To me it looks like they just added a threaded sleeve to a Bilstein 5100. The bottom knuckle is just welded where as the ICON and Camburg are solid aluminum machined. The shock is also kinda upsidedown with the reservoir adding to the sprung weight. Not sure how much difference it makes in the end however. The ToyTec does look like a very cost effective kit.
The ICON coilover is a solid piece, with the upper and lower attachments nicely machined and powdercoated.(I am a sucker for that). The ICON Stage II kit comes with progressive addaleafs, and shocks specifically valved to match the front(they do kinda look like Bilsteins.)
Gas Can
I don't have any personal experience with the ICON system, however I have only heard great things. I do have experience with the Toytec system which I recently installed on my truck after having a spacer leveling kit. My experience - I was a bit worried at first because it rode pretty stiff. I was told the suspension would settle after a couple of hundred miles, it got a bit better but not much. However... after taking the truck on an offroad excursion and getting the suspension to put in some serious work, things changed. I was impressed with how well it handled it some pretty rugged situations and at various speeds (washboard fire roads felt non existent) After this excursion, it handled noticeably better around town and on the highway, so apparently this was what it needed to really settle the coils and break them in. It currently feels better than stock in my opinion. I let my buddy who has a stock 01 Tacoma drive it, and he was blown away with how well the truck handled off road.
Bottom Line, I am very pleased with the way the Toytec system is performing, especially at the price I paid. I have not done the UCA upgrade yet, but will probably end up going with the Camburgs as I have read nothing but great reviews, and I can't see any reason to spend the extra cash on the TC's. If anyone knows something I don't about these two UCA's, please let me know.
Lastly, I have blocks in the rear as it provided lift with no impact to payload either positive or negative. Handling is still solid, and looks great. I have not posted pics since installing the suspension, so I'm sorry you don't have that for reference, I need to post some.
If the money is not much of a concern and you like the ICON and Total Chaos stuff, go for it! Based on what you're looking for, my feeling is you'd be pleased with the Toytec setup. Either way, best of luck to you!
I ordered my ICON kit some time ago. It took awhile to get up here, and by the time it did I was in the process of moving so I couldn't afford to have the truck out of action. Back then the Ultimate Toytec kit wasn't available, but if it was I would have seriously considered it.
In the end the effective result will be the same, a properly lifted truck. For daily road use and weekend on the trails I am sure either will serve you well. Depends on what you want to spend. The Toytec will leave you money left over for some UCAs if thats the direction you want to go. As opposed to the standard 5100s the Ultimate kit would be a direct swap, not requiring a spring compressor, and would provide better adjustablitiy. I don't know what the difference in the spring rate is from the factory spring.
I was also considering Camburg but when I discovered the Canadian ICON distributor(Kevin @ HRT Offroad) was 30min down the road the choice was easier. He also carried TC so it was pretty much a done deal. I hate having to deal with any issues across the boarder.(ie shipping things back and forth with customs and brokerage fees). Kevin was great providing late evening and weekend tech support.
I am a sucker for nicely machined powder coated bits, and the big 2.5" shock adds to it. I installed it myself so the money I saved in labor went to UCAs.
The biggest difference off road is the rebound. When you hit a hole or cross a rut you don't get catapulted off the far side.
What do I have to worry about with my transfer case and front drive axles? excessive wear, angles, etc...
Does anyone know a coil-over set up that comes in black in stead of red?
I kinda wanted to keep my truck about the same for towing and when it's loaded, so do I need to beef up the rear too? if the front gets lifted any I kind of want to lift the rear the same to keep the rake.
I'm pretty new to this but I have been finding a lot of good info on here, this is just the set up that I think would be the best. ON that note, what is the difference between these and going with the bilstein 5100's? I would still do the camburg UCA's or a UCA upgrade in general.
Hope to find some info.
does anyone have the full camburg coil-over/UCA set up on their truck with some pics?
cj - you look to be in the same boat i was in when i was doing the research for doing the same with my truck. i wanted a mild lift, to be able to retain my towing specs, and to put something on as reliable and comfortable as OEM. after talking to someone at wheeler's (sorry, forget his name) and a couple of the admins on this board, i made my decisions. you can read about what i ended up with here: finally got my (new to me) tundra double cab fixed up : ). something specific that i'd like to point out: the TC UCA's have an inherent design flaw, which is why i decided to go with camburg's offering (do a search for it and look for posts by tundradrenaline about it). in retrospect, i don't think there's anything i would do differently - i *love* this setup! : ) let me know if you have any questions about it...
i emailed devinsixtyseven to clarify his comments and make sure he hadn't changed his mind, and as a result ended up going with camburg. i'm approaching ~5,000 miles on it, and been offroad a few times to put it to the test. i've been *extremely* happy with my setup so far - : )
devinsixtyseven knows whats up with making changes to suspension, ive been reading his posts for a while now. thanks devin. since its tuff to find experienced opinions on toytecs coilovers, i'll share mine with you. they are bilstiens with a threaded collar, eibach springs, and an aluminum top plate. it WORKS. the advantages are lifetime bilstien shocks, anything goes wrong you get new ones. no need to rebuild. i wanted camburgs but couldnt see spending the extra $. im happy as hell with my toytecs. i have no exp with icons but they look cool. camburg ucas are well developed. the only flaw ive seen is the zerk fittings are in a tuff to get to spot but you can swap them with a 90 degree zerk to solve that. use the right lube on the balls or they will squeek.
thats a good question t-rexn8. if i remember right the camburgs offer a little more and do have an internal limiter. like i said i wanted camburgs, but since my truck only sees dirt a few times a month i went with toytec. dont get me wrong though toytecs are night and day compared to stock. especially if you have uniballs and remove your swaybar. im still waiting to get ucas but for now when i pulled my swaybar temporarily i had plenty travel. i suppose if you want long travel, you got to get long travel.
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toytec coilovers/ 5100s/ axis regulators/ yokohama ats/ spintech prostreet
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Do the Bilstein coilovers offered from toytec allow as much travel as the camburg coil-over's?
Particularly with the Cambur UCA's.
Thanks.
Nope...aftermarket upper control arms are not required with the 5100-based kits, that's the beauty of them.
I've had the opportunity to see the Toytec products in person...Doug is a really good guy, and unfortunately OTOH I can't think of the name of the other guy...Kevin? Shane? I dunno. Anyway, they're offering a quality product at a very fair price for what you're getting in that kit, with rear shocks included and the Eibach coils over the 5100 shocks.
The benefit of the larger shocks is less fade. The valving is probably stiffer, but without knowing for certain, the main benefit of the larger shocks vs the 5100s is the ability to stay cool and resist emulsification at high shaft speeds and continuous suspension movement. You're not going to see that use driving around town or going slow offroad...get moving fast over rough terrain for an hour or two, tho, and you'll notice the difference.
Re: Suspension Upgrade
Linear Mode
