Buy once,cry once or practicality?

[MrGainzz]

Jeremy556 is spot on



You’ll go through spherical bearings a lot more often. The kings use the com16t in the lower rears, which are more expensive to replace. They will succumb to corrosion faster than the coilover upper and lowers.



If you are planning to rebuild yourself, go for it. They’re easy to maintain, and the parts are readily available.



If you’re planning to ship your shocks away for a rebuild- I wouldn’t go for it personally. Not from Canada. And not from Edmonton. All of the stuff I’ve gotten from King have been to my USA mailbox. They aren’t fond of shipping to Canada. And if they did, it would be a fortune.



rebuilds won’t be as common as replacing spherical bearings. And it’s not that king shocks require more maintenance.... non rebuildable shocks also have a service life. A lot of people seem to run non rebuildable shocks beyond their lifespan. Waiting for them to leak seems to be the accepted service interval reminder. Not ideal.



If you don’t have the means of removing shocks and coilovers to replace spherical bearings, I would recommend shocks that use rubber bushings. And I would consider dobinsons over bilsteins.

Appreciate for the input,brother! Great to see another Canadian chiming in here.

You are so right about American items being costly to be shipped here. [emoji20] the shipping can literally cost an arm and a leg.

Do you have any preferred websites or places for Canadians to shop those parts?


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[nb rob]

Appreciate for the input,brother! Great to see another Canadian chiming in here.

You are so right about American items being costly to be shipped here. [emoji20] the shipping can literally cost an arm and a leg.

Do you have any preferred websites or places for Canadians to shop those parts?


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sadly, no

I'm a dual citizen and I spend a lot of time and all of my work is in the USA. Otherwise I'm living the dream in the heart of atlantic salmon country with a scary low mortgage and a pretty cool home office

Everything I order is to my USA mailbox, and I pay taxes and duty when I bring it across the border. In spite of the taxes and terrible exchange rate, I still pay a fraction of the equivalent prices in Canada. We really get hosed here for prices. And shipping--- wow.

I don't know how you guys in Edmonton, or any place that isn't handy to the USA border do it! I tip my hat to you.

 

[TrDpRo_J]

Don't be too convinced by these anecdotal comments.

The billies are adequate for limited use, but they don't perform great. You may however not notice the difference... they do degrade rather quickly IMHO. You simply don't notice the degradation as much. Many higher end shocks will last 70k between rebuilds and perform well during that entire time. Anything higher end from bilstein ( they do make higher end stuff that you referred to that is rebuildable) will need the exact same rebuild interval as the fluid and seals all degrade over time in everything except a twin tube emulsion shock. The higher end stuff also typically use bearings over rubber bushings.

There is no such thing as having it all.. No perfect answer.. just choices depending on your priorities of performance vs fire and forget. Honestly, if you want install and never touch again.. OME std overland stuff... will last the lifetime of the truck and impossible to hurt them. Dobinson probably similar with their twin tube style stuff.

Agree with the last statement, I'm relatively new to 4x4 but not to suspension. the 8112 is the first competitive setup they have brought to the off road world right? I mean until I moved to the US I'd never heard a thing about King or Icon, Bilstein in a global brand with the R&D and reputation to boot! (I'm not a fan boy before you get that impression)

I can only go by my experience which is vehicle related but in a different field, I've run KW's, Koni, Ebachi and Bills.. For me they were head and shoulder above the rest for everything, KW were great on the track but lacked in the longevity and corroded like a b*tch but hey they build for race cars much like king, everything else was pretty sub par.

I'm planning on spending more time researching, I've ruled out Icon and King I'm not 100% sure, just seems to be what people go to because the next guy does.

Be great if there was more long term and honest reviews about these things, the 4x4 world seems to be mysterious sometimes like people are afraid of being brutally honest after spending 5k and being unhappy. :fear:

 

[TrDpRo_J]

Thank you so much! Looks like I should be waiting for the 8112 too due to the reliability and positive reviews about Billy.

That’s crazy,those high end shocks are supposed to last longer if they are mainly used for street drivings. No wonder why some gurus and my local off road parts shop suggest Billy for daily drivings and weekend warriors.


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It's worth hanging tight, the tacoma guys have only said good things about them and others have complained about cost but I guess time will tell..