Icon Dynamics Stage # Lift Thread

I don’t not recall. I’m sure someone else can pipe in

 

Nice Beer

 

Thinking about upgrading the suspension. What I really want is a great ride off road and not really concerned about lifting it. Does anyone see a reason to buy UCA’s? I won’t be running anything wider than stock. I just tackle basic overland~ish trails and nothing really more. What would be the recommendation for my needs?

 

To answer your question, I would buy the standard Stage 2 kit and NO you don’t need UCA. I was able to get proper alignment with factory UCAs. I also have the Stage 2 kit. I love it!

 

Why change anything then? A stock OR can already take a beating rather well.

 

Miles wear parts out, especially off road. I could buy OR take offs for a song and dance, but if I’m putting the labor in I might as well get something nice.

 

@SMBHooker posted this:

 

I got icon stage 3 kit with icon add a leaf, and want to adjust my fronts to Max hight 2.18" thread on coilovers. My guess the front should be approximately 23" center hub to fenders.
Here is my question: I like having a 1/2" rake, so what size rear blocks should I get? Thanks in advance.

 

That should give you a 2.5 - 2.75" lift up front and a 1.5'' rear most rear are 1" rake over the front stock so you will be level without a block I would say a .5 or 1'' block added to the icon AAL.

 

Right now my truck is adjusted @ 1.5" lift on the front and rear seats about 1/4" rake. If I went Max on the front wondering if 1/2 block be enough? I don't think anyone sells 3/4" blocks. Alsol if I went with 1" block give me too much rake. I want 1/2 rake when it's all done.

 

Recently bought the Icon stage 4 for my 3rd gen tacoma trd off road. After the install the hub to fender height is only 22 inches in the front and 22.5 inches in the back. I have 33in wheels, now it rubs when I turn.

Before the Icon set I had a two inch spacer lift the wheels fitted perfectly but most importantly, the 2inch lift off of the stock suspension really helps in clearing some of the higher obstacles. Plus it looked really rad.

I’m pretty disappointed that I spend so much money, cut up my stock leaf springs, drilled into my frame for a shorter ride height..

I can adjust the front a little but with .5 inches to work with it’s gonna be a pain trying to keep the truck from looking like a stupid monster truck, with the front sitting higher than the rear. Its scary to think what it’d look like when I add a rack and gear in the back.

I understand the bigger wheels has a lot to do with the hub to fender height but Icon really thinks that people would put their kit with stock wheels??

Anyway, I guess it’s my fault for not doing enough research before buying a super expensive kit with close to stock ride height.. Stay away from Icon if you are looking for quality performance AND taller stance.

By the way - You would think they’d throw in the spanner wrench for adjusting ride height when you spend over $3000 on a complete ADJUSTABLE kit... Naa they’d rather you gave them another $30 for it.

 

Hmm. They gave me the spanner wrench

 

99.9% of the time putting larger tires on a Tacoma will require all or a combination of cutting, removing material, removing mudflaps AND having it aligned to Max out caster. Installing premium shocks doesn't make your wheel wells larger.

It may have looked really rad, but depending on how hard you used it, it was going to destroy your stock shocks. 5 minutes if googling will net you several instances of people offroading in tacomas with spacer lifts and their shocks breaking.

Why did you cut your leaf springs?

If you're loading down the rear you need new, heavier duty leaf packs. It sounds like you got an AAL, that will likely be insufficient if you are carrying loads consistently, and as you found out will lead to bro-lean. If you did get an AAL, you've learned the hard way why full replacement leaf packs are the best and recommended way to go when doing leaf spring modifications.

No, they don't. Bigger wheels/tires have nothing to do with hub to fender, that's the whole point. Hub to fender is used as a lift measurement for several reasons, one of them being that exceeding the general maximum recommendation of 23" will result in excessive wear and premature failure of CVs on a 4x4. Another cricital aspect of using this measurement also negates tires from the equation of "lift" and focuses solely on the suspension side of "lift".

Completely agree, however Icon isn't the only one that does this. ASAIK most of them do not include spanners wrenches, and the ones that include spanners only do it for certain shock models. Premium shock manufacturers are all assholes.

 

Wow. Cynical Asshole is pretty accurate description of yourself sir.

275 70 17 is the biggest tire the front wheel well will fit with a 2 inch WITHOUT modification. Which is exactly what I wanted. No cutting, no removing and definitely no maxing out the caster. Installing premium shocks doesn't make my wheel well bigger but a lift will clear the tires at full turn.

Looking rad is a personal preference, please don't attack it. I don't drive through obstacles like a bat outta hell to the point I break my stock shocks. Btw, the Bilstein shocks on the stock 3rd gens are very capable shocks right off the line with or without 2 inch spacers.

I had to cut one of the brackets that holds the stock leaf springs so the AAL will fit (which is stated in the instruction manual). 2nd gens don't have to do that because the brackets are further back and are not in the way.

Bro-lean is definitely not what I want. I will end up having to spend about $400 to replace the leaf springs. But the point is, it was not advertised on their website that the rear is only 1.5"(according to one of the Icon reps) lift off of the stock height. If I had known I would have went with another brand.

The upper control of the 3rd gen trd off road is designed for access amount of wheel drop which, with the 2 inch space, the CVs were not showing any signs of stress. I stand corrected about the hub to fender ride height having anything to do with the tire size.

Anyways, my main disappointment was that #1- Icon did not put the rear lift information on the product description. #2 with the less than 2 inch lift I'm losing the additional approach and departure angle, believe me the 2 inches makes a whole worlds of difference.

 

Hence why I installed 275s instead of 285s. No modification or cutting!

 

This is exactly what I am looking for. I think Stage 3 is the perfect price point for me. Can’t recall if you said you kept the overload in or took it out?? The stance looks great and just what I want for my truck.

 

stage 6 w/ icon rear bumps. tires 295s

 

Thanks for the share.

 

Icon 8 installed today...have some more fab to do but you get the point:

 

Not to bash icon but why spend the money? They're extremely expensive for what you get . A stage 5 cost almost what a mid travel setup from apllpro cost. Plus, why bother with the expense and only get an add a leaf when you can get Dakar or allpro springs as a whole unit?

Front what I see, all this money doesn't increase your flex which is what really helps when offroading. I see pics of these fancy lifts with the "flex" with the front end on a rock and the whole truck tilts and the rear is what's keeping contact. A good lift will flex equally and keep the truck as level as possible creating the stability on obstacles.

Again, not bashing but more so looking for opinions as to why you guys love these lifts. Is there something I'm missing?