Blind Shock Test: How Dirt King Compares to the Best

[@OverlandOutfitters]

Good test, and props for taking the hit and putting out the video regardless of outcome. Its really great to see that your first and last place shocks ended up being the same as our Shock Value blind test series. I think it will be very hard to beat the Bilstein 8112 with its 5 zone technology with just a standard straight damper. When you get your shocks tuned to the level you think is best, let us know, we'd love to include dirt king in our next Shock Value line up!

[@dirtking]

We’d love to have our shocks included in the line up. We feel confident in our shocks performance after the retune. Make sure to watch the blind test part 2 video!

[@Tarvisse]

Its telling to see them rate their own shock lower than the Billys. Good job on an unbiased look.

[@dirtking]

Got to give credit where it’s due, they developed a great product. The results lead us to retune our shocks providing performance that we previously didn’t think was possible. We’ll be showing this process in a blind test part 2 video.

[@nostrajoshmus]

Its hard to rate anything better when bilstein has the best shock system available 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@WheelEveryWeekend]

Awesome job! Excited to see the Dirt King shocks compete with the big companies, cant wait for part 2. The most fascinating part for me was how similar first and last place was between our test and yours. Everyone says ride quality is subjective but i honestly don't believe that, i think its a cop out for companies putting out sub-standard products, which we can see with multiple blind results that match. Pumped to get my hands on them soon!

[@dirtking]

Definitely a lot of similarities between our results and yours!

[@wisesa09]

17:37 our style like they know they have their own product. But they still remained unbiased. 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾

[@Kingsize24]

The fact y'all even put this out tells alot about you as a company. Compliance is one thing, control is another, and hitting that sweet spot is hard. I look forward to part 2 with changes. Good luck to you in the furthering of your shock tuning and technology.

[@dirtking]

Agreed, the sweet spot is a difficult balance of comfort and control. We put a lot of effort in our shock line and very fortunate to have a dedicated team that’s up for the challenge. We’re extremely proud of the end result!

[@xotixgamers1366]

It’s good that you guys are not biased at all very good and true business

[@Wallymakesstuff]

Wow, what kind of company offers an unbiased opinion on their product vs others? A company with high integrity! I just purchased your gen 2 uca to pair with my bilstein 8112’s and it’s a dream setup. Your uca’s are best in class! Much tighter than my old spc’s and I do t have to worry about losing alignment anymore! I also am getting far better tire wear due to your stiffer bushings, and tighter street cornering. I’ll be watching your tech progress in suspension and won’t hesitate to make them my next pair when you’re king of the hill in that category.

[@waynejewell-sw8qg]

NO SHOCK IS PERFECT OUT OF THE BOX , ALL WILL NEED SOME FINE TUNING . THEN ANY OF THESE SHOCKS WILL PERFORM GREAT . I THINK YOU HAND TUNED YOUR DIRTY KING SHOCKS .

[@hmc2s]

Very true, well said.

[@megahurts2]

We as consumers very much appreciate these comparison videos. :)

[@bklynbullet]

Ok I need a whole dirt king setup for my 2017 rado

[@bocaj628]

I really appreciate the test. I can’t wait to see a second video and the damping tweaks you guys do. Really curious how these compare to a tuned product like from accutune.

[@mxer254]

Awesome vid! Keep in mind bilstein offers a direct fit 8100 bypass rear shock for even better off-road performance

[@joshuagray5094]

I think that part of the appeal of the Bilsteins is that they have built in internal bump stops. Prob helps a ton with the bottoming out and loose feel on the jumps

[@scientificenigma]

Do you know if the 5100 also have that?

[@joshuagray5094]

@ nope just the 8100 series

[@brenan_greene]

Well done guys!! Only right you thought you were the best. lol. Looking forward to part 2 and a new tune.

[@darknessfalls714]

I love these videos ! Thank you for taking the time to do such a stellar comparison. I might have missed it, but can you tell us the specs on the wheels and tires and if the leaf pack was modified ? EDIT: They talk about it at 26:20, I just commented before I finished the video..

[@dirtking]

The tires are 285/70r17 C load tires on Method simulated bead lock wheels. The rear leaf springs are OEM with no alterations.

[@kodepop]

Would be cool to see a test where all the shocks dampers are adjusted too. I can't wait to rock one of your kits after mine explode, and also the black and gold colors are badass.

[@dirtking]

That’s the great thing about all of these shocks is they have additional adjustment. We couldn’t show that in this video because it would be too long. Yeah the black and gold combo is badass and we’re in the process of launching some billet UCAs to match!

[@anotherpewtertahoe]

Quality content *starts browsing marketplace for Tacomas*

[@christopherperez281]

Been debating on which shocks to get for my Silverado. Billstien doesn’t make the 8100 for my trail boss. So I decided I am going to go with dirt king. I like what you guys do with the Silverado platform. You guys are a great company people can get behind.

[@dirtking]

Our Silverado shocks do not disappoint! We appreciate the support🙌 We’re driven by passion, not the bottom line. Videos like this reflect that, and you’ll see it firsthand when you talk to any member of our team.

[@OscyJack-]

As someone who runs 6112/5160s, get the DK. I wish I did haha

[@johndm4300]

Does your trailboss have the 2.7? I also wanted the 8100’s but they recommended not to install them on a Silverado with that motor. Got some snap ring Fox 2.0s for now but plan to replace next year.

[@OscyJack-]

@@johndm4300 they don't make 8100s off the line for Silverados. Nor do they have plans to make em :(

[@johndm4300]

My, mistake. I meant the 6112’s. But yeah, limited options for Silverados with the 2.7

[@zzyzx85]

Great comparison test! I can say I'm using the best of both worlds on my GX: Dirt King upper and lower control arms with Bilstein dampers 😄

[@dirtking]

Thanks, and that’s a solid set up💪

[@dualxtremex2695]

I run icon rxt full package on my tundra and I have had many off road shops test my truck and say holly crap this thing drives like its on clouds speed bumps barely any kick whatsoever. I went against a full foxed 3.0 system and mine was beyond better than the fox system. The icon on wash board is so comfortable it’s my pick honestly.

[@NUMBER_74]

King shocks Fanboy here for just under 20 years so I absolutely do not agree with your decision😂 Just kidding. Thanks for the time you guys put in for this video. I really enjoyed it and appreciated your unbiased opinions!

[@dirtking]

Haha we’re just waiting for those comments. Thanks for appreciating the effort that went into this. Although we came in second, we’re happy that it led to further improving our products and it shows we’re doing honest comparisons.

[@danohara2211]

Great test video DK. I will test your shocks on my Trail boss running Fox and give you my opinion. Can’t stand my Fox’s😂I’m ready for a DK upgrade👊🏻

[@dirtking]

If you make the switch you’ll be blown away on the difference. Our shocks on the 19+ GM 1500 perform amazing.

[@Gabriel-jc2sc]

Great video, thanks guys!💪💪

[@davidburroughs1686]

Great video. Maybe I missed it but, what strategy was used on clicker/adjuster settings? All of them at factory settings?

[@dirtking]

To keep the testing fair, all shocks were tested right out of the box with the factory settings.

[@miles2205]

I got Fox shock on my truck and I completely agree with this testing…super stiff and definitely cautious of something breaking. Now I wanna replace them for Dirt King shocks! 😅 Great testing videos for those in the market for shocks. 👏🏽👏🏽

[@sam_s_]

If your Fox socks are 2.5, take them to Accutune and they will revalve for you.

[@miles2205]

@ revalve job already? I had these installed in June of this year.

[@yourface3154]

@@miles2205 I believe he's talking about having them drilled out.

[@scientificenigma]

@@miles2205not because they are worn but to adjust them for your vehicle/weight

[@brenan_greene]

Can we get some 4Runners in the part 2 test???

[@dirtking]

You won’t see a 4Runner in the part 2 video but maybe we’ll film more comparisons of other models in the future. It’s standard practice for us to benchmark our shocks against industry leading competitors during development but filming it adds a lot of time.

[@ronstrubel3479]

I would like to see you take your data and adjust each shock based on your judgment and see the impact to the retests. How about an adjusted test

[@dirtking]

Our goal with this test was to show how each shock performs out of the box, just as a customer would experience them. This gave us an unbiased comparison of how our shocks stack up. We actually did exactly what you suggested, we took the data and retuned our shocks for a part 2 video to deliver the best product possible. The other shocks weren’t retuned since that wouldn’t reflect what they ship. The performance in part 2 is exactly what you can expect from our 2.5 DCA shocks for a Tacoma and it’s what ships today. We follow this same process when developing shocks for other models.

[@Shabobidhuffy]

Cool 😎. Nice and thorough. I’ve been tuning stocks for a while. And now more and more the third GEN Tacoma. Out of the box there are def difference between the brands. with that said, I think there is still no getting around the fact that if you really wanna dial in your ride, you need to revalve the primary shims on the piston. No amount of remote reservoir clicky adjustment can suffice. My advice would be, after working on so many tacos with mid travel setups is get a secondary bypass . night and day difference. absolutely no substitute for position sensitivity. And I would still even revalve that bypass too to your liking. But for most people who just wanna plug and chug and not think about anything, and have a mediocre ride sure choose your favorite brand and rock it. But if you wanna see just how capable a mid set up is. Get real and add secondary bypass shock and get to tuning.

[@oaknshell]

Incredible video! Does DirtKing have a presence in NorCal? I’d love to work for a company like this that is willing to provide unbiased feedback and acknowledgement. This video made me a new fan of DirtKing. 🤘🏼

[@dirtking]

Thank you for the kind words! We don’t have a NorCal facility, but if you’re open to relocating send your resume to [e-mail]. Being an enthusiast checks the most important box. Passion and drive come first, the rest can be taught.

[@Squidsonbikeswithhats3958]

Curious how u handles shocks with external adjustment? Just set in the middle or tinker or nothing?

[@dirtking]

In this video no shocks were adjusted, they were all tested exactly as they come out of the box. Our factory preset for the adjusters is set to the middle, allowing you to increase or decrease compression as needed. Here’s a link with more information on making adjustments and how they affect your vehicle’s handling, ride quality, and off-road performance: dirtking.com/pages/dca-series-user-guide

[@corail53]

These are adjustable shocks did you guys actually set rebound to your needs or just left it open?

[@dirtking]

None of the shocks in this video offer adjustable rebound, the adjustments are for compression only. All the adjusters were left as is our of the box to make it a fair comparison across all the shocks.

[@dasfahrer8187]

Would like to see ADS Racing and OME tested as well if possible!

[@dirtking]

I agree those would both be great companies to test as well.

[@motocross402]

ADS for sure!

[@Brandon-qy4rs]

They should be able to adjust. Right from factory doesn't tell very much

[@dirtking]

Yes the shocks are adjustable but these adjustments are meant fine tune the ride quality, not to substitute for subpar tuning. We feel it's essential to deliver a great product right out of the box to unlock the vehicle's full potential.

[@delagto_5340]

Especially some with dual speed control. Some adjusters even give more of a change then others. Understandably, starting from a better point out the box will be best but it’s so subjective since set ups and weight aren’t all the same.

[@dirtking]

@@delagto_5340 I agree these tests are ultimately subjective, but we’ve worked hard to make the process as objective as possible. This approach is crucial for benchmarking performance and making improvements. While we primarily tune for the most common model configuration, we conduct ride audits to ensure all meet our standards. If any fall short, we create variations to address them.

[@delagto_5340]

@@dirtking awesome, I have a jeep and watched because i want to contribute to people testing products WITHOUT BIAS. This is exactly that. This pushes companies to do more R&D for better overall products. Some companies don’t drop any new tech in years to complete with the rest 👑 ….

[@stevegarcia3229]

I would have like to seen icon on that table 😊

[@dirtking]

I agree they would have been another great company to have included. We've tested their Tacoma CDVC shocks in the past and their overall performance would exceed customer expectations by our definition but still not as good as the Bilstein 8112s. The main weakness that we noticed with the Icons was rear bottom out control on larger inputs.

[@stevegarcia3229]

@ I’m in the market for some 2.5s and this video helps appreciate it

[@BlakesGarage]

Love it, great video guys! I have Kings on my 5th Gen 4runner but I would like to put some Dirt Kings on my 3rd Gen I'm starting. build series on. I'm not sure if you guys make them though gonna have to hit the website and see.

[@dirtking]

Happy to hear you like the video. Wish we had shocks for that model but unfortunately we don’t have them for the 3rd gen.

[@darianthompson5975]

Aren't they all adjustable? Wouldn't some ship them for ease of installation?

[@dirtking]

Yes they’re all adjustable. I can’t speak for other manufacturers but our adjusters are preset to the middle, allowing customers to easily increase or decrease compression as needed.

[@JUSTINHAWKSMITH]

Did you guys do front end alignments every time with the front suspension or atleast get readouts to know there wouldn’t be alignment issues from being at different ride heights since the pre loads weren’t checked ?

[@dirtking]

Yes the vehicle was aligned by a shop after every install. The ride height was fairly similar across all the shocks but we still did alignments.

[@JUSTINHAWKSMITH]

@ awesome to know. This was a great video I strive for making good helpful content myself. I’ve built a silverado before using your full dirt king long travel kit with triple by pass and kings long travel rear leafs shocks thru bed with bed cage the whole 9 , man it was a stiff ride on the road but you could jump that thing off a mountain it seemed like. Lol.

[@ericcontreras4030]

Waiting on the dirt king drop for the 4th gen Tacoma

[@dirtking]

The 4th gen Tacoma with our 2.5 shocks kicks ass! We can’t wait to drop those shocks. A big break through we had with that truck was developing new rear springs to pair with our shocks that has 1” of lift and an increased spring rate.

[@vegastoyotaoffroad9690]

I don’t understand why Icon wasn’t included as they are part of the top 3. Bilstein is a top company but the 8100 series are new and not considered poplar as it’s in a whole different price range from the rest. Also I think the best way to do an unbiased test would get two people that had nothing to do with any brand. Have them drive the truck and they have no idea from the start of brand or size of shocks they will be testing. When you have an idea of possible shocks you have a pre set of expectations before hand. The tester only should know type vehicle they’re driving and have no idea of shocks. When you guys developed your shocks you definitely tested other brands. Plus feel is super subjective. You could drive my 4runner and have a complete different opinion of the ride. What would be cool is if someone like me was to show up and you test my set up and not know what I have at all and test and see what your opinion is.

[@reckless714]

Were these shocks adjusted when tested on road vs off road? Or was just 1 setting used?

[@dirtking]

The out-of-the-box settings for each manufacturer was tested. This setting was not changed between off road or on road testing.

[@kylecantrell7154]

Any plans on DK line of shocks for the raptor?

[@dirtking]

We currently don't have plans to develop Raptor shocks. Our priority is to ensure that anything we release is among the best. The Raptor already has excellent products on the market and the newer OE live valve shocks perform great. We’re focusing on platforms where we can deliver the most value and performance gains to our customers.

[@DirtyDanF117]

What settings were the Kings at in clicks from soft? Just got some Accutune 2.5’s on my tundra and trying to find the street/dirt settings currently. Thanks fellas

[@dirtking]

I’m not sure. The team was strictly instructed not to make any changes, so no knobs have been adjusted. I would assume they provide documentation outlining the out-of-the-box settings.

[@DirtyDanF117]

When I got my Kings, all three were at the softest setting and the passenger rear was at +18 out of 28 clicks. Found out after the first Offroad session lol

[@nickfillyaw7348]

Got any extra shocks you don't want just sitting around? My 2000 Sierra would love to wear them. The 15 year old Bilsteins are tired boss. Thanks

[@dirtking]

Sorry, nothing for that year.

[@nickfillyaw7348]

@dirtking wouldn't it be size, not year? Thanks for the response

[@dirtking]

@@nickfillyaw7348 No because every shock is designed specifically for the year and model. Extended length, collapsed length, reservoir mounting, coil bucket bolt pattern, LCA shock spacing width, lower shock bolt diameter, and valving are specific preventing them from being cross compatible.

[@nickfillyaw7348]

@dirtking makes sense... Thank you

[@michaelrichardson7286]

ya'll need to make stuff for the 3rd gen Tundras. I keep waiting.

[@dirtking]

We’re working on it!

[@michaelrichardson7286]

@@dirtking can we get a tease of where you are at on it? Just a little something to wet the whistle a bit? lol

[@dirtking]

​@@michaelrichardson7286 Yeah I can share some insight! We’ve developed tunes for both the 2.0 and 2.5 shocks for the 3rd-gen Tundra and are now finalizing drawings, the bill of materials, and production schedules. This process usually takes 5-7 months, including quality control checks. Like the 4th-gen Tacoma, we found the rear springs on these trucks are under-sprung. To address this, we designed triple-rate springs with an increased rate that maintains factory ride height, improves handling, and increases payload capacity without adding harshness to standard drives. These will be available soon. We have the springs in stock but we're also adding isolators between the coils, similar to OE springs, to eliminate noise and improve longevity-details most companies overlook.

[@michaelrichardson7286]

@@dirtking Awesome! thank you! What about UCAs, rear links, and potentially even long travel kits?

[@dirtking]

@@michaelrichardson7286 UCAs and links are in development, they're be available around the same time as the shocks. Long travel does not have a scheduled date at the moment.

[@Sdukes001]

Plaster city the perfect place to test and tune suspension

[@dirtking]

Absolutely, there’s some great terrain there!

[@silverbulletz06]

How would you think ICONS would of ranked? Close to the Billys i assume

[@dirtking]

Yes they perform similar to the Bilsteins, with the main difference being less effective rear bottom-out control.

[@silverbulletz06]

@dirtking agreed! And maybe a little more rougher/tighter on the road and loose off-road, so similar to your products? I would love for you guys to truly compare them as well but thanks for the response!

[@DevinHall-k2s]

same test on silverado

[@dirtking]

What year? I'd like to do something similar for the 2019+ Silverado 1500.

[@skatenbikee707]

Most of these shocks out the box dont ride as smooth without custom tuning accutune is a great option and have made my king setup ride awesome

[@jacquesoosthuizen8909]

Will have completely different results if each shock was fine tuned, what if one was set all high and another all low, so test doesnt make complete sense....

[@drewisenhower3233]

What's the point of the test then? They clearly stated out of the box settings lol, not every person is going to tune their shocks or know how to. Realistically you can tune/valve any shock to work, but then you're changing what the manufacture developed, so that test wouldn't make sense in my onion. If you're just changing adjuster settings to see what the shock can best offer, that's understandable but still would be a completely different test than what they were going for. Would be cool to see a second test with the same shocks, just using the adjusters to their full potential.

[@thatoneguysixtynine]

Yeah no shit sherlock, did you not watch the video? They specifically said "out of the box performance" not "Fined tuned shock performance" not everyone buys a set of shocks and knows how to "fine tune" them, theyre looking for a better ride that is plug and play but yeah what if huh? You're merely making uninformed assumptions with no basis other than maybe some sort of buyers regret? You must be running King or fox and are upset they didn't place too well huh bud? Because you're statement doesn't make complete sense in context the video. But aye...wHaT iF?