Suspension Lift: King

I did a quick search and didn't find any reference to anyone running the King OEM setup on a 3rd Gen, I am trying to determine if is worth the cash, I originally was going to go Icon but have been told the ride is kind of harsh as a daily driver, and I mainly use my truck around town but, want something I can push kinda hard on the weekends. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thx

 

Here are some links to 3rd gen guys running Kings. There are many more, try searching through these threads first:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lifted-16-tacomas.392765/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...2016-tacoma-presented-by-toytec-lifts.395798/

I have been doing research on different setups and can share with you my thoughts for what its worth. From what I have read, just about every aftermarket performance coilover is going to feel a bit stiffer on the road for every day driving, this is basically because what makes for a good on road setup is what makes for a bad off road setup, generally. So its always this compromise. Toytec explains it well in the above link about how important the valving of the shock is to the ride. For example the stock setup is a higher spring rate with less compression damping for a smooth ride over small bumps and such. However, aftermarket offroad providers like to decrease the spring rate and increase the compression and rebound valving to help with overall travel at low speeds and the ability to soak up larger bumps. So to say that the ICON setup rides harsh isn't really fair, it is just going to be a bit stiffer on road but worlds better off road. From what I have read this is pretty much universally the case for aftermarket coilovers and I don't think the ride is intolerable on road, some people even seem to prefer it.

There is also the question of the shock dampening profile (progressive, linear, or digressive). Progressive: Starts out soft then gets stiffer quickly as shaft speed increases. Linear: uniform increase in stiffness. Digressive: Starts out stiff then gets softer/tapers off. Take this into account when choosing, I'm not sure which shocks are what profile but you can see how maybe a digressive shock would be harsh on the road but great over a whoop section assuming you have enough travel. Brands like King and Fox offer clickers on the reservoirs to adjust the valving for the type of surface you are driving on. Not sure if Icon offers this.

Also the ride can be effected by the amount of adjustment you make on the coilover, because adjusting the coilover puts the shock in a different starting position. So you could end up reducing your total up or down travel. I think this is why you see a lot of guys running extended travel versions.

I decided to go with extended travel kings with adjusters and TC UCA's. I am in the middle of installing them and will probably post something up when done about the ride quality and how much ability there is to tune with the clickers. Let you know if I thought they were worth it or not. However, I don't think you can go wrong with icons, they will be far better offroad than stock.
People running Kings:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-quicksand-thread.391326/page-76#post-12532884

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/new-16-4-banger-owners-thread.397277/page-14#post-12508474

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/socalktks-3rd-gen-dclbor-super-white-build-page.415947/page-3

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...r-3rd-gen-today.399305/page-414#post-11862998

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-by-toytec-lifts.395798/page-54#post-11713724

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-us-your-3rd-gen-silver-thread.392249/page-41

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lifted-16-tacomas.392765/page-140#post-12664173

 

Nice detailed response. Mucho gracias for all the links man.

 

I'd take them over stock any day of the week, ride is 10 times better. They are firmer but in no way bone jarring, great improvement and couldn't be happier with my decision. I doubt you would go wrong with either Kings or Icon

 

BINGO.

Springs are stiff, shock valving is stiffer, it's just the nature of the beast to have the strength in the suspension to absorb big hits. Most comfy OEM like ride is going to be a Bilstein setup.

 

The king OEM replacement setup works extremely well.

In general the ride is smoother than stock. ( I only have the front up about 1.5")

What you do notice is that cracks in the road and very small road imperfections are felt more than the stock setup.

On the freeway they are very smooth.

Large bumps on the road are soaked up with ease.

Offroad.... They are a not even comparable to the stock setup. Better in just about every way. I use them offroad in the mountains, not the desert, but I driven them on a variety of roads. Done some high speed 50-60 Mph, some slower very rocky roads, washboards, they handle everything well.