King Shocks vs. the Competition: What Sets Them Apart?

King Shocks Beginnings

King Shocks, a name synonymous with high-performance suspension systems in the automotive and off-road industry, has a humble yet inspiring origin story. The company was founded by Lance King in 1996, and its roots trace back to the dusty trails of the California desert. Lance was an avid off-road racer who recognized the need for superior suspension components that could withstand the rigors of extreme off-road terrain. Fueled by his passion and a desire to push the boundaries of suspension technology, he set out to create his own shocks.

In the beginning, King Shocks operated from a small garage in Garden Grove, California, where Lance personally crafted and tested each shock absorber. His dedication to perfection and relentless pursuit of innovation quickly gained recognition within the off-road community. Soon, King Shocks became the go-to choice for professional racers and enthusiasts alike. Their reputation for quality and performance grew steadily, leading to partnerships with top off-road racing teams and the expansion of their product line.

Over the years, King Shocks continued to evolve, introducing groundbreaking technologies and materials that set new industry standards. Lance King's vision and commitment to excellence paved the way for King Shocks to become a global leader in high-performance suspension systems, trusted by off-road adventurers, racers, and enthusiasts around the world. The company's journey from a small garage operation to an industry giant is a testament to the power of passion, innovation, and the pursuit of perfection.

What Sets King Shocks Apart?

From the very beginning, King Shocks has offered a high level of customization. To this day, there are thousands of different parts available to the public and their race teams to create any damper that can be imagined.

They provide a wide range of shock options, including coilovers, bypass shocks, and smooth body shocks, allowing users to tailor their suspension systems to specific vehicle types and off-road conditions. This level of customization ensures optimal performance in diverse off-road scenarios.

Not only can you piece together any kind of shock a team or organization could desire, their customer service is right there along the way to help and provide guidance.

King Shocks Customer Service

Customer service seems to be a lost art in the offroad world, an industry plagued with technicians and engineers who think their product alone should be sufficient to carry the name. But in the changing environment of consumers wanting to be in touch with the brand, there needs to be open lines of communication, and a customer first approach. King Shocks epitomizes this approach in the suspension industry.

King Shocks Warranty

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention one weakness of King Shocks compared to the competition, and that’s their Warranty. King Shocks carries a 90-day warranty on all their products, which will really only cover a defect in materials or uncover an improper assembly process by their team.

Many other shock manufacturers have a minimum 1 year warranty, even on some of their race products. If you’re getting into King Shocks for your vehicle, know that you will need to service them at some point, as these are high performance shocks, with race-level materials that wear faster than consumer-grade materials usually found in OE replacement parts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which King Shocks are right for my vehicle?

This is the most common question, as King Shocks offers a wide range of products for different vehicles and driving styles.

• Rock Crawlers and Trail Rigs the popular choices are King’s 2.0 x 12 or 2.0 x 14 coilovers. That means either 12” or 14” travel coilovers, typically dual springs on each coilover; the ride zone spring being fairly soft, while the overload spring is much firmer to support the overall weight of the vehicle and further damping under heavier forces.
• OEM and consumer level vehicles like the F150, Silverado, and Tacoma will usually always see a 2.5 Performance series shock.
• Long Travel suspensions typically see at the minimum 2.5 remote reservoir coilovers on each corner, often supported with external bypass secondary shock systems. In this way, the coilovers have very little damping built into them, as their main priority is vehicle support. The bypasses have most of the damping built in, utilizing the different zones for different shaft speeds in the faster off-road environments.
• Competitive Race Teams are often stepping into the 3.0, and 3.5 coilover and bypass shock packages. These suspension systems are fully custom, typically going for 16-24 inches of travel per corner, utilizing a combination of 3.0-4.0 coilovers and bypass shocks.

How much do King Shocks cost?

Price will vary greatly depending on the level of Shock you’re after, basic OEM fitments will be the least expensive, along with King 2.0 Shocks for lighter vehicles. As you get into larger body coilovers and bypass systems, the costs increase with more features and more bypass tubes.

Will King Shocks improve my ride quality?

• When purchasing and installing King Shocks, the driver is usually desiring a smooth ride, a comfortable ride, with a touch of performance. Daily driven vehicles should maintain a balance of handling and comfort, which King Shocks does a good job of delivering.
• It's important to understand that if you build in too much comfort to a shock, you sacrifice handling, so King Shocks as a manufacturer tunes their shocks with this in mind. Some drivers prefer a special shock tune that leans into more comfort considerations, with a sacrifice to handling - this is ok if they don't plan on hauling loads or carrying a lot of gear.
• Some drivers also tune certain damping zones to be really soft, while others zones rapidly increase damping for faster off-road environments. This is the beautiful thing about King Shocks, you can get them tuned however you want and according to your driving style and what the vehicle will be seeing.

Will King Shocks improve my handling?

• Typically King Shocks are not known for a drastic improvement in handling when compared to other brands like Bilstein, Fox, and Icon. If you have blown factory shocks and upgrade to some Kings, then yes - you’ll see a noticeable improvement to handling.
• If handling is a major concern and you want King Shocks to be the resolution based on other factors like quality and ease of access, then a specialized shock tune to improve road handling manners is easily achievable. By tuning what's called the low-speed ranges of the damping curve, this enables the suspension to provide a firmer and sportier handling profile to reduce body roll and sway.

Can King Shocks handle heavy loads?

• While King Shocks are known for their off-road prowess, many new King owners are surprised at how sharp and tight the on-road handling manners are. With full suspension systems from brands like Carli, who custom tune their King Shocks to work with their springs, the road handling is precise and predictable, even under heavy loads.
• You can achieve similar King Shock behaviors without going through a brand like Carli or Thuren Suspension, by requesting a specialized tune directly from us or through King Shocks during the time of purchase.

How much lift do King Shocks provide?

• When looking for a certain amount of lift height out of King Shocks coilovers on IFS vehicles like the Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra, F150, and Silverado, drivers are often looking for 2-3” of lift in front.
• This lift is achieved through a couple different means, either by certain spring dimensions, or by preloading the coil springs on the coilovers.
• It's important to get this combination correct for optimized ride quality. Typically higher spring-rate springs, like a 700lb spring on a Tacoma, will ride firmer than what most drivers are after. These heavier rated springs are meant for a heavier vehicle setup (bumpers, winches, racks), or for higher speed trucks that are blowing through fast desert environments. In faster desert environments, the higher rated springs will serve as the primary compression damping mechanism against hard hits and obstacles, with the shock as a spring-energy damper, especially in the rebound phase to control the droop of the suspension.
• In the other direction, if you go with too light or short of a spring, then a lot of preload may be required to achieve the desired lift height. With too much preload on the spring, you’re now placing the ride-zone of the shock outside of the prime damping zone.