Are kings/Icon/Fox really worth it?

2.5's? Nice

 

Yes sir. Not the cdc but ill upgrade when i service them this year

 

You get what you pay for. 90% of the time. The ONLY reason I have OME's instead of Kings, Icon's or another super high quality brand is because of the climate and conditions I drive in. No unsealed shock would last 6 months where I live in the winter. Exposed shafts won't work here and since my Taco is a daily driver I have no time to play "Rickey Racer" rebuilding them every 6 months. I may be wrong with today's technology but a couple of years ago I couldn't find any high end shock I thought would last where I live daily driving 30+ miles a day. The OME's I've got are less than two years old and look like they came off a rusted out '62 Buick that's been sitting in a filed for 30 years with a part time sandblaster working on them. They still work perfectly. When my OME's wear out I look around again.

 

agreed. have the same set up in the front with the back has fox shocks too but no resi. 90% highway but the other 10% couldn't imagine not having them

 

If King and Icon as well as others would make a shock for the frigid north with a completely sealed shaft like OME that we can bolt on and forget about for 50,000 miles that is still tune able they might find a whole new market in time. Up north not that many are worried about "heat dissipation". They are worried about sand-blasting their shafts. Uh, no pun intended. In Wyoming I doubt it ever gets much past 90 degrees even in the summer and it's not for very long. I'd say most north of Interstate 80 could use a tuneable shock that works year around in frigid temps while being sand-blasted on a daily basis.

 

get some good ones and forget about it. no a good place to cheap out.
Myself i went with fox dsc setup for my expo setup.

 

OK I'll be the whipping boy here. I gotta ask why are the Toytec Boss 2.5s never spoken of in any of these conversations. Are they just a complete joke in comparison.

Yes I have them, yes I wish I had known then to upgrade to 700lb coils in the front, yes price and lack of education was a factor in my decision making. I don't have access to any great rock crawling at home it's really a big sand bar, but I am building the truck for a 6-8 month trip with my wife and am trying to have it capable of whatever we encounter.

I have no real complaints to date aside from the fact that I get lower and lower each time I add components, ie skids/sliders. the ride seems ok on pavement and washboard dirt, sand is sand is sand. It is a much better ride then stock, but as I read more and more of these threads I never hear Toytec brought into the equation, which makes me wonder if I haven't made an expensive mistake

 

You're paying for brand.

 

Basically you bought repackaged Radflo coilovers. I believe they make them to toytec's specifications. I can't comment as to how they stack up to the competition, though.

 

I'm ordering my parts here from toytec. Very knowledgeable dude and he did a lot of homework to find me the pieces I would need to get rid of my block in the rear and my top hat spacer for the front of my truck. I'm looking forward to having the king shocks and coilovers and the deaver rear springs.

 

Any insight as to why 5100's are rated so much higher on this survey than 6112's??

 

looking to replace my shocks. if my truck just used to take kids to school should I just use the sport shocks (OEM)?

 

Sure why not? If that's all you plan to do with the truck then yes!

 

I haven't really looked into the BP-51's. I will in the future because when these OME Nitrocharger's wear out I'd like to get something like King's or ICON'S to smooth out the ride but with the sand and salt on the roads here in Wyoming over 6 months out of the year a bare shaft isn't going to cut it for more than 6 months on a DD and maybe not even that long.

My OME Nitrochargers look like they are 10 years old after just 2 winters here. I like the OME's but they are a little on the harsh side for a DD. I'm dumbfounded that King, ICON, Fox and others don't make a shock that will work up in the north where sand and salt is a huge problem and heat isn't. Don't they understand how much of the market they are missing? It can't be that hard to just seal off the shaft from the elements when cooling isn't a problem.

Heat isn't a problem up north but bare shafts are. It rarely gets over 90 degrees in southern Wyoming in the summer and if it does it's only for few days or so. I will stick with OME until the other shock manufacturer's grow a brain because they work better than "good enough" for my use. I "would" like to have a more compliant ride though when I don't have weight in the bed. Which is almost never.

 

Your problems already have solutions.
If heat isn't a problem, maybe you don't need kings or icons.
Your grow a brain comment had me lol.
Coil over sleeve
http://iconvehicledynamics.com/shop...-coil-over-shock-protection-covers-large.html

2.5 shock boot
https://www.kartek.com/parts/black-25-shock-protective-boot-13-inches-long-sold-individually.html

 

WTF

 

How do the OME shocks compare to the shocks mentioned in this thread?

 

I knew about the ICON wraps and had looked into the aftermarket wraps but I have to wonder how durable the aftermarket wraps would be. There's a lot of cheap stuff out there. I guess my point is that I'd like to see covers that are as high quality as the shocks made by King, ICON or FOX just to name three. Covers that are made by the shock manufacturers themselves. The rears are the ones I worry about the most. You're right though. The ICON wraps would probably be an "apply and forget" item which is what I want. I'd hate to have to keep getting under there and replacing a cheap rear shock cover.

When my OME's wear out maybe I'll go the King or ICON route. I'm assuming that will be a while though and I "do" like the OME but would like to have a smoother, more compliant, adjustable ride especially off-road and at slower speeds on road. At 80 mph on the highway the OME's are just about perfect on real rough pavement. Especially with 700lbs in the bed.

My "grow a brain" comment still stands. King and the others should manufacture their own covers or build shocks with sealed shafts like OME so when we buy the the shock we know we have a quality cover. ICON has the fronts but where are the sealed shafts for the rear? Do I really want to trust a $500+ shock to something made in China?