Icon stage 5 or 6?

Hey everyone I recently placed a stage 5 on order and I'm comtemplating on getting the 6 instead. Has anyone got experience with the stage 6 ride quality control? If its not much of a dif than would I be better off with the 5? Its my daily so ill be driving to work and usually go camping. I will be joining some overlanding soon after so...If I can stay with the 5 and still kick ass than ill save the 550 dollars. Any thoughts?

 

From what I can tell, the adjustability of the shock is the difference betweeen stage 5 and 6. When I had them, I liked to adjust them, and ICON's adjustments actually make a pretty big difference with each click. I'd leave it super soft for the road, then stiffen it up for fast fire-road runs and somewhere in between if doing some slow stuff. Also kept it stiff when towing (might come in handy if you are loaded up for a week or two long trip).

If you aren't actually gonna use it, then it isn't worth it. But I probably wouldn't buy high end suspension for a vehicle without them in the future now that I've had them once. It's one of those things that you don't know you need until you have it. So if you stick with stage 5 you won't even know you are missing anything and save $500.

 

Cool thanks for the info . What do you have now?

 

I had the ICON's on my ford, I haven't done a suspension on the Taco yet because we are in the process of building a house and the wife wouldn't be happy if I put some of our budget into truck suspension. I'll have to wait a year or so until I can join the club!

 

$4300 is a lot of money for shock company that doesn’t have the best reputation around here and doesn’t come with a leaf pack.

You can get a sweet setup for a lot less that includes UCA and a new rear leaf pack.

Are you familiar with digressive shocks, Icon is one of the very few companies that are digressive.

 

Don't waste your money on ICON - I have their stage 4, and would never buy another ICON product again.

What you've described as your regular use doesn't require anything more than stock suspension. When you reach its limits, THEN upgrade.

 

I have a lot of weight on right now and it's rubbing quite abit.

 

All I've been told and what seems to me icon and kings are the best out there for overlanding..

 

I come across more real overlanders on stock, one or Billies than I do any of the big three.

 

What you're reading is marketing material that's specifically designed to drain your bank account (and pad theirs) by convincing you that you need things which you do not actually need.

The sooner you stop competing with the "Joneses" of Instagram and online forums, the happier you will be. I've stepped on the same rake myself, and spent stupid amounts of money on ridiculously unnecessary things (ICON suspension, James Baroud hardshell RTT, aftermarket bumpers, etc.). All these mods were an enormous waste of money that contributed between little and nothing beyond the initial "cool factor" (which wore off some 3-4 days after purchase). They've also added endless problems, complications, expenses. Don't fall for the hype. Buy only what you NEED, after you're 100% sure that what you have does not work for you.

 

or save some money and get the fox level 3 with dakars.

 

I don't know if there is truly a "best" for overlanding. Overlanding can be different things but most people are running pretty easy to moderate trails that the stock suspension can run. Some people run stock and all the way up to LT setups.

I have never used Icon but from comments on this forum I never will, they have corrosion issues, leaking issues and reportedly some of the worst customer service on the market.

The digressive shock is much different and is better for high speed and a racing applications, this is my opinion based on anecdotal experience.

The top shocks on the market based on my on knowledge, experience and feedback from TW members are King and ADS, they are high quality and have great customer service. Other brands such as Fox and OME are great as well offering mid-tier selections, lower tier selections include Bilsteins and such but are still great products. Dobinson is popular in south America and Australia, they dont have a huge US market but their products seem great.

Larger shocks allow for greater oil which helps against shock fade, remote reservoirs assist in this separating the gas from the oil and allowing expansion into the remote reservoir which assists in cooling and again prevents shock fade.

AAL provide lift and sometimes increase constant load capacity. While you cant increase payload capacity you can improve how the truck handles the load. Many people run OME Dakar packs, they are strong reliable and fairly inexpensive. I am personally running a Deaver U402 Stage II, I am biased but you get what you pay for.

Uniball UCA allow for better travel and make alignments easier but these were designed for racing and are expected to be serviced regularly, they squeak and can be problematic. For overlanding you want an UCA that offers strength and reliability. I recommend a moog based joint for your UCA. SPC Light racing allow for changes in caster so you can set it to you want regardless of lift and allow for extended travel. They cost half as much as a uniball UCA. JBA Offroad are a moog design as well, reliable, strong and easy maintenance. With overlanding you want parts to hold up in remote locations for long periods of time.

Consider some other options before pulling the trigger on something so expensive

Personal setup.

SPC Light Racing UCA
King Ext 2.5 w/ remote reservoirs all the way around
Deaver u402 Stage II

I paid about ~$3k for this

 

kings are progressive tho. unless your personal anecdotes was before you had kings

 

Yes, we are talking about digressive Icons

 

Best for overlanding? It isn’t a sport. It’s driving a car.

What you need to “overland” is the same thing you need to drive - gas, and a desire.

 

Pretty much nailed it right there.

 

Appreciate all the info man! Sure helps a lot.
Kings was my other option. Do you know if max height for icons are 2.75 or 3.5? I am getting misleading informations from both the internet and shop. Getting a respond from icon tomorrow.

 

That i dont know, You can crank the shocks pretty high, most people only shoot for 2.5"-3" because any higher causes problems. I would assume based on everything I know that Icon would advertise a 2.75" height, 3 is pretty much max unless you do a drop bracket lift which is a whole other mess.

 

I will second that icon customer service isn't that great, I won't buy their products anymore...although the delta joint is very attractive. I thought you bought them all already and didn't want to bash them. When they worked they were great, but when I needed to repair stuff it was hell trying to get the right parts from them. Also, they are great flying down fire roads at 40+ but at slow speeds the shocks are stiff. So if you aren't flying carrying all that gear you might want to look at king or ads.