Replacing Icon Coilovers with Bilstein 5100's?

I've had ICON Coilovers on my 2008 Tacoma w/285 tires for a few years now, and have become increasingly unhappy with the ride quality. From day one it was very harsh and has only gotten worse with time. I now feel every single bump and crack in the road, probably my fault for getting performance offroad coilovers in the first place.

I'm looking to replace the current front suspension with something much softer that will provide the same lifting due to my tire size. I was looking at Bilstein 5100's with Old Man Emu coils as they sound like the softest setup. Any thoughts on whether this would be a good idea, or if there are cheaper or better options available to me?

Thanks,
Mike

 

you can try taking out some preload or getting softer springs. What psi are you running in your tires? try taking it down to around 35 psi?

 

Interesting, how would I go about doing that? I installed the CO's myself when I bought them but do not recall whether they have any adjustments on them besides lifting.

 

Rebuild them, perhaps adjusting the valving a bit, and take a little preload off the springs.

Part of your issue may be having gone with digressively valved units. They trade on-road ride for better rut-running offroad. They do better on big hits (potholes, speedbumps, pedestrians) the faster you go, but make smaller stuff (road imperfections, cracks, baby squirrels) more jittery.

 

Obviously you should do what they said ^^ and try and work with what you've got.

But if you do decide to go with billys and OME springs, I recommend it. They ride great and I couldn't be happier with the set up.

 

Talk to DSM. From what I understand, you can get coils to pair with the Icons with several different spring rates (not sure which ones you have). Otherwise, I'd do what Chris suggested and get them revalved. Since you already own the Icons, I wouldn't downgrade to 5100's. The Icons should ride MUCH better than the 5100's once you get the valving right for your needs.

 

I freaking love mine on the road......how much pre-load did you add? I think mine are butter compared to toytecs set at 2.5" lift!

5100's also have digressive valving so they'll be similar!