Im looking to go with the Icon Stage 1 for my LX, wondering if theres any cons or dislikes that users have noticed after a couple months or years running them? I've read some good early reviews on here but how have they held up? Also read on other forums (taco/4runner) that the reliability/longevity is meh compared to OMEs.
Icon Stage 1
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Jeez
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yoda-g3
SILVER Star
Ummmm he didn't say a stage 3 setup..... He asked about a stage 1... and a stage 3 is still almost half of what you are inflating it to.
iconvehicledynamics.com
I'm pretty sure your $86 option doesn't include a 3" lift or anywhere near the performance of an OEM shock. But I give you a solid 9.9 out of 10 on the Troll-o-meter.
To answer his ACTUAL question, I haven't run them personally, but like any other suspension choice, intended use is everything. I myself am planning on swapping my OME 3" lift to a stage 3 Icon or 4 Slinky setup (made by ICON) after extensive research over the years. I plan on getting back into the dune running game at some point and both of them are fantastic options from what I've read. If I was going for a 3" starter lift I'd most likely go ICON stage 1.
I can say though that my OME 3" kit has over 100k on it and has held up very well for basic daily driving / light wheeling. Anything with speed and decent bumps over runs them pretty fast.
A little clarification on what you are looking to do with the rig might get a few more hits on feedback.
Products - Icon Vehicle Dynamics
Icon Vehicle Dynamics quality off-road suspension system components, lift kits, coil over shocks, uniball upper control arms, leaf springs, life-time warranty and guarantee of all manufactured parts, and personalized customer service and tech support for Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Jeep, Dodge...
iconvehicledynamics.com
I'm pretty sure your $86 option doesn't include a 3" lift or anywhere near the performance of an OEM shock. But I give you a solid 9.9 out of 10 on the Troll-o-meter.
To answer his ACTUAL question, I haven't run them personally, but like any other suspension choice, intended use is everything. I myself am planning on swapping my OME 3" lift to a stage 3 Icon or 4 Slinky setup (made by ICON) after extensive research over the years. I plan on getting back into the dune running game at some point and both of them are fantastic options from what I've read. If I was going for a 3" starter lift I'd most likely go ICON stage 1.
I can say though that my OME 3" kit has over 100k on it and has held up very well for basic daily driving / light wheeling. Anything with speed and decent bumps over runs them pretty fast.
A little clarification on what you are looking to do with the rig might get a few more hits on feedback.
Okay. Made correction. I thought the $1,300 was for each shock. $650 per shock is half way back down to earth.
Heh, when OP said ICON Stage 1 I thought it meant ICON/TLC Stage 1 build...Ummmm he didn't say a stage 3 setup..... He asked about a stage 1... and a stage 3 is still almost half of what you are inflating it to.
Products - Icon Vehicle Dynamics
Icon Vehicle Dynamics quality off-road suspension system components, lift kits, coil over shocks, uniball upper control arms, leaf springs, life-time warranty and guarantee of all manufactured parts, and personalized customer service and tech support for Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Jeep, Dodge...
I'm pretty sure your $86 option doesn't include a 3" lift or anywhere near the performance of an OEM shock. But I give you a solid 9.9 out of 10 on the Troll-o-meter.
To answer his ACTUAL question, I haven't run them personally, but like any other suspension choice, intended use is everything. I myself am planning on swapping my OME 3" lift to a stage 3 Icon or 4 Slinky setup (made by ICON) after extensive research over the years. I plan on getting back into the dune running game at some point and both of them are fantastic options from what I've read. If I was going for a 3" starter lift I'd most likely go ICON stage 1.
I can say though that my OME 3" kit has over 100k on it and has held up very well for basic daily driving / light wheeling. Anything with speed and decent bumps over runs them pretty fast.
A little clarification on what you are looking to do with the rig might get a few more hits on feedback.
I love mine. I haven't put a ton of miles on it but when I have it really rides great. Super soft and cushy but doesnt wallow. I dont even have any caster correction and it doesnt seem that squirrelly to me. Plan on doing that before I put new tires on though. I wheeled it at Windrock during GSMTR and it was phenomenal. Went through every level of difficulty trail, including double black diamonds.
ICON Stage 1 75mm kit
Im not sure what that other poster is talking about but I paid $1600 for shocks, springs, caster correction, front sway bar relocator and extended steel braided brake lines from 4WheelParts, free shipping. It seems sometimes those brake lines dont get included, but I got them in mine for some reason.
ICON Stage 1 75mm kit
Im not sure what that other poster is talking about but I paid $1600 for shocks, springs, caster correction, front sway bar relocator and extended steel braided brake lines from 4WheelParts, free shipping. It seems sometimes those brake lines dont get included, but I got them in mine for some reason.
Incorrect
Bludozer
SILVER Star
Have Icon Stage 1 + Delta castor arms on my truck. Been the perfect combination so far. Nice middle ground between teeth rattling OME J springs and the old/loose cadillac feel of the Dobinson/Iron man combination I had previously. Very comfortable on road feel without being too soft or too hard. Seems to flex out quite well off road too. Best suspension set up I have had on an 80.
huddleston
GOLD Star
I run icon stage 3 plus all the delta goodies. absolutely love them and they have taken a beating. if possible i would go with the stage 3, but IMO you cant go wrong with Icon.
Delta VS
Supporting Vendor
I would say the reliability/longevity aspect is a bad comparison with OMEs. All the Icons (and similar shocks: Fox, King, BP51, etc) are rebuildable shocks, standard OME sealed gas strut types are NOT rebuildable. So as long as you are willing to take a little time down the road to either send them in or have them rebuilt locally, I would consider them to be "lifetime" shocks, barring any catastrophic failure situations. AND since they are rebuildable, they are tunable to some extent (talking about the smooth body 2.0s, the 2.5 remotes are fully tunable) so can grow with the rig as well.
No issues after 20k miles on Stage 1 - awesome ride and shock travel compared to previous OME Heavy.
Would recommend Stage 3 with an RTT or heavy load up top. Or, another companies coils if you're building a tank (>6700 lbs).
Best to bin the CC bushings that come with the kit and factor in price of Castor Plates - and bumpstop drop brackets or Timbren bushings.
I used Lantank / Wit's End 4" plates which resulted in +3.7 deg castor up front = perfecto. Though, would have spent the extra on @Delta VS front control arms had they been available at the time.
Can't go wrong with ICON - great customer service. Any issues - just call them. They actually shipped me parts within 3 days at no cost. Try that with Aussie-Malaysia brands.
The new BP-51 remote resi are nice in the sense you can tune compression and rebound. Unfortunately the shock lengths are not suitable above 2.5" and OME coils are not progressive
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I can get that same feeling with the silver KYB shocks. They cost about $33 per shock. There’s even a $25 rebate if you buy four now.
Bludozer
SILVER Star
I'm glad you think so, things like "ride feeling" are very subjective and if you are satisfied with how your truck feels on those shocks then more power to you. You really are comparing apples to oranges with quality though, but to each their own.
KYB are awesome - if you stay stock height, weight...... well kinda stock everything really, including 265's
265's CAN take you a lot of places......... with lockers
265's CAN take you a lot of places......... with lockers
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Box Rocket
SILVER Star
I will fully admit to becoming a bit of a suspension "snob" over the past few years. For years I was of the mind that there wasn't that much difference to be had in ride quality etc on the 80 and cheaper shocks "worked fine". I ran a few different OME setups, some bilsteins, some Rancho RS9000 and even some of the Fox 2.0's for a bit. Then I got my current Slinky kit a few years ago and my mindset completely changed. Yeah it was a more expensive kit but the improvement in ride and performance is easily worth the difference in cost IMO. Whether it's Slinky or another high end shock like ICON or KING I think the results can be similar. I feel a bit "ruined" since I don't think I could ever go back to a cheaper suspension on my own vehicle after experiencing what life is like with something that is really good.
As for the Stage1 Icons, They have similar valving setup to the Slinky Stage1's (also built by Icon). I ran these for a year and was really happy with them they are a good shock. If I remember correctly the main difference between the Slinky and the Icon 2.0's is that the Slinky version firms up a bit more as it gets deeper in the stroke. I found that a nice thing when running faster speed on rough roads as they handled bigger bumps a bit more before bottoming out. They are well suited for lighter rigs that aren't loaded down by lots of armor, drawers, RTT's etc. Since my truck has that stuff I found that I was "overrunning" the shocks more often that I liked and bottoming out too frequently. But I tend to drive a bit faster than many, so if you are lighter weight and your driving style is more relaxed then it can be a great setup. On the other hand if your rig is on the heavier and you are a bit more "spirited" in your driving style then I think it's very much worth the upgrade to the adjustable 2.5 remote res shocks. Being able to tune the ride based on conditions and load has been really nice.
As Delta mentioned, these can be a "lifetime" suspension because they can be rebuilt. I am now of the mindset that it is totally worth the higher pricetag to get a really good suspension and just rebuild as needed.
As for the Stage1 Icons, They have similar valving setup to the Slinky Stage1's (also built by Icon). I ran these for a year and was really happy with them they are a good shock. If I remember correctly the main difference between the Slinky and the Icon 2.0's is that the Slinky version firms up a bit more as it gets deeper in the stroke. I found that a nice thing when running faster speed on rough roads as they handled bigger bumps a bit more before bottoming out. They are well suited for lighter rigs that aren't loaded down by lots of armor, drawers, RTT's etc. Since my truck has that stuff I found that I was "overrunning" the shocks more often that I liked and bottoming out too frequently. But I tend to drive a bit faster than many, so if you are lighter weight and your driving style is more relaxed then it can be a great setup. On the other hand if your rig is on the heavier and you are a bit more "spirited" in your driving style then I think it's very much worth the upgrade to the adjustable 2.5 remote res shocks. Being able to tune the ride based on conditions and load has been really nice.
As Delta mentioned, these can be a "lifetime" suspension because they can be rebuilt. I am now of the mindset that it is totally worth the higher pricetag to get a really good suspension and just rebuild as needed.
I'll second Adam's experience. I have the Slinky/Icon Stage 1 setup. This past week, I had 3 full days of wheeling. My group included a Tacoma on OME, a CJ on cheapo shocks, another Tacoma on Bilsteins and me. In between the hard rock crawling obstacles, I could go down the trail at 15-20 mph comfortably. The OME Tacoma could go ...maybe 10mph and was bouncing all over. the bilstein Tacoma was similar. The CJ could go maybe 5mph.
At the end of the trail, the CJ driver came up to my rig and started pushing up and down on it. Then made a comment about me and my "fancy coils". Similarly, the OME Tacoma driver mentioned that he was getting beat to death while it looked like I was "floating on a cloud up there". He was also impressed that I had a 4 year old and a 10 month old ride with me for a full day... no crying. That alone was worth the cost, in my book. The thing that impressed me the most is that my wife mentioned that the new suspension setup was so much better than my old OME setup. That came from someone almost proud of her inability to discern ride quality.
At the end of the trail, the CJ driver came up to my rig and started pushing up and down on it. Then made a comment about me and my "fancy coils". Similarly, the OME Tacoma driver mentioned that he was getting beat to death while it looked like I was "floating on a cloud up there". He was also impressed that I had a 4 year old and a 10 month old ride with me for a full day... no crying. That alone was worth the cost, in my book. The thing that impressed me the most is that my wife mentioned that the new suspension setup was so much better than my old OME setup. That came from someone almost proud of her inability to discern ride quality.
i have the Icon stage 1 for over 2 yrs now and i am very happy with them. The only regret is not getting them sooner.
Wow, this review has me considering another suspension update. I started out on OME (rough ride) and now I'm on TJM progressive/Fox 2.0. When I made that switch, my wife commented on the ride improvement off road, but on the road there is a ton of body roll and slop. One end of the spectrum to the other. Sounds like Icon is the happy medium.
The 2.5" are part of the Stage 2 and above. I don't know where those fit in because they also add the CDC valve on top of being 2.5 remote resi.
These are the shocks that are part of the Stage 1 package. They are roughly the same price as the Fox 2.0
ICON Land Cruiser 80 Series 2.0 Aluminum Series Front Shock (0-3" Lift) (PAIR)
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