My shock collection- I have tested 4 different brands

[arich]

Brian,
If you produced them I would buy front springs that would raise an inch. New rear spring that would retain the stock height but be a progressive type with more load carrying capability.

Adjustable spring perches, yeah I'd have to buy these too for my collection.

 

[topgun32]

I'm at 130k miles.. i'm done with stock shocks.. and the crazy rebound the truck takes on unbroken pavement.

looking to control nose dive and keep the soft ride. I'm going to email Brian to start looking to purchase the shocks.

 

[arich]

I'm still in love.
Your truck is a 08-11?

I just ordered a couple upper shock bushings from Beno. I'm going to take them apart again and soften the shock settings and change the bushings. I think my guy over tightened the upper bushing when he put the struts together for me.

 

[Overlake]

Call brad at icon.

 

[arich]

Two completely different suspension systems.
Neither of us can say mine is better because we're all after something different.

 

[Overlake]

Wish we could test drive mine v yours.

 

[Thebedouin60]

I've been trying to control that crazy rebound and i'm still struggling after switching between 3 different springs and playing with internal shock tuning. Bear in mind i'm running king shocks with an Old Man Emu rear spring at the moment. For the type of driving i do, which is a combination of high speed whoops and cross cresting technical mid-size sand dunes it's been a monumental improvement over getting my spine kicked in by the desert. My remaining options are to go back to stock rear springs or the light load OME's.

When you mentioned a softer ride for highway use, how would the back end handle every day bumps when you were on the Konis? The best scenario i could ask you for is "how do they perform when you run over speed bumps fast and unloaded?"

 

[MScruiser]

Wish we could test drive mine v yours.

The two systems are completely different. ICONs are racing shocks, and like all racing shocks, they have to be maintained. The KONIs and some of the other systems out right now Ironman, Toughdog, TJM, etc. are made to last a long time and they also come with impressive warranties (i.e. 3-year, 60,000km warranties) There's no way in hell a racing shock would have a warranty like that. From talking to various vendors or various racing shock companies, warranties (wear and tear) are essentially non-existent. If topgun32 wants a good shock that will be a no-fuss low maintenance system, he should NOT buy a racing shock.

If you want a great race shock, and you don't mind having to perform regular maintenance and rebuilds, thats fine. If you want a good shock that will last a long long time and will require virtually zero maintenance, go with the KONIs.

 

[Overlake]

The two systems are completely different. ICONs are racing shocks, and like all racing shocks, they have to be maintained. The KONIs and some of the other systems out right now Ironman, Toughdog, TJM, etc. are made to last a long time and they also come with impressive warranties (i.e. 3-year, 60,000km warranties) There's no way in hell a racing shock would have a warranty like that. From talking to various vendors or various racing shock companies, warranties (wear and tear) are essentially non-existent. If topgun32 wants a good shock that will be a no-fuss low maintenance system, he should NOT buy a racing shock.

If you want a great race shock, and you don't mind having to perform regular maintenance and rebuilds, thats fine. If you want a good shock that will last a long long time and will require virtually zero maintenance, go with the KONIs.

Have you run icons on your 200? Anything? No?

There you go fellas. The unofficial official armchair of the forum. Lol

 

[MScruiser]

I never said I "ran" anything.

I have called ICON, Radflo, Metal Tech, SLEE, Down South Motorsports, Filthy Motoersports, and King and I have been doing my research for quite some time on suspension setups. When a poster asks what to get, I do my best to type a useful and insightful post, as I am trying to save other posters the trouble that I (and others) had to sift through all the information. I think that is much more useful than "Call Brad at ICON". Don't get yourself butthurt because I said that the poster may want to buy a different shock than the super-badass-end-all-be-all-mine-is-better-than-yours-and-if-you-disagree-with-me-I-will-put-you-down that you "run" on your truck. By the way, do you work for ICON, or are you getting kickbacks for advertising for them? You seem to have a major hard-on for Bradley:

Now instead of childishly mudslinging, how about you refute my post, or even if you are so bold, tell what makes the ICONs better (long-term) than say, a set of KONI 90s. Your holier-than-thou and your smug rhetoric have no place in this forum.

To those who are interested, I had already ordered a set of Kings, but cancelled my order, and ended up buying a set of Ironman Foam Cell Pros from Metal Tech. Why did I initially choose King over the super-badass-end-all-be-all-mine-is-better-than-yours-and-if-you-disagree-with-me-I-will-put-you-down shocks that Overlake has? Because ICON uses poorer quality seals, and when I called ICON, the customer service tech that answered my call couldn't tell me what made their shock better than say, King, Fox, or even Radflo.

I eventually decided against racing shocks all together, because they ALL have to be rebuilt and ALL have to be regularly maintained. Even the top of the line ones, which by the way are not made by ICON, Fox, or even King.

I decided on the Ironmans (after speaking with Krieten and L.T. @ MetalTech over the phone) because the Foam Cell Pros come with a very nice warranty, and will give a 2.5" lift at a minimum(some other posters have even experienced a 4" lift). Though they are new to the U.S., they have been around in Australia for quite some time. FWIW, the KONI 90s are probably better.

 

[bjowett]

Have you studied or built dampers? How about weeks of field testing? Your enthusiasm is appreciated… questioning things is good, but sometimes you need to question yourself.

 

[Overlake]

I never said I "ran" anything.

Enough said.

 

[Overlake]

Have you studied or built dampers? How about weeks of field testing? Your enthusiasm is appreciated… questioning things is good, but sometimes you need to question yourself.

What's on your wife's 200?

 

[MScruiser]

Enough said.

You do realize how foolish you sound, right? It's comical how you keep digging yourself deeper in a hole. So, let me just make sure I am hearing you correctly; because you bought a set of ICONs, you now not only became an expert on all suspension systems, but also bought yourself the right to trash talk others?

Again, please refute my previous post.

 

[Yossarian]

Have you run icons on your 200? Anything? No?

There you go fellas. The unofficial official armchair of the forum. Lol

Overlake, I see you joined the forum this summer. In a very short time you've made a few statements like this that are neither useful nor add to the collective knowledge base that is Mud. It's up to us to police ourselves and make the forum an inviting place for enthusiasts of the Land Cruiser in all it's varieties to discuss a multitude of topics.

Sometimes it's better to be thought a fool, that to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

 

[gaijin]

Overlake, I see you joined the forum this summer. In a very short time you've made a few statements like this that are neither useful nor add to the collective knowledge base that is Mud. It's up to us to police ourselves and make the forum an inviting place for enthusiasts of the Land Cruiser in all it's varieties to discuss a multitude of topics.

Sometimes it's better to be thought a fool, that to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I have Overlake on the "Ignore" setting - click on his username and select "Ignore."
Self policing works best for me

 

[Overlake]

I don't have enough time or energy to respond to someone who simply reads and doesn't actually do anything about it. For how much longer are you going to call vendors, ask their rep point blank why they're better than the next guy, when anyone with any semblance of logic and reason knows you're going to call the next vendor with the same boring, pointless, vapid question that gets you and anyone else listening to you nowhere? A waste of time.

I'm a customer of Slee. I'm a customer of Metaltech. I'm a customer of ICON. I'm a customer of a number of reputable vendors because I love cars and not just Land Cruisers. I ran the OME shocks. I ran multiple versions of the ICONs. I've run a number of other suspension kits, parts on other vehicles because I also like to tinker around. I've learned my lessons. Bilstein PSS10s, KWV3s, Ohlins, HREs, OZs, BBS wheels, Forgelines... they're all great stuff.

End of day, you can't go wrong, but why split hairs so much when the gains or losses are super marginal? Why worry about a rebuild when there are thousands of Toyotas running ICON/KING/FOX suspensions? If so worried why not just stay stock? Why split hairs about BF Goodrich v. Toyos when they're both top shelf tires?

What me worry? Follow and listen to who you feel has substance. I paid money to put this stuff on my truck and reporting honest results. I've met the ICON guys and they're super cool dudes. I like to build relationships because that matters to me. Am I biased? Quite possibly so, but if the product didn't meet and exceed my expectations, believe me, you guys will be the first to know.

So get your KING or Radflos and report back on what's real. Not he said she said over the phone and they weren't very nice bs. Thank you.

 

[MScruiser]

Again, you are dodging the question I asked earlier. Please respond to it. Wisdom is reading and researching before purchasing. But you know what they say about fools and their money... So just to make sure I am reading you correctly; you are saying that researching performance parts is pointless? It sure helped me: It told me that I should not buy ICON and that I should be talking to someone else that really knew their product and the products of their competitors (i.e. Glenn at Radflo was extremely knowledgeable, as were the guys at DSM and KING). Its sad that you are the one pushing ICONs; they make a good product too. I have actually had someone IM about suspension and say that they didn't want to support ICON, because they didn't want to have anything in common with you. So theres at least one instance you actually cost the company you are pushing money. Does Brad know the reputation that is following you on this site? Maybe we should email him a link to your threads that always go out in a blaze of glory? Again, I am not a fanboy of any brand; I am only reporting what I have heard from talking to various vendors. A vendor should be able to tell why their product compares to other brands; ICON was the ONLY company that I encountered that couldn't tell me a darn thing about their product.

Again, do you think you are an expert on 200 series suspension setups? Do you have the right to bad mouth me (for researching and sharing my findings) and other posters in this thread?

And don't be foolish, of course you have the time and energy to respond to me; you have made a habit of $hitting on everything I post. I myself do have the time and energy to respond to each and every word you post. Keep posting, I enjoy watching it all unfold. Its remind me of a gruesome car wreck; I just can't turn away.

 

[bjowett]

What's on your wife's 200?

Koni 90 Series.

 

[arich]

Ugh,
You guys certainly are entertaining.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all test and run all these shocks? We can't but I've run three different brands all within a year and reported honestly.

I think the main question should be what do your truck to do? Off-road, highway or both and be honest?
My truck will never see dirt even though I'd love to think it will.
Like I've said its our family travel vehicle for skiing, fishing etc.

Tires also play a huge role and I've made mistakes. The best everyday highway tire I've found is the Michelin MS2s. I'm struggling with tire selection for the 17" TRDs I just got.

So rather than arguing who's got a bigger willy can we please just give honest advice and if anyone is in NY, NJ or CT and wants do drive my truck it's my pleasure.

If you have specific questions for me title the question ARich or Anthony.