Which stage icons did you get?

I'm enjoying it so far, couldn't make up my mind.

So far so good, I wanted to experiment with threaded coilovers to see how I like maintaining them and having them rebuilt. I also got tired of trying to pick the very best for my application. I find that some complaints can be legitimate where valving and preference come into play.

 

I'm looking at this kit. http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/ICON-Stage-4-Tacoma-Suspension-with-Tubular-UCAs_p_1432.html
Is this pretty much the best your going to get for under 3k? I have no clue the performance difference between tubular or billet UCAs, and I doubt I do the types of activities to notice.

 

That’s a pretty nice setup. I think you would be able to do a lot with the stage 4.
And your probably right on the tubular UCA’s verse the boxed aluminum, save your money. It will probably be enough to pay for 1/2 your tire upgrade .

 

Cool - Thanks for the reply. I was looking at the OME, FOX and KING Kits but by the time you add the UCA's you're looking like going over 3500$. All I plan on doing is pulling a boat, hauling some lumber around town, and looking bad ass on 3 inches of lift. I don't think I will be rock crawling or doing any jumps anytime ever. however, I do want a nice highway ride and equal or improved performance when towing or using it as a Utility Truck.

Are there any other setups better than this one for Under 3k?

 

Could save a few bucks by going non-res in the front. I’m running the extended travel with total chaos UCAs and have no complaints.

 

This is true, after doing the math you are not really saving anything vs buying it in pieces for yourself. Many ditch the AAL after a year or two as it wears out and honestly cant match the ride of a quality leaf pack. Another thing is the Icon UCAs are known to squeak like crazy and many have even ditched their UCAs for the new Delta joint ones from Icon that is a blend of part uniball for articulation, but also is designed to be a closed cavity like the ball joint is so it can last longer. This is the value if you were to price this out from wheelers WITH the delta joint.

As @doorsidedown said, if you don't really do a lot of high speed off-road where your shocks cycle, then you might be wasting your funds on coilovers when you can get the non-resi version. ALSO, if you arnt aware of what digressive suspension is...its worth understanding it as unlike kings and fox which are progressive (soft at slow speeds and ramp up at higher speeds), Icon has digressive (hard at slow speeds and gets softer at high speeds). I run kings as they feel like a caddy to me regardless of speed while some guys I know get bashed on the trail due to their icons. This is the kit broken down in price...they arnt really doing you any favors and this is with the new and improved DELTA JOINT UCAs!

• Icon Coilovers w/resi - $1500
• Icon Rear shocks w/resi - $529
• Icon DELTA JOINT UCAs - $800
• Icon AAL - $215

-----------------TOTAL------$3044

If it were me, I would evaluate if you need resis. If not, then get without and save $500 and put that towards a quality leaf pack for $500 and forget the AAL as its only a bandaid for your rear. The same can apply for the rear if you don't think you need resis. Resis main function is to have a reservoir to handle the excess flow of oil in the shock so when it cycles repeatedly and heats up it can move the heat out of the shock portion to help eliminate shock fade. Shock fade happens when the shock internals get heated up for extended periods without giving the shock time to cool down which leads to a shorter life in between rebuilds where the compression in the shock starts to die out regardless of your valving set up and become saggy and soft.

 

You want a great ride on road ? Switch to either fox or king.
Fox non resi 2.5” coils and fox 2.0” resi in rear. Get Camburg UCA’s or even light racing.
Put a Dakar in rear or even a 3aal .
You will be way under 3 and have a great ride. Plus should you choose to get in the dirt someday your set .

Plus your going to look all bad ass and be able to buy the wife/gf a nice gift and still be under budget !!

Go to @HeadStrong Off-Road , you can go on there site and build a full suspension from $1800- millions lol ok not quite but it’s a great tool and @HeadStrong Off-Road has some great pricing

3 damn edits ^^^^ I’m headed out to do a bit of fly fishing

 

Thanks for the information. I may not even need to reservoirs then, and save some dough$$. I will look into the fox here soon I guess. If one were to be towing a boat, would I need to get any special aal for the rear? My worst fear is screwing up my trucks towing capabilities by doing something wrong with the lift.

 

Depends on whether or not you plan to tow stuff ALOT or have constant weight in the bed? You can always get stiffer HD springs in a leaf pack, but if the weight is generally not there then it can ride quite rough. If you don't tow often and don't mind the sag during the commute then I wouldn't worry about it.

In my case...I got King remote resis which fox and Icon offer...but the advantage of resis is you can get clickers on them to adjust the compression. That might be worth it to get for the rear for you. For the front I don't have compression adjusters as I don't really need them, but the rear fluctuates a lot in weight and its nice to simply flick up the compression 1 or 2 times depending on the load and then roll out.

 

Get a 3aal if it’s just a regular ski boat. If it’s a bad ass ski boat go Dakar hd

 

I vote dakars over an AAL, but I have three friends who have had HD dakars that all have sagged after about two years. If you really want a solid leaf pack, get the All pro expo HD pack. All pro outsources these so they arnt made in house, but their construction is significantly better than any Dakar pack.

 

The Dakars will be enough. Your friends probably had the old version.
Remember OP is trying to save $$$.
I have had the Dakars on my short bed for a few months and tows great.
But if OP wants to spend... he should thumb his nose at you and me and get Deavers

 

Ha funny you say that...I got deavers currently and THEY WILL SAG (actually that's normally the fear of deavers). Im SUA and for me deavers are the leafs for the game so it is what it is, granted I don't generally tow. I know dakars did get a nice makeover looks wise, but I reserve judgement on whether they will be worth it in the long haul. Both of my buddies who recently took theirs off were permanently flattened to a degree, but this is after some use with wheeling and time on the truck. I hope you are right as getting leaf packs replaced can get old.

As far as funds go...All pro makes decent leaf packs for around the 5-600 price point I believe and yea they are a little more expensive than dakars which can be had between 375-450, but whats another couple hundred?

 

The Dakar hd is 499-514 depends where you get them.

 

Well shit at that price point, why not get the AP expos?

 

Mine was:

$1199 for non res
$684 for TC UCAS
$500 for rear with res
$188 for progressive AAL

Total: $2571

 

OP, I agree with everyone here about picking up a leaf pack right off the bat. I didn’t have the extra coin at the time, but if your budget is $3k you can see it’s easily doable for under that.

 

Here you go...from @HeadStrong Off-Road
2.5” coils
2.0” rear w resi
He Dakar
Camburg UCA’s

Or allpro’s expedition for my buddy @Coot83

 

Much better set up and saved a few bucks!