Coilovers: Radflo, Icon, or Sway-A-Way?

19623 Views 82 Replies 15 Participants Last post by FishnAlaska, Jan 22, 2017

MTKross

Discussion Starter · Sep 11, 2016 (Edited)

I'm looking to take the plunge...

Radflo, Icon, and Sway-A-Way all seem to be relatively similar in price. (King not included because it is costly)

Which behaves better on road, and soaks up the small potholes and bumps?

Which is the beast when you're off-road?

What are some pros and cons of each?

I know it's like asking which do you like Ford, Chevy or Dodge (Nissan

) but I figured some of y'all have ran them long enough to give a good hearty opinion.

The search option gives TONS of info but it doesn't seemed to be condensed into a definite best of these 3.

So out of these 3 who takes the cake?

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honda250xtitan

· #2 · Sep 12, 2016

Its going to come down to who has the best valving out of the box. because if you open them up to valve them yourself, they can all ride identical.

Icon: their bread and butter is OEM replacement parts. So they spend a lot of time getting the shocks to ride nice for daily drivers. ICON is everywhere, support and service won't be an issue.
Radflo: They are designed by and for PRG. That says a lot. But i'm sure you've uncovered the clunk issues. The ext. resi ones don't ever seem to have that issue though. The owner personally takes care of issues. ALSO the radflo bracket lifted shock is a longer shock body and shock shaft, the ICONS, from what it looks like, are an OEM length shock with a 6" longer eyelet.
SAW: good luck. AFE is still behind on producing their stuff for the older SAWS products. IDK if greg has them in stock. I have no clue. Downsouth Motorsports won't even touch SAW products lol. Kartek has a huge warehouse, probably has SAW parts stocked up.

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GalaxyPro4X11

· #3 · Sep 12, 2016

Just to add to the radflo an their clunk. Greg fixed it for myself, as they clunked from new. He said it was a bad bearing an replaced them, also a large air bubble inside the shock.
Only part that cost me money was sending them back to him.
I really like the ride of the Radflo an they are amazing off-road so far.
I was supposed to get SAWS but at the time AFE Power had just bought them out two months prior, so it's been a whole year since being bought out and they still can't manage to make more? Donno

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honda250xtitan

· #4 · Sep 12, 2016

Think of where Titan parts are at on their priority list tho lol. Very bottom.

MTKross

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 12, 2016

honda250xtitan said:
Its going to come down to who has the best valving out of the box. because if you open them up to valve them yourself, they can all ride identical.

Icon: their bread and butter is OEM replacement parts. So they spend a lot of time getting the shocks to ride nice for daily drivers. ICON is everywhere, support and service won't be an issue.
Radflo: They are designed by and for PRG. That says a lot. But i'm sure you've uncovered the clunk issues. The ext. resi ones don't ever seem to have that issue though. The owner personally takes care of issues. ALSO the radflo bracket lifted shock is a longer shock body and shock shaft, the ICONS, from what it looks like, are an OEM length shock with a 6" longer eyelet.
SAW: good luck. AFE is still behind on producing their stuff for the older SAWS products. IDK if greg has them in stock. I have no clue. Downsouth Motorsports won't even touch SAW products lol. Kartek has a huge warehouse, probably has SAW parts stocked up.

Thanks for the info, that helped a lot. I was originally leaning toward the ICON shocks but now that you mentioned the travel length I may research more. I also had heard about the clunk but wasn't sure if that problem had been addressed yet. Just looking to get rid of the spacer and have a low maintenance smooth ride.

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GalaxyPro4X11

· #6 · Sep 12, 2016

I would go radflo with the external res as Honda mentioned, I've never heard of them having the issue an Greg said the same thing to me.
Also like he said the icons don't have the same travel the radflos have, mine are the bracket lifted extended travel.

Cuban11182

· #7 · Sep 12, 2016

I had the Radflo's, Fox 2.0, Blistein 5100 and now Kings.

To me, the Radflo's rode the best. I had the clunk though. Had I not spent the money that I did, I would've kept them. But I decided to go to the Foxes. To be honest they and the Bilstein 5100's felt about the same. The Kings ride really nice. I can't say they ride better than the Radflo's, but there is no noise. That being said they are remotes front and rear. I've heard nothing but good about the Icons, just don't have any experience with them.

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MTKross

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 13, 2016

GalaxyPro4X11 said:
I would go radflo with the external res as Honda mentioned, I've never heard of them having the issue an Greg said the same thing to me.
Also like he said the icons don't have the same travel the radflos have, mine are the bracket lifted extended travel.

Do you have a picture handy of yours on?

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TheHops

· #9 · Sep 13, 2016

I personally went with ICONs on all 4 corners from OWP, though I don't have them installed yet.

Their reviews are pretty much impeccable, and they'll allow me to ditch all of my blocks and spacers so I can't really ask for much more. It was between Kings and ICON for me, and I just decided that I couldn't justify the extra cost of the Kings for performance that I would probably never need. Oh, and they're that (personal opinion...) hideous bright blue, lol. The ICON looks much more in line with the black and white theme of my truck.

All in all:

-You can't go wrong with King or ICON
-Radflo has had some issues in the past, but are still great overall
-SAW are damn near impossible to get your hands on nowadays, but when dialed in perfectly I've been told they're among the best

:nerd: 2010 Pro-4x CC [Snoopy] :nerd:
Suspension: 6 inch ProComp, ATX AX181 teflons, 305/70R18 Cooper STT Pros, ICONs on all corners, DK UCAs, DK tie rod ends, sway bar delete.
Power: UpRev, Airaid MXP CAI, JBA LTs, Cajun resonated bpipes, SummitRacing y-pipe, Borla 40085, UQ res.
Body: Leer 100RCC (reinforced), RKSport ram-air hood, FabFours premium front bumper, Rigid grille, Bushwacker smooth flares, Go Rhino Dominator D2 steps, spray in bed liner.
Roof: Thule tracks, frontrunner roof racks. Front: 40" bar, L/R facing 10" light bars, MAXTRAX mounts, 20gal spare fuel brackets. Rear: axe/shovel, CVT RTT, 10" rearward light bar
Lighting: Full internal/external LED swap. Front: 40"/20" Amber/White LED bars, two 3" A/W pods. Sides/Rear: Three 10" white bars.
Misc: Mile Marker SEC9.5 (ES), Cobra 75WXST, 600W PSW Inverter, ARB CKMTA12, WeatherTech floor liners, DU-HA rear underseat tub, AVS in-channel visors, stubby antenna, seat mounted fire extinguisher, cajun axle vent.
Pending Install: Fab fours premium rear bumper, CJD trac bars, C-30s, DK variable height shackles.

MTKross

Discussion Starter · #10 · Sep 13, 2016

TheHops said:
I personally went with ICONs on all 4 corners from OWP, though I don't have them installed yet.

Their reviews are pretty much impeccable, and they'll allow me to ditch all of my blocks and spacers so I can't really ask for much more. It was between Kings and ICON for me, and I just decided that I couldn't justify the extra cost of the Kings for performance that I would probably never need. Oh, and they're that (personal opinion...) hideous bright blue, lol. The ICON looks much more in line with the black and white theme of my truck.

All in all:

-You can't go wrong with King or ICON

-Radflo has had some issues in the past, but are still great overall

-SAW are damn near impossible to get your hands on nowadays, but when dialed in perfectly I've been told they're among the best

What do the icon rears look like? I was considering upgrading all four corners as well

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honda250xtitan

· #11 · Sep 13, 2016

ICON has the best branding IMO. So the icon rear piggy backs are the best looking. GET THEM. lol

Contact mike or Chas at TAP...Link is in my sig

GalaxyPro4X11

· #12 · Sep 13, 2016

mtkross said:
do you have a picture handy of yours on?

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MTKross

Discussion Starter · #13 · Sep 13, 2016

honda250xtitan said:
ICON has the best branding IMO. So the icon rear piggy backs are the best looking. GET THEM. lol

Contact mike or Chas at TAP...Link is in my sig

Haha you're making this too easy, bye bye savings

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MTKross

Discussion Starter · #14 · Sep 13, 2016

GalaxyPro4X11 said:
View attachment 450050 View attachment 450058 View attachment 450066 View attachment 450074

Gorgeous truck man! What setup are you running in the rear?

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LSturbointeg

· #15 · Sep 13, 2016

Love my Radflo's! No clunking!

2008 Nissan Titan LWB

Suspension Front:~Maxtrac Spindles~PRG 1.5" Spacer~Radflo 2.0's~DirtKing UCA's~PRG Endlinks~SPC Cambolts~Moog LCA's~PRG Derlin Spacers~PROTHANE Bushing~
Suspension Rear:~PRG Deaver C-30's~4" Blocks~Bilstein 5125 Shocks~Crown Suspension Adjustable Shackles~Custom CJD Racing 60" Traction Bars~
Wheels/Tires/Brakes:~20x10-24mm Fuel Hostage~35/12.5R20 Atturo MT'z~Maxtrac Extended BrakeLines~Front/Rear CrossDrilled/Slotted Rotors~
Lighting~Blk LED Halo Projector Headlights~XenonVision 35W 6K HID Kit~FogLight 5 CREE LED~White Interior LED Kit~3157 Switchback LED Turn Signal~Amber 450LM Led 194~
Exterior~Black Tow Mirrors~Iron Cross HD Step Bars~Carbon Fiber Door Handle Covers~AeroSkin Hood Protector~Upper/Lower Custom Satin Black Mesh Grill w/ Stainless Hardware~Fuel OffRoad Grill Emblem painted Satin Black/Carbon Fiber~20% Tint~AVS In-Channel Visor~PU Front Bumper w/ Bumper Cap Mod~Textured Fender Flares~SatinBlack Rear Bumper~SD Chargers Hitch~
Audio:~Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD~7"(2) HeadRest Monitors~FocalK2Pwr 6.5" Comp Frt/Rear~Tusunami 1.2FaradCap~Thunder2300X 4ch~Thunder280 2ch~Custom Sealed Enclosure w/ Polyfill~2 12" KickerProCompR~Fully Dynamatt Doors/Floorboards~Digital LED Voltage Display Fuse Holder~Stinger Gauge Pwr/Grnd Amp Wire Distribution Block~Stinger Pro 4 Gauge Blue/Clear Power/Ground Battery Wire~4/2-Channel 4000 Series RCA Cable~Stinger 14-Gauge Audio Speaker Wire~

GalaxyPro4X11

· #16 · Sep 13, 2016

MTKross said:
Gorgeous truck man! What setup are you running in the rear?

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Thanks man, it's deaver c-30 springs with the 3" procomp block, driver shaft spacer an PRG off-road bars. Fender height is just over 46 close to 46.25

agnostic x

· #17 · Sep 13, 2016

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agnostic x

· #18 · Sep 13, 2016

I love the price I got on my Radflos and the ride quality when the road gets rough. They really smooth out the bumps in the road. Also, since I'm running a 6" lift, I didn't have to pay extra for longer rear shocks like King wanted.

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GalaxyPro4X11

· #19 · Sep 13, 2016

agnostic x said:
I love the price I got on my Radflos and the ride quality when the road gets rough. They really smooth out the bumps in the road. Also, since I'm running a 6" lift, I didn't have to pay extra for longer rear shocks like King wanted.

Really like your external Res set up, at some point I will sell my current set up an go that route. 800 for my fronts was hard to pass up

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agnostic x

· #20 · Sep 13, 2016

GalaxyPro4X11 said:
Really like your external Res set up, at some point I will sell my current set up an go that route. 800 for my fronts was hard to pass up

That is a solid deal. At the time, I wasn't pressed for cash so I did it and don't regret it. I'm told the ride quality is the same with out the res but coolness factor goes up with it!

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