Kings VS Extreme Cold

I got a 2017 Tacoma and was considering doing King shocks later on down the road and I’m after hearing a little mixed info on how well they do in the extreme cold.

I’m in Labrador Canada so normally it is -30°C to -50°C 5 or 6 months of the year (majority of the winter) so cold weather performance is a pretty big deal especially if I’m going to be spending a few thousand on a pair of shocks.

For those of you who got personal experience with King’s in these sort of temperatures how well did they preform?

 

No experience with temps that cold, but I think you'll find all shocks are stiffer when they're very cold because the oil viscosity changes. Maybe shocks with larger pistons and ports would help? Or maybe the oil can be swapped out for a different viscosity? I'd be worried about the seals more than anything else.
Probably worth reaching out to someone like Accutune to see if they have any experience with modifying shocks for extreme cold.

 

You may try posting in the Canadian or Alaska forums.

 

I don't see any reason King shocks would behave any differently than any other shock in colder temperatures. For what it's worth, mine have worked similar to other shocks down to -15ish F (-25ish C). Everything gets stiff at cold temps.

 

I dont have kings, or get that cold, but Im in MN and have fox shocks. They are really stiff when cold, but never had a problem with them. At those temps you could look into stick on oil pan heaters, just plug them in for about 10 minutes before you leave and it will warm up the shocks so the oil flows better.

 

@AccuTune Offroad any thoughts on extreme cold and shock performance?

 

One thought is that King shocks and other off-road shocks have a larger oil capacity and thus will take more work to warm up. Also they have a larger cooling capacity, so they might not warm up to the same temp as a smaller shock everything else equal.

 

Yep. Unless running full synthetic shock oil then all shocks are shit at those temps.

 

This is a thing, but we don't have any super technical data as it doesnt come up a lot. Example, Fox shocks used on snowmobiles use a different type of oil in their shocks. It wouldn't be a crazy idea to swap oil in the shocks for winter/summer. I would also be concerned about the seals holding up. Unless you are dead set on Kings, you may want to consider Fox PES shocks for an area with high corrosion.

 

Here's some good info on different types of shock oil and how some are better in the cold with some specifics about King shock oil.

https://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=5907

It looks like you (and possibly me as well) should consider using a different shock oil than King's oil.

 

One of our engineers chimed in on this subject in regards to shock oil, who was previously an engineer for Fox Racing Shocks.

"I'd say the FOX R2 oil (025-06-005) is probably best for cold climates, but it's also about the same as the new FOX PTFE oil (that's in nearly all new FOX shocks). Either would be a dramatic improvement over JM92."

 

Luckily this is a relatively low corrosion part of Canada because they use sand/gravel on the roads and we are in land far away from salt water

In cold temps I’ve seen certain snowmobile shocks which are generally good shocks preform like trash which is another reason why I’m sort of concerned on if I’ll find that with King’s on a pickup

 

Well there is more to performance than just oil. Tuning, piston design etc will be a big part of the ride quality you would be experiencing. Some Kings come standard with a digressive piston which leads to a firm, sporty ride. We will swap those out for a different piston to get a smoother ride.

 

So if I got Kings but had a better oil in it for cold climates do you think they would help?

 

Is fox using the old seals with the new ptfe oil or did they do a seal change too?

 

No changes.

 

The article I linked indicates that the pour point of the oil King uses is -30*C (-22*F). That concerns me. I don't want frozen solid shock absorbers on cold mornings. Albeit, I have not noticed any serious issue. Most of that is due to the fact that I park in a heated garage and rarely outside for long periods.

 

Thanks. Any reason that existing fox owners up north couldnt run the new ptfe oil? King spec’d oil weights aside is there any reason existing king owners could switch over to the new oil?

 

Do you know the Viscosity Index and pour point for those oils?

 

Short answer is yes, this would help the shock operate better in the colder temps. Not something we've really done to my knowledge and the tuning would likely need to be adjusted.