NW WA Meet / BS Thread

No because one truck has 13" coils and one has 14" coils.. The one with an inch longer coils will ride higher with 0 preload. At least thats what I think

 

The collar on the shock body will be at the top with 14" springs vs an inch down on the shock body with 13" with 0 preload. Like @AWilson013 said, its still a 650# shock no matter how long you make it. :dunno:

 

You can put the collar all the way up on a 13" can't you? I'd be surprised if not because thats a stock length coil.. If not then yeah Alex is right.

 

I'm not sure on the difference in shock length between the icons and kings, but if you have to compress a 14" spring to fit where a 13" once was, you're preloading it.

 

This is correct. If the shock length is the same, then it doesn't matter how long the coil is. With equal preload, any length coil with the same spring rate will compress the same amount once weight of the truck is applied.


I've got Kings on in the front and will be installing ext length King rears when I get back from working up here in Kodiak. The Kings ride awesome on the freeway and are even smoother offroad.

But, since this is a meet thread and not a suspension discussion thread.... Any guys from the greater Seattle area got any cool spots for a day of winter wheeling? I'm going to be doing some major changes to the rear of the truck and would to flex it out somewhere, awesome views at the destination is always a plus.

 

Where are you from? Plenty of snow wheeling back beckler road off hwy 2, or darrington.

 

My house is in Mill creek. Darrington isn't too far away. I was up in that area camping and rafting on the Sauk river these past summers, before i got the truck. Would love to find some more trails out here.

 

If nobody else pans out I could make time to head over that way. Though my setup would be a bit different than on a more stock truck. Full armor, winch, bigger tires and all that. But would give you an idea at least.

As for brand...seriously just buy whoever has the cheapest. If you can get a King setup and save 300 bucks...go King. If you can save 300 going Fox...go fox. Same for Icon. All will offer great rides and youll be happy with them. Id be willing to bet in a blind test most people wont be able to tell one brand from another. Might go i like one more than another but bet they wouldnt know the brand. Obviously that statement isnt true for those people who truly are pushing their shocks and the such but since a ton of icon/fox/king shocks get put on and only drove on pavement those people im betting against!

 

Wow I didn't expect so many people to step up and volunteer to take me for a test drive. Thanks everyone!

@AWilson013 thanks for the generous offer and the information. The Bilsteins that I have are digressively valved, but are just not a great shock. They seemed fine back when I first installed them, but the more miles I put on my truck, the more I've grown to hate the harsh ride. Dupont is a bit of a haul but I could make it down that way on a weekend. I like that your Icons could be adjusted to softer compression so I could see how that feels. As for the Kings, I've read a lot of good reviews on those too... the hardest thing is all the conflicting information regarding the ride characteristics of digressive vs progressive valving. I put about 400 miles a week on my truck between commuting and running around with the family so I need a better riding suspension. I see a lot of people changing from Icons to Kings but no clear reason as to why. Send me a PM with your contact info and we can try to coordinate a day to get together.

@JDAM How do you like your Kings for running around on the street? I commute through Issaquah 3-5 days a week depending on my work schedule. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday most often and occasionally Monday and Thursday. Would you be available to meet after work one day? If not, I could drive up on the weekend. Send me a PM and we can coordinate something.

 

@bigd9247 I live up north now- Renton Highlands area. I am free most week days... and week ends... and week nights...

 

Dem fightin' words. Well I'll start with one of my favorite quotes about Icon...

In all serious... In the off-road world I don't understand icon. Rock crawling or desert running you want a progressive shock. I did not bash Icon... On the contrary I said he would probably like them. The difference for his use is negligible. I think Icon would be fine.

 

Saw this today in Everett..

 

So a dude that cannot drive his truck on a gravel road doesn't like Icon and has a few (mostly incorrect) opinions... I can live with that. You have to remember that they just bought out Donahoe (a failing company) less than 10 years ago, and creating a product name/image from a rather tarnished one isn't too easy or cheap. They've got 3 or 4 drivers for the 2015 season, and I'd be very surprised if they don't pick up more for 2016.

In all honesty, if I were in to the whole rock crawling thing, I'd have Kings. However, I disagree that you want progressive valving at high speeds. In fact, the performance I experienced from progressive valving is the reason I now have Icons.

One of the hill people that works at my local autozone drives a 325ix that's done up a bit like this... Not quite as extreme.

 

That sort of stuff is pretty common in SoCal. Usually nicer cars though. But lift them like that and but low profile 20-22" tires on them. Looks super stupid.

 

I really like the kings on the street and in the dirt. I haven't rode in a truck with Icons or Fox or anything though. I just know my rig feels much better than a stock Durango, stock Silverado, and stock taco. That's all I have had to compare it to . Yes I can meet in Issaquah any week day after work. My weekends are booked until after thanksgiving. @TacoSTIG lives right next to me too maybe we can drive around a little and then grab a beer.

 

I'd offer a ride along with my fox setup but I'm still running without rear shocks so the ride is highly jeopardized. I'm in for BS and beer if you guys meet up!

 

Wait, what?! That must feel like a pioneer carriage... only at 70 mph

 

Honestly... with the stiff as hell expo pack and an empty bed it's not terrible. But if there's any weight back there and I hit a few consecutive bumps the truck turns into a tree fort bounce house. I still need to cut off all the passenger side shock/shackle mounts for the relocation and flip. Can't run a grinder at home due to living in a condo so I'm waiting it out for a mod day.

 

Sounds good. I'll shoot you a text and we can get something set up for a day after work.

@TacoSTIG you're welcome to join us for beers and BS. Also, I have a garage and tools if you need a place to wrench on your truck. I have a welder, grinder, etc... All I ask is that you help clean up when you're done. It's been a long time since I've done any welding so I'll leave any structural welds to someone more qualified.

 

At high speeds hitting big whoops don't you think you'd want your shocks to slow when they compress rather than substantially loosen up? It just doesn't make sense to me. You hit a big bump and force the shock up - the harder you hit the more it should dampen... not the opposite