ICON SUSPENSION QUESTION

Hey guys hopefully somebody can answer this for me. ive been super interested in icon lifts ever since i got my first taco and im looking to get the stage 1 kit. now ive heard you have to get them serviced every so often, which has turned me away from them since my taco is my daily. so my question is what happens if i dont service them? thanks in advance

 

Most high performance shocks have service intervals. If you don't service them you will notice shock fade after time and or leaking.

 

now how bad would this be for somebody who uses their truck as a daily? it just sucks how they dont make a kit that doesnt need to be serviced.

 

You don't have to service them. You can also throw them in the trash and buy new ones, like every other un-serviceable shock.

 

I tend to agree. Loved the Icons on my 4Runner (both sets I ran), but they were not even considered when it came time to lift my GX. Too many brand new leaky shocks and failures on the "recent" stuff (unless that has changed in the past year or so).

That said, for clarity for the OP, Kings need to be serviced too. Or thrown in the trash and replaced.

 

Right. i understand completely why they need to be serviced. im just trying to avoid it with it being my daily. i guess ill stick to OME then.

 

i had OME on my last tuck w/ 33s and it was fine. but since ive moved to SC ive done some more wheeling and wanted to get something a bit more upgraded for lack of better terms.

 

Kings have the most aggressive service intervals of the "big 3", though, don't they? Seems like OP is looking for a set it and forget it system

 

If you don't want to bother with serviceable shocks then it's best to stick with OME or Bilstein 5100s, or something along those lines. Cheaper but more than adequate for a daily driver.

Icon, Kings and the like require rebuilds anywhere from 15k miles to 50k miles depending on how you use them, I'm sure some people that do 99% street driving probably go over 50k and haven't had issues with needing them rebuilt. But a rebuild isn't all that expensive and could work out to save you money in the end over buying new shocks every time, but again that depends on how you use them and how often you find yourself needing new shocks. It sounds like you'll be better off with a non-serviceable shock.

 

10-4 buddy. appreciate the insight.

 

No way man, all the Instagram broverlanders run Icon, they have to be the best!

 

I daily drive my truck with Icons. All shocks will need to be replaced or serviced eventually. They recommend to service them at 40k miles if you drive mostly on the street.
As far as them leaking, 90 percent of all the issues with Icons have been from people installing them incorrectly. I may be a special case, but I’ve had nothing but a great experience with the Icon crew. I took pictures when installed them myself to make sure everything looked good and they always responded immediately with guidance.

 

OP, you probably just need to sit down and honestly write down what you want out of your build. There is no way that I would recommend a set of standard travel Icons to someone wanting to tear through the desert at 70 mph just as I wouldn’t recommend a set of bypassed King’s for someone who isn’t planning on off-roading too much.
The options are dizzying and there is a ton of good information and smart dudes on this site, but first you need to be honest with yourself and have a plan on what you want with your truck and go from there.

 

To be honest, id go wheeling maybe 10 times a year. and when i say wheeling i mean driving on the beach, explore through the woods etc. no rock crawling or anything like that. just a couple remote sites to do some camping.

 

Honestly dude, I would just go with a standard OME kit then. Talk to @HeadStrong Off-Road and they’ll hook you up.

 

good looks brother.

 

OP, I have Icons installed (stage 4 extended travel), first I'd like to say over all I'm very happy with the ride and performance but...….. I did have one start to leak with around 30,000 miles on it, my taco is my DD as well and I commute about 30 miles to and from work everyday. Having to have it serviced was not my real concern (I knew it would need to be done when I purchased them) the issue is Icon no longer rebuilds/services them in house so you cannot send them back to Icon and have the work done. Icon has I think 4 or 5 authorized dealers around the country that can service them and they vary in price, I live in TX and I had to send them to Colorado, there was one dealer located in TX but it was cheaper to have them sent to CO! I'm not a expert when it comes to shocks so maybe someone else will chime in here but from what I understand the Icons have a special fitting to recharge the shock so you can't just have them serviced any where.

 

They do have a special fitting if I remember correctly. I haven’t paid much attention to that though because I live really close to their HQ as well as a few of their authorized rebuilders.

 

Thank you so much @BlueFalconActual

 

Icon 2.5 non resi coil overs have a port that requires a needle to charge the shock after final assembly, this can be ordered through any competent Icon retailer - I could provide you with the parts to rebuild them yourself or to take them to a local rebuilder who may not offer Icon. Shock is a shock is a shock, anyone who claims they can rebuild them should be able to rebuild King, Fox and Icon.

Remote res Icon shocks have a standard charge port at the end of the resi.

There are plenty of rebuilders out there like Rogue Offroad in Las Vegas, NV or SDHQ in Arizona. Both shops can rebuild them properly and send you on your way.

If you need tech questions answered such as the required or recommended charge for the shock, contact Icon and they would be happy to help.

OP - I would gladly sell you an Icon kit if you truly wanted it, but you have to make this decision on your own and base it on your needs. I have Icon shocks and they have not let me down in over 38k of aggressive use, I went ahead and pulled them out to rebuild them as a precaution but they were perfect. Rogue Offroad did my rebuild and now I have over 10k on them and still no issues.

Many of my customers who live in harsh environments or don't want to have the ability to rebuild shocks just go with OME or Bilstein. nothing wrong with them, just understand the performance of the shock is not going to be as great as it could be with Icon, King, Fox, ADS or even top of the line Bilstein 8112 ETC.