Donahue racing suspension questions

quick history: I bought the Tacoma a few years ago used and it already had on it "DR" racing coil overs, DR racing rear remote resivour shocks, and unsure which leaf pack, I think it looks stock with a add a leaf but I am still learning the suspension game.

I've been digging the internet for info on my suspension because I would like to know more about it, and was curious if I could get some input on the setup?
I was happy with it until I added my camper shell and rear bed deck that gave it some extra weight in the rear, and now it sags. Which is making me try and research more about everything, all the info seems out dated, because its a different company now i'm guessing.

so what I gathered so far is
- DR is now Icon (seems to be a popular brand)
- people really used to like the front coil overs, couldn't find much on the rear.
- your can get 3" of lift out of the front (but dr recommends only going 2.25" without after market UCA's)
-couldn't find much on the rear shock...

my questions:
-should I worry about/ or can I service the front coil overs, and rear shock?
-will my rear shocks work with a new/ better leaf pack, which would go best with this system, to put it level with the front and be able to carry extra weight well?
-did they change anything besides the sticker when they switched to "ICON"?
-I wouldn't mind going 3" in the front and rear, what are things I have to worry about? (brake lines, etc.)

any info helps really, I'm trying to do all my own research but some of you might have some good info I wouldn't be able to find.
I'll get some pics if interested.
(Tire size: 295 70r17, CMC done)
Found a pic in phone (jacked it off of pumpkin so rear is compressed, I can get better pics.

 

1st of all, I would like to commend you on your research.
You seem to have done most of your homework without being spoon fed from the community.

 

Your best bet is to bump this thread during daylight hrs or to the "2nd gen suspension thread"

 

I was timid about posting anything related to suspension because I've been on here long enough to know there are about 500 "what lift fits this tire" type of threads a day, but sometimes it's nice to validate some info that you've been looking up haha

 

DR was good stuff back in the day before it all hit the fan. It did go on to become Icon but it wasn't a smooth transition and a number of the people that were involved with DR were not kept. I'm not sure if Icon is still servicing DR coil overs and if the parts are the same it is worth an ask. For the rear my guess is you need new leafs to take the weight of the shell. For the front nothing wrong with getting UCAs and new springs to bring it up. I would not go to 3 inches on preload it kills the ride.

 

That crossed my mind going to 3", that's I tersting that things went bad. Was it like a stolen design or just poor management?

 

Basicly the owner of DR deserves to be buried under the jail. There was a buy out taking place then the investors that are now icon came in at the 11th hour and bought it out from under someone who had jumped through 1000s of hoops and was never offered an opportunity to match their bid.

 

Oh ok, interesting, so you can get different springs for the coilover its self to increase ride height?
Wouldn't you just preload the hell out of the spring that's in there if I got 3"?

What leafs would work well with my rear shocks?

 

Hit up pac racing springs for the front. Rear i would do a full Dever replacement pack

 

So even replace the shocks or will the fever work well with the DR's?
Then I would probably do u bolt flip at the same time

 

AFAIK Icon still services the DR equipment the same as they service Icon.

Look up the part numbers to see if the rear shocks compatible with the amount of lift you're planning.

You will need aftermarket upper control arms to regain caster if you plan to lift 3". You might want to look into different coils in the front to avoid a potential disaster from preloading the coils too much.

 

FYI Icon is not servicing shocks in house anymore.

http://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/tech-support/shock-service/

I'm setup as a service center in Colorado but haven't made it to the website yet.

@austinrauh Those rears look like they are from the DR/Edelbrock era and those seals are proprietary, I can't get my hands on any to service those shocks.

 

Jumping in with my $0.02. First, congratulations! You have quality suspension components. I'd definitely recommend having someone service the coilovers and your rear shocks. My personal interval with my Fox shocks is every 30-40k and I think that holds true for the Icons as well. Icons are valved digressively, as opposed to progressive valving in Fox or King shocks. What that means is that there is a preload that you need to overcome before getting into the softer shims. So most regular on-road driving will feel pretty stiff (as will slow off-road driving). Faster off-road driving will put you past that preload and into the softer valving of the shocks. It's not a matter of better or worse here, just a matter of preference. When rebuilding them, it's possible to change the thickness of that first shim so that the shaft doesn't have to move as fast to deflect it, but your opinion of the on-road handling may suffer. Valving is an art and it takes a while to get right, but I'd DEFINITELY recommend getting them rebuilt.

Your rear shocks (assuming they're DR shocks as well) should be taken off and fully cycled from completely compressed to completely extended. You'll need those extended and compressed numbers and they'll give you what's referred to as the stroke of the shock. Icon's 56503R remote res rear shocks are listed on their site as compatible with 0-1.5" of lift, but is used in their 0-3" complete lift kits. They measure 14.22" collapsed and 23.25" extended and are actually good for about 0-2.5" of lift. The 56503R-EXT remote res rear shocks have an extended travel of 15.9" collapsed and 26.8" extended. You'll need to find out what you have so that you don't blow out your shocks by running out of collapsed length before your bump stops hit. You are running stock bump stops btw.

I think the others answered the question regarding what changed from DR to Icon. It was a rather turbulent takeover.

Regarding your goal of going 3" in the front and rear, the fronts will already go to 2.5". You can crank up the preload on the adjustment collar on the coilovers, though it does preload the suspension. I'd recommend getting different coils compatible with your shocks that are long enough to put you at 2.5". Personally, I wouldn't go all the way to 3" or higher due to CVs etc. You already have aftermarket upper control arms because the stock UCAs won't fit a 2.5" coilover. Can you provide some pics of the front end so that I can verify that though? For the rear you're going to want to look at a new leaf pack. I personally run Dakars which have been absolutely fantastic so far. You'll need extended brake lines and may incur some vibrations after lifting which can have multiple different possible solutions. A leaf pack such as this will work well with a camper shell and a heavy rear end. The front can be adjusted while the rear isn't conveniently/easily done, so you may be better off figuring out this end first and working your way forward.

Take a bunch of pictures and post em up (and tag me so I know you did!) and we'll see what all you currently have. How bad is the rear sagging?

 

Thanks for the info it helps, I decided to stick with 2.5" because I've never had a problem with clearance so there's no point in going higher.
I'll get in those pics

 

Wow that's kind of a bummer. I'm losing faith in Icon as of lately. I feel like they NEED to service the equipment they sell.

 

So what do I do about servicing? What's the average cost, here's a crappy photo of the front rear, let me know if you need more detail or better photos, also things are wet because I just sprayed all the road salt off the truck.


I know I have a tear in my cv boot, saw it yesterday..

 

Why? You can get faster turn around and better customer service by going with one of their approved service centers. From when I get a set of shocks I can usually rebuild and send back in 24-48 hours.

 

I'm not saying anything bad about their service centers, but why can't they service their own shocks anymore?

I need to send mine in soon. I'll have to take you up on that 24-48 hour turn around.

 

Holy hell how about that preload????

 

Hey Austin, figure I'll throw my 2 cents out there also. A couple months back i snagged a pair of DR coilovers off the forums and sent them to ICON to be rebuilt, now I understand that recently Icon no longer does shock service in house. But just to get the info out there i do recall it took a couple weeks for them to get them back to me, I was in no rush though since i had yet to install them. If i remember correctly it cost me just short of 400$ for rebuild for the two coilovers as well as a replacement of a part on each.