Kings VS Icon

[ICONRep]

I know there has also been talk regarding many that believe the only way you can make great shocks is having proven shocks for a TT....Well I thought this would be a good opportunity to show that we do have experience in racing and have built a 4.5" Trophy Truck quality shock here at ICON before. ICON will run shocks on a Trophy truck in the future but our current focus is OEM specific application and doing the best job we can at that.

We currently sponsor the General Tire / KC Hilites 7200 truck that runs 3.0 bypass shocks with all the same components as the Ford Raptor shocks we are selling to the consumer. The shocks on this 7200 truck just have a few extra tubes and are longer.

Here is a shot of a General Tire National ad with the Truck

 

[SDHQ]

I know there has also been talk regarding many that believe the only way you can make great shocks is having proven shocks for a TT....Well I thought this would be a good opportunity to show that we do have experience in racing and have built a 4.5" Trophy Truck quality shock here at ICON before. ICON will run shocks on a Trophy truck in the future but our current focus is OEM specific application and doing the best job we can at that.

We currently sponsor the General Tire / KC Hilites 7200 truck that runs 3.0 bypass shocks with all the same components as the Ford Raptor shocks we are selling to the consumer. The shocks on this 7200 truck just have a few extra tubes and are longer.

Here is a shot of a General Tire National ad with the Truck

Well so much for my two cons that I listed... LOL

But seriously, Icon has the best application specific stuff on the market hands down.. We have carried their line from day one because of the quality and the passion that they have in all their goods.. If you guys have any questions, need install tips, or need to order any Icon products please give us a call.. No one stocks, sells or installs more Icon than SDHQ does...

Figured I would throw up another pic of that huge shock Icon posted up... Check out the 2" dia shock laying on top of it...

 

[Dv8tor]

Holy shit! I want those for the rear on my truck. I love over-killing my stuff.

 

[Reeking_HVAC]

The adjustment nobs on the rear of the ICON that others do not have makes it simple and easy to adjust no tools needed.
I heard other rear external bypass shocks that have the noisy clicking sound and was turned off by that and was hoping that the ICONS would be quieter, to my surprise they are silent.
I think that they also got rid of the annoying Rolling gallop over expansion joints, as I don't experience that anymore.
The shocks also have an internal bump-stop so you may not need the bolt on hydraulic bump stop. The ICON truck has been run hard and tested with out the bolt-on bump stops without any problems.

Does the icon truck have any frame support? Or do the internal bumps prevent hard hits on the factory bumps? Trying to decide if I should just go with icons instead on stage 2/3 from RPG


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[ICONRep]

Does the icon truck have any frame support? Or do the internal bumps prevent hard hits on the factory bumps? Trying to decide if I should just go with icons instead on stage 2/3 from RPG


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

The ICON Raptor has a support plate that runs under the factory bumpstop we made real quick, but nothing of any significant value. The shocks really do eat up so much energy before the OEM bumpstop can slam down which in-turn leads to bending of the frame. Is the frame perfectly strait like out of the factory, I doubt 100%, but it is in pretty good shape for what it has been through. 20- 25k miles of street driving, attending misc indoor and outdoor events, harsh testing on long whooped out roads including jumping the truck, Outlaw Creatures of the Night Raptor run, chasing at KOH, towing our Jeep to SEMA and back (Socal to Vegas) and probably more I can not think of. Hopefully that paints a picture of what ICON's Raptor has done in its existance so far. We feel our 3.0 shocks bring a huge value to the table both front and rear, tapping into further performance potential this truck had to offer.

With that said, is there reason to install a full frame support bumpstop kit? It def can not hurt if it's in your budget, especially if you plan to use your Raptor more serious than what would be considered "average / normal". There is truth the frame could be a little more robust in that region from the factory, but it was likely never expected people would be doing what they are at some of the extreme levels we have seen. "Off Roading" is very open to interpretation, and I know first hand many of you extreme enthusiast out there give these Raptors a serious beating on runs and such. Soon ICON plans to engineer frame support bumpstop kits, with our new hydraulic air bump stops, that will be specifically valved / tuned to work with the factory 2.5 or ICON 3.0 rear shocks depending what you have.

 

[Kanakry]

I got the Icon 3.0's installed night. I have only went for a 5 mile drive down some dirt roads to this point. The shocks are incredible though. There areva couple of bad sections of road that the stock fox's would kick in the back. The icons are very smooth.

I'll post a better review when I have more time with them.

 

[GBrown1867]

I just spent two days with BlueSVT in Death Valley. So I thought I would offer my opinion on some of the conclusions I came up with regarding aftermarket shocks. (As with any opinion Matt’s may differ)
Matt’s truck BlueSVT (RSV4) is equipped with 3.0 Icons, Outlaw weld on bump kit with 2.0 bumps with a 3 inch stroke.
My truck (RSV5) is equipped with 3.0 Kings and a newly designed Outlaw weld on bump kit with 2.5 bumps with a 4 inch stroke.
I also have some time in trucks equipped with the Fox 3.0’s and all I will say about them is, in my opinion they are at the bottom of the three. Fox needs to spend more time working on the valving. The low speed bump compliance is horrible.
The first part of the trip was spent dialing in my rear shocks to compensate for the new bump system. This is one point where the Icons have an advantage. You can adjust the fronts and rears with just the turn of a knob. The front Kings can be done this way. However, the rears require the use of a ½ open end wrench and an allan wrench. (This gets old when you have to do multiple test runs to get the settings right and lying in the dirt to do it)
We spent some time driving each others trucks and also riding with each other. First off both trucks perform amazing. (Video will be posted in a couple of weeks) Low speed and road ride I would call a tie. Overall trail ride and medium sized rocks and medium hits, I will say the Icons perform the best. Through washes with four inch rocks and shale my truck rides pretty harsh. High speed whoops I will again call a tie. Both trucks handle great and are very predictable. Really big hits and oh shit moments I will have to say I think the Kings soak them up better.
So my final conclusion is, if I had it to do over I would probably go with the Icons. That being said it’s not enough difference to make me switch mine out. I am basing this on the overall ride quality is just a little better. However, the way I drive my truck, the fact I push it beyond the point I should and the Kings ability to handle the big hits the Kings may be a better choice for me in the long run.
Hope this helps some of you out and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[FOX]

Trophy Truck wins in the last 3 years;

FOX - 12
King - 2
Icon - 0

---------- Post added at 11:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 AM ----------

The patented FOX Factory Series 3.0 Coilover is the only position sensitive internal bypass shock on the market. Here are the differences between a position sensitive internal bypass shock and a velocity sensitive shock with a reservoir compression adjuster.

A compression adjuster that is located on the reservoir of a velocity sensitive shock (King & Icon) adjusts the stiffness of compression by restricting the rate of oil flow into the reservoir. When the shock shaft moves into the body of the shock it takes up volume, the added volume requires that the excess oil to be transferred into the reservoir. By restricting the flow rate in which this oil is transferred you can make the shock stiffer. The drawback to this technology and to velocity sensitive shocks in general is that you cannot control where in the shock travel the added stiffness or compression comes into play. In order to keep the truck from bottoming out at high shaft speeds you need to increase valving and restrict the flow to the reservoir via the adjuster. The huge compromise is that at slow shaft speeds this will give the truck an extremely harsh or stiff feeling, making the truck skate on graded roads and bounce going down the highway.

A position sensitive internal bypass shock (FOX) has multiple compression and rebound shock travel stages that are tuned independently of each other. When the truck is near normal ride height the shock piston is traveling within a zone that delivers a plush comfortable bottomless feel, allowing the transfer of weight for traction and that planted confident steering wheel feel in corners. When the truck takes a large ditch or lands from a jump, the shock piston travels into progressively stiffer zones to catch and slow the suspension before bottoming. Along with the increased compression control in the zone near bottom out, the internal bypass has an increased rebound control zone, which prevents the truck from bucking or bouncing after a hard hit. On the reverse end of the shock, when the truck becomes airborne the shock piston will travel down into a near top out zone to catch the suspension from having a hard stop, which prevents joint failure, and increases suspension component longevity.

 

[RPG]

I just spent two days with BlueSVT in Death Valley. So I thought I would offer my opinion on some of the conclusions I came up with regarding aftermarket shocks. (As with any opinion Matt’s may differ)
Matt’s truck BlueSVT (RSV4) is equipped with 3.0 Icons, Outlaw weld on bump kit with 2.0 bumps with a 3 inch stroke.
My truck (RSV5) is equipped with 3.0 Kings and a newly designed Outlaw weld on bump kit with 2.5 bumps with a 4 inch stroke.
I also have some time in trucks equipped with the Fox 3.0’s and all I will say about them is, in my opinion they are at the bottom of the three. Fox needs to spend more time working on the valving. The low speed bump compliance is horrible.
The first part of the trip was spent dialing in my rear shocks to compensate for the new bump system. This is one point where the Icons have an advantage. You can adjust the fronts and rears with just the turn of a knob. The front Kings can be done this way. However, the rears require the use of a ½ open end wrench and an allan wrench. (This gets old when you have to do multiple test runs to get the settings right and lying in the dirt to do it)
We spent some time driving each others trucks and also riding with each other. First off both trucks perform amazing. (Video will be posted in a couple of weeks) Low speed and road ride I would call a tie. Overall trail ride and medium sized rocks and medium hits, I will say the Icons perform the best. Through washes with four inch rocks and shale my truck rides pretty harsh. High speed whoops I will again call a tie. Both trucks handle great and are very predictable. Really big hits and oh shit moments I will have to say I think the Kings soak them up better.
So my final conclusion is, if I had it to do over I would probably go with the Icons. That being said it’s not enough difference to make me switch mine out. I am basing this on the overall ride quality is just a little better. However, the way I drive my truck, the fact I push it beyond the point I should and the Kings ability to handle the big hits the Kings may be a better choice for me in the long run.
Hope this helps some of you out and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Gordon,

It sounds like you and Matt had a good time out there, wish I could of made it but we found out my kid is alergic to her asthma meds so it was a long friday to say the least.

Anyway, I'm suprised you find the low speed control of the Fox horrible. Do you remember what the ride heights were of the trucks you've been in with the Fox 3.0's? The reason I ask is because they are very sensitive to adding to much pre-load on the spring because of internal bypass technology, if they are set at that wrong height the piston is riding in the last part of the effective ride zone. This can cause the ride to feel off and somewhat out of whack.

One thing we make sure of when a customer purchases a set of Fox 3.0's from us is that we set the ride height exaclty where it needs to be. We know if the customer has a SCAB or SCREW, find out what's riding in the truck and try to find out the weight of the driver (sometimes a touchy subject). Because the Fox's are both velocity sensitive and equally important position sensitive shock, proper setup from the get go is critical. We have been playing with these things for almost a year now and its crazy what we've learned with regards to ride hieghts and performance. When set

Next time your back in town lets head out to the desert so you can play with our truck a bit. I know you will be blown away at how fast we have the shocks setup, they are comfortable and plush in the slower speed and washboard type stuff without tossing daily driveability out the window, yet fast and powerfull in the big whoops. It's all in the tuning, and when you have a shock that is able to be tuned for both velocity and position, it's amazing how good you can make it perform in almost every environment it's asked to work in.

Glad you guys made it home safe and sound.

 

[mblgjr]

I've done a lot of reading between the 3 brands. And have seen a sidexside photo setup of King and Fox.

It's obvious that there are differences between the 3; but from end-user reviews, King seems to be most favored for pure off-road use from the hardcore bunch.

Fox has the namesake, but as someone posted here, there's been some general negative feedback about them in street use.

Icon seems to have the most content group of customers that are posting online within the Raptor community.

Right, wrong or indifferent, I wouldn't by the Fox 3.0 setup right now simply because I hate my OEM rear shock valving. It's too weak on rebound with an unloaded, stock truck. They were ok from new to about 10k miles. It's been kinda downhill from there. At 17k, they rebound abruptly before "catching" on the rebound side, making the rear buck and bobble like a typical weak/dead shock.

And it's both rears, not one side. And there's NO signs of leakage. Keep in mind it's not extreme and most people would say it rides "soft". The front is fine, but the rear is annoying.

Put a full payload in the bed and it calms down just fine when the pistons go into the next valving section... I wish that valving stage was the same as the first sector.

That said, it doesn't make me want to spring for big $$ on Fox 3.0's just to have them be "off" from what I want them to be, which sends me back to Icon simply because the Kings are a bit loud; and I like the adjustability.