king vs. icon vs. fox racing coilovers

Brain explosion.

 

Ok let's try to get this sorted out.
Conseptualizing what is actually happening inside a shock in order to tune it is very difficult. When a shock is progressive, the faster the shock is moving, the more force it makes. This does not mean that the more the shaft is compressed, the more force it makes. That is the difference between something that is displacement (a spring) and something that is velocity dependent (a damper).

So, say you hit a bump with a progressive shock. Now let's say that the bump causes the shock to use the entire shock travel with the point at which the shaft is traveling the fastest at the exact middle of travel. This will create a force graph that looks similar to a sine wave relative to the shafts travel. This is because it goes faster and faster until it hits mid stroke, then starts to slow down more and more. So the point at which the shock is producing the most force is at mid stroke because that is when it is traveling fastest. Then makes less and less force until it stops moving because it has absorbed all of the force or it stops because it bottoms out.
So when you hit stuff harder, it reacts by producing more force because the shaft will be traveling faster.

For a digressive shock, the characteristics are different in regards to transitioning from low speed to high speed. This means that your not going to feel it be stiff at first and then give out and loose compression during one bump. What it means is that when you hit something going slow (low speed) like a speed bump or drive way, it will feel like a stiffer shock. However when you hit something going faster (high speed) like a whoop or a pothole on the road, it will feel like a softer shock.

With your first braking analogy which you said was progressive, you are braking harder the further you keep going into the stop. That is a displacement dependent reaction.
With your second analogy which you said was progressive, you start braking hard because that's when your going fastest and then slowly give less and less force to the brakes because you are slowing down. That is velocity dependent, and when comparing to shocks, both progressive and digressive shocks do that at one given speed. It's the transition from multiple speeds (usually looked at as low speed to high speed) that makes the shock be digressive or progressive.

 

Them digressive vlaves do better on duh road, boyo!

 

Thanks all for the inputs. The mod bug is itching, but I'm going to try and hold off until I get to actually ride in some rigs with different setups.

I would have figured the Foxs would be smoother on the street than the Icons- maybe the spring rate is stiffer. Another consideration I need to keep in mind, I would like to run a plate bumper in the future.

Well... hell... I've heard the "just pick a color" so many times, I'm becoming a believer haha. Not a fan of the King's blue to be honest, and live near the coast so salt air is a factor.

I think somewhere early/mid this thread this is brought up.

Speaking of stuff brought up much earlier in the thread, the comments that the dampening adjustment option some brands offer are fluff. My car has Tein Flex with EDFC, so I'm a bit spoiled to the joys of making minor adjustments without needing a rebuild. This removes King (didn't see that as an option for 1st gen systems) and keeps Fox and Icon on the list.

 

@BlackSportD if you trust the force graphs provided by Icon the adjusters actually do help quite a bit.

Also: you can have King custom made in any color you want...

 

Mmmmm... adjusters

 

http://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/58730c-dyno_icon_edit-01.jpg

 

Very nice. I take it the bottom of the graph is the rebound and stays relatively un-changed? Do you know where King's graph is for their DSC setup?

What is your current setup and what makes you want to go King?

 

King is doing that same design now. I will post a picture soon with the way it looks. I'm trading out my icons for kings

 

Why are you trading from Icon to King? Just curious.

 

I don't drive as fast as they need to drive smooth, since they are a digressive shock. Plus I just added TC UCAs, LCAs, and about to add armor, went with what the company owner from where I'm getting the armor from recommended.

 

Final product

 

did king change the way the resi mounts? vertical now?

 

I have the 6" rough country lift, don't have the money quite yet but I'm shopping around to ditch the blocks and spacers. Icon makes a 6" lift shock/coil over compatible with a pro comp lift. Does anyone know why/if they only work with pro comp? Do certain brands dictate what uca's I'll need? Open to other options if there are any I'd like fox I just feel like the whole point of the upgrade is to lose spacers.

 

Yep King redesigned their mount to a vertical mount. It's pretty beefy too

 

Whats the verdict on the ride?

 

It rides wonderfully on the road. It really feels like I'm rides stocks suspension again, it's that good. Measurements, with full tank of gas:

Before:
DF: 22"
PF: 22.5"
DR: 24.5"
PR: 25"

Now:
DF: 23.25"
PF: 23.5"
DR: 24.5"
PR: 25"

 

Did you get the extended travel?

 

I take it thats a nice smooth compliant ride in 2nd gen talk? I'm a 1st gen and the OEM suspension was nothing to brag about in regards to street manors (smoothness) haha. And this is with stiffer springs up front in anticipation of armor additions?

I'm leaning more and more towards Kings, and wheelers off-road has more options that DSM for 1st gens. My wallet is going to be pissed...