DasKeyserSoze
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During a discussion with RPM Offroad Garage, they suggested IronMan Foam Cell Pros over BP-51s.
King 3.0 or BP-51
- Thread starter Milaad
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During a discussion with RPM Offroad Garage, they suggested IronMan Foam Cell Pros over BP-51s.
Recent BP-51 warranty and replacement or several years ago?
He switched to Kings roughly 3-4 months ago. Had BP51s for roughly the 12-18 months prior.
I think the problem with a lot of these performance suspension kits is that none of them are actually tested in cold climates. They are all tested in the desert, and they all s*** the bed when exposed to a Canadian winter, salt, grime, etc. - even the mild winters in western BC.
If you can wait a couple of months, I'll make you a deal on my BP-51s when I take them off. They are 14 months old with 17,000 miles on them right now.
My stock suspension was by far softer than my BP-51 setup. Maybe my BP 51's could be adjusted for a softer ride but I don't think it would match my stack suspension for a plush ride.
Damn, good to know and thanks for response! I have shop date set end of the month with BP's and have struggled past several weeks with King as the better option. Cold is issue for me at 9,000-10,000' in CO. I'm the buy it right.. buy it once guy and don't want to botch this one. Filthy is out with new kiddo but will visit with him next week. I have a lot of hobbies but this may be the one area it's virtually impossible to get a consensus on what's "best". Of course, I understand everyone has different goals and setup but would have thought much easier to make decision.
Maybe missed detail in previous thread, but are you changing to Kings?
Yes. Ordered last week.
I needed to chime in on this thread. I’ve rebuilt my icons 3 times, they creaked like a 85 Honda Accord from day 1. I’ll never buy them again. I currently have fox’s on order, I’m sure kings and bps are also great. Don’t buy Icon
I'm shocked by peoples problems with Icons. I have had them for 18 months and been fine to me and used this winter which was frigid chicago antartic cold. I drove through many snow blizzards thru wisconsin this year. I did buy some shock guards to protect from salt.
I struggled for years to decide between them all and came to this conclusion based on threads/user opinions. Kings > Icons > Fox > BP. Kings ran alot more than Icons on cyber monday, plus Icons are more suited for aggressive drivers. $2500 didn't seem to bad to me. It would have been $1400 if I didn't spring for CDC.
I struggled for years to decide between them all and came to this conclusion based on threads/user opinions. Kings > Icons > Fox > BP. Kings ran alot more than Icons on cyber monday, plus Icons are more suited for aggressive drivers. $2500 didn't seem to bad to me. It would have been $1400 if I didn't spring for CDC.
I swapped my BP-51s for King 2.5s over the weekend on my '17 Land Cruiser. I'm running an ARB Summit front bumper with no winch. Filthy Motorsports suggested the 700# front springs for my application. With no preload, the front sits about an inch higher than the rear with OME 2721 springs. The front should settle, but I may have to add a small spacer above the rear springs to get level.
After a couple of drives, I'm very happy I switched from BP-51s to the King 2.5s. Much better bump compliance on small and large bumps. The Kings are silent which was probably my biggest complaint about the BP-51s.
If anyone is interested in used BP-51s, mine were installed new in June of '18. They have a little under 18,000 miles on them. I'll take some pictures of them and post them in the classifieds this week.
After a couple of drives, I'm very happy I switched from BP-51s to the King 2.5s. Much better bump compliance on small and large bumps. The Kings are silent which was probably my biggest complaint about the BP-51s.
If anyone is interested in used BP-51s, mine were installed new in June of '18. They have a little under 18,000 miles on them. I'll take some pictures of them and post them in the classifieds this week.
I went from BP51's to Kings 3.0's
The ARB shock were very nice, the ride was good but the front bearings i blew out twice and blew the rear seals too but im also VERY heavy all the time. The squeaking and noises meant they just weren't for me
I was one of the first to get the 3.0's front and rear. I helped with the development and install as they are a massive shock and not a simple bolt in and forget. Bump-stops need replacing, spring choice critical, diff drop (larger than usual) and UCA issues but we made it through. I wasn't expecting a huge ride improvement but damn did i get one, slow sped, fast speed, hot, cold these things outperform everything ive every ridden on and ive driven with Icon (not recommended), as well as the usual oil filled tin can shocks.
Do you need 3.0's, well in most cases no, they are complete overkill and most ppl wont find the limits of a 2.5. I do push the limits of my car, am often airborne and travelling very heavy on bad roads for hours on end. There is no harshness at all, no shock felt through the car when i hit a washout, nor when i get it airborne out the other side and land.
The BP51 is a nice around town shock that can do the trips away and makes for a very good ride. Id still run them in some applications and the company support and backup is awesome.
If you will be carrying more weight, pushing the car harder then the kings are a step up for sure. Its doubtful you will need a 3.0 unless you are wanting to really push the car past its limits.
The ARB shock were very nice, the ride was good but the front bearings i blew out twice and blew the rear seals too but im also VERY heavy all the time. The squeaking and noises meant they just weren't for me
I was one of the first to get the 3.0's front and rear. I helped with the development and install as they are a massive shock and not a simple bolt in and forget. Bump-stops need replacing, spring choice critical, diff drop (larger than usual) and UCA issues but we made it through. I wasn't expecting a huge ride improvement but damn did i get one, slow sped, fast speed, hot, cold these things outperform everything ive every ridden on and ive driven with Icon (not recommended), as well as the usual oil filled tin can shocks.
Do you need 3.0's, well in most cases no, they are complete overkill and most ppl wont find the limits of a 2.5. I do push the limits of my car, am often airborne and travelling very heavy on bad roads for hours on end. There is no harshness at all, no shock felt through the car when i hit a washout, nor when i get it airborne out the other side and land.
The BP51 is a nice around town shock that can do the trips away and makes for a very good ride. Id still run them in some applications and the company support and backup is awesome.
If you will be carrying more weight, pushing the car harder then the kings are a step up for sure. Its doubtful you will need a 3.0 unless you are wanting to really push the car past its limits.
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I run the BP-51's and are extremely happy with them. We've had them on about a year. ARB is about an hour from where I live, and their customer service is amazing. The shocks don't make any noise whatsoever, and are awesome on the street and trail. Just drove the entire WABDR and I will say the shocks are a little more plush with the bigger hits than the small ones, but overall they work great. The Kings look prettier no doubt, and would like to ride in a similarly equipped 200 to see how they ride. I was also on the fence RE: King vs ARB, but since ARB is so close to me and has treated me tight in the past, I went with them.
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Ok, got the suspension installed. Couldn't be happier. I will keep updating as I get more time in the car but here are first impressions. I realized that I did in fact have blown rear shocks. The car would sway left to right anytime I went over an uneven surface and it was very uncomfortable. I don't believe I had this issue when I first did the OME but over 30k miles they went out. Second, I think just as important as the shocks is getting the right springs in the car. We went with 200kg OME in the rear and 700lbs in the front. The car is firm in a good way. When I first got the shocks on they were at the softest setting. This gave me a butter ride but I then made them all the way stiff and backed out 8 clicks (24 clicks from all the way soft to all the way stiff). This gave me a firm and somewhat sporty ride. I think I prefer this because the car feels like a complaint but sporty feel. I am waiting for the suspension to settle and then adjust the ride to that its level but so far so good.
Learning lessons: I went with OME thinking id save money and have an OE ride. It worked but I was replaced blown shocks 30k miles later. There were a few times where I would have loved to adjust the front slightly and although there are spacers there is nothing that will allow the ease of adjustment of a coil over. If you can, do the coil overs the first time, you will save more money in the long run.
I plan to get 325 tires. I will put up pics once that happens. Thanks for all those who read and contributed, this new suspension is mega. Thanks to Filthy motorsports for his advice and help.
Learning lessons: I went with OME thinking id save money and have an OE ride. It worked but I was replaced blown shocks 30k miles later. There were a few times where I would have loved to adjust the front slightly and although there are spacers there is nothing that will allow the ease of adjustment of a coil over. If you can, do the coil overs the first time, you will save more money in the long run.
I plan to get 325 tires. I will put up pics once that happens. Thanks for all those who read and contributed, this new suspension is mega. Thanks to Filthy motorsports for his advice and help.
I think this thread has convinced me to go King 2.5s instead of BP-51s like I had been planning.
The downside being I should wait to do suspension until I've got the vehicle's weight figured out to get the valving just right on the first go.
I was planning on doing suspension first on the build which leads to the question: How expensive would it be to revalve and change up spring rates after the coil overs and shocks are already purchased?
The downside being I should wait to do suspension until I've got the vehicle's weight figured out to get the valving just right on the first go.
I was planning on doing suspension first on the build which leads to the question: How expensive would it be to revalve and change up spring rates after the coil overs and shocks are already purchased?
Do you realize ARB is in Renton? For someone that lives in Tacoma, it would be a short drive to ARB if anything ever went wrong. This is a HUGE benefit. We have BP-51's on our 2008 and couldn't be happier. They are perfect in my opinion. They kill it offroad and have awesome street manners. I have the ARB conventional shock setup on my 04 tacoma, and when I sheared off a 9 year old shock mount last year they replaced the shock for free. A NINE year old shock. Their customer service is all time and if I were you I would seriously reconsider.
I'm in the military and will likely move out of washington in the next year, so proximity is pretty moot.
It's also hard to argue that kings are a higher performance shock and more tunable at a slightly higher price point. I'd honestly almost assumed that the kings were significantly more expensive but they really aren't, about an extra five bills for custom shocks with adjusters, and more options if you want them.
For racing, I'd go Kings all day. I know they definitely look 1000 x better than the ARB's. Good luck with whatever you choose! We have had our BP 51's for maybe a year and a half. They have been great. I have never been in a vehicle with Kings but would like to see what a 200 LC would feel like on and off road with them. Who knows, maybe we will go Kings next go around.
