CoolMax
New member
Watched their youtube vid and browsed their site last night - I'm looking at a setup described like this:
Kings or Fox
- Thread starter Virgilus11
- Start date
Watched their youtube vid and browsed their site last night - I'm looking at a setup described like this:
CoolMax
New member
Yikes! Yeah that kind of surprised me...but that post is from 2013 - and I already have SPC LR UCAs!
hwell:
4RunnerAquasport
Senior Member
Yes sir, that is basically what I did, but pieced it together with Group Buys. I have an ICON rear 4 Link and springs, so the whole setup would be equivalent to they're stage 6 except w King coil overs, Total Chaos UCAs and the King rear shocks. But, the King setup is designed to run with a stock rear 4 link, so upgrade your UCAs and you put the 1.5-2" lift rear springs in and your rockin!
honda250xtitan
New member
for 100$ i'll take them off your hands and dispose of them.
I'll weigh in on this.
I bought Fox DSC front coilovers and the Tundra DSC rears (because Fox doesn't make a 3" lift rear shock for the 4Runner)
Rears were easy to swap and all I had to do was swap the lower bushing to one with a larger ID and rotate one of the reservoir hoses. No big deal.
Fronts were a PITA. They did not come with any preload, so I tried adjusting them when installed on the vehicle (while jacked up). Problems I encountered:
1) adjustment collar interference with the reservoir hose made it impossible to use Fox's $50 spanner wrench. I had to buy a punch and bevel the edges and adjust carefully. Adjustment is extremely laborious and I was in a lot of muscle pain for days afterwards being in a prolonged kneeling position and straining with every turn
2) Fox failed to loctite the body cap and I unthreaded one of my coilovers trying to adjust it
Fox customer service as mentioned leaves a lot to be desired. They were extremely unapologetic about the whole situation and did not offer to replace my brand new coilover and instead made me ship it to them (on my dime). It took about two weeks to get my repaired coilover back. Once at Fox, they did cover the repair as they realized they had failed to loctite it.
Once installed, I am pleased with the suspension and believe I will be even more pleased with the added weight of front and rear bumpers as these appear to be valved for a heavier truck than mine currently is.
I did not encounter any sway bar clearance issues as some others, but I do have a non-KDSS trail. Installing the lower coilover mount spacers with the long side forward (to push the coilover as far back as possible) and the sway bar relocation blocks and radiator support bracket spacers in the right position should mitigate the issue. I don't believe the SR5 or Limited has a different sway bar than the non-KDSS trail.
If I had to do it all over again, I would do King or Icon.
I do think Icon's adjustment collar design is superior to the Fox/King pinch bolt collar. I will be adjusting these off the vehicle with a commercial grade spring compressor from now on.
I bought Fox DSC front coilovers and the Tundra DSC rears (because Fox doesn't make a 3" lift rear shock for the 4Runner)
Rears were easy to swap and all I had to do was swap the lower bushing to one with a larger ID and rotate one of the reservoir hoses. No big deal.
Fronts were a PITA. They did not come with any preload, so I tried adjusting them when installed on the vehicle (while jacked up). Problems I encountered:
1) adjustment collar interference with the reservoir hose made it impossible to use Fox's $50 spanner wrench. I had to buy a punch and bevel the edges and adjust carefully. Adjustment is extremely laborious and I was in a lot of muscle pain for days afterwards being in a prolonged kneeling position and straining with every turn
2) Fox failed to loctite the body cap and I unthreaded one of my coilovers trying to adjust it
Fox customer service as mentioned leaves a lot to be desired. They were extremely unapologetic about the whole situation and did not offer to replace my brand new coilover and instead made me ship it to them (on my dime). It took about two weeks to get my repaired coilover back. Once at Fox, they did cover the repair as they realized they had failed to loctite it.
Once installed, I am pleased with the suspension and believe I will be even more pleased with the added weight of front and rear bumpers as these appear to be valved for a heavier truck than mine currently is.
I did not encounter any sway bar clearance issues as some others, but I do have a non-KDSS trail. Installing the lower coilover mount spacers with the long side forward (to push the coilover as far back as possible) and the sway bar relocation blocks and radiator support bracket spacers in the right position should mitigate the issue. I don't believe the SR5 or Limited has a different sway bar than the non-KDSS trail.
If I had to do it all over again, I would do King or Icon.
I do think Icon's adjustment collar design is superior to the Fox/King pinch bolt collar. I will be adjusting these off the vehicle with a commercial grade spring compressor from now on.
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DannyLlama
Elite Member
Thanks for sharing. People need to see more of these issues.
To add to this, I spoke with several distributors and installers that have mentioned that they dont focus much on truck customer service.
Apparently its about 20% of their volume. Their main fox is cycling and motor sports. I wish I went with Kings from the beginning.
[MENTION=113614]Landy[/MENTION] I am carious about your install and what you might have done different to not have fitment issues. Do you mind sharing photos or more details so I can make adjustments?
Lava rocks
New member
I can definitely send you some photos. I'm in TX and we are about to get hit with a bunch of severe weather so give me a few days. PM me if I haven't responded within the next 5 days.
DannyLlama
Elite Member
I heard on the radio, stay safe my friend
PeoplecallmeIan
New member
I'm on the fence about this also. I have a great connection to all the above with a good discount. My current options are the Kings, Icon stage 3, or Fox. I was wondering if I should just go big with these lift options and wait a small while to get my tires/wheels or go the Bilstein route w/ wheel and tires right away. All 3 options are about the same price but Icon has the more equipped package. But with the Bilstein route, I could get the shocks/UCA's/rear springs and wheels and tires.
What would you guys recommend? Another piece of info is I like wheeling and come from a Jeep background so I want as much capability as possible. I am looking to taking the runner out maybe once or twice a month.
What would you guys recommend? Another piece of info is I like wheeling and come from a Jeep background so I want as much capability as possible. I am looking to taking the runner out maybe once or twice a month.
Spudgey
New member
I wanted to chime in here and add some feedback.
I recently purchased and installed non-reservoir Fox 2.5 extended travel front coilovers and rear Fox 2.0's mated with icon 2 inch springs. Also put in some SPC Upper Control arms.
This was the first suspension install I've ever done. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and read every guide I could get my hands on and managed to feel comfortable enough to attempt the install. I paid attention, made sure I had all the right tools, and got to putting everything in over the span of 1.5 days.
My initial impression is that I absolutely love the ride. It's definitely stiffer than stock (but what isn't?) but not harsh by any means. It simply soaks up big bumps in a way I've never felt before. It doesn't wallow or heave over them like it used to. It just swallows them up, settles back down quickly, and maintains its composure. Also body lean and brake dive are reduced big time, as would be expected.
I made sure to follow any info I could find about installing the sway bar relocation brackets and the radiator support spacers. Put everything in and I'm happy to report I have zero rubbing or any other fitment issues. I also made sure that the spacers on the front coilovers were facing forward. I was fortunate in that I didn't need to adjust the height on the front coilovers. The stock hight they came at, I think 2.25 iches of lift, was perfect for my needs. Still a little bit of front rake but less than stock.
I hate to hear that others have had issues with their setup, but I'm happy to report that my suspension feels dialed in and well matched. As of right now I'm incredibly happy with it. Granted, I've only had it put together for a week, so only time will tell how everything holds up.
While I'm sure King makes an amazing shock, and the ability to customize valving is interesting, for my needs I knew it'd be overkill. Plus, I managed to piece together and install my entire kit for $1,850 including all shipping costs. I could just barely get a set of front king coilovers for that much, let alone an entire suspension setup.
I recently purchased and installed non-reservoir Fox 2.5 extended travel front coilovers and rear Fox 2.0's mated with icon 2 inch springs. Also put in some SPC Upper Control arms.
This was the first suspension install I've ever done. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and read every guide I could get my hands on and managed to feel comfortable enough to attempt the install. I paid attention, made sure I had all the right tools, and got to putting everything in over the span of 1.5 days.
My initial impression is that I absolutely love the ride. It's definitely stiffer than stock (but what isn't?) but not harsh by any means. It simply soaks up big bumps in a way I've never felt before. It doesn't wallow or heave over them like it used to. It just swallows them up, settles back down quickly, and maintains its composure. Also body lean and brake dive are reduced big time, as would be expected.
I made sure to follow any info I could find about installing the sway bar relocation brackets and the radiator support spacers. Put everything in and I'm happy to report I have zero rubbing or any other fitment issues. I also made sure that the spacers on the front coilovers were facing forward. I was fortunate in that I didn't need to adjust the height on the front coilovers. The stock hight they came at, I think 2.25 iches of lift, was perfect for my needs. Still a little bit of front rake but less than stock.
I hate to hear that others have had issues with their setup, but I'm happy to report that my suspension feels dialed in and well matched. As of right now I'm incredibly happy with it. Granted, I've only had it put together for a week, so only time will tell how everything holds up.
While I'm sure King makes an amazing shock, and the ability to customize valving is interesting, for my needs I knew it'd be overkill. Plus, I managed to piece together and install my entire kit for $1,850 including all shipping costs. I could just barely get a set of front king coilovers for that much, let alone an entire suspension setup.
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Swede71
New member
I went with Kings with mine and I have KDSS and could not be happier, ride quality on/off-road always with 225lbs of Akitas in the back, sometimes gear and other people or pulling a trailer is awesome.
DannyLlama
Elite Member
You have a trail premium, KDDS.... as mentioned FOX fits fine with KDDS
Spudgey
New member
Nope, no kdss here. Just good ol sway bars.
Took it offroading this past weekend and everything worked as I would have expected it to.
DannyLlama
Elite Member
I stand corrected.. Mind sharing photos if your set up in context to sway bar + coil overs?
nb rob
New member
The custom valving is just a change in the shim stack on the compression and rebound side.
Your fox shocks can have custom valving as well. It's not an "overkill" feature of king shocks. It's just a part of rebuildable shocks. Shim stacks are cheap if you ever want to play around with it.
Glad you are enjoying your new suspension!
Spudgey
New member
Sure! I'll try to snap some pics when I get home from work later today.
Maybe overkill was the wrong word there
That may be something I look into when I go to rebuild the shocks. Until then It'll just be making notes of how it handles in different situations and see what I do and don't like.
Also, thanks! I'm glad I went through with the new suspension. Made a world of a difference.
Virgilus11
New member
After months of research and reading 1000s of treads, decided on the Kings. I called Ben from Filthy and ordered thru him. 2.5"with reservoir and compression adjustment. 3-4 weeks for delivery. Lets hope for the best and thank you all for the pitch.
