ICON 2.5/UCAS

Got my ICON 2.5 coilovers/UCAS/diff drop installed on my 99 tacoma. 35x12.5x15 BFG KM2s, Pro Comp 15x10 matte black aluminum wheels, FOX 2.0s in the rear. I'm a little worried about my cv angle though. The diff drop didn't seem to hardly do much. What are your guys thoughts? Ways to go about fixing it?

 

Too much lift. Need to take some of the pre-load out or stock up on cv boots

...sick truck though

 

4X should be set near abouts 2.5" of suspension lift.
Doing so will ensure the cv's/boots are not too extreme.

pushing that... and components can wear prematurely.

easy way to check the cv boots is that the outter fins should not be touching
when steered straight ahead.

I added a 1" body lift to accommodate taller tires
and not push the suspension to it's upper limits.

I have Icons (Donahoes) as well... tho' not the extended travel version.
The extended travel Icons (or others) will need aft. mrkt UCA
in combination... so that the front end can obtain the factory alignment specifications.

Differential drop kits are a waste of money and might do more harm then good.

There is a limit as to how much a Tacoma 4X should be lifted.
Exceeding those limits will find more component wear and premature failure.

I have 34" tires and is purdy much the tire height limit for the ifs...
and even with those tires installed...
the steering R&P ( itre's ) will need replacement more often then most folk like.

35's should be ignored unless your gonna swap to a solid axle front.

Your suspension is set too high IMO.

a 60/40 suspension travel window is what you're after.

 

Dude!!! That pre load on the springs!! Wow

 

I wouldnt say diff drops are a waste of money, atleast on a first gen. They do help, not a huge difference but get what ya can get right? Any lil bit helps with those CV angles. As far as doing harm to component's prematurely er whatever i dont really think that is an issue. Lots of people have installed them including myself on one of my trucks and have never experienced and ill effects or have ever heard of issues from running them...

Your preload does seem to be a bit much but they are still new too, so there might be a slight bit of break in that will occur...maybe. the angles are pretty steep fur sure. You are one step ahead of the game though with the manual hubs! Atleast them damn fins of the boots wont be rubbing constantly like the ADD guys, only in 4x will they be spinning.

With that said running them 35's ya prolly cant really afford to take out some preload or you'll pry end up rubbing something feirce!

 

I bought the ICON set used...it was from same year tacoma with a bumper and a winch and he said it was set at the max height of 2.5" already...I figured I needed all I could get to clear 35s...and it has 529 gears in it which is why I went to 35s...it had 33s before. I will do some research and see what I can do to help the cv angle some.

 

Well, no break in for the springs then.... if you arent running a winch and as heavy of a bumper they will certainly provide more lift than 2.5" as the PO had.

 

I am running an ARB bumper and a warn 8K winch with a plate...he said it has the 650# springs to accommodate such. But yah, unfortunately not much break in for springs. I just hope they'll settle just a bit maybe from not being on anything for 9 months.

 

Just do a SAS dude

 

I just don't have the winch on it full time running around townand whatnot. When I had it on before just to see with the 33s and rancho coilovers, it put to much weight up front and I would rub all the time. I really don't want to tear it down again and lessen the lift any. It should only be a 2.5" lift at most I thought. But I need that to clear the 35s. I just don't like the looks of that angle, seems like a lot for only a 2.5" lift with a diff drop is all.

 

SAS will happen in a couple few years maybe...I kinda wanted to try out this ICON stuff. And honestly I don't do a whole lot of rock climbing which I believe is about all a SAS is superior to IFS for. Sand and snow IFS does just fine.

 

Well heck if you're runnin about the same weight up front as the PO had with his setup his angles musta been pretty comparable to what you're experiencing now i guess hu?

On another note, i have two ARB's on each of my tacomas and maybe your pic is prior ARB install, but that profile pic of your bumper/truck dosent look like any ARB ive ever seen....not that it matters with this weight discussion any but just kinda curious as to what the deal is there?? Super old model customized to fit your truck er something?

 

With that much pre-load and 650# springs I see in the pics, your probably running above 2.5". Maybe the PO was mistaken on what the lift was set at. It's obviously gonna vary between the different rig set-ups though.

Have you done any trimming/tubbing for the 35's?

 

Yeah OP i agree with jer above^^^^ surely you're running well over 2.5"....well heck just by the look of the cv angles youre above that and on top of that there seems to be alot of threads showing on those icons. But like i kinda hit on earlier youd prolly rub like a mofo with those 35's and them big ole wheels having your coilovers unloaded any. Kinda hard to tell in the pics but dont look like you did any major hacking up of the wheel wells there in the front so again gunna need all the lift you can get lol to avoid bad rubbage while out cycling the ole girl while offroad... gosh with that preload and those heavy rated springs on a reg cab with a light engine there might not be too much cycling going on with those icons to worry about causing too much rubbing. Good thing youve got a lil weight with your bumper and winch to help out a bit...

 

The bumper is custom homemade, but basically like an ARB clone from what I was told, its every bit of 120# and the warn winch with platr is at least 80-100# as well. I did very minimal trimming of my bumper and that was it. Don't have much flex with IFS and with these springs it should be ok. I am going on the first snow test run tomorrow so we shall see what happens. I think the previous owner trimmed the fenders and wells a bit to clear the 33s and the rancho coilovers that were on it. Thanks for the insight guys, let ya know how she does tomorrow.

 

damn that's a nice little taco!

 

Thanks man!! She's getting there. Had her for almost 2 years now and it's my first wheeling toyota. Spent the first year changing/fixing doing all the little shit and maintenance, and spent this year putting some trail upgrades. Lots done, and lots more to come. Elocker swap in the rear, limited slip Detroit in front, and a rebuilt 3rz with a turbo is in the near future!! Oh and here is my alignment specs per les schwabs...I don't know how to read it, did they do a good job? Was hoping the icon ucas would help with that some.

 

This was the guys truck that the ICON coilovers/UCAS came off of. It is a first gen double cab, don't recall the year. He was running 33s though, not 35s. And after reading through our convo they are the 625# springs not 650#. I paid $1000 for the set, seemed fair to me. Decent shape, ran them for a year he said before he went to FOX long travel, maybe 15K miles he said. How often do these need rebuilt?

 

Now that bumper is an ARB im not sure the one on your truck looks to be a clone of any sorts...sorry not trying to nit pick your goodies my man!

Yeah let us know how the snow day goes! Thats my favorite setting to play with my trucks in, the snow! I really hate mud!! Not much of a fan of dusty conditions either... Your rig outta be fairly capable pretty soon once ya do some more of the mods on your to do list!!! Both my tacos are reg cabs and ive always liked the look of a reg cab with a little flat bed like yours...