2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser - ICON Stage 6 Suspension

2010 Toyota Fj Cruiser Ready Stage 6 Right Front Angle

The days of multiple off-road vehicles cluttering your driveway are behind us. These days, most people have one off-road-worthy toy that is often also their daily driver. Creating a vehicle that will drive you to work, take you on high-speed terrain in the desert, and crawl through canyons in the mountains used to be unheard of. Suspension systems like what you see here from ICON Vehicle Dynamics and Total Chaos can accomplish all of this and still keep your ride nice and smooth for Friday night dates.

2010 Toyota Fj Cruiser Ready Stage 6 Front Bumper

Over the past six months, I have put more than 20,000 hard miles on my ’10 Toyota FJ Cruiser running the ICON Stage 6 suspension combined with Total Chaos lower control arms and secondary shock hoops. The FJ Cruiser shares the same frontend as Tacomas and 4Runners. It is not just one of our daily drivers; it has also been all over the SoCal deserts, mountains in Big Bear, Arizona valleys, Glamis dunes, and it’s traveled far too many bumper-to-bumper miles on the Interstate 5 Freeway. Although the FJ in stock form is extremely capable, we are off-road guys, so of course I wanted more.

Creating a solid prerunner typically means fiberglass fenders, wide long-travel suspension, extended steering links and axles and a dramatically changed rearend setup and shock hoop. Assembling a vehicle to crawl through the mountains usually means big articulation and large tires while hoping to keep overall length and width down. This setup allowed us to take the performance from both worlds and combine them into one without compromising the integrity of our vehicle.

1 The core piece of our front setup is the ICON coilover and upper billet control-arm kit. This kit eliminates the weak factory upper ball joint and replaces it with a Teflon-lined 1-inch uniball that aids in both strength and articulation. Camber and caster is adjustable to fine tune your truck’s alignment. The 2.5 coilovers are adjustable from 0 to 3 inches of ride height, use race shock pistons with flutter stack compression valving, have external reservoirs for maximum cooling, use Nitro steel shafts that will not chip or rust and are 100-percent made in the USA. The kit also includes sway bar relocation brackets and reservoir mounting brackets. This package can also be purchased for select Tacoma and 4Runner models.
1 The core piece of our front setup is the ICON coilover and upper billet control-arm kit.
2 Something unique to the ICON upper control arms versus the competition is their uniball dust cover. It helps protect the uniball from debris preventing premature wear. The arms are made from 17-4 heat treated stainless, which means the uniball and taper components will most likely outlive your truck.
2 Something unique to the ICON upper control arms versus the competition is their uniball
3 Total Chaos provided their new stock length replacement lower control arms and secondary shock hoops that work on my FJs, on ’05-and-newer Tacomas, and on ’03-to-’09 4Runners. Much like the upper arms, these lowers also replace the factory ball joints with 1-inch uniballs. The lower pivots include replaceable urethane bushings with zerk fitting for easy maintenance. The reason I chose stock width upper and lower arms is to eliminate the need of fiberglass fenders, extended steering links and axles. I want to increase the vehicle’s ability without limiting where I can fit my truck. The lower arms are internally gusseted and boxed with an integrated 1/4-inch-thick steel skidplate. Both arms have locations for a primary coilover shock mount and secondary shock mount. The kit also includes secondary shock hoops and factory bump stop relocation brackets.
3 Total Chaos provided their new stock length replacement lower control arms and secondary

4 Originally, I had hoped to keep everything on this suspension 100-percent bolt on. As my demands increased, so did the need for a few slight fabrication changes. In order to run bypass shocks, the factory bumpstop must be moved. Using the provided Total Chaos guide we cut down the factory stop and used the TC bracket to relocate it to strike the new arms in the appropriate spot. The included instructions TC provides are great, we highly suggest you use them. The other part of this kit that needed a grinder and welder was the frame mounting point of the secondary shock hoops. The tops of the hoops are bolted to the coilover bucket, while the sides need to be welded to the frame as seen here.
4 Originally, I had hoped to keep everything on this suspension 100-percent bolt on. As my
5 The TC billet lower uniball conversion bracket is a thing of beauty. It bolts directly to the control arm and the spindle eliminating the factory ball joint.
5 The TC billet lower uniball conversion bracket is a thing of beauty. It bolts directly t
6 This setup is designed to run a standard 2.5-inch body smooth body secondary shock, but I wanted more. The ICON Omega Series bypass shocks are the only double-bypass shocks able to fit into the available space. The modular and expandable clockable rings that surround the body allow you to locate the bypass tubes anywhere you need them. Each bypass tube can also be tuned via an external click wheel knob. Like the coilovers, they use Teflon-lined spherical bearings, Nitro steel shafts, nitrogen-charged remote reservoirs, and use a dynamic heat transfer system. Mine came nickel plated for superior strength and good looks.
6 This setup is designed to run a standard 2.5-inch body smooth body secondary shock, but

7 As you can see everything fit with very little room to spare. Between the coilovers and bypass shocks, I have the ability to adjust the ride quality to any desire. After six months of testing, I have my truck set up just the way I want it. It behaves much like a stock truck on the road, soaks up the best of mild to moderate size whoops in the desert and still tackles rocks and canyons with ease. It is tough to put into words how pleased I am with this suspension.
7 As you can see everything fit with very little room to spare. Between the coilovers and
8 In order to keep up with the front, I needed a solid rear that also would command capability while retaining a smooth ride. The ICON 2-inch lift rear coil springs are guaranteed for life not to sag. They allowed the truck to sit just a touch higher clearing 285/75R16 BFG M/T tires and work perfectly with longer rear shocks. This image shows the standard monotube shock you can purchase for your FJ, Tacoma or 4Runner.
8 In order to keep up with the front, I needed a solid rear that also would command capabi
9 I also added the ICON billet rear trailing arms that replace the very weak factory lower links known to bend and often break on rocks. Each arm uses 16T rod ends with a rating of over 40,000 pounds of pressure resistance before failure. They include a rebuildable Johnny Joint on the axle side for excellent articulation and minimal deflection. Using ICON’s pinch housing you can adjust them on the truck as well. The bottom side of each arm features a nylon rock slider for no-stick wheeling.
9 I also added the ICON billet rear trailing arms that replace the very weak factory lower

10 After spending a short amount of time on the monotube shocks, it was time to beef up the rear and match the front. As soon as the rear double bypass shocks were made, I got them installed and tuned on the truck. Remember that rear end smack/bump feeling coming from the back of your FJ/4Runner when bottoming out? Gone. The new springs and shocks combine to offer a smooth, yet controlled ride even when the terrain gets rough.
10 After spending a short amount of time on the monotube shocks, it was time to beef up th
11 In order to keep our four-wheel alignment and handling in check, we installed the ICON adjustable track bar. The new bar can be adjusted on the truck, uses a 3/4-inch rod ends with misalignment spacers and polyurethane pivots. That left the only weak link on the truck being the upper rear control arms. I swapped those out for these billet arms that also use the same rod ends and pivots.
11 In order to keep our four-wheel alignment and handling in check, we installed the ICON
Not increasing the width of our FJ has come in handy on numerous occasions. As I slid through this narrow pass with ease, I cringed watching a few friends with wide suspensions scrape paint on the rocks.
Not increasing the width of our FJ has come in handy on numerous occasions. As I slid thro

2010 Toyota Fj Cruiser Ready Stage 6 Side View

After a ton of miles, our suspension is still going strong. I have gotten under the truck a dozen times to fiddle with the bypass shocks just to see how far I could push them. From wide open to closed shut, I found a place for nearly all the settings. Considering this truck is driven daily, I found one setting that works for everything. On occasion, I may click open the rear bypass shocks for a little more float in the desert, or close them shut a touch in the mountains, but for the majority of time I don’t ever need to touch them. The TC arms have smashed against the ground a few times during some hard landings and thankfully to the integrated skid plate, have never failed. This truly is a bullet-proof suspension setup for Toyota truck owners. Every single person that I have given rides to off-road has come away impressed and typically says, “Wait, you’re telling me you did all that and this isn’t long travel?”

Sources
Icon Vehicle Dynamics 1580 Commerce Street Corona CA 92880 951-272-4266 IconVehicleDynamics.com	Total Chaos Fabrication 159 North Maple Street #J Corona CA 92880 951-737-9682 www.chaosfab.com