Icon Stage 4 Capabilities/CV Axle Needle Bearing

Hello Tacoma World,

First post here. Will be upgrading my 2017 Tacoma with BFG KO2s 275/70R17's, 17x8 Pro Comp 7005's since I couldn't find a source for the 4Runner TRD Pro wheels, and an Icon Stage 4 lift.
Reasons for going with the stage 4 is I have the money currently to spend and it was only about $300 more than the stage 3, so why not upgrade for a few hundred bucks. Yes the truck will be mostly driven on road but I would like to have a performance capable rig. I'm a believe in buy once cry once.
On that note, what are the capabilities of the Stage 4 off-road? Would like to hear from people with more knowledge on this lift. I've tried multiple searches on google and TW but with no results just yet. Thanks!

 

Buy once cry once? Source a different set up. Buy king shocks or at least fox. Excellent performance and customer service.

 

It doesn't matter what you do to the suspension? Changing parts doesn't make it any more capable than the driver.
Have even tried it off road with it stock?

 

Starting to dislike this site.

 

I think a Stage 4 is a very capable suspension set up. I was looking at the exact same lift and did a lot of research on them. Great suspension! I ended up going with a King setup though mostly because of the wait on the Icons and adjustability of the Kings. Check the thread below, lots of great info...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/icon-dynamics-stage-lift-thread.438120/

 

I have the stage 4 kit and have been pretty pleased with it. Really enjoy the feel of it during normal day to day use compared to the stock suspension. I've taken it on some moderate trails and had no issues. Some people might bash on Icon from a current thread on this site but I would venture to guess there are far more pleased customers than not. I did have to tighten one of the reservoir fittings recently but that's after 20k on the suspension setup. I believe that should be basic maintenance to check over your stuff anyways. Over all I have been pleased with the kit

 

Great info! That link is helpful on the break down of each kit. I'm coming from the Jeep side of off-roading so the truck realm is new to me. Not looking to bogg around in mud anymore. There's a lot of forest service roads around here I'm looking to explore. Now after searching about the UCA's I've come across that they lead to eventual squeaking so now looking toward the OME BP-51 setup since it can do with or without aftermarket UCA's.

 

I think that depends on the UCA. The Icons use a different uniball than say the TC's. This link talks about it:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/another-uca-thread-tc-icon-or.304434/

I'm running the TC's and no squeaking. From what I've read use a dry lubricant to help them and they should last and not squeak.

 

You need to tell us what capabilities you want. Different suspensions serve different purposes. There is a reason why there are coilovers, full leaf packs, under axle conversations, long travel kits, blocks, spacers, bypass shocks, remote resevoirs etc.

If you intend to drive pavement then you are overbuying in my opinion. A stock Tacoma can handle any forest service road or fire access trail.

My personal experience is buy the suspension last because you don't know what you need until you have driven it stock.

A lot of these suspension lifts are bought purely because they are cool. Do you really need remote reservoir shocks? Do you know what purpose they serve?

 

send a PM to one of the Mods, theyll take care of you..

Thanks for sticking around

 

IMO for price to features...bp51 is the best out there for mid travel stuff

 

Mostly will be a daily driver. Mainly want a suspension to run a 32" tires and for aesthetic purposes. I'd like to have a spring rate in the back to carry a constant load around 250-500lbs give or take (carrying multiple peoples dive equipment to and from destinations on top of other tools in the back.) I eventually will upgrade to an off road bumper front and rear. For the front, southern style slim-line which is only about 100lbs. I've also go a diamondback SE cover that is around 90lbs on the back and plan on adding their cross bin which may be another 10lbs. Along with that plan on putting shovel, hammers, maybe a hilift in the bin along with other tools. Haven't decided on a winch just yet but would like the option to still be there. I'm not sure where my off road adventures will lead to in the future so I'd just like to have a rig capable of whatever I may eventually be doing. I like the overland setups where they can handle multiple terrains. I'd just like to buy a suspension 1 time vs spending $1300 for a basic OME kit now and then possibly upgrading down the road and dropping another 2-3 grand on a second suspension.

 

Lots of guys running basic OME kits. Look up the Pongo Build thread. You can upgrade to an OME heavy load with a rear Dakar leaf pack.

Found it: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pongo-my-2016-trdor-its-life-stages-and-travels.451953/

 

Thanks for the link. Awesome rig that guy has with a basic OME. Will definitely take this into consideration.

 

Icon ...meh... I'd go with something else personally have heard some mixed stories on results and experiences lately. Shocks leaking. Poor advice from the " tech team" etc.

 

More complicated suspension systems also require a bit more maintenance with repairs and rebuilds. How often do you want to pull your suspension and send it in do a dealer to rebuild.

 

For what you want, Bilstein will be fine. If you want to spend the extra money, get OME. no sense in spending a bunch of money to just have Icon, king, or Fox type setups for a daily driver. Call marie @headstrongoffroad. I'd ditch the shitty ProComp wheels for something nicer, like SCS, FN Wheels, or the Rotoform

 

Icon kits are exceptional suspension, in spite of what all these people who have never run them are saying. They are on the stiff side but perform very well in all the typical situations (including on road).

Keep in mind that what @JoeCOVA says is true though, buying high performance suspension does not mean "buy once", as suspensions like Icon are recommended to be rebuilt every 15-30 thousand miles.

For your situation, you are going to be paying premium prices for performance that you may not necessarily need or notice. You are in need of a good rear leaf pack that will hold weight, so no matter what shocks you go with, you will probably want to end up with a Dakar leaf pack for your rear suspension. This can be run with OME, Icon, or any other shocks.

OME is a really great low price suspension option. For the price of an Icon kit, you could buy like three sets of full OME suspension, and that would last you a long time

 

Yeah that is exactly something that I was pondering in the back of my mind. Was looking at all the components and thinking this is just one more thing to break on the lift. I had an 8" Rock Ready on my Jeep, that thing sounded like it was going to fall apart it squeaked so bad. Definitely want to avoid that as much as possible. Once I read about the uniballs that was already the deciding factor.