Suspension recommendation for 'Underlanding' (1 Viewer)

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My 2 cents. Just like Adam I have experience with Slinky Stage 1, 4 and 5 shocks and I also have experience with both HD and EHD coils.

I am not easy on my two 80’s, lots of hard driving that give the shocks a good workout.
On my super heavy Cummins 6BT swapped 80 that was 8500lbs constant with all the gear I had, I moved from HD to EHD coils in the rear as I was able to overrun the support of the springs more often that I should have been. Once moving up to the EHD coils that load was properly supported.

On my Turbo LX450 I started out with stage 1 shocks and HD coils with no additional weight added except a lightweight tube front bumper and winch. That setup rode great until I started to add weight as the build progressed. I haven’t weighed the current setup, but I suspect it’s in the 7500-7800 range now. I switched out the stage 1 shocks for stage 5 dual bypass shocks which are amazing.

It takes a bit of time to fine tune your compression and rebound adjusters to get the performance you want for the given weight and driving conditions, but once you dial it in...oooh boy it’s fun .

Having build a considerable number of cruisers, hilux’s, Rams, 4runners and Jeep’s over the years. I have come to the conclusion that if I am going to spend money beyond making the engine and drivetrain reliable, the 1st area that I will do that will be in getting the suspension and handling dialed in. Having a nice driving experience off-road and on-road just makes you want to drive it more!
 
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If you really want the best shocks money can buy, which is where you will see the best benefits, you should get the shocks built to your Cruiser. As far as I am aware, only King and Fox offer this.

Have the Cruiser set up how the end build will be. Meaning all the bolt ons you plan for. The amount of lift you want and tire size. Weight the Cruiser, front and rear and total weight. Pull your coils, flex it to max compression and extension. Take measurements of everything.

Call Filthy Motorsports and get the Kings or Fox built to suit your Cruiser.

It costs a lot but in my opinion you will get the best results.

Everything else is a mass produced off the shelf shock built to try and cover a wide range of setups, IE cookie cutter shocks.

Cheers
 
If you really want the best shocks money can buy, which is where you will see the best benefits, you should get the shocks built to your Cruiser. As far as I am aware, only King and Fox offer this.

Have the Cruiser set up how the end build will be. Meaning all the bolt ons you plan for. The amount of lift you want and tire size. Weight the Cruiser, front and rear and total weight. Pull your coils, flex it to max compression and extension. Take measurements of everything.

Call Filthy Motorsports and get the Kings or Fox built to suit your Cruiser.

It costs a lot but in my opinion you will get the best results.

Everything else is a mass produced off the shelf shock built to try and cover a wide range of setups, IE cookie cutter shocks.

Cheers
Icons can also be built to spec however you want them.
 
Icons can also be built to spec however you want them.

Personally, not very happy with Icon. I called them a few months back when trying to select the best shocks I could for the build. They would not give me specs on the shocks. As a shop that builds custom suspension, I need the specs and if they won’t give them to me, I am not buying.

King and Fox never let me down. If I am going to spend big bucks on shocks I am going with King or Fox. 100% built to my specs not to mention Filthy will spend an hour or two on the phone with you when buying making sure all bases are covered and you are getting what we want. The owner of Filthy also DD an 80. 😎

Not to mention both the King and Fox can be rebuilt on the bench pretty fast and parts will come to you fast as well. You can’t rebuild a BP51 for example, OME won’t sell you the parts or even give you specs. You have to send it to them for rebuild or replacement. With a King or Fox we can have the shock out, rebuilt and installed in about an hour. Maybe Icon or Dobinsons offer rebuild kits and will give out the specs, not sure since we are happy with King and Fox so no need to find out, yet.

Cheers
 
Personally, not very happy with Icon. I called them a few months back when trying to select the best shocks I could for the build. They would not give me specs on the shocks. As a shop that builds custom suspension, I need the specs and if they won’t give them to me, I am not buying.

King and Fox never let me down. If I am going to spend big bucks on shocks I am going with King or Fox. 100% built to my specs not to mention Filthy will spend an hour or two on the phone with you when buying making sure all bases are covered and you are getting what we want. The owner of Filthy also DD an 80. 😎

Not to mention both the King and Fox can be rebuilt on the bench pretty fast and parts will come to you fast as well. You can’t rebuild a BP51 for example, OME won’t sell you the parts or even give you specs. You have to send it to them for rebuild or replacement. With a King or Fox we can have the shock out, rebuilt and installed in about an hour. Maybe Icon or Dobinsons offer rebuild kits and will give out the specs, not sure since we are happy with King and Fox so no need to find out, yet.

Cheers
My comment wasn't meant to sound like a badmouth of King or Fox. They both have excellent products. I was just saying that they are not the only option for custom spec shock building. I know of a number of people that have rebuilt Icons on the bench and have been able to get parts from Icon without much issue assuming they are not backordered. All of the Slinky/Icon shocks are rebuildable including the 2.0 smooth body ones. How often a shock needs to be rebuilt is a factor for me since rebuilds mean cost and downtime. Reducing the frequency of needed rebuilds is a good thing I think.

My opinion isn't meant to cause a debate about which of the high end brand is best. I think all of the common high end suspension companies (King, Fox, Icon, Radflo, Bilstein....) all make some excellent stuff and the average customer is going to be very happy with any of the different high end options.

I don't have a response to why Icon will or won't give out specs, but for anyone that rebuilds them it could be figured out pretty easily by taking the shock apart which would be part of the process anyway if you want to do a custom setup.

All that said, I can understand a hesitance to purchase from a company that may seems difficult to work with. Likewise, being more willing to purchase from a company that is more accomodating. Personally, I've had really good response and service from Icon. I think it's a good thing if King and Fox are responsive in that way. My more limited experience is observing the process of sending the Canguro Racing 200 Series King shocks back to King for rebuilds is that King is responsive and does a good job. Only issue I've seen is turn-around time can be slow if you're sending shocks back to them for a rebuild.

I've heard lots of good things about Filthy Motorsports. Haven't worked with them myself, but they sound like a good company.
 
So why does the race truck run Kings? I am sure the team could run anything they want and the objective right is to win?

One thing I didn’t like about the Icons is how the rear resi mounts. The King or even a BP51 has a better design for mounting that rear resi.

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I am not saying Icon makes a crappy shock, I ran Icons on my Taco for 60,000 miles, two trips to Panama and back in those miles too and had zero issues with them. I am saying, King and Fox are the best you can buy and as far as I know the only ones fully customizable to your specific build.

I have not tried the new Fox yet with compression and rebound adjuster. Being the most expensive bolt in shock you can by for an 80, it may be awhile before we try or install some. IIRc, they are over $800 per shock. 😳

Cheers
 
To the OP, I recently went from OME Nitrocharger shocks to the Dobinsons IMS/IFP shocks (non adjustable, internal reservoir version of MRA.)

I am very happy with them, and the biggest change I’ve noticed is the control and comfort on washboard roads (like my avg speed probably doubled.)

I suspect any of the good shocks listed will help to this end, but don’t think you have to spend $2k+ on shocks for a noticeable improvement.
 
Icon shocks can easily be custom ordered. But just like ordering custom King or Fox through Filthy Motorsports (not calling King or Fox directly), you’re going to have a lot better luck getting ahold of an Icon dealer than the factory, if a discussion on what’s going to work best is what you’re after.
 
So why does the race truck run Kings? I am sure the team could run anything they want and the objective right is to win?

One thing I didn’t like about the Icons is how the rear resi mounts. The King or even a BP51 has a better design for mounting that rear resi.

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I am not saying Icon makes a crappy shock, I ran Icons on my Taco for 60,000 miles, two trips to Panama and back in those miles too and had zero issues with them. I am saying, King and Fox are the best you can buy and as far as I know the only ones fully customizable to your specific build.

I have not tried the new Fox yet with compression and rebound adjuster. Being the most expensive bolt in shock you can by for an 80, it may be awhile before we try or install some. IIRc, they are over $800 per shock. 😳

Cheers
I think this conversation has departed from the intent of the thread. I'll respond again and then it's probably a conversation to move to chat, PM or another thread.

The simple reason that Canguro has Kings on the race truck is because Canguro is a very small privateer team and doesn't have deep connections with big sponsors and also doesn't have an unlimited budget like most big race teams. Canguro is just a bunch of Cruiserheads that wanted to get into racing. That's an ambitious endeavor for anyone that isn't already a millionaire. The Kings were on the truck when the team acquired the race truck. If another suspension company were to approach the team with a sponsorship proposal that made sense to move away from the current setup I'm sure the team would consider it. But currently there's no reason to change from the Kings which are proven race shocks.


As Dave mentioned, Icons can also be built to order for a specific build.

I haven't looked closely at the Fox shocks you mentioned to know the specs or the cost, but the Stage 5 dual bypass Slinky/Icons I have now are roughly $1k per shock (not meant as a "higher cost is better" arguement, but just that they are in a similar price range as what you mentioned). They are essentially the OMEGA Icon shocks with custom valving to the Slinky specs.
From Icon's site:

FEATURES & BENEFITS
ICON's Bypass Valve technology allows adjustment of compression and rebound damping with high resolution across the entire adjustment range
6061 aircraft grade aluminum CNC machined components
CAD plated, precision machined 1026 DOM steel shock body for maximum durability and corrosion resistance
100% Rebuildable
100% Revalveable
Hand adjustable bypass valves with 28 detented settings at quarter turn increments for precise suspension tuning
Bypass tubes are replaceable in the event of damage
Internal “Bump Zone” increases damping force to provide more control as the shock approaches full compression
Remote reservoir design improves heat dissipation to reduce shock fade during prolonged use
Premium grade 5WT shock oil for consistent suspension damping along a wide temperature range
One piece digressive piston design with vehicle specific valving for unsurpassed performance and ride quality on and off-road
7/8” diameter induction hardened, chrome plated shock shaft
PTFE lined spherical bearings and application
 
I think this conversation has departed from the intent of the thread. ...
Not necessarily. Great info all around. And I am currently window-shopping for a buggy...

Funny thing is I'm usually the slowest in the group; part of that comes from driving my K5 with the group of 80s for a long time. Somehow that has translated to me driving the 80. In my mind I can hear Kevin Patterson (Tools R Us) going "... why would YOU of all people need better shocks???" :)
 
As @Box Rocket said, I run the extra heavy duty slinky coils. I’ve been mistakenly thinking my cruiser was 7,200lbs when in reality it’s 8,200lbs - Empty. Long story short, my first order from slinky was not the extra heavy duty, now that I do have the EHD coils it’s amazing. No sag, even under fully loaded conditions. Somehow I had a shock break this summer. I sent it back to icon and it was delivered back on my door 4 days later. No charge for the fix on my icon shock. I was quite impressed.
back to the slinky suspension. It’s great, I’ve been at the off-road game for over 20 years now. I honestly couldn’t think back and remember how many jeeps I’ve had ( I always secretly wanted a cruiser) but it’s a lot. This cruiser drives so nice for a 26 year old rig. No complaints. The slinky performs great. And looks great.

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