Honest opinion needed

So I’m trying to get as much info as possible as I’m taking a full 360 turn on my truck and getting rid of the 5” drop bracket lift. Plan is to go MT and want to see what ppl prefer as to brand and reliability. Brands in question are Icon, King, ADS, and maybe Fox. So post up what your running and why you chose it and your over all experience. One last thin what is the max height ppl are getting with these set up? Let’s all keep it clean and friendly in here as I’m trying to get the best for my money.

 

Ive run fox and icons for years. Never had a problem with either, current icons have 70k miles on them and work great still. When i uprgade will be ADS 3.0 for sure.

I have found that ride quality diminishes greatly if you crank them over 2.5 inches of lift

Honestly the 4 brands you mentioned are great. Pick a color

 

Thanks for the info this is what I wanna hear ppls honest opinions. Why do u plan on going to ADS? Better off-road or u just wanna try those out?

 

3.0 are a little less expensive than icon

 

Best for your money would be ADS. On par with kings race series for less money. Look into the 2.5 MCM fab kit

 

Got it thanks

 

Hey Tony. One of the best, most noticeable, improvements I've made to my ride quality were the ADS 2.5 rear bypass shocks. They're a little noisy at slow speeds with the window down the totally worth it for the improvement. The ADS 2.5 coil overs have been trouble free and bomb proof. BTW @froggy78 removed a bracket lift recently.

 

By noisy what do you mean? Sorry I’m totally new to these things. BTW did you go LT already? What’s up with your ADS lol?

 

I have kings 2.5 all 4 corners, I love them and I chose them after reading many forums they had less problems than the other brands. If I chose the other ones I’d probably be happy with them too, I’ve beat these blue shocks off-road and not a single problem other than they look dirty and need a rebuild. I was stuck in the same debate over which shocks but to be honest they do the same thing but have different build materials, don’t stress over it pick your favorite color according to your budget as well and you’re g to g. I have mine cranked for 2.5” lift I didn’t want any higher as I prefer a lower center of gravity for speed no lift in the rear, any higher and I might have to get UCA’s.

 

I'm knee deep in the LT install. Only 1 bloody finger so lots of work still to do.
The bypass valves "click" and you can hear with the window down at slow speeds. I've never heard it on the highway or even general driving around. Honestly, I think it's fairly true about just picking your color, King, Fox and ADS are all great. I've got a personal burr under my saddle when it comes to Icon but that's just me..... DO NOT buy their tubular UCAs!!!
My ADS coil overs and MCM UCAs will be up for sale soon. Only 1 is removed right now.

 

Well sounds like u got a shit ton of work to do since only 1 bloody finger haha I do agree with you guys I’m assuming they all
Must be good and have their pros and cons but I still like to hear ppl out that way I get as much feedback as I can as I don’t wanna keep changing parts after this. My wife is going to kill me when she find some out what I’m thinking of doing.

 

I started with Icon then went to King and now going to ADS. LOL Can't say any of them were better than the next. Icon has some weird quirks when rebuilding them and made it a PITA. I believe they have changed since. Icon is digressive valving compared to progressive. Haven't had an issue with King as they have been great but they do gear their off the shelf products for 95% street driving. (600lb springs and conservative valving) Switching to ADS since I am going LT in the rear and moving from 2.5 to 3.0 for more shock. Don't think a single 2.5 is enough for these heavy trucks they way I use it. Fox makes good stuff but hate their valving numbers- it makes it confusing and I have to go look at a chart to figure it out. Their off the shelf quality is on par with King "race" version and their oil is rated for higher temps I believe.
You can't go wrong with any of them but if you go Icon then read up on digressive valving - and don't listen to @KevinK cause all his ideas are "whack" Plus I don't listen to anyone who thinks Coors light is good beer. SMFH

 

Just want to make sure you’re aware you’ll have to have a new cross member put in to replace the one that was cut out for the bracket lift. It’s possible, but just don’t want that to blind side you later.

The four major brands all have similar quality. The only one that behaves differently is Icon like @n2deep said. But he’s wrong about my beer choice. Coors Light is piss - I drink regular Coors.


I’ve written some nauseatingly long explanations about the difference between progressive and digressive valving around here someplace. I’ll try to find a link.

 

Thanks for the reply and yes I’m aware about the cross memeber @papasmurf will be hooking me up on that once I’m ready to go.

 

Here’s a short one

https://www.tundras.com/threads/suspension-help.21053/page-3#post-499604

 

Here’s some good discussion on the topic

https://www.tundras.com/threads/fox-or-icon.25811/page-4#post-622866

 

i've been in the coors plant up the road. you may want to rethink your choice.

@fisherman951 go blue or go home.

i don't have everything mounted yet but i'm running 2.5 coilovers up front with triple bypass secondaries. rear is the 3.0 triple bypass with icon bump stops. i did not go with king bumps purely because of the cost of the mounting kit.

 

More exhaustive and boring description of how to tune and the importance of clickers.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/mid-travel-suspension-tuning.31727/page-2#post-785890

 

I didn’t get to take the tour when we breezed through Golden, and now I wonder if that was a good thing for my sanity.
But truthfully, Coors is just my trail beer. I have better taste than that at home, but had to find some kind of beer I could stomach while a thousand miles from nowhere and need a beer run to the only gas station around - they’re not gonna have Bell’s Two Hearted or Dogfish Head 90 minute.

 

Since we are talking about beer, it’s all about
https://kingcongbrewing.com/
But it’s biased opinion since I don’t have to pay for it

 

We are taking about suspension guys no beers here please let’s keep this on track and not derail it. I’m trying to get the best and most info I can. Thank you

 

I understand sorry

 

It’s al good no need to be sorry it happens here and I’m part of it on other threads but since I’m a total noob at these things I truly want all the info

 

This topic has been hashed out in a million threads on here and it always goes to shit. Everyone is gonna recommend the brand they are running cause very few have tried all 4. It's all an opinion based on the brand they chose and the other brands they didn't choose. Most wouldn't be able to tell a difference between any of them other than the color and cost.

 

Lol I know it’s bound to happen that’s how all the threads work but if I can keep it in the right direction for a little that’ll be great. If not we’ll talk about beer lol

 

Im so glad the link for the digressive valving was posted.

Ive run icons for over 10 years total and never read about it. That totally explains why i can run through this rain gutter on my way to work at 45-50 mph and it feels smooth as nothing. Yet every other car slows down to 20

 

@fisherman951 to get at the root of your question, I think we need to ask a few questions.

1. Looks or performance? Please don’t say both, because that’s not helpful. One has to be slightly more important than the other.

2. How much off roading do you do? A rig that sees a shitload of offroad miles is probably 70/30 street/dirt. That means that in any ten day period they’re in the dirt for three of those days. That’s a lot.

3. What terrain do you spend the most time on offroad? Long washboard roads, gravel, hardpack with babyheads, sandy washes, whooped-out desert trails, rock crawling, mud, etc...

4. How fast do you want to go offroad? Scenic, hunting, exploring, chasing, Trophy Truck, Ultra4

5. What size tires do you run or plan to run?

6. How much does your truck weigh when you’re on road and off road? Not a literal number necessarily, but when you go off road, are loaded to the fuckin gills?

7. Do you tow anything? If so, how heavy?

8. What’s your favorite color?

9. Do you want to do this whole thing once and be done with it, or are you willing to upgrade as you go?

10. What, if anything, has stopped you from getting where you wanted to go, or made you slower than you wanted to be? Particular obstacle on this one specific trail; lack of people to wheel with so you have to self recover; discomfort over long distance...


Basically, what do you want your truck to do?

EDIT after Craig pointed out I forgot this:
Go for rides in as many other trucks as you can. Find one you like and replicate what they did.

 

Damn, brother. Well said. I kind of think something this exhaustive should be turned into an official survey required of all FNGs on here. I wish I'd have asked myself half these questions before I committed to a spacer lift.

 

@KevinK correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you were from SoCal. He will most likely be doing Anza/Borrego and Big Bear type runs withe SoCal Shenanigans group.
I would guess he wants a set up that is capable of medium difficulty trails.
I believe he is getting rid of the bracket lift due to numerous people telling him it's not good for off road.
You might want to PM him and find out his budget u less he wants to put it out here.
He is probably overwhelmed as I was with what set up to go with.

 

Kevin that is an incredible survey. Everyone modifying their truck needs to work through those questions first.