Long Travel BS Thread

Is it possible/advantageous to run icon shocks on a long travel application? What are the pros and cons of the digressive valving in a race/high speed setting? I've heard that icon shocks are awesome for mid travel applications because they are stiffer on the road but softer when it comes to higher speed stuff, so I'm curious why more guys haven't thrown them on long travel setups

 

You can valve any shock that way.

 

So is the progressive/digressive talk just for people with MT setups that don't know about valving? Haha I just always see Kings and Fox shocks on LT setups

 

Ive been running Icons on my 08 with a Camburg Kit and I have been pleased. My front end bumps out a little higher than most as Icon uses a shorter shock body than King or Fox but this also means that at full bump my 35s are into the inner fenders pretty good and I drag skid plate on really hard hits. Because they're shorter fully compressed Icon has to extend the shaft length as well to mirror the same extended lengths and King or Fox. My coilovers and Omega bypasses are a 9.5" stroke IIRC (King and Fox are 8") using the OEM coil bucket and a TC hoop. I can cycle 15" before the CV starts to bind at full droop/full bump, I have it strapped at around 14". I swapped my front coils for normal Eibachs slightly longer than what Icon provides. They are a great company to work with and will go out of their way to help you out.

At the end of the day tho all "race shocks" are virtually the same, pick a color or brand and run with it, how your truck rides isn't determined by the shocks you choose but by how well you are able to tune it. No shock is going to ride like a dream straight out of the box but Icon is able to put a slightly more specific valving in their shocks as they have a ton of R&D time into the OEM replacement versions, others you will be stuck with whatever generic valving is put in them until you can revalve them yourself. FYI tho: King and Fox will be cheaper to have rebuilt and serviced than Icon and easier to find someone to work on them. Parts are more readily available.



Also using Icons for my rear end build, 14" 2.5 Remote Resi Coilovers and 16" 2.5 4 Tube Zeta Bypasses and Icon 4" bumps on a custom built 3 Link with a Camburg 9" Rear end.

 

Yes, i had to stop going into the mid travel BS thread. I couldnt take it any more

 

Good we didnt want you answering all our questions correctly anyways

 

The Digressive valving is only in Icon's OEM replacement coilovers. We have Icons that work with Camburg/TC LT kit's and are valved like King/Fox.

The Digressive Valving setup is better suited for limited wheel travel Daily Driver/Weekend warrior applications.

Any valving in any of the 3 can be changed if you know what stack's you want.

 

Okay cool, thanks! One more question... Usually when I reverse into a parking spot or something similar, my camber becomes very negative and the wheels toe in slightly, and the front end lowers. My assumption is that the slight 1/8" toe in on the front, works backwards and pushes the wheel inward when rolling backwards, which pushes against the suspension and compresses it down. I've never seen this in other trucks, so I'm not sure if it could be my caster (~+4*, which i thought was normal) or just because I'm on torsions and they aren't as stiff as coils. Any ideas why this could be happening fabricators?

 

Exactly. I'm running a set of Icon coilovers with the TC LT kit (spares for the old race FJ) that are progressive valving and they work great with my kings. For most dudes the Icon's alone (with bumps/strapped) will work awesome out of the box, but in the super sharp Barstow whoops and on ledges they bottom pretty easy and need some help, or just slow down a little which is of course not an option.

 

Just eyeball it. Really. Center your steering wheel. Sit down and look eye level with the hub. When you get it right the slightest head movement and you will be able to see all four sidewalls lined up pretty close. Your rear is more narrow, so compensate a little keeping them all parallel. I don't run any toe. It wanders a little on the highway, but corners like it's on rails in the dirt. Just mess with it until it feels right and keep both sides even. You can't mess it up, the worst you will do is have to go pay a dude to align it. When I finally got mine the way I liked it, I tack welded the cams so they won't move.

 

Wrenching away here!

 

Yah i've eyeballed it and done the tile and 2x4 alignment and everything that jberry (i think) did a write up on. Inspecting it visually like you said things look just right, it drives perfect (and ive been dicking with the alignment on this thing for a while now so its definitely best its been), no play in the arms or steering, heims are all tight.
I'll try running 0" of toe and see how it goes. I just don't get why the suspension compresses when I reverse, although i guess that has to do with the toe?

 

I guess it's time to start figuring out rear coil lengths and rates. 2.5-14", Small cage, one spare for now, and a 20ish gallon tank against the cab. Dual rate. Ideas ?

 

2nd gen camburb kit with spindles...
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...2005-camburg-long-travel-kit-lt-spindles.html

 

You explained it perfectly in your post man. Imagine your truck is an RC car. You flip it upside down and spread the front tires apart, what happens? The suspension compresses. You are pulling it apart with the toe, which squats it.

 

More pics of the truck are required

 

His truck is one badass machine

 

Bad ass man. I didn't realize that you could just change the valving willy nilly but I guess I should have guessed that Love the setup you've got! do you have a build thread or anything for the rear 3link suspension?

that's what these threads are for

Thanks! I guess now that I think about the cost of parts and availability of people who can work on them, I see why many people go with Fox or King instead. That and the price points of those two companies vs. Icon

 

for what it's worth... i ran icon CO's with my TC kit on my old truck

 

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/pts/4153925761.html