Westcott Designs Pro lift reviews

Patiently waiting on my 2022 TRD pro to come in. I came across Westcott designs collar/spacer lift. Their YouTube explains how it does absolutely nothing to travel, and improves ride. Usually I’ll read comments to hear from people who may know more than myself, but unfortunately they turn comments off on every video. They claim it isn’t a spacer lift, but it seems to me that it’s basically split between spacer and collar.

Does anyone on this site have this lift with some advice? It also states you can run 285’s with no rubbing and no other mods. Is this true? Does the lift mess with the front sensors/adaptive cruise or anything? They recently posted a video of the Tacoma sensors throwing a light from a lift they do. Finally, does it require an alignment after, and can it be aligned properly without new UCAs or anything.

There are many reasons I wanted the pro, so not trying to debate my decision lol.

 

I put their collar lift on my 2020 model. Works well so far and was able to put in bigger tires. Highly recommend if you want to get a nice lift.

 

I Installed the full Westcott Designs kit on my 2022 4R TRD Pro at 900 miles. With the stock T-Grapplers there was slight vibration in the steering wheel. Went with the BFG KO2s 285/70/17 tires. No vibration and it feels more stable. Ride is fantastic, it drives and handles great (with one exception). Alignment is a must afterwards. It did pull slightly to the right. It was within specs, but not perfect. He said there was not enough adjustment to get it dead on and that this was a problem for the Toyota's going to larger tires and lift. I had him realign it after driving for a few days. He split the difference, and took most of the right pull out(that was this past Wednesday). I am going to switch the front tires to eliminate them as a possible cause. I am contemplating which brand of UCAs to go with and I feel like this is the reason Toyota went with the NICE red UCAs on the new Tacoma TRD Pro. Overall I am very pleased with the lift and tires and I don't mind upgrading the UCAs. I just wish Toyota would have upgraded them like they did on the Tacoma (I was wondering if Taco Pros UCAs would work on the 4R).

 

Please keep me updated on the ucas! I don’t think I want to do the lift unless the alignment can be perfect. This is my first brand new vehicle and I want to keep everything right on it. I’m sure it’s not a big deal as my truck now isn’t in spec on alignment from a Leveling kit, but my truck now also wasn’t $60k lol.

Do you get any rubbing at full lock on the 285s?

 

Will do...trust me, I want mind to be dead on, cause it is brand new. ,

 

No rubbing so far...

 

Here is one.

 

I think this thing rides fine to me with this.

 

No rubbing no need of BMC or anything. I am pleased with it. Good luck guys.

 

I watched a few videos and like you scrolled down and noticed comments are turned off. I wanted to see what other's have said.

I regret not getting the pro since I don't plan on modifying this for quite a while.

 

I put Westcott's lift on immediately after I took delivery, Along with 285 Ridge Grapplers, aligned it within spec. It's certainly not quite as easy as the 30 minute video, but it's manageable. No trimming needed, no rub, no steering wheel shake whatsoever. Took it on a 800 mile road trip, still perfect!

 

I am waiting on my kit from Wescott as I got tired of waiting on revised springs for ‘20+ from Eibach. I still have preorder on their spring kit, but ETA is not until May 2022. I know Wescott says you do not need UCA’s, but with the advertised lift, alignment may not be optimal. I have OME UCA’s waiting in the garage to go on with the Wescott kit. Aftermarket UCA’s will help with alignment.

Side note…. I have a ‘14 with a 3”/2” lift and tried it with factory UCA’s and good alignment was just not possible. Initially pulled….redone and went straight, but camber was off. Put on Dobinson UCA’s and never looked back. Great alignment numbers and drives straight and true with tires vertical. They say the Pros are about 1” higher in front compared to other models from Toyota so the Wescott 2”/1.25” lift should be close to a 3”/1.25” lift on non Pro models. Aftermarket UCA’s will be beneficial for these amounts of lift.

 

When I had my Westcott sliders installed at their facility, I gently griped about the tube videos and comments being disabled. One of the sales guys agreed and said work in progress.

 

Any updates on y’all’s lifts?

Off roaded our TRD pro this weekend and man this thing is awesome stock, but I would really benefit from the lift and bigger tires. I just hate to modify and ruin the oem perfectness of this ride. I def want to make sure alignment can be perfect, and choose the proper UCAs that together won’t cause premature failure from the oem stuff.

 

2022 TRD Pro (love it!). Had the Westcott lift for this 4Runner installed by them, including alignment, then drove back to Florida. Much better ride (and it was great to begin with) and no problems at all. I'll use the stock tires until they have to be replaced. Westcott said I can run 285's without any rubbing. Had to adjust my headlights down some (easy, once I used an 8mm socket). No warning lights or any problems with sensors, and no need to replace the UCA. It's about a five hour job and that's for people who know what they are doing.

 

Awesome! Any pics? Yeah we finally got our white 2022 TRD pro, and took it over the weekend off-roading. I’d love the bigger tires/Westcott lift for a little more clearance.

 

Disclaimer: NOT mechanically knowledgeable, which includes how to change the oil.

Had the Westcott lift (NOT sure what was installed or why but installed), primarily from others' reviews, to include here, and their shop is near the house, the latter being where the lift was done to include alignment. Again, bear with me on details as I have NO idea what any of this is or its significance, except it helps me get to where I want to be. Before the lift purchase, Westcott told me they would have to remove the front mud flaps to fit 285's. Yet, while they told me I did NOT notice the mud flaps missing (except for two trim retainers missing on each front wheel well). As to the driving, again NOT the most attentive as to what, I have NOT noticed any difference in the driving, to include NO rubbing, after some 500 miles post-install, to include ~75 miles offroad (~65 miles of it on maintained dirt and another ~10 miles on somewhat rough road).

Below are the before and after pictures. Added the bubble level in the cup holder picture from a campsite (the only one I have), while incidental, it is the ONLY thing I noticed. I keep this bubble level in the cup holder to give me an idea of the vehicle being level when parking at a campsite. This level has been in the same cup holder for over a year. While parked in the garage it has ALWAYS been off to the right slightly. When I parked the 4Runner in the garage, in the same spot, after the install, the bubble level was center mass for the first time and continues to be since. Hope that helps.

 

I’m curious if anyone with the Wescott kit will post their alignment numbers with kit installed and OEM UCA’s. Just curious what numbers are. Hopefully in the next week or so I will get mine on, but with OME UCA’s as well. I will post my alignment numbers.

 

So Westcott told me numbers are within spec with oem UCAs except for caster. But he also said if you do different UCAs to correct caster then you may have to do body mount chop to fit 285s. Otherwise no issue. Caster has no affect on tire wear.

Soooo idk what’s best haha.

 

Have you tried a cup of water? I hear it works great for maintaining level on tofu deliveries

 

Caster is the main issue with lifts on the 4r. And it impacts stability and straight line tracking. The average joe will not know this about the 4r and this is why this kind of information should be disclosed by manufacturers of lift kits instead of being hidden or a small asterisk to marketing language trying to make their product sound more salable compared to other kits. I’ve been down this road before and why I bought UCA’s to give more flexibility to meet ideal alignment numbers.

With 285s, BMC shouldn’t be needed with aftermarket UCA’s with fixed caster. Assuming wheels with appropriate offset and width. Front mud flaps would need to be removed with almost certainty however. Usually BMCs are for the guys running 34” and larger tires.

 

Oh dang, yeah he made it seem like caster didn’t matter at all. So with the stock TRD pro wheels, 285s, and aftermarket UCAs to correct the caster issue it will not rub while off-roading? What UCAs would you recommend? Do they need to be specific to correct the caster?

 

You should be ok. I run 285s on 8” wheel with 0mm offset, 3”/2” lift, and Dobinson UCAs without issue on my ‘14. The PRO wheels are 7” wide with +4mm offset, which means the outer edge of wheel is not as far outboard as my 8” wheel so should provide even more clearance with The body mount when turning the tires. The narrower wheel may impact height of tire though. I’m sure others with this combo can comment more.

As for UCAs, I would stick with those with fixed caster as these typically have around 3 degrees of fixed caster with lift, and one less variable to have to adjust during alignment. My Dobinsons have been good. I have OME to install on my PRO just because Dobinsons were out of stock at the time and OME has been around for decades with Toyota suspensions so I think they know what they are doing. And most of these arms have OEM style ball joints which are maintenance free and quieter unlike uniballs seen in more extreme UCAs. JBA arms have a lot of material around the ball joint compared to most and thus require specific wheel offsets and backspacing to avoid tire rub with arms. There other cheaper and less known brands that have seemed to pop up in recent years. I personally did not consider these as UCAs are a critical suspension component.

 

Did you mean without body mount chop? Like if I got Dobinson UCA and Westcott lift on stock TRD pro wheels and 285, you think every component of the alignment could be spot on and zero rubbing without any chopping? With how much money I spent buying this pro, I just want to make sure I make the best decision for longevity and ride quality

 

Yes. No BMC. Sorry about that. Corrected in above.

The alignment will be good I’m sure. You should be good without BMC as well, but I won’t have this combination for verification. I am planning on sticking with OEM 265s. Maybe others can chime in. You can also contact Exit Off-road about Dobinson UCAs with a 2”/1” lift as they sell all that is Dobinson and are very knowledgeable and supportive of the 4runner community as owner crikeymike is on here and the other forum.

 

Sweet, thanks for the info!

 

Can you elaborate on the on this claim? For years I ran 35s on my 2nd Gen Tacoma and we ran as much caster as possible because it pushed the wheel forward in the wheel well. How does moving the wheel forward of the centerline of the wheel well, or away from the cab mount, negatively effect the way the truck tracks in a straight line or the stability? The geometry of the suspension is almost identical. Here is Tire Rack’s explanation of alignment that supports why I would be confused with your rationale. From my experience in race cars and off-road Toyotas, there are no real negatives. Positive caster is your friend. @Brawwp be sure to read this article.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=4

 

Anyone?