ICON Vehicle Specific (V.S.) 2.5 Series vs OME shocks

[Jeremy C]

Im starting to modify my 100 series ('06 LX470) and am wondering if anyone has experience with ICON shocks vs Old Man EMU. Are the ICONs worth the extra cost? Would a novice like me really notice this diff? Should I just spend the diff on the other mods?

Again, I'm just starting but plan on new bumpers, roof rack, RTT, etc... in the future. Just starting with tires and suspension at this point.

This is my daily driver but I'll use this to overland camping with the family and easy/moderate 4x4ing. Thanks. Would appreciate constructive input from the community.

Jeremy

 

[mmnorthdirections]

Hi Jeremy, welcome to the Forum and the OB community. I moved your thread to rig Q&A as it should get more response here.
So to the question witch is a great one. ICON is a really good and proven product and so is OME, for me I use a vehicle specific forum (FJ cruiser) to see if there is some specific user pro's and con's feedback on stuff. I started out with my FJ stock Off Road package susp and it was great until I wanted more options (weight) installed such as bumpers equipment winch etc. That being said the stock susp just couldn't handle the added weight so I upgraded to a Toytech 3in adjustable coil overs, with medium load springs and Bilstein 5100. Worked very well for 40K miles, and then I learned more and did more difficult/technical trails/lines and found drawbacks. So where am I now with 7 years and 110K miles 2010 FJ and a budget. I run a Fox 2.5 mid travel coil overs front and 2.0 extended travel rear, with after market front UCA and rear lower control arms and panhard bar and super flex rear coils. And the susp now works amazing. I learned that the technology changes fast in the off road susp market and we are the guinea pigs so to speak.
So as you read this you can see there is not one answer to the question. In my opinion a rebuild-able and up-gradable Shock and coil package is best and I think as our rigs evolve you can have them re-valved to either repair or change up do to other options on the rig such as bumpers/weight. Icon, Fox, King, OME, ARB have rebuild-able choices at different price points. Will you notice the difference from stock to either an Icon Adjustable susp and an OME nitro gas charged shocks, yes if they are parked next to each other on identical rigs. But that probably isn't going to happen. When I swapped out my susp the last time to FOX, I parked in the drive Friday and drove to the alignment shop Monday morning and the difference was incredible and then three days later off road for three days. I wished I had not done any of the previous susp installs.
Sorry for the long winded response, I hope this will help your decision.
Sincerely, Welcome to OB and the Forum!!!

 

[Jeremy C]

You mean this hobby/obsession will cost me money?? Thanks for the reply. I'll make a decision and remember that it's not permanent. Also, thanks for the welcome to the forum. This is such a cool community and I'm grateful to be able to tap into everyone's expertise and experience.

 

[GreenMachine02]

You mean this hobby/obsession will cost me money?? Thanks for the reply. I'll make a decision and remember that it's not permanent. Also, thanks for the welcome to the forum. This is such a cool community and I'm grateful to be able to tap into everyone's expertise and experience.

Everyone will ask you what are your plans and what is your style of off roading. Are you bashing through the desert at high speeds or slow methodical driving and then how often. Certain shocks like icon are designed for intense and frequent off road driving and sometimes not using them and not flexing high performance shocks can be bad. But icon shocks performance is going to be better than a standard emu shock. If you are like me, you don't necessarily know what kind of off road driving you will be doing, so I went middle of the road with something I would be happy with and left the door open so in several years I could upgrade shocks if need be. Plus, I knew I was going to continue to add weight, and if I got real heavy, I didn't want to have to get shocks re valved in a year or two after getting them. Hope this helps a little and good luck!

 

[Jeremy C]

Thanks. Appreciate the feedback. What setup did you go with?

 

[GreenMachine02]

I am running the Ironman Foam Cell shocks. I have had them for over a year and have done everything from death valley washboard roads to east coast slow muddy and methodical and they have done great. The extended flex was a bonus for me and they are an adjustable and rebuildable shock at a real good price. They checked all my necessary boxes but they are not my dream shocks like a fox shock would be. But like I said, they are great, and for the price you pay, you get a lot for your money. Once almost everything else is done upgrade wise, I may look into a long travel setup with a king, radflo, icon or fox shock

 

[Jeremy C]

Thanks, guys. I talked to Gary at Mudrak Custom Cruisers and he highly reccomends the ICONs, as that's what he's running on his 100 series. I'm going to crunch some numbers, cross my fingers for a big year-end bonuc and make a decision soon. I'll start a build thread when I get the modificatoins started.

Jeremy