Shock Brand Longevity... Who's Currently the Best?

[OregonLC]

My Icon CDCV's are beyond tired. 60k on them and at max firmness with not much dampening going on. To be fair, 60k is long in the tooth for any shock. But that they have a 30k (?) recommended service interval makes me wonder if perhaps I should change things up rather than rebuild.

Any thoughts on King, Radflo, BP51s vs the Icon's? I'm not a speed runner nor a crawler. But I do often spend long days on rough trails so I need something that can resist fade from a heavy (8,000 lbs) truck with all-day use.

I feel the King might be overkill for my use case. I've had good experience with the Radflo before. But honestly, I'm kinda leaning toward the BP51s. That they have both compression and rebound adjustment is interesting. And I don't read many who are unhappy with them even though they're not spec'd as robust as a 3" King.

Or should I just rebuild the Icons and consider that to be a biannual ritual?

 

[Moby]

I had no trouble getting 60k out of the Radflos I had on my GX460. Hoping that I'll get similar out of my Kings but time will tell.

 

[linuxgod]

I have 70k on my Tough Dog 45mm adjustables and they still perform like new. I expect to get at least 100k out of them, likely more

 

[OregonLC]

I had no trouble getting 60k out of the Radflos I had on my GX460. Hoping that I'll get similar out of my Kings but time will tell.

I too had a good experience with Radflo on the 100. Trying to remember... don't they have the opposite valving of the others? They're regressive while most others are progressive? Or vice-versa?

How would you rate the ride in the 200? Cadillac or GT3?

 

[stonepa]

Toyota OEM. They last the longest of any shock I have found. Not rebuildable, but that may be key to their longevity.

 

[OregonLC]

Toyota OEM. They last the longest of any shock I have found. Not rebuildable, but that may be key to their longevity.

I think for my application I need something a bit more tuned to all-day trail use as well as extended travel of an after-market UCA. While I do buy most parts as Toyota OE there are a few areas where the aftermarket is beneficial.

 

[stonepa]

I think for my application I need something a bit more tuned to all-day trail use as well as extended travel of an after-market UCA. While I do buy most parts as Toyota OE there are a few areas where the aftermarket is beneficial.

Ive been there. And I get it, OEM doesn’t always work. Second best I have found is Old Man Emu. So many of the highly adjustable shocks require frequent rebuilds and I for one no longer have time for that complexity. But that’s just me.

 

[Moby]

I too had a good experience with Radflo on the 100. Trying to remember... don't they have the opposite valving of the others? They're regressive while most others are progressive? Or vice-versa?

How would you rate the ride in the 200? Cadillac or GT3?

I only ran them on my 460 and they did great once I got them dialed. Very balanced. I re-valved them once myself and thought they were progressive but could be wrong. I thought Icons were digressive. Again, could be completely wrong.

Comparatively, the Radflos rode better than the Kings in my 200 on road and not as well on dirt roads. But it is all in the valving, not the brand from my experience. I got lower end Bilstein 7100s to work well on my '62 after many re-valvings.

 

[TeCKis300]

The architecture of the suspension system has some trade for longevity. If long term performance is a goal, than twin tube architectures might be something to look into as they run lower charge pressures with better seal life. This also has some benefits to on-road comfort as with less pressure, there's less stiction.

Tinkerers adventure seems to like Ironman Foam Cell Pros for their combination of twin tube architecture, no/low gas pressure, and large diameter to still have the larger damping forces of a performance shock.

 

[AnyMal]

Not super relevant but ive always wished I could do a shock assembly with the pivoting top hat puck but its not exactly possible on AHC.

Those i believe are usually in the high end remote res type of shock.

Tinkerer really did a good breakdown too as posted and i have had nothing but great support from IronMan personally.

Their stuff tends to use oem style fittings everywhere too, which is a plus in my eyes for retaining oem comfort.

Great value too on their stuff.

 

[OregonLC]

The architecture of the suspension system has some trade for longevity. If long term performance is a goal, than twin tube architectures might be something to look into as they run lower charge pressures with better seal life. This also has some benefits to on-road comfort as with less pressure, there's less stiction.

Tinkerers adventure seems to like Ironman Foam Cell Pros for their combination of twin tube architecture, no/low gas pressure, and large diameter to still have the larger damping forces of a performance shock.

The Ironman 4x4 product is indeed robust and will last much longer than any gas shock. I really like the foam cell technology from a simplicity and durability standpoint. I am, however, biased toward comfort. My experience is they tend to be more German and less Cadillac. Perhaps with a porky 200 that's less of a concern? Goal #1 is to have 10 hours of rough trail be as smooth as possible. One of the ways to achieve that is with an externally adjustable shock; control on the road and comfort on the trail. Early on I had the Icons at 6 on the highway and 2 on the trail. Now they're max firm fill time.

I guess where my question was headed should have been more 'do Icon shocks really only last 30k? And do other similar shocks last 2x that?'

 

[AnyMal]

@OregonLC

Im sure youve seen these breakdowns? If not def worth watching.

And @bloc will have a lot of good info and experience on this.

 

[bloc]

Outside of the reservoir hose rub issue which I’ve addressed, and wouldn’t be an issue with comp adjusters, I’m very happy with my Kings. I will probably need a new shock shaft in the rear when I rebuild as I did get a big nick in one of them. IMO it actually says a lot about the underlying quality that a nick that size hasn’t led to a seal tear or noticeable leak.

I guess where my question was headed should have been more 'do Icon shocks really only last 30k? And do other similar shocks last 2x that?'

I think this is an incredibly subjective thing. If going aftermarket I’d personally put “quality” at the very top of my list, and I’ve seen enough from icon ripping top mounts out of the shock body to disqualify them from that title, even if that hasn’t happened to you. Second on my list was the ability to rebuild them myself.. the video @AnyMal linked convinced me I could handle this. Idea being the underlying quality means those rebuilds shouldn’t be required too often, but once necessary I get to experiment and do it.

Lots of good points in this thread. The aftermarket has a different set of standards with respect to longevity, and part of that is the increased complexity. BP-51s have a good rep but I actually view the adjustable valving and bypasses as extra complexity that isn’t needed if they are valved correctly from the beginning (enter working with someone like Ben.) Note how many people have frozen adjusters on their BPs. And no ability to rebuild them when the time comes.

The simplicity argument is why I didn’t go with comp adjusters, plus when you look at how they work the internal pressures are *much* lower without them. Hoping all of this makes for a relatively bomb-proof set of dampers that handle my use case. They’ve done really well so far. But, I haven’t had any other shocks to compare directly.

 

[OregonLC]

I’ve seen enough from icon ripping top mounts out of the shock body to disqualify them from that title, even if that hasn’t happened to you.

Yep, Lockhart Basin Trail, 2018. Happened to me. Top stud was cross-threaded at the factory. In fairness, defects happen and Icon had a new set drop shipped to a UPS store in Flagstaff for me to pick up. Was a long three days with BOTH rear shocks inop! Which some may say 'why even consider rebuilding'? Aside from this defect and the early wear-out, they actually perform very well on my truck.

Outside of the reservoir hose rub issue which I’ve addressed, and wouldn’t be an issue with comp adjusters, I’m very happy with my Kings. I will probably need a new shock shaft in the rear when I rebuild as I did get a big nick in one of them. IMO it actually says a lot about the underlying quality that a nick that size hasn’t led to a seal tear or noticeable leak.
Second on my list was the ability to rebuild them myself.. the video @AnyMal linked convinced me I could handle this. Idea being the underlying quality means those rebuilds shouldn’t be required too often, but once necessary I get to experiment and do it.

Lots of good points in this thread. The aftermarket has a different set of standards with respect to longevity, and part of that is the increased complexity. BP-51s have a good rep but I actually view the adjustable valving and bypasses as extra complexity that isn’t needed if they are valved correctly from the beginning (enter working with someone like Ben.) Note how many people have frozen adjusters on their BPs. And no ability to rebuild them when the time comes.

The simplicity argument is why I didn’t go with comp adjusters, plus when you look at how they work the internal pressures are *much* lower without them. Hoping all of this makes for a relatively bomb-proof set of dampers that handle my use case. They’ve done really well so far. But, I haven’t had any other shocks to compare directly.

You make good points about the Kings. I'm definitely a buy once/cry once guy... but $3,500 is steep entry point. I think the Radflo's are serviceable as well.

As for the adjusters, there is wisdom in simplicity. I think many (majority?) of users buy for the concept but then never touch them. I'm one who did use them. Super easy to count clicks and rotate when airing down/up. I like the option of highway control vs offroad mobility.

What's funny is the more I type, the more I describe AHC...

 

[Moby]

FWIW I have hose rub issues with compression adjusters on my Kings... I also wrapped them.

Fox, King, Radflo... are rebuildable and tunable.

 

[OregonLC]

Do those rebuilds require access to nitrogen bottle pressure? I remember something about the gas being around 300 psi. Also, I'm sure, it needs to be super dry.

 

[bloc]

Do those rebuilds require access to nitrogen bottle pressure? I remember something about the gas being around 300 psi. Also, I'm sure, it needs to be super dry.

200, and yes. You could probably do all the build work then bring it to someone local to fill. Nitrogen is common for shocks and even mountain bike suspension.

I just got the regulator and a small bottle. It'll pay for itself by not having to pay for the rebuild.

 

[Tex68w]

I’ve run Icon, Kings, Fox, Bilstein, OME and Ironman. Icon is the worst of the bunch, constant rebuilds from blown seals, hard pass. Kings are nice and definitely get the bling and cool guy awards but they do require maintenance and aren’t cheap when they do. Fox has treated me well over the years but their internals tend to be cheaper than what is used by King. My Ironman Foam Cell Pros were fantastic and I was extremely happy with them all around, highly recommend for the price point. Bilstein and OME (not BP51) are great simple shocks, I am currently running the OME 2” and I am blown away for the money but they are place holders. I plan to keep them around for when the next set needs a rebuild.

The other option I don’t see represented is Dobinson, lots of great feedback on their stuff as well from their entry price point to their top offering MRR’s that rival King. I have strongly considered them in the past and going forward.

 

[rlynch356]

A rebuild is usually replacing the seals, since they are under high pressure and moving they wear out fast.
IMHO... accept that or just go with an OME/Ironman type setup.

 

[Gr8Daneger]

Ironman Foam Cell Pros seem like a great choice for self maintenance, but I’ve heard they ride way to stiff. Is the the way Ironman intended or is that the nature of the Foam Cell technology.