A few weeks ago, I installed a front and rear Fox 2.5 with DSC. I haven't seen a lot of content on these and wanted to provide some insight on my experience.
Where I started: Like almost everyone, I wanted a level stance on my Rebel and I was very early to install a set of Bilstein 5100's on setting 5
Why I switched: I loved the look, but hated the ride. Most importantly, my wife really hated the ride. She would get in the back of the truck to help the kids and would consistently describe how rough and bouncy the ride was.
What I installed:
- Front:
- Fox FOX-883-06-166
- Icon UCAs
- Rear
Why Fox: I was all in on the King 2.5 and was dangerously close to purchasing. The main challenge started when I was quoted about 4-6 weeks for shipping. I am not a patient man but I was willing to wait. It got me looking for other options. Timing was a challenge because I planned on doing the install myself and did not really want to be working in the cold. I started looking at Fox and saw several posts online about their very high quality parts (not that Kings are not high quality). The most intriguing part was the improved adjustment of the Fox DSC vs Kings adjustment system. You can google to find the similar articles if that intrigues you. I called around and Poly Performance had a set in stock to ship next day which then solved my main issue and the decision was very easy (although more expensive). I opted for the longer front coilovers because I do plan on lifting the back another inch. I'm sure you can't go wrong with either setup.
For UCAs, it all came down to availability. Everyone was several weeks out except for icon. Given I was unwilling to wait for coilovers, I was certainly unwilling to block on UCAs.
Price: $4350
Install: I did the work in two chunks mostly because I have never done this before by myself. I swapped out my springs and struts on an old wrangler, but I had help from someone knowledgeable. I started with the rear, because they arrived before the fronts. This was also a bit better because I could feel more comfortable with the process as I knew it would take a few days of sporadic work to finish the job with 2 young kids at home. I knew the rear would be easier to do.
Rear Install: The install was very smooth. The two hardest parts were 1) getting the wheels off (The new Fuel wheels have a different lug pattern than my wrench). 2) Getting the stock shocks off at the top. I solved the first on with a quick purchase/ship from Amazon. Thankfully I tried the lugs a day early and saw the issue. Also thankfully I didn't figure out that I couldn't get my wheels off when changing a flat tire! (PSA). With the wheels off, I just had to disconnect the shock. Getting the top nut off was challenging because the Bilstein shocks have a hex top to prevent the rod from spinning. This works great except you cant hold that and twist the nut on the last 2 threads. I wasn't able to hand loosen the nut at this stage and had to opt for a rubber grip (old bike tube) and vice grips to get the nut off. The new shocks slipped right into place with no fuss. The whole rear took about 2-3 hours.
View attachment 69525
Front install: Oddly, these were easier (ie no gotcha) but required more steps. I did this more in stages as I expected 5+ hours to do the whole thing. I disconnected everything the night before (including the stock UCA). I then also prepped the Icon UCA for install ahead of time. The only really hard part was getting the stock UCA to pop off. I started with a small hammer, but that just didnt work. The drivers side popped off with a few taps of a sledge (watch a youtube video before attempting to calibrate on what a tap/hit means). The passenger side took significantly more force and effort. I had an "oh crap" moment thinking I wouldn't be able to get the UCA off. A few harder hits got it off. Then just put it all in and torqued to spec. Pretty uneventful but certainly doable for someone with tools and fairly comfortable with DIY stuff. The whole process took about 6 hours.
View attachment 69524
The results: The truck stance completely matched that of my Bilstein 5100 level. No additional height (which was expected). After a quick trip to the shop to get an alignment I was ready for testing
Road test (and final exam): One main benefit of the Fox shocks is the adjustment between on and off road. They came at setting 3 (of 10) which are very soft which is amazing for road use. The performance over bumps on the road, both at high and low speeds is significantly better than stock (and especially the 5100s). I noticed a dramatic change and most importantly the wife approves of the ride which used to get several complaints on every single drive. I can't over state how much better she enjoys it.
Off road test: I haven't done any real slow crawling since the installed but I did hit a few fire roads. I stopped and adjusted to setting 7. The adjustment is easy, but annoying to sit on the ground to do. I was able to take them at about 45-50 mph with no effort. You recognize you are going over bumps but its not jarring at all. I was able to comfortably drink coffee out while driving (YMMV). I took the 5100's offroad and they did their job, but you could really feel the bumps at 15-20 mph. To me, the 5100 aren't really in the same league and comparison isn't super valuable.
Whats next: I really want to be able to use the extra inch on the front coilovers, but I refuse to put a spacer on top of a 4k suspension. I have been searching for rear springs and have a set on order. They arrive the end of Sept and I'll do a test fitting. I'll post an update after the install.
I went with the OE version initially ran them for about 12k miles then had Accutune do a full valving job and tune and the difference is fairly noticeable especially when the washes get rougher.
