YES, another lift advise thread

I know everyone is tired of seeing these but i really need everyone's help in what i should do.

SO I have a maxtrac spindle lift sitting in my closet for the pass year because I am indecisive on what route i should go when it comes to selecting struts or coilovers.
I'm torn between:

• Bilstein 5100 ride height adjustable for both the front and the rear

or

• ICON 2.5 Coilover w/ reservoir for the front and ICON 2" VS series w/ reservoir for the rear

I am torn bewteen which ones to get because I do not off road. Don't really intend todo any off-roading bc i am 2wd. The bilstein will be easy and cheap and will help get the additional lift i want (shooting for around 5 inches maybe 6") but i LOOVVEE the ICON suspension but is the ride quality really that much better than Bilstein especially since they are allot more $$$$. I just want to lift the truck correctly with nothing to spare but i do not know if it will be an over kill since I live in Miami, FL and tow a jet ski. Will be running either Fuel forged FF02 wheels or Fuel offroad Renegade 20x12 with a 33" tire.

so with that said, help me decide and why

 

Wait, ANOTHER, ANOTHER one?

 

lol. yea. thought i would post in both places to get as much advise as possible.

 

Bilstien will work, lotsa folks love them, and its good value.

If money is no issue, and you like the way Icons ride, they are a higher quality shock (going from BMW to Porsche). You don't need the remote resi though, that adds cooling capacity for high speed desert running. Even if you go Offroad in FL not much of that.

My DD has Icons, so that's my bias.

 

thanks Artcicelf, just looking for something that would last and for the smoothest ride possible. never ridden either of them

 

Google digressive vs progressive valving. And read some of @jberry813 's rants on shock selection here he's forgotten more than most of us will ever know.

Icons are digresive, EDIT apparently so are bilstiens. King and Fox are progressive.

 

I'd say it's a bit of a waste to get Icons if you won't be going off-road. They're not night/day difference if you're just cruising down the street. They also need to be rebuilt every so often which requires removal and shipping them off if you don't live near a rebuild shop. I'd say save your money for something else.

I also have Icon components. The wife has 5100's on her DD. They do the job.

 

5100's are digressive

 

I stand corrected.

 

so it looks like i will be leaning towards Bilstein but ICONs look soooo damn sexy lol

 

To be fair, you can spend the savings on any number of other things, and get.more for your money.

 

so will running Bilstein 5125 for the rear be enough to level out that spindle and front Bilstein lift or would i need some type of aal or rear pack

 

you're right. was looking into running total chaos control arms to not have any alignment issues

 

You'll need something to lift the back, shocks don't provide lift. Check out the OME Dakars or a Deaver pack

 

You answered your own question. You don't offroad, therefore, you do not need ICON. Billies will be far better than anything your driving shall require. Save your money and at the same time avoid being a money hemorrhaging mall-crawler! WIN-WIN

 

You're using the spindles for lift so you won't need any type of aftermarket control arms. The spindles don't screw up alignments like coil-type lifts. Your alignment will be golden.

 

even better. thanks justinlhc

 

hey WheelInTheSky, i dont want to have a stiff ride and I've heard from some that running one of those leaf packs will stiffen my ride. and dont the Bilstein 5125 give you a lift a 2"-3.5" lift?

 

Rear shocks don't provide any lift at all. They can "accommodate" up to "X" amount of lift, but don't actually provide any lift. Icon makes a nice 3-leaf progressive add-a-leaf that gives you around 1.5-2" of rear lift and rides very nice.

 

What leaf packs? If you run Dakars you will have a very stiff ride without any weight in the back. There are other options though, such as alcan or all-pro. If you desire a soft ride, there is a leaf pack for you.

As far as Billie lifts go, with pre-load maxed out you can attain 1.75" of lift. This will, however, give you a stiff uncomfortable ride.