malibubts
Adventurer
I'm eagerly awaiting my OE tires to finish out their life this spring and plan on upgrading both the tires and suspension then. I'm pretty sure I will be going with BFG KO2s for the tires, I'm also looking at the Falken Wildpeaks but there doesn't seem to be much of a price difference there. Stock size for me is 265/70 r17 which is a bit under 32", I'm thinking I will probably go with 285/75 r17 at right about 34" for the replacement.
The hardest decision for me is what to go with on the suspension. I want roughly a 2" lift, not a level as I do like the rake and have around 500# in the bed constantly with the shell and my drawers. I'm also out East, so more of the forest road and dirt road type of trails than rock crawling or anything like that.
Bilstein
Carli Commuter
Icon
I think I'm leaning either the Bilstein or the Carli route. Pushing me towards the Carli is their reputation, higher quality shocks, and not having to break down the stock struts to swap parts over like on the 5100. Pushing me towards the Bilsteins is obviously the price. The rebuildable aspect can really go either way; on one hand it's nice to be able to get them rebuilt, but on the other hand this is my DD so having the downtime would be a bit of a pain.
What are everyone's thoughts on the different brands/systems? Carli or Icon I think will definitely be better, but I'm having a tough time deciding if they are $1,200 better.
The hardest decision for me is what to go with on the suspension. I want roughly a 2" lift, not a level as I do like the rake and have around 500# in the bed constantly with the shell and my drawers. I'm also out East, so more of the forest road and dirt road type of trails than rock crawling or anything like that.
Bilstein
- $650
- 2.1" front lift, 1.5" rear lift
- 5100 Coilover, 5100 rear, Icon variable rate rear lift spring
Carli Commuter
- $1,885
- 2" front lift, 1" rear lift
- Fox 2.0 Coilover, Fox 2.0 rear, variable rate rear lift springs, track bar drop, end links
Icon
- $1,899
- 2.5" front lift, 1.5" rear lift
- 2.0 Coilover, 2.0 rear, variable rate rear lift spring
I think I'm leaning either the Bilstein or the Carli route. Pushing me towards the Carli is their reputation, higher quality shocks, and not having to break down the stock struts to swap parts over like on the 5100. Pushing me towards the Bilsteins is obviously the price. The rebuildable aspect can really go either way; on one hand it's nice to be able to get them rebuilt, but on the other hand this is my DD so having the downtime would be a bit of a pain.
What are everyone's thoughts on the different brands/systems? Carli or Icon I think will definitely be better, but I'm having a tough time deciding if they are $1,200 better.