Because Baja!

I agree and am probably just going to do it. Icon AAL, don't put the overload back in. Also, I am adding a rear bumper that is 10lbs more then stock plus skids and sliders. 99% of the time I am offroad there will be camping gear and more then one full grown male in the truck. Will probable be sitting much lower anyhow, and the shocks have the extra travel, and they kept the stock length bump stops on the truck.

 

Well said, Brandon! I mentioned this before, but I completely agree. This is my 6th Toyota pickup and I have to say, after having several off-roads, this setup by far (out of the box), handles much better that my OR by maintaining the geometry of the ride. The notorious bouncing around on washboards is eliminated, thus keeping the truck on the trail, momentum maintained, and moving forward. The articulation is fantastic and it provides enough lift to get the job done. Throw in better tires, nice (although faux beadlock) wheels, cat-back exhaust, extended brake lines, and of course the coil overs and massive shocks, it's a terrific package, not to mentioned fully-warrantied. I paid about $1500 more on my 13 baja than my 12 OR.

 

I decided to go ahead and get this. Why you ask, MWOAP, jandrews? Because of the extended length of the shocks. 25" front and 27" rear is superior to the "OEM Replacement" kits offered by ICON, King, Fox, OME. Not wanting buyers regret I did many hours of research here on the awesome TW in the Suspension section, TTORA, browsing vendor sites like Toytec, Downsouth, SDHQ, checking tech specs on manufacturers sites. What I found was:

**King - front 22", rear 24". $2300.

**ICON Stage I - couldn't get hard specs, but I think they're in the same range as King, 22"/24". Add remote res for the rear shocks for the ICON Stage I and it's $1800.
**Fox - front 22", rear 24". $1500.

**OME - apx. 22-23" both front and rear. $800.

I'm sure they're all great kits, but better? I'm doubtful. It's not like Bilstein, Eibach and TRD are a bunch of bums that slapped together a kit on a weekend outing. Perfect for my needs since I'm not gonna buy new 16x8 wheels so I can put 285's on. That would be another $800, no way. 285's are only gonna get me 1.2" extra ground clearance over 265/75's, and would require new UCA's most likely (and new UCA's are *required* by King and ICON if you want extended length coilovers - which STILL may not get me to 25" like the Baja does). New UCA's are an additional $500 over the prices I listed above.

Despite 650h1's post that you can't get full travel with the Baja coilovers unless you get aftermarket UCA's, I'm thinking I will.

Now, one could get custom setups from King, ICON, Fox that give you the extended length, but that gets even pricier than the OEM Replacement Kits. What I'm seeing is this Baja kit is the best bang for the buck.

I'm not gonna sink a bunch of money into the truck just so I can look cool with 3" of lift and 285's. What I want is an effective off-roader to get me over rocky Colorado roads and fast desert running in Utah. For that, wheel travel is the big deal, as well as strong shocks. And what does the kit provide? Wheel travel and strong shocks. For less $$$ than King, ICON, Fox.

 

subscribed

 

Alright. Got the kit delivered today. Measurements:

Front shocks - body 12", 2.5" diameter, extended length 22", travel unkown (can't compress them).

Rear shocks - body 12", 2.0" diameter, extended length 24", travel ~10".

Coils - 14", 3" ID.

So my estimated extended lengths posted above were way off. I somehow had it my head they were 25" and 27". Ouch, miscalculation. See the attachment and judge for yourself the lengths.

Anyhow, the shocks are roughly the same as ICON, King, Fox "OEM Replacement Kits". Less $$$ than ICON and King, about the same as Fox. More $$$ than Old Man Emu.

 

Well, kit went in Thursday (along with the 4-piece BudBuilt skids), new BFG TA KO 265/75/16's on Friday, first offroad trip today. Took it up to Rollins Pass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollins_Pass . There's another more difficult road, the Boulder Wagon Road, didn't try it, not sure how far it goes before the closure point. http://www.risingsun4x4club.org/forum2/showthread.php?t=19943&page=2

So obviously it is a much stiffer ride on the freeway, it can get pretty busy because of the stiff compression nature of both the front coils and all four shocks. I noticed during the install the rear shocks are very stiff to compress compared to stock. The stock rears I could compress with one hand to get them off (18k miles on the stocks). The new ones it took two hands to compress them, and they have a quick rebound. The new fronts I couldn't compress by hand even a millimeter. The stock fronts were easily compressed.

So I'm guessing the valving is set up for stiff compression and quick rebound on all four corners, which one would expect for a Baja setup I guess. On the rocky road (literally billions of small-medium sized rocks for 12 miles) it was fine but of course a lot of jarring because again the stiff compression nature of the shocks/coils.

I'm expecting the setup to shine when I go to Utah and go high speed on the desert roads. So here's a few pics from today:



In the background of this pic after the road closure you can see the old Needles Eye railroad tunnel at the very top of the pass. Right about 12,000 ft.

 

Went on my old buddy of a road up to Deep Lake today. Dirt road with few rocks sticking up into the roadbed to slow you down, but rutted and washboarded quite a bit. This road is a good test of how the suspension will behave on desert roads like in SoCal, Utah, and AZ.

The suspension did very, very well on the rutted and washboarded sections. I took it in 4HI with all the nannies enabled. I was able to accelerate well through the uphill washboarded sections, likewise I was able to brake well downhill through the washboards. No hopping around at either end, it was very stable and felt safe at high speeds (I'm talking relatively - say 40-45 mph on the ascent, and 65-70 on the flats at the top).

Here's a couple pics. Had to bugout earlier than I wanted to since thunderstorms were rolling in, and that is NOT a road you want to descend during a rainstorm. Or after a rainstorm for that matter.

This a portion of the ascent.



This section I took at 70 mph in 4th gear, stiff braking for the one turn down to about 55, then stomping on it to get back up to 70 to where I took the pic from.



I also did a simulated emergency lane change at 70 mph on the freeway, the truck did just fine there also. All in all, it's a good setup. The nannies didn't kick in a single time, and I was pushing it pretty hard.

 

i was going to go with the baja package to upgrade my shocks and springs but Downsouth is hooking me up with killer deals on Icon's for the shocks and Camburg UCA's...

 

Are they giving you free shock rebuilds and rental car during the downtime?

Rebuilds recommended every 2 years or 30-40k

I'm not an Icon hater, I just bought a set for our 3rd gen 4runner and read the rebuild recommendations on the instructions.

The Baja kit is a great maintenance free, awesome riding alternative to the current aftermarket coilovers.

 

no shocks are truly maintenance free... eventually those Billy's will either need to be rebuilt (if possible) or replaced at full cost... I'd rather have shocks I know i can have rebuilt.. I'll probably keep my OR suspension so i can swap them in and out whenever a rebuild is needed.. I test drove the Baja and loved the way it drove, I almost wish i had bought that package instead of the OR..

 

True, but i would be willing to bet the bilsteins will last 100k miles without any issues. In the meantime Icon owners would have to rebuild their shocks 3 times.

Sounds like a big PITA to me. (i will soon find out first hand)

after 100k miles on the billies you can buy another pair with the money saved from not rebuilding the shocks over and over and over again.

 

i dont think i'll get near 100k out of any shock.. i'd be lucky to get 30K.. i've worn out dual shocks on my bronco that fast.. and on my first rebuild i'll be upgrading them to RR

 

So you're getting the Icon Stage I with Camburg UCA's? I'm curious to know the price if you don't mind sharing the details. The coil spring rate also. Are you planning on putting 285/75/16 tires on?

 

I'll PM the prices to you.. but the front springs are rated at 650

 

Quick question, is the rectangle piece the rear brake line extension bracket?

And how best to mount the rear shock reservoir??

Also, are there some washers and or any parts that need to be taken off of the stock suspension and put onto the baja suspension?

My shop has my truck right now and is wondering if there is a instruction manual that shows how exactly they want the baja kit installed?

I know it's pretty strait forward, but they were talking about some of these washers or small parts and just wanted to make sure they set it up correctly?

Any help is greatly appreicated!

Thanks,

Jay

 

What's a better way to mount the rear reservoir?

This way (aftermarket)?





Or this way which is in STOCK form?

 

Thanks Gelo!

Do you have any other insights regarding my other questions:

Much appreicated!

Thanks,

Jay

 

I used all the stock rubber bushings and washers for the shocks except for the top nuts and washers to fit over the thicker shafts on the new shocks. The square thing for the brake line extender I still haven't figured out where that thing goes, just didn't want to admit it.

For the RR's the driver side I put on the frame like Brandon and Littleblue did, the passenger side I mounted it IN FRONT of the shock in the frame cutout but canted a little bit to clear the bed mount, then I put some flex conduit on it just in case the braided line rubs.

 

I think stock is to put it on the frame now.

 

mount the reservoirs on the frame.

the rectangle is the brake line bracket extension

there is no instruction manual despite what the sticker on the box says...

reuse your stock parts