Project Tundra, Installing the Ultimate Bolt On Off Road Suspension From Icon Vehicle Dynamics Part 2

Next it was time to align the front suspension.  Previously with the stock OEM limited adjustability were were not able to align the truck for any sort of performance.  Previously our camber was about zero and we had only 1.75 degrees positive caster and zero toe.  We went to West End Alignment for our setup and Darren Nishimura is seen here painting a line on our tire that he will scribe as an indicator for measuring toe.

Darren was able to set our camber and 1.75 degrees negative. This will help front tire traction and reduce understeer. This was better than before where we could only get zero degrees.

Darren adjusting the bottom control arm eccentrics. We were able to get 2.75 degrees positive caster. Although this isnt much it is still a lot more than what we had. Adding caster helps self steer and straight line stability.  It also offsets kingpin inclination and reduces negative camber loss due to turning angle.  Darren then set our toe to zero.

When we got on the road, our front wheel cornering traction was greatly increased and understeer reduced.  Our truck still understeers slightly which is probably ok for a big top heavy truck.  We started to dial in our Icon suspension.  We set all of the adjusters to full soft and started increasing the compression damping first.  In the front we dialed in our on road handling using the main coilover CDC compression adjuster first. We used this to dial in the body roll and turn in response.  We ended up going about six clicks in from full soft. This gave us good resistance to body roll and nose dive with a smooth ride.  Next we used the ride zone compression adjuster on the secondary shock to control how the truck took big hits. We ended up going about 7 clicks in on the compression from full soft and had a hard time bottoming out the truck.  We went up 2 clicks on the rear compression from full soft as well.

Next we used the front auxiliary shock  and rear shock rebound damping adjusters to eliminate rebound bounding and to further control body roll. We ended up with suspension that would hit big bumps at speed like a ball of putty, just bloop with no drama. The ride was firm in cornering but plush with big hits. Around town ride was greatly improved as well. We were also able to eliminate the  head toss that is annoying in pickup trucks and SUV’s when you hit big bumps at an angle. It is usually extremely hard to tune out without making the suspension too harsh but we were able to completely eliminate it.  We ended up with a truck that could corner like a sports car with little body roll and decent balance but could also slam through water dips and speed bumps like they were not even there.  How would it do off road?

14 comments

  1. It’s always interesting to see these builds that showcase higher end components than most people will reach for. That being said, I think you are pushing the envelope of calling this “bolt on” when you needed to weld the shock mounts, fabricate your own brackets, and cut away the inner fender. I still appreciate the design work that went into this suspension package.

    1. Thank you for the edit suggestions. These mods are very minimal when compared to a lot of dual shock conversions and rear suspension conversions that add this much travel. If you look at our build series our first step was pure bolt on and we wanted to go beyond that.

  2. I’m trying to understand from the pictures, but does the top hoop in the front bolt to the frame, come up and attach to the top of the coilover mount? do the 4 top hat bolts pass through the hoop assembly into the coilover? I love how this setup is essentially a long travel system without adding the longer upper and lower control arms. Jealous for sure.

    1. You got the loop mount right! This system has a lot more droop than the stock suspension and gives you about 1″ more up travel than the stock suspension and a couple more in droop in the front and about 2 more inches of up travel in the rear and 5 more inches of droop so if you get air born, the suspension will droop and give you more travel to absorb the landing.

  3. This is all out of my range of experience. Big trucks, open wilderness and fast bombing of stuff.

    Are you going to post some comparison videos that can highlight the differences?

  4. It’s a bit of a shame that suspension companies ONLY make off road suspension kits. Nobody makes lowering or street kits for trucks anymore. I really want to lower my Tacoma but there’s only a single low quality lowering kit for it and it only has a 2″ drop. I don’t intend to do any real off-roading with my truck and I think lowered 4-5″ with some nice fat wheels and tires would look really good and make it a bit more practical for the towing/commuting/hauling I do with it. I bet the Icon dampers with some custom springs and arms would work really nicely.

    1. I’ve done a tundra with icon coilovers with the same damping benefits with the lift collar all the way up and it was the same height as stock. It also enjoyed the same ride & handling benefits seen here in Mike’s experience.

  5. So you basically have a Toyota Raptor. Very cool. My friend owns a Raptor and when he took me out and jumped it I was ready to crap my pants. . . until we landed. That thing jumps smoother than my trucks take a washboard dirt road. I have been nothing but disappointed with run of the mill Bilstein “heavy duty” shocks. If you want quality damping unfortunately you really have to open your wallet.

  6. I’m running the same Icon RXT leafs and Omega bypass shocks on my 17′ Tundra, and need to install some air bags for towing. Hoping you could give a parts break down for what was used on this build, specifically the upper and lower mounting brackets for the bags and cradles. Thanks in advance and crazy nice build BTW!

  7. You got the loop mount right! This system has a lot more droop than the stock suspension and gives you about 1″ more up travel than the stock suspension and a couple more in droop in the front and about 2 more inches of up travel in the rear and 5 more inches of droop so if you get air born, the suspension will droop and give you more travel to absorb the landing.

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