Life with Kings vs Fox vs Icon

These type of shocks don't last super long if they're on your daily driver, depending of course on how many miles you put on . but every couple years they're going to need a rebuild. And they could get a little noisy and leak. I know I might get flamed for this but if you do some research you're going to see that there really not a trouble free longevity type of an item it's a aftermarket racing product and it's fully rebuildable and that's what the shock companies are going to tell you if you have any problems outside of warranty.

 

According to Fox: 1000 miles for race application. Split off road/ daily driver 10k. Daily driver: 50k miles.

Kings just say depends on how you use them.

 

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/shock-absorber-shock-dyno/

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When It Comes To Keeping All Four Tires Planted On The Ground, Don’t Just Depend On A Valving Number. Knowing How To Read A Shock Dyno Sheet Can Help You Fine-Tune Your Shock Selection

At every level of racing shock tuning is becoming increasingly important. These days it’s the rare NASCAR Winston Cup team that doesn’t have a man devoted solely to shock absorbers. Rusty Wallace once called the job of the shock tuners a “black art.” Given the many variables available between the car, track and shocks themselves, that’s understandable, but it’s not necessary for a Saturday-night level racer. Understanding how to pull information from a shock dyno sheet and apply it to your car can send you a long way down the road to shock-tuning bliss.

It’s An Energy Absorber

First, a little background information so we’re all on the same page. A shock absorber’s job is to smooth out the reaction of the springs, that’s it. It does its job by transforming energy from the movement of the car’s suspension into heat, which is radiated from the shock body. The spring rates you choose control how far your car rolls when you turn, or dives when you brake. Shock valving controls how long it takes for the car to roll or dive forward. Rebound damping in your shock controls how long it takes the spring to return your car to ride height after the suspension is compressed. The larger the valving number, the more the shock resists the spring’s expansion. Conversely, compression damping controls the opposite movement by the same means.

Shock Types

There are three major categories of shock absorbers, which are based on the way they react to force. (Note: This is not a discussion of shock absorber design, meaning twin-tube versus mono-tube.) The first shock absorbers were progressive, meaning that as shaft speed increases so does the damping rate, or the energy required to move the shaft at that speed. A progressive shock is the simplest design, and also the least useful in practical terms. It’s simply a perforated disk moving through a resevoir of oil. At slow speeds the oil passes through the holes in the disk easily. At higher speeds more energy is required to move the oil through the holes in the perforated disk.

Eventually this type of shock reaches hydraulic lock—no matter how much force is applied to the shaft of the shock, travel speed cannot be increased. A progressive shock is old technology, and it’s performance is unacceptable to the modern racer. Low, continuous forces like body roll through a turn are too poorly damped, and on the other end of the spectrum the shock is unable to absorb sharp, high energy forces: holes, ruts and otherwise rough tracks.

Linear shocks were the next big advance in shock technology. As shaft velocity increases, damping forces increase at a linear rate. On a shock dyno graph (Diagram B) both compression and rebound damping appear as approximately straight lines diverging from each other as shaft velocity (or force exerted on the shock) increases. This style of shock has been a boon for racers because it allows increased control at lower shaft speeds, which is vital for controlling a race car through the corners.

The third type of shock is a fairly recent development. Digressive shocks are essentially the oppostive of progressives. As shaft speed increases, damping forces increase at a decreasing rate. Diagram C is a shock dyno graph of a typical digressive shock dyno curve. Digressive shocks provide low-speed damping control without being unreasonably harsh on rough racetracks. Both modern linear and digressive shocks allow separate damping and rebound rates. So far manufacturers have not been able to combine, say, digressive rebound with linear compression in one shock yet.

 

Rancho

 

Seriously? Well that sucks.

 

I was gonna say Fabtech.

 

I hear ya. This is directly from their website. Looks like they'll put you in touch with someone who will - but that's not the same thing to me...

http://www.iconvehicledynamics.com/tech-support/shock-service/

 

Aren't Kings progressive? Trophy trucks seem to like them.

 

For floating in mall parking lot speed bumps

 

Yes, they are very much progressive.

 

I just realized @Dacon was talking about NASCAR. Thought it was odd they would say a progressive shock was old tech and unacceptable for racing.

 

Plus that article is old, it still refers to the "Winston" Cup. Technology has rapidly advanced since that article came out

 

Just how important is it to have the compression adjusters?

They add A LOT to the already high price when doing a full King or Fox setup. Debating doing the adjusters on just the front end but I'm not sure if that would just be pointless.

 

It def helps give you a soft, med, and hard range compression ability to your shocks instead of just a medium setting if that makes sense. I have adjusters for the rear on mine cause my weight fluctuates a lot. You might find that you look your shocks soft on road though that won't be as easy to achieve without adjusters.

 

who will look the best after a winter? I love the blue of the kings but don't want them to look like shit after a winter. I know fox powder coats and clear coats their stuff so that's who I'm leaning towards now. They are both at the same price point and both offer what I want for suspension. it's down to the durability of finish haha

 

ADS. Definetly not fox.

 

My Fox extended kit is pretty awesome. I cant imagine another aftermarket coilover having a better ride. Mine are preloaded / lifted as far as max recommended and the ride is still great. Adjusters would of been a waste of cash for my particular setup...but the adjusters could only make the ride better. Im 99% daily driven on road...so the 50K rebuild of the assembly was important.

 

This is what I bought to protect my King coilovers and rear suspension:

Mavcoat Steel Shield Industrial Grade Corrosion Protection, 13 oz. (3 Cans)

https://www.amazon.com/Mavcoat-Steel-Shield-Industrial-Protection/dp/B00S57N0UC Wheeler's also sells it which is where I bought mine from. Great stuff and dries clear. Lots of trophy truck teams uses it

 

ADS?

thanks!!! I may be able to get the pretty blue shocks now haha

 

Yes ADS. Research them a bit, they're an excellent brand.