PNW Adventuremobile build

This weekend I installed new suspension on my ‘16 TRD OR. I installed what is essentially the Icon Stage 4 kit (+Dakar’s instead of the Icon mini pack). I ordered everything through @HeadStrong Off-Road. Marie was very helpful and responsive to my questions. Shipping was lightning fast and no sales tax (in WA anyway). Highly recommend.

My end goal for this truck is to be a capable adventure-mobile that I can take on long road trips, as well as tackle everything I can throw at it off-road. This truck is my only vehicle so I have no wish to make it a miserable ride on-road or sacrifice significant mpg. In summary, I want a well rounded rig that can do everything well without sacrificing too much efficiency and convenience.

I was shooting for spending under $3k on suspension. I ended up hitting $3,300 but i'm really happy with my setup and felt that going for quality components now would save me headache down the road (too punny).

Before:


After (1.25" front lift achieved):


I'm also planning to add the 17" TRD Pro black matte black Sema wheels and 285 70 R17 BFG Ko2's (c load) this week. Will update with photos when it's all said and done. I purchased the wheels off of Craigslist from a local guy for $775, and the tires (on order) from discount tire for $1,200. I'll be looking at ~$4,500 for everything with wheel and tires installed.

The suspension components I installed:

Front:
Icon Ext. travel 2.5 VS RR (w/remote resi’s-no CDC) - Part #58735
Icon tubular UCA’s - Part #58450

Rear:
Icon 0-1.5” 2.0 VS RR shocks (w/ remote resi’s-no CDC) - Part #56503R
OME Dakar "Medium" leaf pack - Part #EL095R

Components:


Installed:



Reasoning for this setup:

I was torn between Fox, OME BP-51, and Icon. I went with Icon because:

-They’re made in the USA
-Their suspension is tuned vehicle-specific to the Tacoma. This made me feel comfortable on my first performance suspension purchase.
-You can adjust the ride height without removing the shocks from the truck. I seriously considered the OME BP-51’s but the fact that you can’t adjust the ride height while the coilovers are mounted was a main factor of why I went with icons. Yes, I am lazy.
-My understanding is that Icon’s valving is suited to on-road driving. I think. I got a ton of mixed information on the forums about this. I really don’t understand the differences between progressive/digressive enough on a technical level so it was a bit of a gut call for me. From what I hear, Fox has a “plush” on-road feel.
- I like the “Stage” packages. The more I researched, the more I learned that it’s really just a bunch of independent parts and you could mix and match brands and all that, but something about the defined stages made me all warm and fuzzy. Icon, i’m in your target market and you got me.

I opted for OME Dakar medium springs instead of the Icon mini leaf pack. I chose to go with the OME’s because i’m running a leer 100xr canopy and with that additional fixed weight I thought the OME’s would yield a better stiffness and ride height. I was told that the icon mini pack would add height but would not add any additional load capacity over the stock springs. No bueno. I’m planning to add more metal to the truck so I figure Dakar’s were the best long-term play.

Side note: I did not install the OME Diff drop spacer kit supplied with the Dakar spring package. My understanding is that it's not necessary for a 3rd Gen running under 3" of lift. Everything seems fine without it so far- no vibrations or anything.

If you're planning on installing Icon front coilovers, definitely check out DrSpaceman’s detailed Stage 4 install. It was a massive help! The Icon instructions are rudimentary at best and have only a couple pictures to go off.

I just got back from having an alignment done at Firestone and everything is now in-spec. Toe was really bad after the install, Camber was right on, and Caster was a bit off. Here are the results:

 

The guys at Discount Tire let me crank up the Icon coilovers while the truck was up on the lift :


With the 17" TRD Pro Sema wheels and BFG KO2 285 70 R17 installed @Discount Tire Direct:

 

Lookin good there @PacNWTaco !!! Thank you again for your business, we truly appreciate it!

 

Nice looking truck

 

Update on ride quality, fuel efficiency, and performance of the new setup-

Ride Quality-

Offroad: I took the truck on some fire roads near Snoqualmie, WA to test out the suspension and tires. I've driven the exact same road before with my stock suspension/wheels/tires. What an incredible difference. The truck handled so well it was almost boring to drive at high speed on this bumpy and winding fire road.

It had recently rained so the surface was a bit slick, but the KO2's handled everything flawlessly. Where before with the Goodyear Wranglers were sliding around, the KO's stuck like glue to the road. I stayed in 2wd the entire time and never felt like I needed more traction while flying down the road at 30-50 mph.

The Icon suspension was incredible as well. Before, driving on this road at high speed the suspension would dip into every little hole and even bottom out on some large potholes. With the new coilovers and rear setup it felt like I was floating on top of it all- just like butter baby.

On-road: The suspension feels great as well. The most noticeable difference is that the truck feels so much more planted and stable while turning. There's barely any body-roll while taking a turn at speed. This is most noticeable on curved highway onramps/offramps. The truck stays virtually flat while cornering at ~40mph. It's a great feeling and definitely inspires confidence.

The KO2's are fantastic on the road! I expected some significant road noise on these aggressive tires, but no! With the windows up and music off you really cannot tell the difference. I don't think it's any louder at all. With the windows down and going 30mph+ you can hear a bit of that tire drone, but it's so faint it's barely noticeable.

Fuel Efficiency: I'm definitely noticing a drop in MPG's with this setup. I haven't even used a full tank since installing the new suspension/wheels/tires, however I'll comment on what i'm noticing just from keeping a close eye on my average mpg's. This is with the tires currently aired to 36psi all around. I think I could go up at least to 40psi and that might improve things a bit.

City:
Previous- ~16mpg
Current- ~14mpg
Highway:
Previous- ~20mpg
Current- ~17mpg

Performance: There's a noticeable decrease in 'get up and go'. From a dead stop, the truck takes a bit more gas to get it moving and accelerate. I'm sure the increased weight of the tires has the greatest impact on this. On the highway, the truck seems to have a bit more difficulty going from 40mph to 70mph and staying there. I would say it seems very comfortable to maintain 40mph, but once you start getting up to freeway speeds the greater surface are of the tires, and the increase wind resistance of the lift really start to show. It's definitely bearable, but we all know the A/T 3rd gen is already undergunned so the lift and tires just accentuate that shortcoming. Likely will re-gear in the future to help with this.

Other than that everything is super smooth. No crazy vibrations or anything (side note: I did not install the supplied OME Differential drop spacer kit. I read on TW that it's not necessary for 3rd gens under 3 inches of lift. Everything seems just fine without). Some minor squeaks from the front driver side that I think is likely the UCA bearings, but I'm going to grease 'em up, loosen the through bolt slightly and see if that gets rid of it.

 

The 33's were rubbing pretty bad so I went for a cab mount chop this weekend. The rubbing was mainly on the drivers side while in reverse, as well as in drive, turning into a parking lot or curb when the tire stuffs up into the wheel well at an angle. @AdventureWeldingCompany did the work, and did a stellar job. If you're in western WA and need welding/fab work done I would recommend highly.







Now there is no rubbing at all on the road. We'll see how things go with more articulation off-road. I did not do the pinch-weld and decided to wait and see if it's necessary later on.

While I was in the shop, it turned out he had some sliders he'd made that were ready to go, so I decided to have those thrown on as well!



While the CMC and sliders were being done, I had plenty of time to install a new @CaliRaisedLed combo light bar using their included brackets. I wired the bar to one of the Cali Raised oem switches and installed in the blank plug to the left of the steering column.

 

Excellent write up

 

@imaninja Thanks!

 

A note on adjusting Icon coilovers:

If you are adjusting your Icon coilovers be VERY careful when using the spanner wrench to adjust the collar! The nub on the end of the spanner wrench is slightly too small and you can easily of 'round out' the adjustment holes in the collar. If you round out the whole, the spanner wrench can't get any purchase, and you can't adjust the shock. My coilovers were extremely tight and took a ton of effort to move, and in the process of forcing it I busted one of the adjustment holes with the spanner. Now the spanner can't get a good purchase in the hole, and because I can't reach the other holes with the spanner, I can't adjust the coilover while on the truck. I'll have to take the coilover off the truck to make any further adjustments. Not cool. Luckily I was able to adjust the coilover almost to where I wanted before the hole became unusable.

A couple tips to make your life easier when adjusting Icon coilovers:
-Use a liberal amount of WD-40 on each coilover before you attempt adjust them. Let that stuff soak in. This will make adjustment a breeze in comparison.
-Be careful to have the spanner wrench seated securely in the collar holes before applying pressure to turn the collar. The collars aren't that sturdy, be careful when adjusting.
-The Icon spanner wrench sucks. If you really want to do it right, don't buy the Icon spanner wrench for $30 (also it's a bit ridiculous this isn't included with a $3k suspension kit...). Get a local fabrication shop/welder to build you one using a strip of steel with a heavy duty bolt on the end. This will be cheaper, much more sturdy and will fit the coil collar better than the Icon wrench.

 

Lift height update

I thought i'd do a post to follow up on the final (semi-final) measurements achieved after suspension install, new wheels and tires, and further coilover adjustment. I haven't adjusted for lean yet because it hasn't been noticeable, but after measuring there's definitely a bit of lean now.

Front Driver
Stock-
Hub to fender: 20.5"
Ground to fender: 35"
After- (coilovers adjusted to 1 13/16" threads showing
Hub to fender: 22.5"
Ground to fender: 37.5"

Front Pass.
Stock-
Hub to fender: 20.75"
Ground to fender: 35.25"
After- (coilovers adjusted to 1 12/16" threads showing)
Hub to fender: 23"
Ground to fender: 38"

Rear Driver
Stock-
Hub to fender: 21.5"
Ground to fender: 36"
After-
Hub to fender: 23.5"
Ground to fender: 38.5"

Rear Pass.
Stock-
Hub to fender: 21.5"
Ground to fender: 36"
After-
Hub to fender: 23.5"
Ground to fender: 38.5"

In summary:
Front- On the drivers side I gained 2" of suspension lift and 2.5" in total gain with suspension and tires. On the passenger side I gained 2.25" inches of suspension lift and 2.75" of total gain with suspension and tires.
Rear- I gained exactly 2" of suspension lift , and 2.5" in total gain with suspension and tires

There is a .5" difference between the front driver and front passenger due to lean. I haven't noticed it while driving so I may just leave it be. I also might lower the passenger side to get it closer to even.

 

Arent Icons the ones you are not supposed to adjust while on the vehicle? (Kinda ridiculous imo) I think it's Icon that says this because they are afraid the aluminum isnt strong enough to take it. Specifically the threads, but I suppose also the hole on the big adjustment nut is equally as susceptible.

 

I don't believe so.. I know the OME BP-51's are not supposed to be adjusted on-vehicle, but I was under the impression that Icon's, Kings, and Fox can all be adjusted on-vehicle. Icon's official "How to adjust your Icon coilovers" instructional video features them cranking on 'em while on the truck. That's not to say it's not better to do it off-vehicle, with a spring compressor though.

 

Yup, that sounds more accurate than what I said