You guys still liking your Icon Stage 1 lifts?
Icon Stage 1 Suspension Questions
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I have the 4-6" Icon 2.0's, and was running both front and rear J springs. Now running rear Icon 53006 dual rate coils. The coils are great, but I wish they rode a bit higher as the truck sags a bit more in the back when loaded with gear.
The shocks are nice on the highway,and through higher speed gravel/wash, but I find they lack when crawling and dropping off of ledges. I get a significant amount of body roll and can feel like I am riding in a container ship. Wish they had a bit more compression, and less rebound. This would affect the higher speed operation, but I could deal with that. All of our true trails up here are all low speed.
Now the real issue I have had with the shocks is pulling the top mount clean out of the body. This happened on my first trip with the shocks when I was down in Washington, and just happened again last weekend. Icon was great the first time around, and air freighted me a shock so I could get back out on the trail. I am still awaiting a response from them this time.
While some will say that I should have limit straps, and the shock shouldn't be the limiting factor. I agree that if you are topping out the shock doing very high speed running all the time, that straps should be installed. Icon's stage 1 kit, which includes both shocks and springs that I am running, doesn't include limit straps or even a notice indicating that they are required. I ran OME shocks for years with J springs, the shocks extended length was 2" shorter than the Icons and still never had a problem.
To me, the tiny little top hat mount that is attached by a thread engagement of 4 turns into aluminum simply isn't strong enough.
If Icon doesn't cover this, I will be welding the tops back on, running them till they pop, and moving on.
The shocks are nice on the highway,and through higher speed gravel/wash, but I find they lack when crawling and dropping off of ledges. I get a significant amount of body roll and can feel like I am riding in a container ship. Wish they had a bit more compression, and less rebound. This would affect the higher speed operation, but I could deal with that. All of our true trails up here are all low speed.
Now the real issue I have had with the shocks is pulling the top mount clean out of the body. This happened on my first trip with the shocks when I was down in Washington, and just happened again last weekend. Icon was great the first time around, and air freighted me a shock so I could get back out on the trail. I am still awaiting a response from them this time.
While some will say that I should have limit straps, and the shock shouldn't be the limiting factor. I agree that if you are topping out the shock doing very high speed running all the time, that straps should be installed. Icon's stage 1 kit, which includes both shocks and springs that I am running, doesn't include limit straps or even a notice indicating that they are required. I ran OME shocks for years with J springs, the shocks extended length was 2" shorter than the Icons and still never had a problem.
To me, the tiny little top hat mount that is attached by a thread engagement of 4 turns into aluminum simply isn't strong enough.
If Icon doesn't cover this, I will be welding the tops back on, running them till they pop, and moving on.
This seems like a MAJOR issue if you're running their kit and that's happening. Is there an Icon rep on mud who might be able to comment? This is probably enough to take them out of the running.
Not that I can justify the extra $1k, but I wonder if the Slinky Stage 1 kit has the same issue (potentially).
I am running a slinky stage 1 kit. Well, 3/4 of it. I just replaced the rear shocks with OME L shocks. The top mount bushings disintegrated and ripped out of the mount. Before that they were leaking and possibly bent. Fronts are leaking oil as well.
I'm going to run the OME L shocks until I can afford a 2.5 shock.
Great info. I'd be really upset if I paid that much for a stage 1 kit and the shocks failed like that. Main selling points of the Icon shocks are the fact they're rebuildable and revalvable, hopefully meaning a one-time purchase.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
If you are breaking and bending the shocks it usually means you have things set up incorrectly or don't have the right combination of parts that are resulting in some of the parts being pushed beyond their designed range. As for pulling the pin out of the top of the shock, overextension is a common reason for any shock to fail. It might not be the answer you want to hear but the shock really shouldn't be the limiter of your suspension travel. That's just asking for trouble even if it never was a problem with some other brand. This is one reason I personally prefer to not mix and match lift parts from different brands. I just had better luck running a complete OME kit for years until switching to the Slinky kit and I run a complete kit of that now. A complete kit that is engineered and designed to work together should help avoid many fitment related problems/failures. It's also common for some "extra" parts to not always be included in a lift kit, but are still recommended. Adjustable panhards are one example. Most lift kits don't have the panhards included in the kit but we all know they are an important piece for it to work properly. I would put limit straps in that same category if there isn't some other limiter of travel other than the shock.
@ericbirk do you have coil spacers as part of your suspension? Do you run swaybars? Stock radius arms? Just trying to get a good picture of the different components you're running. OME J springs originally and now Icon coils, correct? Pulled pins out of the shocks with both types of coils? What are the part numbers for the 4-6" lift shocks you are running? The Icon kit for the 80 is only a 3" lift and the shocks are meant as a 3" lift shock. Are you using a different shock part number for the longer length? Is it possible that your shock body is too long and you're bottoming out the shock and weakening the top pin? Bummer that the Icons haven't been holding up and hopefully they will cover the damage again. But maybe there is something that can be tweaked in your setup to avoid the issue in the future?
Some of the comments in this thread confirms what has been reported from others, that the Icon coils (while a nice coil) are not the ideal solution for 80s with much extra weight from bumpers etc. The sagging when loaded, as well as the body roll in corners and offcamber have been reported from others and are also a result of the spring rate being a bit light for a built 80. The Stage1 shocks are similar. They are good shocks, but trucks that have much additional weight added can push them beyond their limits of controlling the mass of the truck.
The Slinky suspension I have on my truck has similarities to the Icon kit but seems to be better for built rigs with additional weight. The coil wire diameter is larger and the spring rates handle loads better than the Icon coils. The shock valving is slightly different but when talking about the Stage 1 shocks used in either the Slinky or the Icon kits, the limits I mentioned above still apply. For the year that I ran the stage 1 shocks I loved the ride but found that I was "overrunning" the shocks and there was a bit more body roll than I liked and I was hitting the bumpstops more often than I wanted. Again, with a built 80, it's worth it to look into the larger adjustable 2.5 shocks that you can set at the best stiffness setting for your specific setup. The Stage 1 slinky shock is the equivalent of a 4 setting (1-10 adjustment settings) on the 2.5 adjustable shocks, 1 being soft and 10 being firm. I would suspect the the Icon versions of the shocks are similar. So there's definitely better control to be had with the adjustable shocks and the stage 1's are clearly on the softer end of the scale.
@ericbirk do you have coil spacers as part of your suspension? Do you run swaybars? Stock radius arms? Just trying to get a good picture of the different components you're running. OME J springs originally and now Icon coils, correct? Pulled pins out of the shocks with both types of coils? What are the part numbers for the 4-6" lift shocks you are running? The Icon kit for the 80 is only a 3" lift and the shocks are meant as a 3" lift shock. Are you using a different shock part number for the longer length? Is it possible that your shock body is too long and you're bottoming out the shock and weakening the top pin? Bummer that the Icons haven't been holding up and hopefully they will cover the damage again. But maybe there is something that can be tweaked in your setup to avoid the issue in the future?
Some of the comments in this thread confirms what has been reported from others, that the Icon coils (while a nice coil) are not the ideal solution for 80s with much extra weight from bumpers etc. The sagging when loaded, as well as the body roll in corners and offcamber have been reported from others and are also a result of the spring rate being a bit light for a built 80. The Stage1 shocks are similar. They are good shocks, but trucks that have much additional weight added can push them beyond their limits of controlling the mass of the truck.
The Slinky suspension I have on my truck has similarities to the Icon kit but seems to be better for built rigs with additional weight. The coil wire diameter is larger and the spring rates handle loads better than the Icon coils. The shock valving is slightly different but when talking about the Stage 1 shocks used in either the Slinky or the Icon kits, the limits I mentioned above still apply. For the year that I ran the stage 1 shocks I loved the ride but found that I was "overrunning" the shocks and there was a bit more body roll than I liked and I was hitting the bumpstops more often than I wanted. Again, with a built 80, it's worth it to look into the larger adjustable 2.5 shocks that you can set at the best stiffness setting for your specific setup. The Stage 1 slinky shock is the equivalent of a 4 setting (1-10 adjustment settings) on the 2.5 adjustable shocks, 1 being soft and 10 being firm. I would suspect the the Icon versions of the shocks are similar. So there's definitely better control to be had with the adjustable shocks and the stage 1's are clearly on the softer end of the scale.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
While I have the Slinky kit, the construction of the shock isn't any different than the regular Icon one (just the length and valving are different) and I have never had any issues with pulling the pins out of the shocks in the past 5 years of running them. Overextension and/or overcompression is nearly always the reason for damage like that and can happen with any shock.
Oh and I'm not a rep for either Icon or Slinky, just a user with some experience with the parts.
I am running a 10mm spacer on the top of the Icon 53006 springs, with 56512 2.0 shocks. Rear stock swaybar is installed, stock upper arms, Metaltech lowers, stock panhard w/ adjuster welded in, and a Delta panhard bracket. Oh, and bumps have been lowered ~2" with a partially compressible Timbren bump.
Correct, was running J's, installed the Icon springs last Thursday for the trip. Pulled tops off the shocks with both coils.
When I originally spec'd the parts, I took the springs and shocks off my truck, and dropped it on bumps. Then measured compressed length. Installed the springs, and drooped out each corner to the point where the spring was just still seated. Measured extended. The 4-6" shocks fit in perfectly with some space left on the shaft when bottomed out.
We do not have the terrain up here to pound out a suspension at high speeds. All our wheeling is low speed crawling, anything higher is gravel roads. I have never felt the shocks bottom hard.
I have never seen anyone with an 80 running limiting straps. Unless I am mistaken, every single 80 uses the shock as a limit of down travel. If you remove the shock from the axle side, you will get more droop. This happened with my stock parts, my OME parts, and my Icon parts. "technically" everyone should be running limit straps.
A 2.0 shock on an 80 will be overrun desert bombing, but shouldn't cause much grief while crawling. The shock cycles are significantly less and much slower. The Icon 2.0 definitely could use more compression and rebound support for the slow speed stuff. Again, the only time I hit rear bumps is when crossed right up and crawling. If I could get them for US prices, I could possibly justify upgrading to a 2.5. However, with the cost up here, its not going to happen.
The Icon coil's will be coming off. While it rides great in a straight line, the issues you mentioned above are 100% accurate.
I spent well over double for these shocks vs off the shelf Bilstein 5125's. Joys of living in Canada...
Ironically, I am sourcing a set of 5125's to replace these Icon's. If they don't rip the tops off, just like my OME shocks didn't, I would still say the Icon's have a design problem.
Funny thing is I drove the exact same stuff as 3 other 80's, 2 60's, and 1 40 series this past weekend. I was the only one with a shock problem...
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
Good info. Sounds like you've taken good steps to try to get things set up well. Not sure what the issue is with the shocks failing for you. I have only heard of a few cases of Icon shock failures on 80s, and never someone that has had TWO failures. As I said before, hopefully Icon covers them. Did you get the directly through Icon, or through some other dealer?
You're right about very few (if any) 80s running limit straps. However, I would argue that many have their travel limited by the binding of the radius arms as much as the shock being the limiter. But there are definitely plenty that are limited by the shocks, especially those running coil spacers that put the lift height beyond the extension limits of what the shocks were designed for. When I had my OME setup with the L shocks, the shocks were limiting travel and, like you, the shocks never failed despite significantly limiting travel.
I also agree with you that for slow speed crawling, 2.0 smooth body shocks are typically adequate, so if you decide to change up your shocks it probably won't make a significant difference in performance.
best of luck.
I got them through the local Toyota dealer who suprisingly had very good pricing on them.
I sure hope they cover them. Kicker now is I have another trip to head out on in 2 weeks.
I still run 3 inch Icon 2.0's on my 80. Actually just had the front ones off as I am totally replacing the full front diff/axle section of the driveline this week (due to other things like getting rid of Superior Eng 'superflex' radius arms). I've not have any issues with the shocks coming apart but I also don't do super HD off-roading any more.
I noticed people referring to shocks are setting the limit of down-travel. That's not correct. Those limits are set by the bumpstops. If you are reaching the limit of compression of your shocks but not at the bump stops your setup is IMHO incorrect.
I run medium rate 3 inch Lovells springs and that combo with the Icon 2.0's has been really nice.
I noticed people referring to shocks are setting the limit of down-travel. That's not correct. Those limits are set by the bumpstops. If you are reaching the limit of compression of your shocks but not at the bump stops your setup is IMHO incorrect.
I run medium rate 3 inch Lovells springs and that combo with the Icon 2.0's has been really nice.
Thanks for the feedback. Despite my concerns, especially with the Icon springs reportedly sagging, the Stage 1 kit is still at the top of my list.
@ericbirk
How much total lift do you have, 3"? Were you just running the 4"-6" shocks because they measured out correctly? Not accusing you of anything, I don't know much about this stuff and I'm trying to learn. A noob like me would run the 3" kit and hope for the best (same springs as you but with the 56509/56510 shocks). Did you talk to Icon yet?
How much total lift do you have, 3"? Were you just running the 4"-6" shocks because they measured out correctly? Not accusing you of anything, I don't know much about this stuff and I'm trying to learn. A noob like me would run the 3" kit and hope for the best (same springs as you but with the 56509/56510 shocks). Did you talk to Icon yet?
Hey,
Not sure on total lift as it never really mattered to me to be honest.
I ran the longer shocks because they lined up almost perfectly with my compressed and extended numbers when I had truck in the shop. My extended bumps gave me around 1-1.5" of shock travel remaining when compressed. Extended was right at the point where the J springs would just about unseat.
Technically the 3" shocks should have an even harder time on full extension as there would be more spring force against them when they were fully extended.
*edit* Deleted a bunch from this comment. I re-read what I had written and did not feel comfortable throwing Icon under the bus. I am working with them to determine exactly why this happened and ultimately it could have nothing to do with their shocks.
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I think there is some term confusion here. Unless I am the one confused, downtravel refers to shock/spring extension. Uptravel refers to shock/spring compression. Both are important in suspension design.
As you stated above, you don't want to compress and bottom the shock before hitting your bump stops.
My bad if I'm using the wrong terminology - I don't work in 4wd accessories. I'm just a dumb freight train driver who has to keep working through the whole covid lockdown snafu. 
Regardless of the term, you need your bumpstops to stop two things - full spring compression AND full shock compression. I have 3 inch medium rate Lovells springs + 3 inch icon 2.0 shocks and they work well. I'm seeing some corrosion on the bottom section of the shafts for the front shocks and when I took them off the front diff housing recently for all the work I'm currently doing where they fitted through the bushes at the lower mount there was a lot of corrosion. Nothing that couldn't be cleaned up but I have had the Icon's for about 4 yrs now.
Regardless of the term, you need your bumpstops to stop two things - full spring compression AND full shock compression. I have 3 inch medium rate Lovells springs + 3 inch icon 2.0 shocks and they work well. I'm seeing some corrosion on the bottom section of the shafts for the front shocks and when I took them off the front diff housing recently for all the work I'm currently doing where they fitted through the bushes at the lower mount there was a lot of corrosion. Nothing that couldn't be cleaned up but I have had the Icon's for about 4 yrs now.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
Do you do much beach driving? Wonder if exposure to sea salt is causing some of the corrosion you are seeing? The chrome plating on the shafts is generally very resistant to corrosion.My bad if I'm using the wrong terminology - I don't work in 4wd accessories. I'm just a dumb freight train driver who has to keep working through the whole covid lockdown snafu.
Regardless of the term, you need your bumpstops to stop two things - full spring compression AND full shock compression. I have 3 inch medium rate Lovells springs + 3 inch icon 2.0 shocks and they work well. I'm seeing some corrosion on the bottom section of the shafts for the front shocks and when I took them off the front diff housing recently for all the work I'm currently doing where they fitted through the bushes at the lower mount there was a lot of corrosion. Nothing that couldn't be cleaned up but I have had the Icon's for about 4 yrs now.
I would agree with that. Our city recently changed to this god awful, vehicle eating spray in the winter... the bottom of my truck is certainly noticing, but the shocks still look awesome.
No beach driving, but I do live close to the Aussie east coast and my work is right next to a big industrial port with a street that regularly floods with seawater backflow through the drains.
Not sure if it's worth trying to get Icon to help as they're well out of warranty and otherwise function great. I'll try to get a pic as I still have the front up on blocks with no wheels fitted. Ok... here we are:
Craig.
