"The Mark II"
Purpose built armor for your expensive rear shocks. The Land Cruiser 200 Series utilizes a phenomenal rear suspension setup, yielding incredible amounts of articulation. To achieve this, engineers mounted the rear shocks low on the rear axle housing and high up into the frame on a slanted angle to allow longer shock lengths than other Toyota 4x4s. The only draw back, the bottom of the rear shock sits as the lowest point on the entire platform. It is also positioned to take direct impacts with no help from a sliding angle like factory skid plates up front. This leaves not just the factory shocks, but expensive aftermarket rear shock easily damaged from light back road adventures. Furthermore, the rear shocks are constantly being peppered by stones kicked rearward by the front tires. This makes high-end rear shocks from King and Icon even more susceptible from damage, resulting in costly repair charges. We incorporated a shin guard to protect exposed shock shafts from this onslaught, giving the rear shocks a significant increase in service life.
Confirmed fitment with factory, OME NitroCharger, Tough Dog, Koni, Icon 2.5, King 2.5 and BP-51 shocks. BP-51s can retain their shin guard if the guard below the BP-51 collar is trimmed. See pictures for example. While not yet confirmed, King 3.0 should fit, but e-mail if you would like to test fitment.
- Sold as a Pair ( one truck's worth! )
- 100% Bolt-On construction, no modifications required and completely reversible
- Steel version includes Flat Black Powder Coating
- 1/4" thick construction to handle the 200 series weight and power
- Confirmed fitment with BP-51, OME NitroCharger, Koni, Icon, and Tough Dog
- Tight tolerances and thoughtful design redirects impact load from the factory shock mounting stem and redistributes to the much stronger axle housing
- Integrated shock shaft guard to protect high-end racing shocks from rocks thrown rearward by the front tires
- Mud clearing design allows for easy cleanup after adventures
- All new corrosion resistant mounting hardware as factory shock bolt is too short for secure fitment
- Laser cut and CNC bent for superior accuracy and tolerances
- 100% US material, handcrafted in North Carolina, built to last
History of this product BudBuilt LC200 rear shock armor was in development for over two years. Prototypes were sent to some of the most aggressive drivers in the 200 series community for extensive testing and feedback. What we learned over that time has changed this armor many times over until its final version. First, we found that 3/16" steel was simply inadequate. This component sits too low, with too much abrupt angle, on a vehicle with incredible power output and far more weight that other Toyota's. 3/16" proved to be a failure, which moved us to 1/4" high strength steel. Next our mounting system was refined after a single failure seen in Moab. This is where the nickname "Mark II" came from. iH8mud member, Markuson, pretty much obliterated the first real world prototype set after other users could not damage the piece. Sure all the other prototypes handled worse it seemed, but we didn't get our reputation for being the best engineered products available by accepting anything other than the best. The design was further re-imagined to provide more ground clearance, more shock compatibility, and smoother edges to give the best possible chance of offering a sliding function over obstacles.
Then we stepped back and looked at the shock stem. It's pretty strong, but why take the chance? So we looked at how to protect it. The result was the shock armor now perfectly curves with the rear lower shock mount. A half degree angle change here, a three quarter degree angle change there. This guard now sits perfectly on the shock mount and is secured by a 5/8" bolt high on the mount. The result is the shock stem that is now essentially gusseted by this guard. You won't see that feature if the smallest space is allowed to be under the armor. This made for a nightmare when it comes to reproducing the armor to such incredibly tight tolerances. But without giving away our secrets, we nailed it. After 18 total prototypes and three major revisions, this simple looking piece of metal has more thought, time, and (i'll say it) heart put into it than most can imagine. It's just one of many products we fabricate in house here in North Carolina, but it's another example of who we are a group of enthusiasts, who just happened to put our decades of engineering, mechanic, fabricating, and wheeling experience to use. We hope you enjoy it.
