Anyone running King shocks?

[MScruiser]

They look like they are only about $150 more ($1500 supposedly) than a set of ICONs. Everyone has heard of how great the company is, but I'm not sure I've seen anything about anyone on this board having them. Anyone know how they compare to ICONs? Durability? How many miles before a rebuild?

 

[LX Avalanche]

On previous vehicles I've had Icons, Radflos, Sway-A-Ways, and Kings and they're all pretty much the same thing IMO. All great, rebuild-able, durable, and night and day difference over anything stock or the cheapie shocks.
Kings all the way around all the long travel silverado.

Had Icons on the front of the Titan first, a little too soft for off road bashing so I picked up some Sway-A-Way extended length coilovers with stiffer springs. Always ran Radflos in the rear of that truck.

 

[LX Avalanche]

I jumped and ran the crap out of the Silverado without rebuilding the Kings. I also ran the Titan very hard and never had to rebuild the Icons or Sway-A-Ways. Rebuilt the Radflos once but A) I had those for 3 years which was the longest of all those shocks and B) I had a really soft spring set-up in the rear and was tasked with carrying a bed full of firewood on one of the weekend excursions and it was pretty much bottomed out the entire way from Phoenix to the mountains outside Tucson with some rough dirt road travel and after that I noticed the leak. Radflo customer service was awesome to deal with too.

 

[bjowett]

I run Kings on my Tundra. I built and sell plenty, but have not spent time trying them on the 200.

 

[Desert Nomad]

There's one 200 in the UAE I'm aware of running kings, a second soon to come. The one running kings recommends installing a shim kit to tame the buck in the rear of the 200s rebound on rough ground. I'll try to get some more info and report back.

 

[lgop]

I am running King Shocks with remote reservoirs on my 2009 LC. The only minor negative is the driver's side front had slight rubbing but everything else fit great. The truck now sits level and rides so much better when off road. I am very pleased with them so far. I purchased from Filthy Motorsports and they had great customer service.

 

[MScruiser]

It looks like a few vendors are having a black friday / cyber monday sale on Kings.

I talked to a King sales rep, and asked time to comment on ICON vs. King. He said that the ICONS had great build quality with great materials, but said that the ICONs had poor quality shaft seals that wear out prematurely.

It looks like the Kings could only be a few hundred dollars cheaper than the ICON, and in my opinion, look a hell of a lot cooler and have a lot more history in the game. I also called ICON and spoke directly to a rep there. He really couldn't tell me much of anything about their product, and could not comment on the difference between theirs and other manufacturers.

So I am looking at:

1. Radflos with remote reservoirs. ($$$)
2. Bjowett's Koni 90 Upgrade with extended length springs. ($$)
3. King 2.5's without reservoirs. ($$$$)

I'd love to know more about the Kings...They even make them custom valved for the 200. What kind of life do they have until servicing? What kind of joints/bushings to they use and how long can they be expected to live?

 

[Thebedouin60]

King Shocks user-to-be here

I have purchased King Shocks for my LC 200 and have sent them off to have shim stacks installed to reduce bucking in the rear(Nomad's buddy indeed ). I have yet to install them on my 200 but i have ridden in an LC200 equipped with the EXACT same setup. I rode in the 200 for about 4 hours through flat hard packed sand and half moon shaped sand dunes. This is what i felt (As a human G sensor ) It IS slightly stiffer than stock but makes a world of difference off-road, in the sense that the driver was hitting dunes at speeds that i would normally kiss my front bumper goodbye at. We did get airborne but from the outside probably only looked like a simple hop. I would advise to spend the extra $$$ on the remote reservoirs with compression adjust so that you have peace of mind with your suspension setup (i.e. too stiff, dial back the compression. Too soft, add more etc) It would make a great overland shock and i have a video that i will upload to show how it rides from inside the 200 through dunes. I plan on using it for Baja style driving with some dunes thrown in. I chose king for its simplicity and availability locally.

To answer, King shocks for the 200 use ball joints, but i have no idea how long they are expected to last as i haven't run them yet. I will ask the gentleman running the setup and report back at the first opportunity. Another great feature is that i can crank down on the front springs if im not happy with the ride height.

 

[MScruiser]

Thank you for replying. Things are still up in the air as to what direction I want to go in. I am really wondering how long they can go between rebuilds. Obviously, there are a lot of factors at play, and there is no way to really answer that question. It would be good to have a general idea though.

 

[stevopike]

Which vendors are having the sales?

 

[MScruiser]

Down South Motorsports

They would not say how big the sale is going to be though.

They are saying that it is 10% right now--not sure if they will be offering any additional discounts on Cyber Monday. The guy made it sounds like they would be even cheaper though.

So that makes two vendors having sales on coilovers (Metal Tech 20% off ICON)

 

[Overlake]

Metal tech is a good shop. Icon is a good shop. Winning combo.

 

[Radflo]

Which vendors are having the sales?

Radflo is having a sale though our dealers or on our site.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2014-radflo-black-friday-weekend-sale.825099/

Glenn

 

[MScruiser]

So that makes all three companies on sale on Cyber Monday

ICON: 20% Off
Radflo: 10% Off
King: 10% Off

If anyone is in the market for a suspension, now would be the time to buy!

 

[kreiten]

There's one 200 in the UAE I'm aware of running kings, a second soon to come. The one running kings recommends installing a shim kit to tame the buck in the rear of the 200s rebound on rough ground. I'll try to get some more info and report back.

what are they shimming to fix this? anymore info? I'm seriously considering going with the Kings!!!

 

[kreiten]

I am running King Shocks with remote reservoirs on my 2009 LC. The only minor negative is the driver's side front had slight rubbing but everything else fit great. The truck now sits level and rides so much better when off road. I am very pleased with them so far. I purchased from Filthy Motorsports and they had great customer service.

where did it rub? did you get the rubbing resolved???

 

[Desert Nomad]

what are they shimming to fix this? anymore info? I'm seriously considering going with the Kings!!!

Shimming to fix the bucking in the rear (rear shocks rebound adjusted) (front shocks get compression and rebound adjusted) to the best of my knowledge.

I have purchased King Shocks for my LC 200 and have sent them off to have shim stacks installed to reduce bucking in the rear.

 

[lgop]

I noticed in one of the Dakar LC videos that the remote reservoir for the front shocks was mount rearward on the frame with an extended line. Such a set up would help eliminate the slight rubbing on the driver's side front. Any draw backs to moving the reservoir rearward and lengthening the line?

 

[r3run33]

i'm no expert but maybe the lengthening of the line would increase RISK of the heat build up of the oil etc. From following dakar they run sometimes in the high 40"s to 50 celsius so that way up for our temps. So with my poor math skills you would be running in 110degree or higher. If they survive then I think the longer lines would be ok. I would love to talk to any of the Toyota Auto body team about this; Do they change the shocks during race if not broken? what other things they do etc? We need some Japanese members !!!!!! lol Beno send some emails