocks with the spacer so the ride did change slightly. So, if you are fine with the stock ride quality you should consider a spacer lift, you will get the look you want for a fraction of the cost.

1" Thuren
From a cost perspective you will pay nearly 4 times more for these vs. a spacer lift. Install is 99% the same as a spacer, in my case I noticed I had to drop the front axle a few more inches to install the coils. I assumed they would be the same height as the stock springs with the spacer but they were taller. On my test drive I immediately felt the difference the second I pulled out of my driveway, the truck is without a doubt softer in the front. Even when hitting bumps in the road there is a pretty big difference on how the truck reacts. Sure, you can still feel the bumps but they are dampened vs. the harsh feeling the stock springs provided. I only have about 15 miles on them but am happy so far, I am looking forward to logging more miles.

In my opinion if you have the coin spend it on the coils, even if you think your truck rides fine in stock form you will be amazed at how much better it will handle. Between the sway bar and the coils I think I have the perfect budget suspension set up. I am looking forward to the OEM tires to wear out so I can put on a taller set which should improve the ride quality even more. Many report the Thurens make your truck ride like a 1500, in my opinion that's a little bit of a stretch but like I said, there is a huge improvement over stock.

Also, if anyone is in the market for a 1" spacer hit me up and we can work out a deal.

 

[Riddick]

What shocks did you use with your coils? I have the Thuren sway bar on and 1.75” coils waiting to go on. Wanted to do .5” coils to keep it low but wanted to get the advantage of the extra uptravel and now deciding on shocks.

Standard fox shocks out of the box. I think the ones I have are good for 1.5" lift. They have various parts numbers depending on your lift. If you do those 2 mods at the same time you will feel a huge difference! Don't forget to get it aligned to Thuren specs.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Thats been a big debate for years spacers ride the same as stock so if you work the truck thats the way to go if you don't work the truck hard and want a 1/2 ton feel then soft ride lift coils are fine.

 

[BikePilot]

Except maybe for running a snow plow I don't think you lose any working ability by installing a Thuren front suspension setup. Softer springs, but more damping. For me anyway all my working stuff loads up the rear axle. It's hard to get a whole lot of weight on the front.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Except maybe for running a snow plow I don't think you lose any working ability by installing a Thuren front suspension setup. Softer springs, but more damping. For me anyway all my working stuff loads up the rear axle. It's hard to get a whole lot of weight on the front.

5th wheel/GN trailer or anything loaded in front of the rear axle all load up the front aswell as the rear. As well as Any extra weight upfront like bumpers and lights

 

[BikePilot]

My oem ram GN ball is pretty much right over the axle. It's not going to load the front end any measurable amount. Bumpers etc are nowhere near enough weight to be a problem for a Thuren front end. I don't have a 5th wheel. I'd have guessed it would put the pin about where my GN ball is but I don't actually know.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

My oem ram GN ball is pretty much right over the axle. It's not going to load the front end any measurable amount. Bumpers etc are nowhere near enough weight to be a problem for a Thuren front end. I don't have a 5th wheel. I'd have guessed it would put the pin about where my GN ball is but I don't actually know.

Winch Bumpers are enough to make stock springs sag the soft ride coils for sure would.

Have you had a loaded GN or 5th wheel on your truck? It does drop the front some. I have a plow so i would never run them anyway but there is nothing wrong with the factory ride up front i would find it to soft with the other coils im sure. But everyone is different.

 

[elephantrider]

my 3" carli springs up front are really 2.5- 2.75 inches, after bumper and winch.

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Is it the springs? Or is it the shocks?

I now have 35K miles on my Power Wagon. Only thing not stock is the tires. BFG 35X12.50R17.

I'm now getting a walloy ride in the truck. Seems more the shocks are wore out that the springs are getting soft.

 

[Mikerob14]

What shocks did you use with your coils? I have the Thuren sway bar on and 1.75” coils waiting to go on. Wanted to do .5” coils to keep it low but wanted to get the advantage of the extra uptravel and now deciding on shocks.

Can you elaborate why you went with the “1.75 over “0.5? I am currently in this debate with myself. What do you mean by extra uptravel? I like the look of a close to level but don’t want the 5er to cause me to sit nose high. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Ostracize]

Can you elaborate why you went with the “1.75 over “0.5? I am currently in this debate with myself. What do you mean by extra uptravel? I like the look of a close to level but don’t want the 5er to cause me to sit nose high. Thanks for the insight.

I have the 1.75 springs, 4corner fox2.0 shocks, swaybar, radius arms, steering damper, and trackbar on mine. It's a 3500 MC SRW without factory air in the rear...
If you want the better spring rate(less harsh) but do not want to add bags in the rear, then I'd go with the .5 springs.
If you want the level look when unladen and the improved ride and don't mind doing bags then get the 1.75.
I intend to get bags next to be able to maintain level when loaded/towing.

 

[Scooter29]

So I’m still in the back and forth on the .5” springs as I also don’t really want to lift the truck as it’s high enough already. With the uptravel you can see the front bump stops are only a few inches from hitting the axle. So more space to me means more up travel before it bottoms out. I am going to use a Carli add a pack for the rear that should lift about and inch from the description.

As of now I’m stock with a Thuren sway bar and if I go over a speed bump at any speed other then very slow the front will bottom out so my fear is that with the softer .5” springs it will bottom out just as easy as im not looking to get 2.5” kings and stick with fox 2.0s or Carlos new 2.0s.

But now seeing Ostracize post with an exact truck I have and looks to be 295/65s I’m rethinking the 1.75” springs. I got them as an open box on CJC for a good price. This decision I e been trying to figure out for awhile so I can only do it once. I may buy and install the add a pack first and see what actual lift it gives then pick my fronts.

Can you elaborate why you went with the “1.75 over “0.5? I am currently in this debate with myself. What do you mean by extra uptravel? I like the look of a close to level but don’t want the 5er to cause me to sit nose high. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Scooter29]

Thanks for the info, are you running 295/65s and stock in the rear? I have a tongue heavy toy hauler so I want to keep rake and I have timber grove airbags that I took off after we got rid of the slide in camper. I like the ride with no bags and don’t want to put them back in if I don’t need. How is the front with the fox 2.0s does it feel too soft at all? Any other pictures of your truck?

I have the 1.75 springs, 4corner fox2.0 shocks, swaybar, radius arms, steering damper, and trackbar on mine. It's a 3500 MC SRW without factory air in the rear...
If you want the better spring rate(less harsh) but do not want to add bags in the rear, then I'd go with the .5 springs.
If you want the level look when unladen and the improved ride and don't mind doing bags then get the 1.75.
I intend to get bags next to be able to maintain level when loaded/towing.

 

[Ostracize]

Thanks for the info, are you running 295/65s and stock in the rear? I have a tongue heavy toy hauler so I want to keep rake and I have timber grove airbags that I took off after we got rid of the slide in camper. I like the ride with no bags and don’t want to put them back in if I don’t need. How is the front with the fox 2.0s does it feel too soft at all? Any other pictures of your truck?

Running 295/65s all around and with the 1.75 it leveled out basically exactly. I personally don't mind bags and will run them at min psi when unladen but provides to ability to level when I tow.
The fox 2.0 are an all together better shock IMHO "softer" sure but I'd definitely say not too soft. Let's the front end move more but controlled and way less "upset" or jounce.

 

[Ostracize]

Oh and pics... Umm none recently after the suspension work.. But if there's something you'd like to see let me know

 

[Enve46]

Is it the springs? Or is it the shocks?

I now have 35K miles on my Power Wagon. Only thing not stock is the tires. BFG 35X12.50R17.

I'm now getting a walloy ride in the truck. Seems more the shocks are wore out that the springs are getting soft.

Generally speaking, coils provide the height of the truck, shocks control the ride. With your situation Id say your shocks are probably the issue, but Id ensure everything is tight first. Have you been using the PW the way it was designed? Could have fatigued some things if so, still a heavy truck

Edit: Should have said... Springs provide the lift and support the weight, shocks control the ride, rebound and how it responds to bumps, etc..

 

[Crusty old shellback]

Let's juts say I haven't gotten air born in it, but close.

yes, I flex out the suspension often. Don't think anything is loose. CJC says after about 30K miles, to look at replacing the track bar with one of theirs.
Lift I normally use to get under the truck is down right now. And I'm in the middle of a big move so tools are all packed and in storage.

Once settled in, I'm thinking track bars and new shocks.

 

[Scooter29]

Thanks again I think .5” is what I am really looking for now that I’ve seen your truck and you said it’s pretty level. I think I’ll still throw the add a pack in see the height change after settling and then use the Thuren rear shackle that allows you to run it in a .5” lowering position if the add a pack adds too much as the range is 1-1.5” on carlis website.

Running 295/65s all around and with the 1.75 it leveled out basically exactly. I personally don't mind bags and will run them at min psi when unladen but provides to ability to level when I tow.
The fox 2.0 are an all together better shock IMHO "softer" sure but I'd definitely say not too soft. Let's the front end move more but controlled and way less "upset" or jounce.