Downgrading Suspension? Need Advice on Shock Options

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Blue Phoenix

Blue Phoenix

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Threads
93
Messages
866
Location
Spring Lake, MI
Yes you read that correctly - I am looking to “downgrade” my shocks.

Current setup is Icon Resi shocks all around and looking for something more simple.

Back story - pictured below is my niece. I never had a daughter and due to some interesting family dynamics she was adopted by my wife’s parents. We have always been close and my wife and I have been lucky enough to have her accompany us on several cross-country camping trips over the span of her life.

Fast-forward she’s in high school now and while listening in on a conversation she was having with my In-laws about what her first car should be she gave me some grief about getting rid of the Nomad (my 1997 80 series pictured below). I never knew.

1742343029089.webp


After some thinking and speaking with her and her parents (my In-laws) I’ve decided to bequeath my 100 to her.

1742343056001.webp


My most current use for the truck and what it has been built towards is hunting/ more off road oriented as most on here. But as this will be her daily and she will likely be going interstate for college I plan to tone things down a bit to make it more road friendly for her.

As such I’m lowering the truck down to maybe 1-1.5 in of lift, putting my old OME Medium rear springs back on and pulling out my Icon 2.0 Remote Reservoir shocks (these will be going up in classifieds soon for those interested) and I’m looking to put some other shocks in. I don’t want the hassle of having to rebuild these going forward.

I could just put stock shocks back on it but she does like the truck as is, bumpers and all and due to the weight I still think a notch above stock would be most suitable. As I have been running Icons for so long now I feel I may have lost touch with some of the more medium range shocks and would like some advice going forward.

Thanks in advance.
 
I suggest to get hold of Mike at Exit offroad. He is on this fotum as well and can professionally advise you.
 
Blue Phoenix said:
Yes you read that correctly - I am looking to “downgrade” my shocks.

Current setup is Icon Resi shocks all around and looking for something more simple.

Back story - pictured below is my niece. I never had a daughter and due to some interesting family dynamics she was adopted by my wife’s parents. We have always been close and my wife and I have been lucky enough to have her accompany us on several cross-country camping trips over the span of her life.

Fast-forward she’s in high school now and while listening in on a conversation she was having with my In-laws about what her first car should be she gave me some grief about getting rid of the Nomad (my 1997 80 series pictured below). I never knew.

View attachment 3864177

After some thinking and speaking with her and her parents (my In-laws) I’ve decided to bequeath my 100 to her.

View attachment 3864178

My most current use for the truck and what it has been built towards is hunting/ more off road oriented as most on here. But as this will be her daily and she will likely be going interstate for college I plan to tone things down a bit to make it more road friendly for her.

As such I’m lowering the truck down to maybe 1-1.5 in of lift, putting my old OME Medium rear springs back on and pulling out my Icon 2.0 Remote Reservoir shocks (these will be going up in classifieds soon for those interested) and I’m looking to put some other shocks in. I don’t want the hassle of having to rebuild these going forward.

I could just put stock shocks back on it but she does like the truck as is, bumpers and all and due to the weight I still think a notch above stock would be most suitable. As I have been running Icons for so long now I feel I may have lost touch with some of the more medium range shocks and would like some advice going forward.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Just one data point but, I have heavy sliders, dissent rear bumper, front wench, and a heavy 80/20 rack, I still use the stock shocks. The beefed up springs front /rear and the E rated tires seem like they have much more impact on the ride quality than the shocks in this set up.
 
I appreciate the input... Reading back over my original post I guess it is sort of a "Guess what I'm thinking" sort of question.

In short I have not heard great things about OME shocks in my most recent readings, so unless someone gives me a different impression of them I don't see myself going that direction.

I have heard mixed reviews about Bilstein's but this seems to be mostly related to their characteristics on washboards. Additionally it seems they may not be a great match for our torsion bar IFS.

Last one I have any anecdotal knowledge of is Ironman Pro Foam Cells - I guess out of any of them I'm leaning more towards these.

As the truck is not close to new I at least want to get something that rides well for her and is maintenance free for me. She does like to camp but of course a vast majority of the time will be spent on road miles.
 
Blue Phoenix said:
I appreciate the input... Reading back over my original post I guess it is sort of a "Guess what I'm thinking" sort of question.

In short I have not heard great things about OME shocks in my most recent readings, so unless someone gives me a different impression of them I don't see myself going that direction.

I have heard mixed reviews about Bilstein's but this seems to be mostly related to their characteristics on washboards. Additionally it seems they may not be a great match for our torsion bar IFS.

Last one I have any anecdotal knowledge of is Ironman Pro Foam Cells - I guess out of any of them I'm leaning more towards these.

As the truck is not close to new I at least want to get something that rides well for her and is maintenance free for me. She does like to camp but of course a vast majority of the time will be spent on road miles.
Click to expand...
Curious what you ended up going with, I am also currently leaning towards Ironman Foam Cell Pros or Dobinson. Both are more costly than the OME kits I can find but I have not gathered the best impression from those from the feedback on this site.
 
Stock OEM shocks for sure, they are I believe KYB and twin tube. Low tech and high quality. Extremely cheap and comfortable - $200 for all 4 corners. Can't beat that.
 
I think it's a great idea to lower the ride height before you pass it on, there are a lot of parking garages on college campuses a lifted Land Cruiser won't fit into. If it were me, I'd go back to the stock Tokicos.

Just realized the original post was 9 months ago, @Blue Phoenix, what did you end up doing?
 
Hey good timing on the follow-up question... got to drive "her" truck for a good while over the holiday. I ended up going with the OME, I'm not that adventurous I've found in testing out new-to-me brands these days so I figured what the heck.

It was actually a 2-step process. Initially I just swapped in the new OME shocks, adjusted the torsion bars and called it a day, but I had forgotten I had previously swapped out the Slee rear progressive springs for the OME Heavies - the ride was not good and on these Michigan roads it was actually surprisingly jarring coming from the ICONs. Also some major Stinkbug.

I swapped the Slee springs back in and now that everything has settled I think the ride is actually just "Sporty" feeling. I think the Slee springs in the back help a lot with this ( I remember being very really impressed with them when I first put them on as well).

I think lastly I should add that in the mean time I replaced the tired old Toyos with some new 275 Falken AT4s which are hella beefy tires for the size.

Overall she is very happy with the truck, but I still find myself wanting to snatch the keys from her every time she drives it over.
 
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