ARB Bp-51 vs. King 2.5 BP (2 Viewers)

[Forrest Murphy]

I started with BP-51s and now run Kings. The SPC & Kings setup has been trouble free. No temperature related issues, I have run them pretty hard from negative 25 in AK & the Yukon to over 130 degrees Fahrenheit in NM- I am currently running a 700 spring rate coil over and run 275 psi of nitrogen with a winch and ARB Bumper up front, I tried 800 lb spring rate coils on the front and they were two stiff for my tastes. Ideally I would love a 750 spring rate coil, I went as fare as investigating customer manufactured coils. The compression adjustors as well. After playing with the compression settings I have settled in on a setting and not messed with them much. They are very easy to adjust the setting on. The King 3 inch have both rebound and compression settings.

 

[unclemat]

Guys, thanks for the updates on Kings!

Could you post summary with details, ideally part numbers of setups you running? Including springs, etc. Also where did you get them and how much they were would super helpful! Thanks!

 

[dwai]

For a 2” lift, what’s the hub to wheel fender measurement? I got mine with blown shocks and sagging springs. So I don’t really know if my kings r actually giving me a +2 over stock

 

[Hammeredsole]

I'd recommend checking out the Radflo 2.5 IFP as well. That's what I went with, as it was 90% of the performance of remote reservoir, adjustment is really unnecessary in my opinion, and they have steel bodies and collars. I've adjusted with the coilovers on the truck, on a jack (to level the ride). I've been very happy with the increased handling and damping of the body motions. Cost was right in between remote reservoir BP51s and Kings and the lower end welded tube stuff like OME. No leaks, squeaks, or problems 4,000 miles in and I don't drive like a grandma. The SPC UCA's are the way to go. Most adjustability, and dead silent.

 

[arich]

Cold weather clunk is long gone. They fixed the issue. 40k miles on my BP51s.

 

[LCnut4]

Yet another thread on suspension.....
I am looking to upgrade my suspension on my 08 and have narrowed my list down to the King 2.5 and ARB bp-51's. I already talked with Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters and he has me leaning towards the ARB but I keep thinking that the ARB 2.0 is weaker than the 2.5 kings. Since our 200's are so heavy this is a concern but I admit that I tend to overthink these type of things No matter what i will purchase from Cruiser Outfitters and have them do the install as Kurt has never let me down with my cruiser and 4-runner builds.

Either way I'm going to run the front at 1.5-2 inch of lift and leave the rear at stock height (stock springs). Even though its not 100% necessary I will be running SPC upper control arms. The only armor I'm adding to this build will be slee sliders and ARB skids. I'm running 275/70/18 BFG KO2's on stock 08 wheels.


Let me know your thoughts.

First comment or post. I have same 08 and down to 3 options including your 2. Wondering what you selected and thoughts at this point? Disregard if you posted further down in the thread

Thanks,

Mack

 

[dwai]

I got kings 2.5 on mine in the San Francisco Bay Area. Anyone have BP51 and wanna do a ride comparison? Leggo! Write up!

 

[LCnut4]

Thanks for quick reply. This rig is in CO and not many local (state) shops have mentioned King... mostly OME ad Radflo. Conversely, I had more than several shops in TX push King for my 2015 in TX. I plan to add ARB metal front and rear along with Slee sliders. Gobi rack on top with lighter accessories and no plans for trailer or storage drawers etc. I put limited miles in and around small mountain town on mostly improved dirt road / trails. BUT, there are some significant inclines and billion rocks getting to camp sites and fish spots etc. Basically, I shooting for the sweet spot between similar stock ride and industrial grade product I don't have to mess with. Way to many projects and hobbies...

 

[LCnut4]

Thanks for quick reply. This rig is in CO and not many local (state) shops have mentioned King... mostly OME ad Radflo. Conversely, I had more than several shops in TX push King for my 2015 in TX. I plan to add ARB metal front and rear along with Slee sliders. Gobi rack on top with lighter accessories and no plans for trailer or storage drawers etc. I put limited miles in and around small mountain town on mostly improved dirt road / trails. BUT, there are some significant inclines and billion rocks getting to camp sites and fish spots etc. Basically, I shooting for the sweet spot between similar stock ride and industrial grade product I don't have to mess with. Way to many projects and hobbies...

Also, can someone clarify clod weather or altitude issues with known brands. I'm in CO at 9,000-10,000'

 

[dwai]

Kings are really popular amongst 4runner and tacos. If you find a shop that works on a lot of tacos and t4r, you can ask them about it. The reason why I went with kings is because I rode in tacos and t4r with kings and loved it.

 

[Milaad]

Was in the same boat as you. I would call around a few shops and get different opinions. I think you will ultimately need to get a custom set up given what I have learned and given your car set up. Keep in mind the international 200's are set up different than ours and its unlikely an off the shelf system will be ideal. You can see what I have been going through here King 3.0 or BP-51

 

[dwai]

Was in the same boat as you. I would call around a few shops and get different opinions. I think you will ultimately need to get a custom set up given what I have learned and given your car set up. Keep in mind the international 200's are set up different than ours and its unlikely an off the shelf system will be ideal. You can see what I have been going through here King 3.0 or BP-51

U r right about USDM vs the rest of the world. I’ve had to make some adjustments to my king setup

Choosing spring rates for King shocks

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[RIPGMH]

Got King on my 200 & 80 and they’re great. Love Australian made stuff but the BP51s aren’t at the same level. Haven’t owned them on a 200 but on a 79 series they weren’t that flash.

 

[dontpanic]

A little late to the game here, but for anyone else stumbling on this post with the same doubt as all of those have ended up here...

From what I've gathered from a multitude of sources:

• Kings 2.5 - Soft, comfortable & smooth ride for daily driving with good mid-speed [compression] support for tough terrain and fast offroad driving. Custom valving is important, they're very customizable. Increased valving in bottom-out and top-out sections. For heavy weight & top-heavy setups, special valving is required. Require servicing every 30-50k miles.

OME BP51 - Adjustable compression and rebound. Very comfortable ride. Can make them very [even too] soft. Internal bypass (softer for daily driving, oil goes into reservoir at mid & high compression speeds, hardening effect—when driving fast offroad). 51mm main piston (due to bypass). Coilovers have height adjustment. Can service (should last 100k miles) Not rebuildable.

Something I haven't seen discussed here is use-case: from my understanding, the Kings are more performance-oriented and excel at high-speed off-roading, which might not be the best fit for people more focused on rock crawling, for instance, and might be overkill for many. The BP-51s feel like perhaps the more balanced option both for daily driving and more casual (not-competitive) off-roading because of the rebound and compression adjustment.

For the most configurable setup, my choice would probably be adjustable DSC shocks:
I'm unsure whether they're available for the LC200, but the Bilstein B8 8112 seem like a great fit for a large variety of use-cases:

• Bilstein B8 8112 - Dual-speed compression: Low-speed compression adjustment (to make it more stable on-road). Good rebound, 3 stages of compression (main + 2), 2 rebound zones (slows down main piston further when nearing bottom-out/top-out zones. More usable travel, full-size 60mm piston (unlike OME BP-51). Very durable, near military-grade seals. You adjust high and low-speed compression independently, so you can set a soft low-speed compression for a plush ride on-road, and high-speed compression on the stiffer side if you're doing high-speed desert runs (good terrain response, and preventing bottoming out), or for my use-case (heavy build), the opposite: stiffer low-speed compression for less body roll for daily driving, and a soft high-speed compression to absorb bumps and having a plusher ride for moderate-speed off-roading.

Fox also makes DSC shocks (the Fox 2.5 Performance Elite), which offer the same kind of adjustability. But from what I've read, they're not easy to adjust and require servicing every 30-50k miles.

 

[deanblitzer]

A little late to the game here, but for anyone else stumbling on this post with the same doubt as all of those have ended up here...

From what I've gathered from a multitude of sources:

• Kings 2.5 - Soft, comfortable & smooth ride for daily driving with good mid-speed [compression] support for tough terrain and fast offroad driving. Custom valving is important, they're very customizable. Increased valving in bottom-out and top-out sections. For heavy weight & top-heavy setups, special valving is required. Require servicing every 30-50k miles.

OME BP51 - Adjustable compression and rebound. Very comfortable ride. Can make them very [even too] soft. Internal bypass (softer for daily driving, oil goes into reservoir at mid & high compression speeds, hardening effect—when driving fast offroad). 51mm main piston (due to bypass). Coilovers have height adjustment. Can service (should last 100k miles) Not rebuildable.

Something I haven't seen discussed here is use-case: from my understanding, the Kings are more performance-oriented and excel at high-speed off-roading, which might not be the best fit for people more focused on rock crawling, for instance, and might be overkill for many. The BP-51s feel like perhaps the more balanced option both for daily driving and more casual (not-competitive) off-roading because of the rebound and compression adjustment.

For the most configurable setup, my choice would probably be adjustable DSC shocks:
I'm unsure whether they're available for the LC200, but the Bilstein B8 8112 seem like a great fit for a large variety of use-cases:

• Bilstein B8 8112 - Dual-speed compression: Low-speed compression adjustment (to make it more stable on-road). Good rebound, 3 stages of compression (main + 2), 2 rebound zones (slows down main piston further when nearing bottom-out/top-out zones. More usable travel, full-size 60mm piston (unlike OME BP-51). Very durable, near military-grade seals. You adjust high and low-speed compression independently, so you can set a soft low-speed compression for a plush ride on-road, and high-speed compression on the stiffer side if you're doing high-speed desert runs (good terrain response, and preventing bottoming out), or for my use-case (heavy build), the opposite: stiffer low-speed compression for less body roll for daily driving, and a soft high-speed compression to absorb bumps and having a plusher ride for moderate-speed off-roading.

Fox also makes DSC shocks (the Fox 2.5 Performance Elite), which offer the same kind of adjustability. But from what I've read, they're not easy to adjust and require servicing every 30-50k miles.

I’ve looked around many times and the bilstein 8112s aren’t made for the LC200. I doubt they will anytime soon either

 

[Boston Mangler]

I’ve looked around many times and the bilstein 8112s aren’t made for the LC200. I doubt they will anytime soon either

Yes

 

[bloc]

A little late to the game here, but for anyone else stumbling on this post with the same doubt as all of those have ended up here...

From what I've gathered from a multitude of sources:

• Kings 2.5 - Soft, comfortable & smooth ride for daily driving with good mid-speed [compression] support for tough terrain and fast offroad driving. Custom valving is important, they're very customizable. Increased valving in bottom-out and top-out sections. For heavy weight & top-heavy setups, special valving is required. Require servicing every 30-50k miles.

OME BP51 - Adjustable compression and rebound. Very comfortable ride. Can make them very [even too] soft. Internal bypass (softer for daily driving, oil goes into reservoir at mid & high compression speeds, hardening effect—when driving fast offroad). 51mm main piston (due to bypass). Coilovers have height adjustment. Can service (should last 100k miles) Not rebuildable.

Something I haven't seen discussed here is use-case: from my understanding, the Kings are more performance-oriented and excel at high-speed off-roading, which might not be the best fit for people more focused on rock crawling, for instance, and might be overkill for many. The BP-51s feel like perhaps the more balanced option both for daily driving and more casual (not-competitive) off-roading because of the rebound and compression adjustment.

For the most configurable setup, my choice would probably be adjustable DSC shocks:
I'm unsure whether they're available for the LC200, but the Bilstein B8 8112 seem like a great fit for a large variety of use-cases:

• Bilstein B8 8112 - Dual-speed compression: Low-speed compression adjustment (to make it more stable on-road). Good rebound, 3 stages of compression (main + 2), 2 rebound zones (slows down main piston further when nearing bottom-out/top-out zones. More usable travel, full-size 60mm piston (unlike OME BP-51). Very durable, near military-grade seals. You adjust high and low-speed compression independently, so you can set a soft low-speed compression for a plush ride on-road, and high-speed compression on the stiffer side if you're doing high-speed desert runs (good terrain response, and preventing bottoming out), or for my use-case (heavy build), the opposite: stiffer low-speed compression for less body roll for daily driving, and a soft high-speed compression to absorb bumps and having a plusher ride for moderate-speed off-roading.

Fox also makes DSC shocks (the Fox 2.5 Performance Elite), which offer the same kind of adjustability. But from what I've read, they're not easy to adjust and require servicing every 30-50k miles.

I understand this post is more about performance characteristics than other aspects of ownership, but given the cost of these systems IMO it should be considered.

Kings can be rebuilt at home relatively easily with a few special tools that aren’t difficult to source. Parts are readily available to anyone willing to contact King and purchase them. And if you don’t want to do the work lots of shops will.

ARB claims they’ll rebuild BPs but the experience of users here on this board has not supported that claim. They also will not provide parts to customers. I can’t speak for Bilstein but I am confident you can’t get parts to do it yourself.

 

[Artie]

I understand this post is more about performance characteristics than other aspects of ownership, but given the cost of these systems IMO it should be considered.

Kings can be rebuilt at home relatively easily with a few special tools that aren’t difficult to source. Parts are readily available to anyone willing to contact King and purchase them. And if you don’t want to do the work lots of shops will.

ARB claims they’ll rebuild BPs but the experience of users here on this board has not supported that claim. They also will not provide parts to customers. I can’t speak for Bilstein but I am confident you can’t get parts to do it yourself.

I recently made the jump from BP51’s to Kings, I’m about 2k miles in so far and no regrets. My plan was to send the BO51’s in for rebuilding so I could either sell them or sit on them for spares. ARB will not rebuild them without photo evidence of physical leaking, and then it is still not a guarantee that they will accept them as a rebuild case. This is all according to the ARB CS rep I was emailing with. Now I’m sitting on 40k mile beat on BP51’s to run when I have my kings rebuilt by Filthy Motorsports in about 50k miles. Ben at Filthy said they will rebuild without question and 50k is a good time to start the consideration process, schedule around a good down time period.

 

[Artie]

Fox also makes DSC shocks (the Fox 2.5 Performance Elite), which offer the same kind of adjustability. But from what I've read, they're not easy to adjust and require servicing every 30-50k miles.

This comment isn’t truly apples to apples but may shed light on Fox shock durability. I run a 2” set of their performance LSC reservoir shocks on my off road camper. They are leaking after 20k miles. I’ve been looking at other options to run while I have these rebuilt and speaking with several shock sellers they’ve all said the same thing… Fox are great for a while…but not a long while.

I’ve picked up a pair of Bilstein 5165’s to try for a while.

 

[bloc]

I recently made the jump from BP51’s to Kings, I’m about 2k miles in so far and no regrets. My plan was to send the BO51’s in for rebuilding so I could either sell them or sit on them for spares. ARB will not rebuild them without photo evidence of physical leaking, and then it is still not a guarantee that they will accept them as a rebuild case. This is all according to the ARB CS rep I was emailing with. Now I’m sitting on 40k mile beat on BP51’s to run when I have my kings rebuilt by Filthy Motorsports in about 50k miles. Ben at Filthy said they will rebuild without question and 50k is a good time to start the consideration process, schedule around a good down time period.

I think it was @kcjaz that had his own pretty disappointing story with regard to BP51 rebuilds.