Preferred Lift Kit?

I agree on 2 conditions.

1. Are you going to use the Icons for what they were designed for or do you want them to just be apart of the "Icon Nation"

2. Can you afford them. 'cause damn they are expensive

 

Well I'd have to ask what the Icons are designed for..

 

F-350 superdutys with 8" of lift that never leave the pavement.















Kidding obviously, icons are designed for high performance offroad use. IMO the only people who need icons are the real hardcore guys, especially the high speed long travel guys. But this doesnt mean i would love to have some and i take it pretty easy offroad.

 

I run 32s no prob with my stock suspension...I will eventually get some bilstein 1500s in the front just to level it out and call it a day...I drive mainly highway and might do some light offroading on the weekend so no need for me to get some crazy expensive kit I will never get good use out of.

 

My lift is only about 1.6" up front and 2" in the rear (the weight of my shell and tools pushed me back down to a stock rake though). I went with Eibach coils up front and the Icon 3-leaf AAL for the rear with the overload left in place.

Even at stock height, you can clear 265/70R17 with is, for all intents and purposes, a 32" tire. If you go with a 255 series tire, you can go a little taller still with a 255/75R17 and not have rubbing issues.

 

I have the same question I plan to lift my truck soon, and I've been trying to decide best way to go. The truck is my dd and I only go off road once or twice a month. But when I do I like to abuse it. Normally drive pretty fast around the deer camp and at the beach. Have been thinking about going with the icon stage 3 or 4. I wanna run 275/70/18's. How does the icon lift ride compared to a stock TRD offroad?

 

If you valve the Icons correctly, there's no comparison between them and the stock suspension... They shouldn't even be in the same sentence.

 

Thanks for all the info guys.Sort of in the same boat(truck)

Just picked up my rig.2013DCLB 4 Sport.Pyrite Mica Debadged in 2 days

Now its suspension, wheels(black) and tires(have em

I have the money but not the time to research as much as I would like.
Read the great sticky on suspension. Learned that I don't think I want spacers.

Already have the tires coming off my JK. Nitto Trail Grapplers, 295/70R17's which is 33/12.5. Would like to be able to get to 3" in the front and have some adjustablility but maybe I don't need it.
Don't do serious wheeling but spend lots of time offroad here in Idaho.

I too in most things in life probably subscribe to the do it right once theory.

sure some guys that have been around the block here know exactly what they would do if they had a new rig and knew they where going to run 33's.

 

Icon for hauling ass.
King or Fox for comfort and slower trail runs. Not to say they won't do both.

Simply degressive vs. progressive valving. If street performance is the main objective, I'd go with King or Fox.

Nothing wrong with OMU and the like for back and forth to work and the occasional weekend trip. Better ride and price in all reality. But not in the same league performance wise.

If you do drive fast off-road (35-50mph plus) Icon will blow the doors off the rest.

 

I don't do any fast driving off road.. and 90% of the time the offroading will really be closer to farm use.. mud is my most likely obstacle, not rocks.. bumpy dirt roads sure..but again not hitting them fast.

the more and more I think about i feel like I'll piece it together from different parts and upgrade it as I feel like.

 

Check out my pics ( I havent done a build thread yet ) I have an Icon set up and fit true 33's easily and could even lift my trunk higher if I wanted. 33's look great with that setup. Good luck

 

Since I have almost the exact set up you're looking at purchasing, I can tell you how your truck will ride. at slow speeds ( under 10mph ) lots of vibration, only because of my MT tires - at slower speeds either on the dirt or on the street you will feel the bumps and the suspension will be stiffer than the factory suspension - at higher speeds on either your suspension glides over obstacles or anything else as if it weren't there and more than out performs the ride quality and capabilities of the factory set up. So stiff at slow speeds and great at higher speeds.

From what I've read, Ive heard FOX or Kings are softer at slower speeds but cannot compare to the way Icons ride at higher speeds.

There is so much info out there on lift kits that you can drive yourself nuts trying to decide which one works for you. All of them have pluses and minuses - it really just depends on which one will work for what kind of driving you will be doing the most. That is the best advise I can give, but the good news is that - in the $$$ you're looking to spend, you really cant go wrong. At that $$$ they're all pretty awesome....

 

Telling us exactly how you rig is set up and how it handles in certain situations helps.
From what I can guess most guys like the flex of the 2-3" LT for crawling. But w/o a serious rear thru the deck system which gives them alot more than 10-12 inches of travel they must get bounced to hell running at hwy speeds over anything but small obsticles. Maybe I am flat out wrong.
Would be go to here from guys that have that setup.

 

Dampening makes a huge difference. Having a shock that can be custom valved will help soak up jounces without having to poke through the bed. Obviously, if you're going LT then you want the extra travel but with high quality shocks and proper valving, a lot can be done within the limits of stock travel or mid travel.

 

I have the OME full 3" kit with Dakars and the stock suspension on the Taco seemed very sloppy to me. Yes the OME kit is stiffer and like someone said earlier at slow speeds it is kinda bumpy but at higher speeds like on the highway and such it's great. If you crank up the Icon in the front to compensate for the bumper it's going to be the same thing. The more you crank a coilover the stiffer it's going to get. Personally I think you would just be wasting money to buy Icons and not use them to their potential. You also have to think about when they need to be rebuilt, what lift are you going to put on there while they are gone to be able to drive the truck? Or, are you going to take them off and be w/o a truck till they get back? I knew I wouldn't be doing any high speed offroad driving and wouldn't need the performance of that kind of shock. Plus, I had more money to buy other things for the truck by going with OME and better weight carrying capacity in the rear with the Dakars for towing and hauling w/o the truck sinking to the ground like it does with the stock leaves in the back. My lift cost me $1775 shipped with new LR UCA's. Another $920 for 285/75/16 Nitto Terra Grapplers and I was done. It has performed flawlessly since I put it on.

 

Gotta love those Nitto's. They have officially converted me from my long time favorite BFG MT's.