Reservoir Shocks, Need some input / feedback

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DJCloz

DJCloz

10 Year
Joined
Oct 29, 2015
Threads
88
Messages
1,406
Location
Lake Forest, CA
Did a quick search and nothing really came up. I am looking to upgrading to some reservoir Shocks and I am not sure what brand I should go with. I currently running the Old Man Emu 6000 shocks. I don't have any complaints, but I have the opportunity to sell these to a friend and upgrade, might as well! The 3 major brands I am interested in are King, Icon and Slee. King seems to bee the cheapest @ appx $1590 for the front and back set, Slee $1740, Icon $2,057 for the stage 2. Can anyone provide any feedback or experience with any of these shocks on their 100 series?
icon resi.webp
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I cant speak for 100 series. But when I built my 2nd gen tacoma. I went from OME to kings. I wish I went with kings from the get go. The ride was night and day, OME was jarring and uncontrolled. The kings were smooth, rebounded great. Quality was 2nd to none with the kings. Had them on the truck for a few canadian winters and they looked new when I sold the truck ( i wash it alot in the winter tho ).

But that being said, it depends on what you want. Kings are progressive shocks ( stiffer the harder you push them ) and Icon are digressive ( softer the more push them. But stiffer on road )

Reservoirs really serve 2 purposes... 1) looking boss under your truck :hillbilly: 2) cool shock body oil for very rough terrain. Think prerunning.

I had to go with reservoirs because at the time, that is all I could order from DSMS


Hope that helps a little bit...:)
 
I went with the Stage III ICONS and absolutely love the ride. Feels stable and planted, even through turns and absorbs everything easily. Are they expensive? Yep. But I don't feel like I lost anything from AHC other than I have to get under the vehicle to make adjustments...non issue. Quality and machining was top notch. I Like the fact that I don't have to go back under there for a while(maintenance) and don't have a nagging "should i upgrade" feeling - I have the best already. If you have the coin, i have no hesitations recommending ICON. I ordered the Super Deluxe kit from Just Differentials and Carl was great dealing with and was even nice enough to answer some questions during install. Great experience all around.
 
I've been more than happy with the Icons.

Stage III with Nitro UCA's and Icon rear links.

Come join us for HIH and drive every setup on the market, then make a decision based on that. We will absolutely have 100's with Icons, custom FOX, Slee, Ironman and everything else in between.
 
not that price is deciding factor, but the kings are $400 more total for lifted applications.
paflytyer said:
I've been more than happy with the Icons.

Stage III with Nitro UCA's and Icon rear links.

Come join us for HIH and drive every setup on the market, then make a decision based on that. We will absolutely have 100's with Icons, custom FOX, Slee, Ironman and everything else in between.
Click to expand...

I don't think I can wait that long! lol I will try, but geez patience is not a strong attribute of mine. Looks wise, I have always loved the King Shocks look. I have not used them personally, but it seems people really like them. Guys with the stage 3 Icons, what made you choose the stage 3 over 2? side note I already have TC UCA's.
 
paflytyer said:
I've been more than happy with the Icons.

Stage III with Nitro UCA's and Icon rear links.

Come join us for HIH and drive every setup on the market, then make a decision based on that. We will absolutely have 100's with Icons, custom FOX, Slee, Ironman and everything else in between.
Click to expand...

I can't find Nitro UCA's Or the Icon rear links @paflytyer

Found the UCA's

JTOUCA-TLC100-BJ
 
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DJCloz said:
not that price is deciding factor, but the kings are $400 more total for lifted applications.


I don't think I can wait that long! lol I will try, but geez patience is not a strong attribute of mine. Looks wise, I have always loved the King Shocks look. I have not used them personally, but it seems people really like them. Guys with the stage 3 Icons, what made you choose the stage 3 over 2? side note I already have TC UCA's.
Click to expand...

you're already spending alot more than you have to for shocks, why not just get it all?... At least that was my logic. Also being able to adapt to driving conditions, highway vs. Trail was appealing
 
fair warning...i noticed you said you had the tc uca's. You can do a search, but some guys have had droop and travel issues not using the nitro's. The nitros were made specifically for use with the ICONS. Yet another benefit of getting the package from Just Differentials. I can understand you not wanting to buy another set as they are expensive, just wanted you to be aware so you can plan your build around it.
 
I don't have much originality so I tend to copy others when deciding my build. And @paflytyer is a really good template to use...plus he is a total stud! @benc is another template I am using for my build.
 
paflytyer said:
For the 200, but can be made to fit the 100 as well. 2008 - Current Land Cruiser Billet Aluminum Rear Trailing Arm Kit - ICON Vehicle Dynamics
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I haven’t seen a 100 with the billet trailing arms anywhere (at least what google ahows me). But been toying with the idea of using the billet arms made for the 200 to my 06 Lx. I have a feeling the trailing arms for both are interchangeable since for one the securing bolts are the same but I just don’t have the data for the length for each model’s trailing arm to conclude my hunch.
 
I have Kings on my ‘06 and couldn’t be happier…..

7EB9D6DE-E707-42DA-9B2C-A59E5FA1E32D.webp
 
OEMGUY0720 said:
I haven’t seen a 100 with the billet trailing arms anywhere (at least what google ahows me). But been toying with the idea of using the billet arms made for the 200 to my 06 Lx. I have a feeling the trailing arms for both are interchangeable since for one the securing bolts are the same but I just don’t have the data for the length for each model’s trailing arm to conclude my hunch.
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FWIW, I just measured the 100 and 200 series lower trailing arms length and they are both 27 3/8”

So yes the lower trailing arm is interchangeable on this two LC models.
 
I have Icon stage 2 and was very impressed with the ride quality both on and off road. It's been 2 year now and 3 of the 4 shocks started leaking. I also had issues with the cheap rubber bushing falling apart. 2 other friends with Icons have had issues as well. One has had the top stem pullout of the shock cap twice. Both have experienced leaking as well.
I have since switched to Slee shocks which are made by a local to me shock builder, ADS. I have run their shocks before, on my rock buggy with numerous top 20 finishs at KOH. Never had any quality issues with them. Time will tell how they do my my LX.
 

BILSTEIN B8 5160? Seems pretty cost effective for reservoir. radflo?​

 
MycoManiac said:
5160 have issues. It’s why you see no one running or promoting them.

Radflo is good. Slee is good. Icon have problems.
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Personally I’d go with radflo if I needed reservoir But if got a soft spot in my heart for bilstein becuase their customer service is unreal. I got the adjustable 5100’s for my sequoia when the first hit market and they had initial issues but when I contacted them their engineers had already fixed the problem and they shipped me brand new ones. Didn’t even ask for my old ones back
 
MycoManiac said:
5160 have issues. It’s why you see no one running or promoting them.

Radflo is good. Slee is good. Icon have problems.
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What are these issues?

Not being combative but interested.

-5160 user for a year
 
ed94r said:
What are these issues?

Not being combative but interested.

-5160 user for a year
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The two people I know that ran them had issues with bushings. But also, I might be confusing that with eibach at the moment.

If I remember right, it was an issue with the lower bushings on the rear. Also, pretty sure mud has some threads on it. Don’t quote me, and let me ask them. I’ll get back to you.

I have no personal experience with them. Second hand only. Grain of salt.
 
OEMGUY0720 said:
I haven’t seen a 100 with the billet trailing arms anywhere (at least what google ahows me). But been toying with the idea of using the billet arms made for the 200 to my 06 Lx. I have a feeling the trailing arms for both are interchangeable since for one the securing bolts are the same but I just don’t have the data for the length for each model’s trailing arm to conclude my hunch.
Click to expand...
I ran the billet trailing arms on my truck for quite some time. I can confirm they fit. Eventually I bent one of them and needed to replace it. I went with Metal Tech rear LCAs to match my UCAs. Honestly, it is a stupid part to buy in aluminum unless you have money to burn and want a shiny part. If I had them the Icon LCAs in usable condition, I would certainly put them on though.
 
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