TOYOTEC vs. ICON

joneseyyy said:
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...
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I went down to IPOR a few weeks ago and got quotes :wow2:

With gas almost $4 in DC I may hold off on the lift for awhile...but we'll see what happens after RC this weekend (P.S. - Cancel your furniture delivery)
 
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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I agree. Great info guys! This is why I come here!
 
How does on-road ride quality and performance differ between Toytec ulitmate, Icon Stage 1, and OW 2.0" Medium Duty? Are the Icons and OW stiffer/ firmer than Toytec?
 
I was reading on the OW website and it seems that the 2.5" COs are for vehicle with added aftermarket weight, from bumper, winches, etc...

They sell the 2.0" kit for stock-weight vehicles.

Is there any benefit to using the 2.5"s on a stock vehicle, or will that just harshen the ride up too much?

So many options... what to choose?
 
rclangelan said:
I was reading on the OW website and it seems that the 2.5" COs are for vehicle with added aftermarket weight, from bumper, winches, etc...

They sell the 2.0" kit for stock-weight vehicles.

Is there any benefit to using the 2.5"s on a stock vehicle, or will that just harshen the ride up too much?

So many options... what to choose?
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Most people will say go 2.5", but both are obviously great. The best thing about OW is giving them a call, and before you buy they actually want to talk to you about your truck. Those guys don't just want money, but they are actually good guys (4runner owners). I am buying their 2.5" front coilovers this summer when I start with some steel in the front.

I would say get the 2.5" and don't crank them all the way. The whole truck will feel much more solid. I ran 2.0" sway-a-ways and 2.5" sway-a-ways on my last truck and you could tell a noticeable difference.

Your best bet is to call them up, tell them exactly what you drive, what loads you run, how you drive, you much you drive, you want the truck to fell, what you are planning on doing with the truck, etc. etc. and they will put a perfect package together for you. I have not heard a single person that is anything but thrilled with their parts and experience with OW. After all they are straight 4runner guys, not just toyota guys.
 
Thanks Hawkdog21!

By going with 2.5" and NOT cranking them all the way, won't I be getting less lift? The OW are adjustable up to 3.5", and I was hoping to go all the way up with them.

I will not be adding any weight to the truck, just some bigger tires underneath. I'm liking the looks of the Falken WildPeak A/Ts, 295/70/17.

I did send OW an email, just waiting for a reply.

Thanks again.
 
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Yes, you would be getting less lift, but you would gain down travel and it would be much easier on your CVs, ball joints, steering, etc...

Cranking it to 3.5" would put a lot of strain on your front end, be a much harsher ride, and you would lose pretty much all of your down travel.

That is just the experience I have with my last few sets of coilovers, I would set them just high enough to clear the tires, but as low as possible, that way I would have much more down travel, lower center of gravity and a smooth ride.
 
Reviving this thread for those who are looking for lift info/opinions. This thread has some great info in it. I think I may have just convinced myself on a OW kit.
 
Does anyone have info on ICON's tubular UCAs? They are priced much cheaper than their billet ones and I was wondering how well they perform.
 
The Icon's may be a bit overkill if you aren't going to be doing a lot of off-roading. The are a rebuild-able coil over and are designed for taking a lot of off road abuse. The toytec, icon, and radflo coil overs will all give excellent ride quality both on and off road.

The Icon tubular UCA's are a great option. They are however a uniball design which means the upper ball joints are exposed to the elements and are notorious for squeaking overtime. The Light Racing UCA's have a regular ball joint with a boot to prevent sand, salt, and dirt from ruining the ball joint.

We will price match anyone on the Light Racing Upper control arms. Just call to order.

Thanks,

Jeff
 
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GrantK said:
Does anyone have info on ICON's tubular UCAs? They are priced much cheaper than their billet ones and I was wondering how well they perform.
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Know this thread is a little old but wanted to add some info on the Icons tubular UCAs I've compiled over the past few days trying to decide what UCA will replace my LRs that need to be rebuilt. Don't have any performance info since I'm not running them currently...

Pros:
1) They have a cover for the 1" uniball like their billet (aka "bling") UCAs do to keep the dust/dirt/winter salt/muck off the top of the uniball
2) Uniball is stainless, not chrome plated steel
3) Grease zerks on the bushings for periodic lubing
4) Mounting bolt on the top of the arm for the sensor cable bracket mounting

Cons:
Only have "maybe 1 degree" of caster angle designed (according to the Icon rep I spoke with today) compared to the +2 that the LRs, TCs, and Camburgs have built in.

EDIT: called Icon again today with some install questions (new UCAs arrived today, hoping to install this weekend) and spoke with a different guy than earlier in the week. Asked him about the caster since the previous guy I spoke with didn't seem too confident in his answer. He was sure the caster of the tubular arms for the 5th Gens had a little over +3 caster and confirmed with the designer. He wasn't sure who I could have spoken with earlier in the week but said they did have a few new hires around. I'll update again once I get my LR arms off and can compare side by side, but today's conversation has me feeling much better about my choice and likelihood of getting a good alignment after install (and the UCAs look real nice in the box)

Of course not all of the pros (#2 & #3) are unique to Icon. But, the "maybe 1 degree" of added caster is on the low side of what the other aftermarket UCAs offer. Some folks have had success getting their lifted rigs aligned (can't recall who was able to get +3.9 on the caster, but [MENTION=88525]sdhobbs[/MENTION] was able to get his rig aligned with "no issues" with these UCAs) but at least one couldn't get the caster setup properly (Scott@Hightech did the install as I recall).

All that said, if you're like me and running a Toytec Ultimate lift you'll probably be fine getting a decent alignment since the Icon rep I spoke with said the tubular arms were designed for non-long travel setups like the Toytec, etc. Still, has me a bit concerned on the alignment (I didn't have the time to call Toytec today and ask their advice, but am planning to do so in the morning). I have close to +4 caster now with my LR arms). For now, I'll end with saying that if you're considering going with a long-travel kit now or on the future, the tubular Icons are probably not the right choice based on the reading I've done. Jury is out on the ability to get a good alignment if you're running a "normal travel" 2.5"-3" lift on the front end.

Sucks because if they had +2 caster instead of "maybe 1 degree" I'd pretty much convinced myself to pull the trigger on the Icon Tubular UCAs today. Now I'm back to ground zero in the decision process. I'm not planning to upgrade to a long-travel suspension setup anytime soon but since I spend most of my time in the truck on the highway doing >70 mph, having a good alignment with close to +4 caster is important for my use case. For those that have the Icon tubulars, please add any alignment numbers if you have them.
 
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UtahSooner said:
Know this thread is a little old but wanted to add some info on the Icons tubular UCAs I've compiled over the past few days trying to decide what UCA will replace my LRs that need to be rebuilt. Don't have any performance info since I'm not running them currently...

Pros:
1) They have a cover for the 1" uniball like their billet (aka "bling") UCAs do to keep the dust/dirt/winter salt/muck off the top of the uniball
2) Uniball is stainless, not chrome plated steel
3) Grease zerks on the bushings for periodic lubing
4) Mounting bolt on the top of the arm for the sensor cable bracket mounting

Cons:
Only have "maybe 1 degree" of caster angle designed (according to the Icon rep I spoke with today) compared to the +2 that the LRs, TCs, and Camburgs have built in.

Of course not all of the pros (#2 & #3) are unique to Icon. But, the "maybe 1 degree" of added caster is on the low side of what the other aftermarket UCAs offer. Some folks have had success getting their lifted rigs aligned (can't recall who was able to get +3.9 on the caster, but [MENTION=88525]sdhobbs[/MENTION] was able to get his rig aligned with "no issues" with these UCAs) but at least one couldn't get the caster setup properly (Scott@Hightech did the install as I recall).

All that said, if you're like me and running a Toytec Ultimate lift you'll probably be fine getting a decent alignment since the Icon rep I spoke with said the tubular arms were designed for non-long travel setups like the Toytec, etc. Still, has me a bit concerned on the alignment (I didn't have the time to call Toytec today and ask their advice, but am planning to do so in the morning). I have close to +4 caster now with my LR arms). For now, I'll end with saying that if you're considering going with a long-travel kit now or on the future, the tubular Icons are probably not the right choice based on the reading I've done. Jury is out on the ability to get a good alignment if you're running a "normal travel" 2.5"-3" lift on the front end.

Sucks because if they had +2 caster instead of "maybe 1 degree" I'd pretty much convinced myself to pull the trigger on the Icon Tubular UCAs today. Now I'm back to ground zero in the decision process. I'm not planning to upgrade to a long-travel suspension setup anytime soon but since I spend most of my time in the truck on the highway doing >70 mph, having a good alignment with close to +4 caster is important for my use case. For those that have the Icon tubulars, please add any alignment numbers if you have them.
Click to expand...
good info. thanks for researching and posting re: the (lesser) add'l caster in the ICON tubular UCAs. i don't believe anyone has reported that info to date. and it justifies my still sitting on the fence deliberating about which product to go with. :nerd:
 
Gotcha, figured as much but wasn't sure and didn't see anything in all the post about that. But since they were old post....

Thanks for the response!
 
UtahSooner said:
Know this thread is a little old but wanted to add some info on the Icons tubular UCAs I've compiled over the past few days trying to decide what UCA will replace my LRs that need to be rebuilt. Don't have any performance info since I'm not running them currently...

Pros:
1) They have a cover for the 1" uniball like their billet (aka "bling") UCAs do to keep the dust/dirt/winter salt/muck off the top of the uniball
2) Uniball is stainless, not chrome plated steel
3) Grease zerks on the bushings for periodic lubing
4) Mounting bolt on the top of the arm for the sensor cable bracket mounting

Cons:
Only have "maybe 1 degree" of caster angle designed (according to the Icon rep I spoke with today) compared to the +2 that the LRs, TCs, and Camburgs have built in.

Of course not all of the pros (#2 & #3) are unique to Icon. But, the "maybe 1 degree" of added caster is on the low side of what the other aftermarket UCAs offer. Some folks have had success getting their lifted rigs aligned (can't recall who was able to get +3.9 on the caster, but [MENTION=88525]sdhobbs[/MENTION] was able to get his rig aligned with "no issues" with these UCAs) but at least one couldn't get the caster setup properly (Scott@Hightech did the install as I recall).

All that said, if you're like me and running a Toytec Ultimate lift you'll probably be fine getting a decent alignment since the Icon rep I spoke with said the tubular arms were designed for non-long travel setups like the Toytec, etc. Still, has me a bit concerned on the alignment (I didn't have the time to call Toytec today and ask their advice, but am planning to do so in the morning). I have close to +4 caster now with my LR arms). For now, I'll end with saying that if you're considering going with a long-travel kit now or on the future, the tubular Icons are probably not the right choice based on the reading I've done. Jury is out on the ability to get a good alignment if you're running a "normal travel" 2.5"-3" lift on the front end.

Sucks because if they had +2 caster instead of "maybe 1 degree" I'd pretty much convinced myself to pull the trigger on the Icon Tubular UCAs today. Now I'm back to ground zero in the decision process. I'm not planning to upgrade to a long-travel suspension setup anytime soon but since I spend most of my time in the truck on the highway doing >70 mph, having a good alignment with close to +4 caster is important for my use case. For those that have the Icon tubulars, please add any alignment numbers if you have them.
Click to expand...

I've got the Icon tubular and was able to get aligned within spec no problem. Running the Radflo 2.5 c/o's all leveled.

Haven't had much, if any noise.
 
KVA said:
I've got the Icon tubular and was able to get aligned within spec no problem. Running the Radflo 2.5 c/o's all leveled.

Haven't had much, if any noise.
Click to expand...

Cool. Called Toytec and they haven't heard of any alignment issues either so pulled the trigger on a set of of the Icons and uniball covers. We'll see how it works out when I get everything installed and aligned (hopefully this weekend).
 
UtahSooner said:
Cool. Called Toytec and they haven't heard of any alignment issues either so pulled the trigger on a set of of the Icons and uniball covers. We'll see how it works out when I get everything installed and aligned (hopefully this weekend).
Click to expand...

I also pulled off the sticky foam that comes with the covers and replaced with 3M double-sided tape...way more robust.
 
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