Why I Chose ICON Suspension. Review & Pics w/ 37's

[traditionaltats]

Hey traditionaltats, I did do everything myself. The most difficult part was the passenger rear links. You have to drop the gas tank. Best if you have access to a lift and make sure you have a second pair of hands. I’m sure you can do it off Jack stands but space might be tight. Everything else was straight forward. Also, it will take a couple of adjustments to get the height we’re you want it. Let me know if you have any questions were I can help.

I will... thank you

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[Ryuk]

I'd love to see more pics of your house and yard.

Bronco looks great. If you are happy with it, and it does what you want it to. That's what matters

 

[Sparkherd]

KMs baybee!!!
Hook Em!!!

 

[GO_SOONERS_TXSUX!]

Introduction-

Like many of you, my wife and I ordered our Bronco the day the reservation banks opened in July of 2020, what else would you do during a pandemic? We lived in Austin TX at the time, so we went back and forth for weeks on which trim and options to select. We had started reading that depending on the options, it could delay your delivery date. This was going to be my wife's daily driver, and 99% of its life was going to be spend on asphalt. We choose a 2dr Outbanks non-sasquatch package with no add ons...well except for the weather floor mats. In April of 2021, we had an opportunity to move to rural Wyoming. And when I say rural, I mean we live on a dirt road 20 miles to the nearest paved Hwy, an hour to the nearest grocery store and an hour and a half to a Walmart. Because that's how we judge our lives now, is how far to the nearest Walmart. We flew back to Texas in October of 2021 to pick up the Bronco, which was a great road trip back to Wyoming. On the Hwy and paved roads, the Outbanks stock suspension is good. It always felt a little twitchy which I assumed was the short wheelbase. Once we got some miles on it and driving on dirt roads, trails, in the mud and snow; we felt this weird squishy wiggle in the rear end. It got to be where my wife did not want to drive the Bronco and would take my F150 instead. Now to be fair, I did put a 2.5" leveling kit with 34x11.50's on the OEM wheels. Not sure if this affected this in anyway. As any good husband would do, I saw this as an opportunity to make the Outbanks better than a sasquatch package. Side note, my F150 has ICON 2.5 front and rear with Resy's and ICON UCA's. I called Stage3Motorsports, who I went to for all my F150 parts (not sponsored from ICON or Stage3, I just really like their products and customer service). I went with a Stage 7 set-up with 2.5 CDCV front and rear, UCA's, Upper and Lower Links, Track Bar and Rebound Pro's 17x8.5 with 37x12.50's KM3. It looks amazing and the handling is night and day.

Review-

The ICON set-up is amazing, even with 37's, It handles amazing on the mountain roads. My wife could not believe how much difference the suspension made. Even that weird squishy wiggle in the rear was gone, the twitchiness of the Bronco is gone. I think that had a lot to do with the big stock rubber bushing in the rear links compared to the solid machined bushing on the ICON rear links. We have about 2500 miles and 2 months on the suspension now. The first 1000 miles or so, the suspension was pretty stiff, even on the softest setting. It's softened up a bit now, we run the resy's on 3 up front and 4 rear daily for the dirt roads with wash board and potholes. When we are on the Hwy or asphult, I'll run the front on 5 and 6 in the rear. We resently purchased an Airstream 16X to tow behind the Bronco. There was a little squat in the rear and felt a little soft with the 16X in the tongue. But I set the rear resy's to 10 and left the fronts at 5. It did great. Even with Hwy speeds on I-80 (some of you might know what I mean by that). My only disappointment is that the rear coilover bodies started to rust. They still perform great. I did contact ICON and they were great. They are being covered under warranty and looks like they will be sending a new set out for replacement. It seems that there was a platting issue on a few of the rears. Just another reason I really like ICON, their customer service.

When we were at Bronco Super Cel West, I got a chance to speak with Scott from ICON. I had told him about the suspension feeling stiff. He recommended that I give them a little time to see if they soften up. Scott also mentioned that ICON offers free custom tuning. Depending, if you are more Baja, street or rock crawler there is an option to dial your setup. I feel that given a little break in period, the setup that the 2.5 CDCV comes with, will be a pretty good all-round setup for 90% of Bronco owners.

Hope this has helped.

BN @AVC101
IG @elev7222

Great review, thank you!

 

[Elevator Man]

Hey traditionaltats, I did do everything myself. The most difficult part was the passenger rear links. You have to drop the gas tank. Best if you have access to a lift and make sure you have a second pair of hands. I’m sure you can do it off Jack stands but space might be tight. Everything else was straight forward. Also, it will take a couple of adjustments to get the height we’re you want it. Let me know if you have any questions were I can help.

Did you set the length of the ICON lower rear links the same as the stock?

 

[Elev7222]

The OP should be one of the people complaining about the small gas tank on the 2 door, but he probably has fuel at the ranch.

One major downside is that it’s probably also 100 miles from a decent hospital. A normally survivable moderate medical issue could result in fatality. I’d want to invest in some decent medical training and a defibrillator.

When is someone going to make a larger tank for these 2drs? Yes, we have fuel tanks on ranch. Also, first responder on local volunteer FD. We have trauma bags in all of our vehicles. You have to out here.

 

[Elev7222]

I'd love to see more pics of your house and yard.

Bronco looks great. If you are happy with it, and it does what you want it to. That's what matters

Agreed Ryuk, and thanks. A lot of the Bronco pics are taken right around the house. No need to go very far when you live in a place like this.

 

[Elev7222]

Did you set the length of the ICON lower rear links the same as the stock?

I did add a 1/4" to the length of the links after taking some measurements. I have the front raised 3.5" and rear 3" over stock. It's sitting level front to rear, and measurements are within stock.

 

[lakesinai]

Introduction-

Like many of you, my wife and I ordered our Bronco the day the reservation banks opened in July of 2020, what else would you do during a pandemic? We lived in Austin TX at the time, so we went back and forth for weeks on which trim and options to select. We had started reading that depending on the options, it could delay your delivery date. This was going to be my wife's daily driver, and 99% of its life was going to be spend on asphalt. We choose a 2dr Outbanks non-sasquatch package with no add ons...well except for the weather floor mats. In April of 2021, we had an opportunity to move to rural Wyoming. And when I say rural, I mean we live on a dirt road 20 miles to the nearest paved Hwy, an hour to the nearest grocery store and an hour and a half to a Walmart. Because that's how we judge our lives now, is how far to the nearest Walmart. We flew back to Texas in October of 2021 to pick up the Bronco, which was a great road trip back to Wyoming. On the Hwy and paved roads, the Outbanks stock suspension is good. It always felt a little twitchy which I assumed was the short wheelbase. Once we got some miles on it and driving on dirt roads, trails, in the mud and snow; we felt this weird squishy wiggle in the rear end. It got to be where my wife did not want to drive the Bronco and would take my F150 instead. Now to be fair, I did put a 2.5" leveling kit with 34x11.50's on the OEM wheels. Not sure if this affected this in anyway. As any good husband would do, I saw this as an opportunity to make the Outbanks better than a sasquatch package. Side note, my F150 has ICON 2.5 front and rear with Resy's and ICON UCA's. I called Stage3Motorsports, who I went to for all my F150 parts (not sponsored from ICON or Stage3, I just really like their products and customer service). I went with a Stage 7 set-up with 2.5 CDCV front and rear, UCA's, Upper and Lower Links, Track Bar and Rebound Pro's 17x8.5 with 37x12.50's KM3. It looks amazing and the handling is night and day.

Review-

The ICON set-up is amazing, even with 37's, It handles amazing on the mountain roads. My wife could not believe how much difference the suspension made. Even that weird squishy wiggle in the rear was gone, the twitchiness of the Bronco is gone. I think that had a lot to do with the big stock rubber bushing in the rear links compared to the solid machined bushing on the ICON rear links. We have about 2500 miles and 2 months on the suspension now. The first 1000 miles or so, the suspension was pretty stiff, even on the softest setting. It's softened up a bit now, we run the resy's on 3 up front and 4 rear daily for the dirt roads with wash board and potholes. When we are on the Hwy or asphult, I'll run the front on 5 and 6 in the rear. We resently purchased an Airstream 16X to tow behind the Bronco. There was a little squat in the rear and felt a little soft with the 16X in the tongue. But I set the rear resy's to 10 and left the fronts at 5. It did great. Even with Hwy speeds on I-80 (some of you might know what I mean by that). My only disappointment is that the rear coilover bodies started to rust. They still perform great. I did contact ICON and they were great. They are being covered under warranty and looks like they will be sending a new set out for replacement. It seems that there was a platting issue on a few of the rears. Just another reason I really like ICON, their customer service.

When we were at Bronco Super Cel West, I got a chance to speak with Scott from ICON. I had told him about the suspension feeling stiff. He recommended that I give them a little time to see if they soften up. Scott also mentioned that ICON offers free custom tuning. Depending, if you are more Baja, street or rock crawler there is an option to dial your setup. I feel that given a little break in period, the setup that the 2.5 CDCV comes with, will be a pretty good all-round setup for 90% of Bronco owners.

Hope this has helped.

BN @AVC101
IG @elev7222

Thanks! Please explain what a RESY is and how it is used. Also, what part of this system is adjustable, the Lift Height, the stiffness, or both.

 

[Elev7222]

Thanks! Please explain what a RESY is and how it is used. Also, what part of this system is adjustable, the Lift Height, the stiffness, or both.

Hi lakesinai, of course. RESY's are external reservoirs. External reservoir increases fluid capacity. The increased fluid capacity helps lower fluid temperature, thus offering the ability to go long durations of extreme damping without experiencing shock fade.

As far as the adjustment, the coilover bodies are height adjustable. The external reservoirs have a dial on them that allows you to stiffen or soften the ride. The adjustments are 1 to 10, 1 being the softest.

Hope this helps

 

[Elevator Man]

I did add a 1/4" to the length of the links after taking some measurements. I have the front raised 3.5" and rear 3" over stock. It's sitting level front to rear, and measurements are within stock.

Thanks. I have them sitting in my garage waiting for me to install them. I did see a trick though where you don't have to drop the gas tank. Just cut the bolt with a Sawsall and reinstall a new one from the other side.

Once done does an alignment show have to do any rear end alignment?

 

[Dusty at ICON]

Thanks for your business and the great writeup!

 

[Elev7222]

Thanks. I have them sitting in my garage waiting for me to install them. I did see a trick though where you don't have to drop the gas tank. Just cut the bolt with a Sawsall and reinstall a new one from the other side.

Once done does an alignment show have to do any rear end alignment?

Elevator Man, I tried not to drop the tank. There is a video of someone cutting the bolt on the lower link and doing what you are talking about. But if you are doing the upper links, there is no way around dropping the tank. When I got the alignment done, I did go to a shop that can do a 4wheel alignment just to make sure that I didn’t mess up the rear end. I was very careful about measuring everything before installing the links and track bar. I was off from left to right on the axel. An adjustment had to be made to the track bar to pull the axel back to the drivers side.

good luck, let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Elev7222]

Thanks for your business and the great writeup!

You guys have a great product and amazing customer service. Looking at your Armor line next for the build.

 

[Elevator Man]

Elevator Man, I tried not to drop the tank. There is a video of someone cutting the bolt on the lower link and doing what you are talking about. But if you are doing the upper links, there is no way around dropping the tank. When I got the alignment done, I did go to a shop that can do a 4wheel alignment just to make sure that I didn’t mess up the rear end. I was very careful about measuring everything before installing the links and track bar. I was off from left to right on the axel. An adjustment had to be made to the track bar to pull the axel back to the drivers side.

good luck, let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks man, appreciate the help. Great looking out for each other.

FYI, this is me in the Blue Bronco last weekend.

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