Icon rears paired with Dakar leafs?

Coil overs...go ahead and get the Extended Travel. The difference is literally the size of the internal spacer that will allow more droop on the shaft. ( Stock travel Icons CAN be turned into Extended Travel by trimming the spacer or replacing it - requires opening up the shocks and rebuilding though)

Rears you want the 2-3" length Icons. With just Dakars and stock spring hangers it'll be fine. If you plan on going to a flipped shackle/longer length then you need to play with your shock lengths a bit more to fit your rig and achieve full usable travel.

I see your in AZ...might as well just drive to ADS Racing suspension and have them set you up...would end up cheaper than ICON my guess

 

have look at the icon collapsed and extended dimensions, that is what you need to do to figure out the right length, don't rely on part numbers alone, ppl fuck up and sell the wrong shit all the time! for example stock rears are about 22 inches extended, OME rears are just under 24inches extended, i ran a sky jacker rear that was just under 25 inches extended and wished i'd gone with something that was around 27 inches extended. the longer they are extended the more chance you will need an larger rear bumpstop because the collapsed length will also be longer. get the real numbers before you purchase! and as somebody else mentioned upper control arms up front to take advantage of the longer coil overs added down travel. should ride great!! the dakars are firm, not harsh imo. also, if a shock is said to be designed for the icon aal it will clearly work with the dakar. enjoy!!

 

I don't carry loads in my bed very often but I do have a boat that I occasionally tow. I don't fancy the idea of carrying stuff in he bed solely for its weight. With that in mind are Dakars a good or bad choice if I want a superior leaf pack than OEM and a 3 inch lift?

 

Something to consider is if you plan on going with a rear plate bumper you'll want to have a more stout leaf pack. The Dakar or All Pro Expo's are a good choice.

With a high clearance bumper, full size spare on the swing out, ATO shackle flip and longer rear shackles I have a rake but the ride isn't unbearable. (daily driven)

 

When i ran dakars i had a reg cab with a cap, it rode smoother with the cap but when considering the fact that your truck is heavier to begin with it should ride nice. It will be firm, not harsh. The trade off is you will love it off the pavement, if you get some soft add a leaf they will just sag sooner. All lift packs are going to be stiffer with the expectation that you wheel your truck. You could always remove a leaf like some ppl do, then if it sits low add a 1 inch block....

 

i run this set up and its pretty solid. they are pretty stiff but its a truck not a bentley...doesnt bother me. i like the fact that when i have 400-500lbs of crap in the back it levels out and doesnt look like a speed boat in the ocean. mine has quite a bit of rake but thats only bc i havent adjusted my front coils since i put them on...still at the Icon factory setting which is 1.5 or 2.0 inches over stock.

you cant go wrong with that set up.

 

oh and when i ordered mine i was also told that Icon made a specific shock to pair with the Dakars. not the first time i heard of that.

 

I have the icons with dakars too. As pretty much everyone said, it is a great setup. I would highly recommend it. The ride is a little harsh with nothing in the bed, but I put my dirtbike in there and it settles it right down.

 

Sorry OP, I'm not trying to thread jack.... these questions might be helpful for you to make your decision on rear leafs as well.

TacomaESQ,
Did you put weight in the bed to get the springs to settle faster? your dirtbike perhaps..
If so, how much weight and how long did you leave it in the bed?
How much did your leafs settle?

I'm looking to lower my front a bit and don't want to have the stinkbug look. My Dakars have not settled yet and I've had them on about a year and 3 months.

 

I put the suspension in about 8-9 months ago. I ocassionally tow a boat but I didn't really do anything special to settle them down. The dirtbike is in rarely too. Quite honestly they might be as stiff as they were when I first installed them. Maybe I'm just more used to them?

 

Mine were tall as fawk on my reg cab, prob got an easy 4-5 inches after install, took it out wheeling right away and pt some pressure on them, they settled down nicely within a day of flexing as i recall. After this my numbers matched up to the dakar numbers in oz-t's dakar thread. Do it up OP!

 

Just pull out one of the overload leafs out of the Dakar pack and it will be lower and not as rough. A lot of guys do this so they don't have to jack the front up so high to level it out, resulting in a much harsher ride up front. I actually had my fronts raised to make mine almost level and it was very harsh for the past year. I lowered them an inch last Friday and it has made my ride much smoother.

 

So the shock frustration continues. I just spoke with Scott with Icon via email. He told me Icon does NOT make a production shock designed for use with the Dakar leaf packs. He said they could custom build be shocks if I could provide the collapsed and extended lengths. Problem is how would I ever know those lengths without having the leafs on and tested?

Second he stated the part number for front extended travel coil overs with 650 pound springs is 58735 or 58735C if I wand the CDC valves. I've spoken with several different vendors asking for part numbers. I've received several different part numbers, none of which are 58715. NONE of the vendors have told me the rear shocks are a custom build. They have all given me part numbers for a production shock.

Am I missing something here? Do the vendors just not know or are they willing to sell people the wrong equipment to make a buck?

 

Wheelers sold me a shock made for use with aftermarket leaf packs that lift the rear over 2.5 inches. I'll try to get details for you.

 

Here are the shocks I used with my Dakars.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to run that part number by Scott and see what he says.

 

So according to Scott those shocks are only rated for 1.5" of lift. He said they will probably work, but you won't get as much downtravel as you should.

The more I research the more I start to see a trend of vendors just selling parts without having a true knowledge of the applications.

 

YOU NEED TO MEASURE YOUR COLLAPSED LENGTH.

running a shock meant for a 3+in lift might yield a collapsed lenght that is too long to the point of bottoming the shock before hitting bumpstop.... BAD!

 

This makes sense but I don't know how I'm supposed to get those measurements without having the Dakar leaf pack already installed.

 

go out n flex your truck as it stands. The only thing that is going to change is the thickness of the leaf pack (dakar will be thicker but not by much... MAYBE 1.5inch) so measure and add the difference in thickness of the leaf pack and you got your MAX collapsed length.

15inches collapsed is probably going to be about the longest you can go... and that will determine the extended and travel lengths.