New ICON Rear Leaf Pack

[LoneRNGR]

This is not advertised to increase the load capacity of the truck.

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[HenryMac]

Since they are progressive, they probably end at the same targets as OEM, they just get there a different way.

I'll send them an email and ask them to confirm they meet or exceed OEM payload ratings.

Here is the reply from ICON:

Your vehicle will keep its original payload capacity ad trailering capacity. These springs have about a 35% softer spring rate compared to the OE springs for a smoother ride but still giving a little extra lift with added weight in the vehicle.

So Option 1 would be great for folks with a stock truck, looking for a better ride, but not wanting to lose capacity.

 

[CompDude]

This will be interesting to see how these may improve the take off shudder in any way

 

[Mokume]

Does anyone know if these leaf packs will eliminate or reduce the "rocking horse" ride motions my 2020 SuperCab with the FX2 package sometimes displays? It really seems as though the front and rear suspensions are in constant disagreement with each other under certain driving conditions.

My days of begging my Parents for coins to ride the once ubiquitous mechanical horses found outside of grocery stores is long gone...lol

 

[CompDude]

Does anyone know if these leaf packs will eliminate or reduce the "rocking horse" ride motions my 2020 SuperCab with the FX2 package sometimes displays? It really seems as though the front and rear suspensions are in constant disagreement with each other under certain driving conditions.

My days of begging my Parents for coins to ride the once ubiquitous mechanical horses found outside of grocery stores is long gone...lol

Some new rear shocks will take the vast majority of that out

 

[t4thfavor]

Some new rear shocks will take the vast majority of that out

My fox shocks eliminated the sensation you describe. My wife calls it “boaty” though.

 

[Barefootmoney1969]

Can’t wait for some real world feed back on these.

 

[Big Blue]

For a shorter answer than @TerraMechE. Start out by getting rid of the FX rear shocks and put on a set of Bilstein, Eibach, Icon, Fox (read your choice) first. Anything is better than the OEM shocks.

 

[Barefootmoney1969]

I am running Fox 2.0 on front and 2.5 Fox DSC in the rear which has helped immensely but I still have rear axle hop at highway speed with moderate bumps despite multiple DSC settings. Almost like it’s hitting the bump stops. Thinking about shortening those before new leaf springs. I believe someone here had improved ride with that.

 

[Jrel209]

a short response to your question: kinda


a more typical response from me:

Reducing the rear spring rate, as Icon does, should put the front to rear ride frequencies (fancy for "suspension stiffness", but normalized for mass) a bit closer to one another (some difference is usually desirable in road-going vehicles). On a stock Ranger, there is a huge difference in f-to-r ride frequencies, I assume for payload capacity purposes. This does result in some pitch motions that show up at certain speeds on certain road features, especially with low damping levels. Per my experience, it seems swapping to Old Man Emu (OME) leaf springs (150lb/in main rate OME vs 250lb/in main rate stock) changed that pitch characteristic you speak of dramatically. Washboards also got way better. I make these observations from first driving with the OME springs and stock dampers (I like feeling one change at a time) before swapping dampers. Those OME springs also lift the rear. I'd actually have preferred the ICON "no-lift" option. I don't haul heavy, btw. I'd keep stock springs if you regularly flirt with the payload capacity of this truck.

I like the idea of the Icon springs, overall; they seem well thought out. My kingdom for a rubber bushing. They seem to be messing with spring rates similar to the OME leaf springs, which is why I relayed my experience. The Icon springs might even work "alright" on an otherwise stock truck. In theory, damping rates would also want to be changed with such a swing in spring rates, but... depends on the girls/guys you go out with. I'm sure Icon changed the springs to accommodate other goals in their overall suspension systems, so changing just springs may lead to an incomplete experience of their design intentions. Indeed, they seem to bump up front spring rates in their packages, as well, further shrinking the aforementioned ride frequency difference. We haven't even gotten into what they do with damping... mostly because I don't know.

As others say, it seems different aftermarket dampers can also affect that pitch motion, likely due to changes to low-speed damping rates.

Be warned, I'm only changing almost everything on my truck's suspension. You know what they say about a giving a mouse a cookie...

So you have ome stage1? How do you like it? I want to go this route but not a big fan of having to add 1.7” of lift in the rear and still trying to weigh my options between fox, icon, ome.

 

[SpookyXJ]

Just installed these yesterday without the add a leaf on my 2020 FX4. I already have Bilstein 5100's front and rear so can't compare it to stock. The coil overs are @ the 1.8" setting with the addition of a 1/4" spacer which gave me almost 3" of lift in the front and the truck was completely level. These springs gave more lift than advertised in the rear about 1.5" hopefully they will settle in a little bit.

The Bilstein's pretty much took care of all of my issues with the absolutely horrid way these trucks ride stock but I still felt the truck was over sprung in the rear. Potholes and rough roads were still a bit jarring but the under damped floaty/boaty ride characteristics were gone. I was ready to skip rear springs altogether but hey gotta waste my stimulus money on something.

I rarely have any payload and only haul a small teardrop camper a few times a year so I wanted the suspension tuned to ride well empty. These springs do accomplish that. Ride is equivalent to the stock springs on smooth pavement but potholes, expansion joints, washboard, and rough dirt roads are more controlled/pleasant and less jarring. Its a subtle difference and probably not worth the $ to most. I'm happy with the ride improvement but not thrilled with the unexpected extra ride height.

Here is what you get with the springs and hardware kit:

the leaves come with the add a leaves, a longer center pin and an extra set of plastic leaf isolators. The hardware kit is 4 U-bolts, Nuts, washers, and bump plates/U-bolt retainers. You reuse your bushings on the shackle end.

The U-bolt kit is universal so they are too long for the springs without the add a leaves and will need to be trimmed. The hardware kit is also a bit overpriced. I'd also like to see Icon offer these without the add a leaf.

Here's how she sits:

 

[Sheepdog]

I am running Fox 2.0 on front and 2.5 Fox DSC in the rear which has helped immensely but I still have rear axle hop at highway speed with moderate bumps despite multiple DSC settings. Almost like it’s hitting the bump stops.

Why would you put smaller shocks on the front, where most of the weight is?

 

[Barefootmoney1969]

Because I started off with the Ford Performance Fox 2.0 (front and rear) installed by Ford and still had stiff ride in the rear. The front had to be aligned 3 times to get it right the first time. And the front Fox 2.0 are $2,000 not installed.

 

[Sheepdog]

Because I started off with the Ford Performance Fox 2.0 (front and rear) installed by Ford and still had stiff ride in the rear.

The front had to be aligned 3 times to get it right the first time.

What do you mean by that last sentence, and what does any of that have to do with the subject of this thread (Icon rear leaf springs)?

 

[Barefootmoney1969]

I meant the 2.5 Fox for the front is $2000 and 4 months back order. And I believe that the Icon leaf springs are going to be all it needs for $700

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