TOYOTEC vs. ICON

dRGNpHNX

dRGNpHNX

New member
Okay, I have searched and all I have really found was pics, but skewer me if you must. I want some reviews from people already running these systems. I cannot decided between the two. I would like to say that I will be doing some hard core off-roading, but really this is my daily driver that I like to play with from time to time. I call it my grown up Jeep. Is it worth the extra $1200 for the UCA's with ICON or I am getting more than I need?
 
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This biggest advantage with going after-market UCAs is that it correct alignment issues after you lift the truck. When you lift the truck 3", you'll loose most/all of the caster. Most after-market arms (i.e., Icon, or Total Chaos) have an additional 3deg of caster built in to compensate for the loss after lifting. Also, with the UCAs, you can run extended length Coilovers which will give you an extra inch or so of down travel.
 
So, If I was to got with a Toytec Ultimate 3" Lift would I need to purchase UCA's also.
Are there any other parts that are "necessary" to get along with the Ultimate lift Setup which is around $1200.. I really dont plan to do much offroading mainly street driving, just like the stance and look.
 
I have the Toytec Ultimate Lift with the Light Racing UCA's. Replacing the UCA's will help with alignment.
 
ciaz said:
I have the Toytec Ultimate Lift with the Light Racing UCA's. Replacing the UCA's will help with alignment.
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you got any pics of your ride? i like the way it looks!

edit: never mind i found them in the lifted pix thread. thanks anyway!
 
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You are in a very fortunate position as there are many suspension options available for this 4Runner so early in it's life.

From spacers to shock/coil combos to higher end full rebuildable and customizable options. Daystar/Revtek/Toytec/Icon/OW, etc.

On road comfort is a must for a DD, but that means different thigns to different people. Some people want the 4Runner to be a bit more sporty and handle better on road, other want an even softer cushier ride on road. What is your preference?

Do you have any build plans? I.e. adding accesories that will add siginifiacnt weight, larger tires, etc?

Do you carry a lot fo weight or tow with significant weight?

When you offroad what tyope of trails do you do? How important is the performance on these trails compared to daily driver comfort?

These are good questions to understand before you make a decision.

UCAs are nto required, but most people do benefit from it for alignment at 3" of lift. Fat Bobs garage seems to have very good deals on Light Racing arms if you call them. These arms seem to be the best option for most folks not going for the high speed racing type applicaitons and uniball arms.
 
GhostRunner said:
I really dont plan to do much offroading mainly street driving, just like the stance and look.
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Well, for the caster you'll notice that most on the street and at highway speeds. Typically with 3" of lift you'll get maybe .5 deg of caster to 0deg of caster. I've seen some squeak about a bit more. And with ~0 deg of caster, the steering will feel nervous and less stable. So in that sense, the UCAs are more important for street manners than off-road performance.
 
Icon's will run smoother than the toytecs ever will. The offroad performance of the Icon's are outstanding. Now if you just stick to the pavement, then the toytecs may be what you are looking for. I run Icon's on my 4runner and my Tacoma so I am a bit biased.
 
Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Overland Warehouse Radflo kit? Doubtful you'll find someone that doesn't like it. Ill be moving to this setup as wheelin' becomes a bigger part of of my weekends.
 
I heard the Total Chaos UCAs are really squeaky and noisy and need to be lubed a lot to shut them up. Is that what you find Mr. Grimm?
 
I had a set of TC UCAs on my Tacoma a few years back. And yea, on hot days they would creak an moan quite a bit. But after a few months of that they finally quieted down. They didn't make any noise once I sold the truck and the only maintenance I had to perform was greasing the polly bushings and washing out the uniball joints after a trip.
 
Funny, I was just driving home thinking about how great the OW kit rides on my T4R. It's nothing short of outstanding. I get almost no nose dive or rise, much flatter cornering but still completely comfy across expansion joints. I spend a lot of time on washboard dirt roads in the summer and after extensive research settled on the Overland Warehouse setup to handle that kind of punishment while still being exceedingly capable on-road.

Two thumbs up for the Radflo/OW setup. :guitar3:

BTW, running Light Racing UCA's and was able to get a perfect alignment. Very important to me since I do a lot of long road trips.
 
You cant even compare Toytec to Icon, King, Fox, or Overland Warehouse. Icon's, King's, FOx's and OW's are true coilovers. Some with remote res, some without. They offer great off road performance without sacrificing on road ride and handling.

Toytec's are just Bilstein 5100's with an adjustable collar. If you want Bilstein's, great save your money and buy those. If you want a true coilover that is made to perform and last, spend an extra couple bucks and go with Icon, OW, Fox or King.

I have Icon remote res on the front and love them. I had Fox's on my FJ and loved them a lot as well. People wave about King and OW so I am sure they are great as well.

As far as UCA's it is kinda personal preference just like the coilovers. I run Camburg's and think they are great. I have friends that run the Icon's and love them as well. People wave about Total Chaos UCA's and Light Racing UCA's. The nice thing about Icon UCA's is they have a dust cover on top of the ball joint so you dont get dirt and dust inside there. They are quieter for this reason. The Light Racing UCA's utilize the stock ball joint so they are very quiet, but do not provide as much articulation as the other UCA's out there.

Hope this helps. Not trying to knock Toytec but they really are not even in the same realm as the other Coilovers. That is why they sell Icon, so people that really want a true coilover can buy those instead of theirs.
 
BFLAN said:
The Light Racing UCA's utilize the stock ball joint so they are very quiet, but do not provide as much articulation as the other UCA's out there.

Hope this helps. Not trying to knock Toytec but they really are not even in the same realm as the other Coilovers. That is why they sell Icon, so people that really want a true coilover can buy those instead of theirs.
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I do agree with you though but the main reason I think they are better is the Ultimate CO's use a 2 inch Bilstein shock compared to a 2 1/2" CNC'd shock on the Icon CO's . That means almost everything in the Icon CO is 20% bigger and stronger ,like the shaft,the shaft end and shaft bearing.The Icons just makes the front end so much more solid and planted feeling. I was running without my front sway bar for awhile last year and could barely even tell the difference.

Ultimate's are fine for normal offroading and alot of people love them. Icons might be overkill for some people,but as you said it's only a couple of hundred more if you know the right place to shop for Icon deals. OW 2.5's are getting great reviews too and alot on here are running them and love them.

The LR UCA's don't use the stock ball joint. They use one alot bigger then stock and is actually looks to be the same size ball as the TC's,it is just sealed with a rubber boot and is OE style. I compared the travel when I took my TC's off and put LR's on last year and they had the same articulation much to my surprise.

I actually finally boxed my TC's up to send them to be rebuilt by TC last week. I'm going to put the TC's back on when they come back and will show pics of the articulation between the 2. I was like you before and read there was a difference. Easy one for Myth Busters?


Good judgement comes from experience and alot of that comes from bad judgement.
 
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I'll give my two thumbs up for the Overland Warehouse/Radflo 2.5 kit. Not a single complaint. Customer service is top notch too. No problems with my Light Racing UCAs. Like Harper7 said they arent the stock ball joints. Nice thing about the Light Racing UCAs is you can also adjust the camber with them, instead of just using the lower control arm mounts.
 
I thought this was going to be the typical my lift is better than your lift thread, but this actually is one of the more informative threads I've seen on lifts. Lots of great info in only 2 pages! Thanks guys!
 
4ShoreRunner said:
I thought this was going to be the typical my lift is better than your lift thread, but this actually is one of the more informative threads I've seen on lifts. Lots of great info in only 2 pages! Thanks guys!
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Sounds like we need to both man up for some coilovers and have an install party! I can probably hold off another 2-3 months before pulling the trigger...
 
The LR UCA's don't use the stock ball joint. They use one alot bigger then stock and is actually looks to be the same size ball as the TC's,it is just sealed with a rubber boot and is OE style. I compared the travel when I took my TC's off and put LR's on last year and they had the same articulation much to my surprise.


Harper, thank you sir, good info. I always just thought that they used the OEM ball joint.

I always leave your posts with a little more knowledge than I had going in :)
 
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