Suspension longevity

I have run Icon suspensions on my last two vehicles. I really enjoyed the improvements the suspensions provided but they need rebuilding after 30-35K miles. Is there something comparable that does not need as frequent maintenance? What about the new OME BP51 shocks and coils? I hate having the vehicle out of commission waiting for a rebuild.
Thanks

 

Funny, exact same question. Curious for both. Free bump and subd!

 

how did you know they needed to be rebuilt?

 

They loose all damping qualities, ride becomes jarring and vehicle sways more side to side. You might see fluid on shock body. It is obvious when they are gone. I used to drink coffee driving down rough roads, now I brace for every impact or pothole.

 

I think the BP51 will serve you well... me too, though I really liked the looks of icon.

 

I'll just leave this here
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ads-group-buy.475653/

 

I think we're firm between the 2, I am anyways. I don't speak for all

 

Most all coilovers are going to need to be rebuilt. Running a plain jane OME shock would last longer, but not have the same ride characteristics your coilovers will.

 

I saw a guy on here say his icons needed to be rebuilt every 30K miles. Which is a bit too often in my books. That's a year and a half for my driving, which would suck to have my truck down for a month every year... especially in canada. Salt causes corrosion, corrosion blows seals

 

Not sure about other brands, but Kings are easy to work on without any special tools. I'm sure fox and Icons are similar. Watch some videos and learn to rebuild them yourself. I just bought a nitrogen bottle and fill kit, so I'll be doing it myself.
Or you and some local Tacoma owners chip in and buy some cheap used bilstein 5100s to pass around and drive on while your coilovers are being rebuilt.

https://youtu.be/OkbwZCHPui0

 

We have a thinker! Damn, icons just made their way back to my list...

 

I just like spending other people's money

 

First of all, yea, all coilovers need maintenance/rebuild eventually. It's the Nature of the beast though.

Also, you are making it sound like it is such a traumatizing and catastrophic thing to have them rebuilt every 30-35,000 miles. Plan ahead. You could get some cheap ass replacements so that you don't have down time with the truck. Or...you can plan to borrow a vehicle or have somebody give you a ride to/from work...or whatever. It should not be the end of the world as you are making it sound!

 

I'm just worried that as a Canadian it will be more often than that... hmm, you guys are selling me on this icon kit. For eff sakes

 

No one seems to talk about it, but protecting the shaft and and shock body go a long way to increasing life span of seals. Spray those suckers down with fluid film before you mount them. Run boots or root guards in the rear to protect the shaft and you will be able to get a lot more life between rebuilds. I HOPE my OME BP-51s don't need a rebuilt every 30k miles, that's part of why I bought them. But we just don't have enough guys with enough miles yet to really know.

 

I guess I should have been more specific, what is useful life of non-rebuildable coils, Bilstein 6112, OME, etc?

The advice on carpooling and vehicle borrowing was awesome! Thanks dude you really made my life better!

 

Its going to be similar to any pair of shocks or struts on a car, and depends on how well you care for them. If they live life on the highway and you go out of your way to keep your truck clean, 150k miles isn't out of the question. If you're constantly beating on them and ever wash your truck they may be toast in 50k miles. A reasonable expectation is 80-120k in fairly normal use.

I pulled my Bilstein 9100/5160s at 90k miles and they were still going strong.

 

6112 and 5160's are rebuildable. Just gotta find a shop with the proper tools.