King 2.5 Reservoir suspension question

[emanting]

Hello,
Looking at a LC200 that has the King 2.5 Reservoir suspension installed. Owner is saying the ride is smoother and better than stock. It looks like a nice setup. I was curious if there are any downsides to this suspension kit? I looked at some threads that said there would be revalving maintenance?

I will not be doing a ton of technical trails. I plan on using the LC to drive from Michigan to Alaska and other trips in Western USA.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[bloc]

Maintenance is the biggest drawback. They will have to be rebuilt periodically, though one advantage to King over others like ARB is that can be done in your garage with parts that are relatively easy to source.

Also not as corrosion resistant as stock.. could be a concern in Michigan.

 

[emanting]

Thanks, Bloc.

Do you have experience with their ride qualities?

 

[bloc]

Thanks, Bloc.

Do you have experience with their ride qualities?

Yeah, I had them with custom valving by Filthy Motorsport for around 50k miles (from memory). They were awesome. A bit more firm and planted 95% of the time but when you’d hit a big bump at speed.. like almost curb sized.. it just sucked it up without losing composure.

Ultimately I ended up going back to stock ride height and suspension as my focus for the vehicle changed.. but that didn’t have anything to do with the Kings.

 

[MRego]

Owner is saying the ride is smoother and better than stock.

IMO, unless you plan doing baja race, nothing rides smoother and better than stock. Just my 2cents.

 

[bloc]

IMO, unless you plan doing baja race, nothing rides smoother and better than stock. Just my 2cents.

Smoother yes, but the amount of suspension travel in a 200 introduces other undesirable traits like lots of brake dive and squat under acceleration. Let alone when loaded up. Kings and other premium suspensions both keep this under control, and add more down travel to further help off-road performance.

I’m happy with OE plus spacers for my current use case. But kings have a place even if the user isn’t desert running, IMO. With the consideration that they do increase maintenance.