Help me choose ICON or King shocks for my setup

[Mutant]

I'm considering KING and ICON rear reservoir shocks. My budget for a pair is $1200 but would like to stay around $600 if possible. Which ones do you think are suitable, if any?

2001 4Runner with heavy steel bumpers and approx 400 lbs of cargo 24/7. 3" front/3.5" rear lift.

Drive everyday down VERY rough bad roads at high speed (think bombed out lease roads at 50mph) I currently have Toytec Bilstein 3" lift kit front coilovers and rear shocks from the same kit. I switched the rear coils to Superflex and they have helped a little. I still think I need stiffer coils so I will be installing OME 861's soon.

I'm looking for rear and maybe front reservoir shocks to help with the bone jarring, teeth rattling ride everyday. I know there are limits to what I'm asking for, BUT the ride in my 4runner is so rough its really ridiculous. Even small bumps in the city are felt very harshly especially in the rear.

I've had difficulty on a lot of websites discerning if the shock provides enough travel for a 3.5" rear lift. Any experience with these shocks or another idea would be helpful. No, I will not start driving slower.

Thanks!

 

[Black798]

my vote would be to go with king. Their rear reservoir shocks are long enough for a 3.5 inch lift and have 20 clicks of adjustability vs icons 10. For the front I would say king again, I think without going long travel there really isnt a need for reservoirs in the front. Ive driven 40 miles at 40+mph on heavily washed out roads with my bilstein 5100s and they weren't even warm. I think the 2.5 kings will be more than adequate.

The kings will also ride a little softer in town at lower speeds since they are progressive while still handling the fast stuff flawlessly.

Part Number Description Location Compressed length Extended length
25001-151 4Runner 1996-2002 Front Coilover 15.342 19.455
25001-334 4Runner 1996-2002 Rear Shocks 13.83 22.367
25001-334A 4Runner 1996-2002 Rear Shocks Adjuster 13.83 22.367

Specs taken from kings website

Icons website also states their 2.5 shocks with resis are only for up to 2 inch lift.

 

[tx_shooter]

Kings IMO. I have helped too many friends put Icons on their rigs in the last year only to have them come right back off because they leak like a somb!tch. Icon is having some QC issues. One set of shocks had the passenger side leaking when we lifted it out of the box. That is crap IMO for the cost of the shocks they should be better than that. These were resi shocks too.

 

[kolelt]

Running icon CDC all around. So far so good. Can't complain. Few members here also run it. Kings are great quality. Probably the best on market. But it's $

 

[Black798]

king 2.5 rear resi shocks with adjuster $849.00
icon 2.5 rear resi shocks with adjuster $1,301.79

king 2.5 extended travel front coilover $1,044.75
icon 2.5 extended travel front coilover $1,207.45

king total cost 1893.75
icon total cost 2509.24

That would make my decision pretty easy

 

[Mutant]

my vote would be to go with king. Their rear reservoir shocks are long enough for a 3.5 inch lift and have 20 clicks of adjustability vs icons 10. For the front I would say king again, I think without going long travel there really isnt a need for reservoirs in the front. Ive driven 40 miles at 40+mph on heavily washed out roads with my bilstein 5100s and they weren't even warm. I think the 2.5 kings will be more than adequate.

The kings will also ride a little softer in town at lower speeds since they are progressive while still handling the fast stuff flawlessly.



Specs taken from kings website

Icons website also states their 2.5 shocks with resis are only for up to 2 inch lift.

I emailed KING Shocks and this is what he said...

"We will have to custom build a set of shocks to fit your lifted application.

We will need you to take a full droop fully extended measurement(tires off the ground) from the underside of the pin mount to the center of the lower bolt for us to custom build the shocks to fit your lift. You may need to unbolt the lower rear shock mount to allow for a full droop measurement."

King rear shocks don't fit a 3.5" lift??

 

[ToyTec Lifts]

I emailed KING Shocks and this is what he said...

"We will have to custom build a set of shocks to fit your lifted application.

We will need you to take a full droop fully extended measurement(tires off the ground) from the underside of the pin mount to the center of the lower bolt for us to custom build the shocks to fit your lift. You may need to unbolt the lower rear shock mount to allow for a full droop measurement."

King rear shocks don't fit a 3.5" lift??

King Shocks are NOT meant for lifts over 2.5"

unless custom lengths are made by King

 

[Black798]

I emailed KING Shocks and this is what he said...

"We will have to custom build a set of shocks to fit your lifted application.

We will need you to take a full droop fully extended measurement(tires off the ground) from the underside of the pin mount to the center of the lower bolt for us to custom build the shocks to fit your lift. You may need to unbolt the lower rear shock mount to allow for a full droop measurement."

King rear shocks don't fit a 3.5" lift??

I suppose that would be correct depending on the amount of travel you are trying to get. The shocks I currently have are the same compressed and extended dimensions as the kings and I have a 3 inch lift in the rear. I currently get 18 inches of travel overall in the rear from bump to full droop and wouldnt go any longer with the shocks because if I did I would start having even more driveshaft rub.

Also much beyond my current droop limit the axle would begin to move in much more of an arc front to back rather than a more linear fashion due to the control arm lengths What I mean by that is one tire, the droop side, shifts severely forward while the other moves back.

Another thing to consider is when you articulate that far, the further down the wheel travels the less area of your actual tread is touching the ground and you begin to expose more of the sidewall of your tire which isnt really the best IMO

Plus if your rear swaybar is still attached that is going to limit your travel long before the shock length will. I gained an inch of droop just from removing that bar.

Just some food for thought. Im not saying King is wrong in their statement, just saying what I have noticed from tweaking my rear suspension

 

[A.Wilson013]

Keep in mind that reservoirs serve more of a function than just cooling shock oil. Pretty common misconception.

That said, I am/was a bit of an Icon fanboy, and won't run their stuff again. You can find terrible reviews of anything on the forums, but even people I know are having a lot of issues with their recently purchased Icon goods. Brand new shocks puking their guts out, mostly.

I'd go King. Hit up a shop like Downsouth Motorsports, tell them your use, build specs, etc. and they'll get your goods valved correctly before shipping to you.

 

[kolelt]

king 2.5 rear resi shocks with adjuster $849.00
icon 2.5 rear resi shocks with adjuster $1,301.79

king 2.5 extended travel front coilover $1,044.75
icon 2.5 extended travel front coilover $1,207.45

king total cost 1893.75
icon total cost 2509.24

That would make my decision pretty easy

I swear I though kings were the most expensive oh well.... if I could go back. I'd go with KINGS. But I'm happy with my icon. They are handing great. And I hav beaten on them.

 

[JayRolla]

I swear I though kings were the most expensive oh well.... if I could go back. I'd go with KINGS. But I'm happy with my icon. They are handing great. And I hav beaten on them.

My brother has beaten his icons and no issues on the shocks. The ucas are trash. Loosened up in a year. He is installing the Delta's joints and hoping they last longer.

I really wish we had fox options. In comparison teardowns the fox are superior and a bit cheaper than king. Going fox in my Tacoma with spc arms.

 

[A.Wilson013]

My brother has beaten his icons and no issues on the shocks. The ucas are trash. Loosened up in a year. He is installing the Delta's joints and hoping they last longer.

I really wish we had fox options. In comparison teardowns the fox are superior and a bit cheaper than king. Going fox in my Tacoma with spc arms.

Fox has the coolest swag too

Their retro logo clothing is sickkkk

Surprised to hear about his UCAs. Don't they use FK bearings like everyone else worth a damn?

I had the old school SPC before my Icons and they were shot within a few thousand miles. Hence the swap to univall. They had the non-greasable UBJ.

 

[JayRolla]

Fox has the coolest swag too

Their retro logo clothing is sickkkk

Surprised to hear about his UCAs. Don't they use FK bearings like everyone else worth a damn?

I had the old school SPC before my Icons and they were shot within a few thousand miles. Hence the swap to univall. They had the non-greasable UBJ.

Icon pretty much said if they are sqeaking they are wearing and loosening up. He did everything to keep them clean. The Delta joints are a greasable ball joint that replaces the uniball in the icons. You can walk up to his rig and just move his control arm with your hands at the ball joint they are so loose.

I had an old spc loosen up. The revised ones are still solid. Grease them every 5k miles at oil change. Fingers crossed.

 

[kolelt]

My brother has beaten his icons and no issues on the shocks. The ucas are trash. Loosened up in a year. He is installing the Delta's joints and hoping they last longer.

I really wish we had fox options. In comparison teardowns the fox are superior and a bit cheaper than king. Going fox in my Tacoma with spc arms.

I run built right UCA uniball. And no issues at all. The uniball is still good. I just maintain it correctly.

 

[JayRolla]

I run built right UCA uniball. And no issues at all. The uniball is still good. I just maintain it correctly.

I'm not a fan of uniball. I will stick with ball joints. Very little maintenance. He did everything in the world to maintain his.

 

[Mutant]

So there are no KING Shocks for a 3" lift? Kinda SOL here fellas. I imagine its quite costly for custom made KINGS

 

[kolelt]

So there are no KING Shocks for a 3" lift? Kinda SOL here fellas. I imagine its quite costly for custom made KINGS

It will definitely cost more for a custom set up. Just call KING and ask.

 

[BrianSD_42]

My experience with Kings has been good but I don't think they yield 2.5" lift at the default setting from King. I'd say 2" at best. ( [MENTION=119532]Road Bull[/MENTION] ) That's fine for me but I definitely noticed a lower ride height as measured with tape measure after the install. This isn't mean to be a knock against them, I'd probably buy again but my Bilstien + Tundra coils were higher just FYI. I have a 4WD w/ ARB bumper, sliders and front skid plate. No other added weight. A 2WD 4Runner would sit much higher.

BTW do you really need 3" of lift in the front? Most here only advise 2.5" max because of CV joint angles. Vendors mostly don't sell lifts with more than 2.5" because its a bad idea for the average joe 4Runner owner. Running a 2" - 2.5" front lift setup w/ 33s and 1" BL will get you down the same trails as everyone else.

 

[Road Bull]

My experience with Kings has been good but I don't think they yield 2.5" lift at the default setting from King. I'd say 2" at best. ( [MENTION=119532]Road Bull[/MENTION] ) That's fine for me but I definitely noticed a lower ride height as measured with tape measure after the install. This isn't mean to be a knock against them, I'd probably buy again but my Bilstien + Tundra coils were higher just FYI. I have a 4WD w/ ARB bumper, sliders and front skid plate. No other added weight. A 2WD 4Runner would sit much higher.

BTW do you really need 3" of lift in the front? Most here only advise 2.5" max because of CV joint angles. Vendors mostly don't sell lifts with more than 2.5" because its a bad idea for the average joe 4Runner owner. Running a 2" - 2.5" front lift setup w/ 33s and 1" BL will get you down the same trails as everyone else.

I would say you are right. I cranked mine up a little and ended up with about 23" up front to my 24.5 out back when they were brand new. But my front sits at about 22 now with the extra weight of my skids, sliders, bumper, winch with steel cable. I think I might crank it up a little to sit somewhere between 2 to 3" up front for my 25" rear.

I wish that they would just say very plainly what they are set at when you receive them from the factory. As much as I want to keep getting alignments for tweaking the height, I would rather get in the ball park the first time. I don't mind where they are at too much now, but I will be cranking them up a little bit. They would not be where I wanted them if I didn't adjust them out of the box.

[MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION]

Having had both, do you notice a big difference between the Kings and your old Bilstien + Tundra coils ? Or not so much? Would you make the same choice today knowing what you know?

When I got mine, I wanted a coilover because I knew that I would be adding things as I went and wanted to be able to adjust height without taking everything apart. But if I got to an "end-point" as far as mods went and adding extra weight, AND I knew that a particular coil / shock combo would yield a good ride, at the right height, I would have been, and or, would be happy to go that route as well.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I've had both and I'd say the Kings are far better but I've changed my truck a bit and most of my comparison driving has been in city. I've found the Kings to be pretty great but I also wasn't complaining much about the Bilstiens. I have the Wheelers Offroad front Bump Stops installed (doubled up on the LCAs) and that helps as well. Whatever setup a person goes with I really recommend installing the beefed up bump stops, upgrading your spindle and doing a 1" BL. Doing that plus the suspension will help a lot.

Lastly I drove a rental 2017 F-150 4x4 Sport a few weeks ago and also thought that suspension was AWESOME. These days I wonder if I ever have to buy another truck I may just get a stock 4x4 TRD Taco and leave it as is. My buddy's stock 2017 4x4 Taco has pretty good height, locker and do 95% of the trails folks on this forum ever do. In fact it will be rolling with me to Utah in a few weeks.