Shocks wanted from Santa = opinions and deals black friday wanted (1 Viewer)

[Peluo]

Shocks manufacturers need to include shock rooster shields for the rear shocks to give protection to the shaft from rocks from gravel roads etc. Fox makes them an option for 2.0 shocks

 

[Qball]

I don't sell, nor am I endorsed by Icon for the record. I also wasn't "diggin" a competitor. Kings are great, just different from the Slinky or Icon shocks. Different designs and different results. We're also speaking in very general terms. Most people here when ordering shocks (even the custom ones) don't know all that much about actual shock tuning. They can provide the builder with vehicle weight and intended use and get the shocks setup the way the builder decides to set them up based on that info. While custom tuning is available, very few are taking advantage of or bothering with a full custom tune to maximize the performance. So from my personal experience having one brand on my own truck and riding in similarly equipped rigs with different brands I'm offering my opinion and observations from firsthand experience. Some may have a slightly different preference than my own, that's totally fine.

Also, I have some experience with Kings. I know how a set of good Kings does. Ridden in 80s and Tacomas with Kings and co-driven the Baja 1000 the Canguro Racing 200 with a full KING setup. 3.5 Triple Bypass fronts and 4.5 Triple bypass rears so I know how a good King setup can, and should, feel. I wouldn't say I don't have any experience with them.
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Interesting, guess those huge icon decals on the side of your 80 are purely from goodness of your heart.

You did make a general statement however I don’t really agree. King being custom can tune the shock to be butter smooth with square edge obaticals however that will give up performance in other areas. Slinky setup you have tried probably performed better simply due to the spring and shocks are developed together for the usecase you have so yeah for you no other setup will come close without some good research and tuning. To say king is not good at sharp edge bumps because of their design is not a correct statement IMHO. Just like slinky setup probably not as good in some usecases the certain king setup is tuned for, not because the design is bad, just not how it is tuned for.

I do agree that Kings being custom is both good and bad. Most people like you say give what they think they want and use case and end up with something isn’t quite what they want. Just like all the people want a fast nurberg ring tested sport car but complain it rides like crap. Good understanding of suspension and shock tuning is needed when piecing suspensions together or better leave that to the pros.

Bottom line, for turn key 80 kit the slinky setup is probably very good just from the feedbacks as I have not tried it yet. If you like to tinker and get custom feel or ride characteristics then King is the way to go.

 

[Qball]

I agree with this. For a lot of people non-resi shocks will be ok. If you're doing mainly slower trail running you won't find too much benefit from the extra oil of the remote res. But for longer "overland" trips where you're running at good speeds for several hours straight and working the shocks hard, then the remote res is very beneficial.

I ran the 2.0 Stage 1 Slinky shocks for a year. Comparing them to the OMEs I had previously, I liked the valving much better and the ride was noticeably improved. On the longer trips, the OME's would start to fade after 4-5 hours of hard running and the truck would get very bouncy and I'd find the bumpstops pretty regularly. I didn't notice as much fade with the Stage1 Slinkys but they would still start to feel a bit soft by the end of a long day and I'd still find the bumpstops on hard bumps while going fast (although I bottomed out much less than with the OME). The extra capacity of the Stage4s I have now eliminates any fade. I don't think it's possible to run them hard enough for a long enough time to make them fade. That's the benefit of the remote res.

On our Southwest Adventure trips over the past two years with a number of trucks in the groups, the non-Slinky equipped rigs all had serious shock fade before the day was over and there was even a case of total shock failure. For the record, I'm not implying that Slinky is the "only answer". Just sharing my experience. They have performed extremely well, and noticeably better than others Ive had experience with. Use and conditions might differ for some but that's what i've experienced here in Utah's deserts.

LOL seriously, comparing your 2.5 resi shocks(icon or not) to usually what people have such as mono tube, foam cell double tube, blah blah 100 dollar shocks is like saying your 80 is better off-road than my old minivan.

I ran the entire Mojave trail(~100 miles) in about 8 hours with a few stops at point of interest. Even though at the end of my run it was 95 degrees I did not have any perceived fading on my old fox 2.0 cheap shocks. Another example, 60 miles of death valley washboard at 55mph and another 20 miles of 10mph baby head trail all in 105+ degree hear, fox 2.0 didn’t have fade so your southwest adventure must be really hardcore.

Would 2.5s be much better? Hell yeah! But did I need it for my “overlanding” Trips, not really. For most people expensive shocks with resi are just for cool factor. Hell most people refuse to spend 10 bucks to get their rig weighted let along doing real research to get a correct setup. Slinky kits did the right thing by taking a lot of the research out of the equation, even at the wrong weight the spring and shocks aren’t completely out of sync.

 

[RFB]

I agree with this. For a lot of people non-resi shocks will be ok. If you're doing mainly slower trail running you won't find too much benefit from the extra oil of the remote res. But for longer "overland" trips where you're running at good speeds for several hours straight and working the shocks hard, then the remote res is very beneficial.

I ran the 2.0 Stage 1 Slinky shocks for a year. Comparing them to the OMEs I had previously, I liked the valving much better and the ride was noticeably improved. On the longer trips, the OME's would start to fade after 4-5 hours of hard running and the truck would get very bouncy and I'd find the bumpstops pretty regularly. I didn't notice as much fade with the Stage1 Slinkys but they would still start to feel a bit soft by the end of a long day and I'd still find the bumpstops on hard bumps while going fast (although I bottomed out much less than with the OME). The extra capacity of the Stage4s I have now eliminates any fade. I don't think it's possible to run them hard enough for a long enough time to make them fade. That's the benefit of the remote res.

On our Southwest Adventure trips over the past two years with a number of trucks in the groups, the non-Slinky equipped rigs all had serious shock fade before the day was over and there was even a case of total shock failure. For the record, I'm not implying that Slinky is the "only answer". Just sharing my experience. They have performed extremely well, and noticeably better than others Ive had experience with. Use and conditions might differ for some but that's what i've experienced here in Utah's deserts.

Adam any experience with the new OME bypass shocks??

 

[Box Rocket]

LOL seriously, comparing your 2.5 resi shocks(icon or not) to usually what people have such as mono tube, foam cell double tube, blah blah 100 dollar shocks is like saying your 80 is better off-road than my old minivan.

I ran the entire Mojave trail(~100 miles) in about 8 hours with a few stops at point of interest. Even though at the end of my run it was 95 degrees I did not have any perceived fading on my old fox 2.0 cheap shocks. Another example, 60 miles of death valley washboard at 55mph and another 20 miles of 10mph baby head trail all in 105+ degree hear, fox 2.0 didn’t have fade so your southwest adventure must be really hardcore.

Would 2.5s be much better? Hell yeah! But did I need it for my “overlanding” Trips, not really. For most people expensive shocks with resi are just for cool factor. Hell most people refuse to spend 10 bucks to get their rig weighted let along doing real research to get a correct setup. Slinky kits did the right thing by taking a lot of the research out of the equation, even at the wrong weight the spring and shocks aren’t completely out of sync.

I like stickers. I have a number of stickers on my truck all put there by personal choice not because of anything else. Some may notice that they tend to change pretty frequently. I haven’t had an Icon sticker on the truck for over a year.
You must have missed that I said I ran the 2.0 mono tube Slinky’s for a year and most of my comparisons are between those and other non-resi shocks. The comments about the 2.5s are just to describe the differences I noticed after that change.
For the record I’m not saying Kings are bad and if that’s what anyone takes away from my comments that is not what I think.

Our first SWAdventure trip I ran these 2.0’s. The trips aren’t “hardcore” but we cover a lot of ground pretty quickly each day.

 

[Box Rocket]

Adam any experience with the new OME bypass shocks??

Not really firsthand yet. A good local friend @bryson has the BP51s on his 80 and we’ve talked about getting out and doing some comparisons but it hasn’t happened yet. I’m looking forward to it.
I suspect the BP51s will be very good. My only complaint at this point is that they are the same length as the L shocks. The L shocks are too short IMO and they were limiting travel on my truck.

 

[RFB]

Not really firsthand yet. A good local friend @bryson has the BP51s on his 80 and we’ve talked about getting out and doing some comparisons but it hasn’t happened yet. I’m looking forward to it.
I suspect the BP51s will be very good. My only complaint at this point is that they are the same length as the L shocks. The L shocks are too short IMO and they were limiting travel on my truck.

shiite good to know thank Rocket

 

[2fpower]

FYI...

 

[2fpower]

Tried to call Dobinson, no answer....

 

[stpetedale]

I called the 786 number and they picked up.I was inquiring about their 2 inch dual rate (C59-222V and 2223V) I'm trying to keep it simple 33s, winch bumper, sliders and 200lbs gear. I'm probably gonna pair them up with Icon 2.5s 0-3 lift. Just when I thought I had it figured out I realized I know nothing. Guessing I could just add a spacer if I want additional height.

 

[bwakeling]

Been very happy with my Slee shocks by ADS Racing. Had them on about 4 years now. On my second set of rear Icon 2.5's on my 4Runner so far less impressed with them.

 

[Qball]

FYI...

View attachment 1840068

Which site is that?

 

[scottryana]

I really like the Slee Setup as well.

Kings are nice too.

Can't go wrong with either one.