ICON Extended Travel vs. 'Normal' travel coil-overs?

[snowy]

I was wondering if anyone on here has experience with the Icon Extended Travel kit ( ICON Vehicle Dynamics ), and in particular, how much increase in travel it offers over the 'normal' travel kit ( ICON Vehicle Dynamics )?

Also, I notice the extended travel kit begs for the after-market upper control arms to support the increased articulation. Any ill side-effects observed on OTHER components due to increased articulation?

Thanks in advance,
Snowy

 

[rook]

Icon does not specify how much more travel is provided from these shocks. I'd be interested to know. Especially when it comes time to rebuild mine.

As for other components, cv's or lower ball joints, - not likely a problem. Until you get into the travel provided by a total chaos kit, then other components need changing.

 

[snowy]

I was wondering if anyone on here has experience with the Icon Extended Travel kit ( ICON Vehicle Dynamics ), and in particular, how much increase in travel it offers over the 'normal' travel kit ( ICON Vehicle Dynamics )?

Also, I notice the extended travel kit begs for the after-market upper control arms to support the increased articulation. Any ill side-effects observed on OTHER components due to increased articulation?

Thanks in advance,
Snowy

I got this response from Mike Crosby at Icon:
"The extended travel offers an inch more of droop travel versus the standard."

Just dumping info here for others. For me personally, I am not going to spend the extra ~$1,000 to replace UCA's to get this extra inch.

Snowy

 

[Red]

Resurrecting this thread.

Just came across this and saw that ext. travel only gives you one more inch of droop? and considering you have to spend an extra $500+ to get UCA's it hardly seems worth it to go with ext. travel.

thoughts? am I missing something? only 1", would that even be noticable?

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Resurrecting this thread.

Just came across this and saw that ext. travel only gives you one more inch of droop? and considering you have to spend an extra $500+ to get UCA's it hardly seems worth it to go with ext. travel.

thoughts? am I missing something? only 1", would that even be noticable?

When I switched from Radflo 2.0 standard travel to Icon extended travel, the actual coil over was 1" longer, which resulted in over 2" additional droop when measured at the tire.

 

[pearlj10]

Considering how limited the travel is on the factory suspension (8") and most 2" front suspensions, 1" of additional travel is significant in my book (12.5% increase over stock) but I totally understand your point about paying hundreds of dollars for a measly 1" of additional travel. Check out this link from the blue room, which has some real world travel #s for the front and rear of various suspension options.

Suspension Kit Wheel Travel Comparison - Help Needed - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

Also keep in mind that those pretty aftermarket Ucas may be needed to get your caster back into spec with a standard 2" front lift, some folks do need them to maintain correct geometry and some folks get away without them. If your caster is low, vehicle will wander down the highway. No tire wear, just won't steer the ship straight.

 

[chmura]

Having gone through the same ordeal when I was purchasing my Icon suspension.

If I were to do it all over again I would get the "normal" front coil overs and keep the stock UCA's.

The "extended" version of the ICON coilovers I believe are 7/8" longer. IMO it is not worth it and you will not notice any difference in off roading. Get the standard ICON's and keep your stock UCA's and save $600. If ever I upgrade years later to a 5th gen TE I will be keeping the stock UCA's.

 

[Red]

sounds like aftermarket UCA's are a good idea whether you get standard or extended travel just to keep the alignment easily in spec.

That link from the FJ forum was useful, thanks.

 

[YotaDan]

The need for aftermarket UCAs comes into play when you start getting into the 2.25"+ of front lift height. The Caster in the alignment starts getting on the low side. The Aftermarket UCAs will fix this issue. If going with that much lift and making the decision on going with an new UCA, Icon is offering the extended travel Coilovers to take advantage of the extra range of travel the new UCA has to offer.

 

[snowy]

Update - UCA's make a difference

The need for aftermarket UCAs comes into play when you start getting into the 2.25"+ of front lift height. The Caster in the alignment starts getting on the low side. The Aftermarket UCAs will fix this issue. If going with that much lift and making the decision on going with an new UCA, Icon is offering the extended travel Coilovers to take advantage of the extra range of travel the new UCA has to offer.

Update: YotaDan is right on. Just got my Light Racing UCA's on this week and have the following updates:
1. The stock UCA's were really worn out after supporting the ~2.5" lifted front for awhile.
2. It wasn't until today, after getting my alignment done, that I truly appreciated the importance of the after-market UCA's. 4 degrees of castor dialed in accurately compared to a rough time getting 2 degrees with the stock UCA's before. This increase in castor, for me, was the difference between rubbing and not rubbing my Duratrac 285/70r17's against the body. (I had already had the body mounts chopped, but still had rubbing at certain angles going up a hill, such as turning into my driveway.)

BTW, the 1" increase in droop common with after-market coilovers for the 4th gen 4runner is in addition to the lift, so it's not all about the droop. Just sayin'.

Snowy