Following!
I too run a Stage 4 Icon setup on my 2018 SCREW and as much as I have enjoyed the setup, I have been researching how I could push the system even further. Here’s the feedback I have received so far:
I started my research with Scott at IVD and he explained to me that they currently do not build/offer a secondary bypass shock for the Gen 2 Raptors. Apparently, unlike the Gen 1 which they sell a secondary bypass shock for, they didn’t feel it was necessary for the Gen 2, hence why they never created it. In their opinion, adding a secondary shock to the front would require through the bed shocks and a “cage.” He asked me to call SDHQ to get a secondary opinion on running the Gen 1 IVD secondary bypass shock on the Gen 2 and SDHQ explained to me that it wouldn’t fit and it’s not tuned for a Gen 2. I could however run a Fox or King shock.
In short, I got the impression that Icon was not going to support my idea of running a secondary bypass shock of theirs on the front end of my truck. SDHQ was not a fan either. Since then, I have been on the fence of swapping out my front end for an SVC mid-travel kit.
Keep us posted what IVD tells you!
From the icon perspective, They believe that if you get to the point that you want or need a secondary bypass up front, the rear should be shock through bed with a bypass rack so the front and rear suspensions are "matched", which is spot on to what I've come to learn. The Gen1 version that IVD sells could be re-valved and tuned to work on a gen2, as long as the stroke length is appropriate for the travel.
I also agree with them that if you do this, the truck is now capable enough that it really should have a Full cage. This is no different than how I feel about a mid-travel kit. The truck becomes capable of being put in a situation where the factory safety provisions are not sufficient to save your life.
Ford did not design the Raptor's safety systems to withstand high speed, offroad rollovers. I would not want to cartwheel a raptor through whoops at 40-50mph without a cage. It is completely possible to make this happen. It doesn't matter how good of a driver that you are, it can and most likely WILL happen.
to put it plainly, I'm actually a bit scared to truly push my truck to its capabilities for fear of crashing the truck and not having the safety setup that I should have. As soon as I have a few things finished on my truck, it is going to HM Racing Design to be caged.
The challenge becomes finding a qualified, competent, willing fabricator that will fabricate and install the cage for you. Due to the aluminum cab, this is a far more complicated ask than with a gen 1.
so the net of it is, I think IVD and I are saying the same thing, the difference being that they could potentially have the liability that comes with being the suspension manufacturer, so their answer has to be worded a bit differently.
CN: IVD says that a shock upgrade with factory mounting points is the farthest that they design for because they feel that anything more requires a cage to be safe. ( and cages arent safe on the street in a daily driver, so they avoid the complex situation altogether by not making a product. )