1st Gen and Rear King Shock questions <cross post from Suspension Forum>

I have a 2004 Tacoma TRD with King coil overs up front. Love them. Adding in TC UCAs shortly.

There seems to be a couple options for rear Kings for the 04 Tacoma. Currently I have Bilstein rears and want to swap out for Kings but want to understand my options: King Rears with resi, Piggyback style or Smoothie emulsion.

I currently have an ICON AAL giving me approx. 2" lift in the rear. I see some disclaimers around 0-1" lift for some shocks and my research has been a bit thin in this area; my eyes are starting cross like they did for my front Kings. lol.

1. Can I run just the emulsion rear shocks on my 04 Tacoma with a 2" lift? Are these meant to be run by themselves or custom set up? Would rather keep this simple if possible.

2. Piggyback: will these fit a 2" lifted Tacoma without shock relocation? Any advantages vs. running the separate resi?

3. Resi: will these fit a 2" lifted Tacoma without shock relocation?

4. Any other guidance or feedback is welcome.

 

I have the Icon ext. travel 2.5 CO's in the front w/ Camburg UCA's. I run Icon VS 2.0 Emulsion shocks that are good for 0 - 3" of lift and a 2" AAL. But I also don't go hardcore off roading or high speed desert running. So I don't experience shock fade nor do I have the money to do a U bolt flip and shock re location. I think it all depends on what kind of off roading you do and where you're going to be taking your truck. 1 choice could be overkill. While the other might not be enough. I'm happy with my set up. Cause I feel like it's just enough for where I go & what I do. But sure I'd love to have new spring packs with all the other goodies. But they would never get used to it's full potential. And would be a waste of money. If I hadn't got such a great deal on my front & rear Icons, I'd still be running my Bilstein 5100's front & rear. Good luck on your choice!

 

T. A.,
Go with the next to last pic you posted.
I have the same only in the FOX version. You will be fine.

 

Perfect, just what I needed @Sicyota04 and @Ritchie !! Thanks Gents.

 

I may be trying to bring back the dead here but I have a question pertaining to this thread. Will king piggybacks 2.5x10 fit stock location on a 1st gen? I know they call for 2.0 but could a set of 2.5 fit?

 

No the body is to big and will bottom out the shock before bottoming out the suspension. Go look @Speedytech7 truck and see how he mounted his rear shocks.

 

I figured there would be rubbing issues at some point full compression. I guess I’ll just keep it simple and go 2.0. Thanks for the quick response brother.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-1st-gen-tacoma-rear-shock-relocate.540417/

 

Damn. Solid write up. Looks like you put some time in. Looks badass. Got my wheels turning.

 

I think he could fit the piggybacks they aren't physically longer than mine but the body obviously has some extra appendages. Just would need welded loop lowers or the shorter top cap.

 

I'm pretty much in this exact situation. Extended travel Kings up front, and 5100's in the back.

I'm planning on new leafs in the semi-near future since I'm still rolling on stock leafs and 1" shackles. Likely Deavers. I plan to wait until I get the leaf packs, re-install the 5100s since they'll work either way (<3" lift), then start taking measurements once the leafs are broken in. Full stuff, droop, articulation, and see where I'm at. I'm considering custom shock relocation, too. Once I get those measurements, I'll see what Kings are out there to match. Most of the off the shelf ones I've seen are for "stock" height, but I know King offers lots of custom/semi-custom lengths.

 

I could be wrong but I thought the problem with 10” shocks were that the body was to long for the stock mounting points so on full compression you bottom out the shock before the leaf hits the bump stop.
Edit: Atleast with 2.5 idk about 2.0

 

Well they won't fit stock but if he does a relocate he could run Piggys, bypasses, whatever. Stock is like an 8" planned location, maybe shorter