dirt road hauling

[Rockit]

well I live out on a country dirt road with long straights and want to be able to haul butt on them as not much traffic out here . So I did Icon stage 2 coilovers with 275/66/20 Wildpeak tires and 2' spacers but feel the spacers are killing the offroad ride so I will remove them tomorrow and test . Was thinking of goint to a 17 or 18' tire and light weight wheel for more control but what is the next step to get a great off road ride and be able to hit these roads hard

 

[joshuaeb09]

Assuming a quality hub centric spacer I doubt those are what's killing your ride. Now if they aren't hub centric and they are off center then you're going to get a ton of vibrations.

There is only so much you can do with a 275 wide, but the 1st thing I would do is drop air pressure. Look up the TRA load table for the size/load rating to shoot for enough to support the GAWR front/rear then adjust from there doing a chalk test. Get it as low as you can safely and that will help a bit off road. The other hindrance is going to be the 20"s.

I went from 275/65R20 load range E KO2's on stock 20"s to 315/75/R17 load range C Toyo M/Ts on 17x8.5 +/- 0 Methods. The Toyo's are a heavier combination on the Methods compared to KO2s on stock by a bit, but handle far better. In the gravel with no other changes the difference at speed is remarkable due to the fact I have more sidewall for deflection and can run at lower pressures with that wider foot print for even more deflection while safely supporting the max GAWR of my truck. Some of that was also due to the fact my 20's were out of round, banged up, and didn't really balance out any more...

Before the wheels/tires I could get up to around 55 maybe 65 on some of the private gravel areas out here before things got super rough and during my shakedown test with the Toyo's I hit closer to 90. Keep in mind this was recently smoothed so it's not the worse gravel conditions, but gives a decent A/B comparison. In the rough stuff my shocks are still by far the limiting factor. All other things being the same they are worth quite a bit of off road comfort. It also helps going down in load range, but that is also going to be tire/size dependent.

The weakest part of my current setup is dampening so with better shocks like the Icon stage 2 the ride would be even better. Until I get my King's sorted this is what I'm currently running :

Front :
JBA Offroad UCA's
Mevotech TTX LCA's
Mevotech TTX Rod Ends
Extended Sway Bar links (SuspensionMAXX)
5100's w/Eibach Lift Springs @ 3rd snap ring (Heavy Bumper) for around 2.5 ish inches of lift

Rear :
Core 4x4 5 Link
Core 4x4 Extended Swaybar Links
Hellwig Swaybar
Carli Panhard Correction Bracket
Bilstein 1" Lift Springs w/ .75" TGC spacer (Bumper/Toolbox/Magnum Rack) for a little over 1" of lift
5100's

 

[Rockit]

yea I was thinking to try a 17 set up like you suggest, it makes sense

 

[Rockit]

well I removed the 2" spacers today btw they weigh something like 25lbs or more I picked up about 10mph on the back roads , I for sure need more sidewall now lol

 

[joshuaeb09]

well I removed the 2" spacers today btw they weigh something like 25lbs or more I picked up about 10mph on the back roads , I for sure need more sidewall now lol

Yea 25lbs of unsprung weight is going to have some impact. If you end up going to 17's it's better to just make sure you get the right offset so spacers are not required.

 

[revitupmoto33]

Look into getting a custom valving setup for your icons, just call icon and talk with one of the reps let them what you are experiencing as well as any other modifications you have done to the suspension or additional weight added. Let them know the main purpose for your build and what you are looking to get out of them (backroads and washboard, occasional whoops and hard desert whatever it may be) they’ll spec out a new shim stack ($70). It’s not to difficult to do on your own, plenty of YouTube videos out there. Can also look in to upgrading your upper control arm with icon,cst, etc. Then go down the rabbit hole and do your rear suspension, look into icon replacement coils and do the rear shocks with custom valving as well. Rear control arms, Panhard bar, sway links, sway bar... All these things will help.
Also remember quality doesn’t come cheap, stick with reputable off-road companies (king, Icon, Core 4x4, etc) Do it right the first time.

 

[ram1500rsm]

well I live out on a country dirt road with long straights and want to be able to haul butt on them as not much traffic out here . So I did Icon stage 2 coilovers with 275/66/20 Wildpeak tires and 2' spacers but feel the spacers are killing the offroad ride so I will remove them tomorrow and test . Was thinking of goint to a 17 or 18' tire and light weight wheel for more control but what is the next step to get a great off road ride and be able to hit these roads hard

So you went with Icon Coilovers but kept a factory rear end? Or you you have the Icon CO’s in the front with Icon 2.0 in the back with the Icon springs?

What did you do with the UCA’s, hoping you’re not expecting a factory geometry uca to keep a happy front end at speed offroad, you want offset ucas with that setup as you want the bj to keep a good angle when the suspension cycles fast up/down to the max and not only when the truck is sitting down on a flat street.

How much psi you have in your tires when you’re trying to go fast in the dirt?
That setup you have now with 20’s is not exactly ideal, 17” wheels with proper offset and tires with a larger sidewall will be optimal, either case drop the psi to 25-28 and the let the tires do their job. You can lower to psi for rock crawling for example to 15 but your steering and truck input will be too slow if your trying to go fast and turn.

 

[Chris Kyle]

well I live out on a country dirt road with long straights and want to be able to haul butt on them as not much traffic out here . So I did Icon stage 2 coilovers with 275/66/20 Wildpeak tires and 2' spacers but feel the spacers are killing the offroad ride so I will remove them tomorrow and test . Was thinking of goint to a 17 or 18' tire and light weight wheel for more control but what is the next step to get a great off road ride and be able to hit these roads hard

I’m down here in FL too, and driving faster on forest roads, dirt and gravel is what I am after with my build as well. I went with Fox coilovers instead of Icon, mainly due to up front cost and Coilover rebuild interval and cost.

The Icon Stage two setup is Coilovers and rear shocks and springs. That should have the potential to haul ass. Did you replace upper control arms in the front. Control arms, rear links or Panhard bar replacement in the rear?

My stuff will be installed...hopefully this week and the first thing I’m going to do is haul ass down the pipeline through Ocala National Forest, lol.

 

[Rockit]

yes I did their control arms with their Delta joints . I love their rear progressive rear springs as when just rolling on dirt they are smooth

 

[Rockit]

So you went with Icon Coilovers but kept a factory rear end? Or you you have the Icon CO’s in the front with Icon 2.0 in the back with the Icon springs?

What did you do with the UCA’s, hoping you’re not expecting a factory geometry uca to keep a happy front end at speed offroad, you want offset ucas with that setup as you want the bj to keep a good angle when the suspension cycles fast up/down to the max and not only when the truck is sitting down on a flat street.

How much psi you have in your tires when you’re trying to go fast in the dirt?
That setup you have now with 20’s is not exactly ideal, 17” wheels with proper offset and tires with a larger sidewall will be optimal, either case drop the psi to 25-28 and the let the tires do their job. You can lower to psi for rock crawling for example to 15 but your steering and truck input will be too slow if your trying to go fast and turn.

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yes did uca and rear 2.0 shocks and Icon rear springs its their stage 2 but the Icon upper front control arms are extra . I looking at Method wheels as they are some of the lightest I have found in cast and forged styles . Now just deciding on a tire size any recommendations?

 

[Rockit]

I’m down here in FL too, and driving faster on forest roads, dirt and gravel is what I am after with my build as well. I went with Fox coilovers instead of Icon, mainly due to up front cost and Coilover rebuild interval and cost.

The Icon Stage two setup is Coilovers and rear shocks and springs. That should have the potential to haul ass. Did you replace upper control arms in the front. Control arms, rear links or Panhard bar replacement in the rear?

My stuff will be installed...hopefully this week and the first thing I’m going to do is haul ass down the pipeline through Ocala National Forest, lol.

exactly so you know how our back roads are like here , I will air down tomorrow been running 36psi as I jump on the highway a couple days a week

 

[ram1500rsm]

yes did uca and rear 2.0 shocks and Icon rear springs its their stage 2 but the Icon upper front control arms are extra . I looking at Method wheels as they are some of the lightest I have found in cast and forged styles . Now just deciding on a tire size any recommendations?

You'll have some nice options in AT or MT depending on how aggressive/big you want to go, 285/70/17 is factory size, 285/75/17 or 305/70/17 for 34's , 315/70/17 or 35x12.5x17 for 35's. I like how 35's look like in these trucks with 17's because of our big fender wells. It's nice to be able to fit 35's without cutting/welding crap. My Toyotas all had BMC's done to fit 33's so it was great to fit 35's in my truck with a simple Rancho QL 2" lift days later after bringing the truck home from the dealer.

 

[Chris Kyle]

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yes did uca and rear 2.0 shocks and Icon rear springs its their stage 2 but the Icon upper front control arms are extra . I looking at Method wheels as they are some of the lightest I have found in cast and forged styles . Now just deciding on a tire size any recommendations?

A 17” wheel with a 34” or 35” tire. You should be able to air down plenty enough for good grip and comfort, yet still retain tire rigidity. I’m keeping the stock 20” wheels; but if I wasn’t, that’s what I’d do.

 

[Chris Kyle]

yes I did their control arms with their Delta joints . I love their rear progressive rear springs as when just rolling on dirt they are smooth

That’s good to hear, as I have the Icon spring with Fox shocks for my rear.

 

[joshuaeb09]

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yes did uca and rear 2.0 shocks and Icon rear springs its their stage 2 but the Icon upper front control arms are extra . I looking at Method wheels as they are some of the lightest I have found in cast and forged styles . Now just deciding on a tire size any recommendations?

With your icon setup you should be able to clear 35x12.5/315/70R17's no problem. Depending on the weight of the tires you end up with there is the potential to lose some noticeable MPG, but that's a trade off you have to decide on. The only place I rub is the very top of the front liners if I bottom it all the way out at speed, heatgun will take care of that only little spot. I'll bust out the heatgun once it's not 1000 degrees outside since I've only rubbed there going out of my way to rub there.

My flares thread has some photos of the Method's with the Toyo's on them.

https://www.ramforum.com/threads/82214281ac-flares.147911/