Bilstein and OME - VS- Icon, King, Radflo, Fox, ADS etc.
Spend any amount of time on the internet these days and you will hear about how awesome some of these high end coil overs suspension systems can be for your truck. It is no doubt that they offer incredible performance on and off the road. Most of our shop trucks and customers have these kits and love them. What we want to talk about today is what happens when you put 30-50k miles on your race grade suspension system vs that use on an OME , Dobinsons or Bilstein set up.
Im making the comparison between some of the OME, Dobinsons and Bilstein to the rest of the racing style shocks for this reason. Fox, Radflow, ADS, King, Icon, even some Bilstine 8112 and OME BP51's and other race style coil overs are rebuild-able. They are designed to be serviced and have recommended service intervals. While this is all awesome for race cars and trucks that get full go overs ever 1000 miles or so, this does not work out well for us that street our trucks every day. The reason that the OME, Dobinsons and Bilstein low to mid grade shocks are a great alternative is that they use OEM Style bottom bushings and OEM style top plates. These parts are wear items that can last 100k miles or more with out issue, just like the factory Toyota engineers designed. So when your Race style suspension develops a clunk or squeak at 15k miles of use, yes, you can rebuild them, but at what additional cost and do you want to deal with it? Most off road truck owners daily their trucks and having something they can install and not think about for 50k, 75k or ever 100k miles is appealing. The old adage you have to pay to play is very real here.
Im not knocking the race style suspension systems here, heck, i have them on my own trucks, they are awesome in every way and perform great. I just want you to be aware of how you use the truck, and if you are ok with rebuilding the shocks every 8K-50k miles. Keep these costs in mind and happy suspension shopping.
Race Style Coilovers:
ADS Racing Shocks, FOX Racing Shocks, King Racing Shocks, Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Bilstein 8112, OME BP51, Radflow, SAW Racing Shocks, Toytech Ultimate(radflow)
Non Race Style Suspension Systems:
Bilstein 5100, Bilstein 5160, Bilstein 6112, Old Man Emu Nitro Charger, Dobinsons IMS and Traditional Shocks.
Im making the comparison between some of the OME, Dobinsons and Bilstein to the rest of the racing style shocks for this reason. Fox, Radflow, ADS, King, Icon, even some Bilstine 8112 and OME BP51's and other race style coil overs are rebuild-able. They are designed to be serviced and have recommended service intervals. While this is all awesome for race cars and trucks that get full go overs ever 1000 miles or so, this does not work out well for us that street our trucks every day. The reason that the OME, Dobinsons and Bilstein low to mid grade shocks are a great alternative is that they use OEM Style bottom bushings and OEM style top plates. These parts are wear items that can last 100k miles or more with out issue, just like the factory Toyota engineers designed. So when your Race style suspension develops a clunk or squeak at 15k miles of use, yes, you can rebuild them, but at what additional cost and do you want to deal with it? Most off road truck owners daily their trucks and having something they can install and not think about for 50k, 75k or ever 100k miles is appealing. The old adage you have to pay to play is very real here.
Im not knocking the race style suspension systems here, heck, i have them on my own trucks, they are awesome in every way and perform great. I just want you to be aware of how you use the truck, and if you are ok with rebuilding the shocks every 8K-50k miles. Keep these costs in mind and happy suspension shopping.
Race Style Coilovers:
ADS Racing Shocks, FOX Racing Shocks, King Racing Shocks, Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Bilstein 8112, OME BP51, Radflow, SAW Racing Shocks, Toytech Ultimate(radflow)
Non Race Style Suspension Systems:
Bilstein 5100, Bilstein 5160, Bilstein 6112, Old Man Emu Nitro Charger, Dobinsons IMS and Traditional Shocks.
