Ironman 4x4 Suspension

Issue is clearly a spring bind issue. Not certain if it could be fixed by a rotation as this can cause a spring to then bend the other way, suspecting similar to my DS which has no issues.

Or, it’s simply that IM sets these to a 3.5” lift which is way too much and will cause bowing.

If I hear back from IM and get a go ahead to try and adjust them I will lower them down about .5” to see if they clear at that point.

Either way I will need a new spring and probably new shock body. Basically a new coilover.

 

I feel the Eibachs were about as good as you can get for the price in a 2” body shock.

They did seem to be a bit taxed by my 95lb 35” combo, no surprise really as they’re 2”.

So far I can’t comment on the ride for IM as I clearly have an issue and they’re a whole 50miles broken in.

They Eibachs rode great on the highway. I did put the IM on the rear with the Eibachs on the front, the IMs seemed to be much better at rebound control over large bumps at speed. Right now it looks like Eibachs are a great street option whereas the IM probably will excel on the dirt and at higher speeds.

I’ll post more once I get this all figured out.

 

My first set from them did that on my tacoma. Cause was improper installation of the spring into the assembly. Thankfully for me, IM4x4 did the assembly and they warrantied it. Yeah, you have to wait. It sucks.

 

M

Mine haven’t rubbed on the inside and look fairly centered.

 

This was my thought, All the videos I have watched, even the IM one shows the lower spring "tab" facing out towards the hub.

 

This is the 4Runner the day of install. When it gets back today I’ll see how they look now that it’s been almost a year.

Edit:99% sure pigtail and spring label face out on the Tundras as well.

 

Verified mine are both matching the others Im seeing here, the end of the coil is facing out. Hmm, still to be determined. IM did get back to me today, in the process of a warranty claim.

 

Do they cover the costs of the shop labor as well or just replacement parts?

 

Dont know yet, I plan to install them myself but will ask about covering another alignment.

I relisted my Eibachs, the IMs are now at a couple hundred miles. Despite the spring contact, they ride great. I have no plans to switch back to the Eibachs. Honestly both set ups are great, but the IMs seem to deal with my 35s a bit better.

 

When the strut is assembled and off the truck the bowed spring is a non-issue, I've seen it with OME and Dobinsons. When installed with the load of the vehicle things "should" straighten out. Probably won't have the best ride quality, stiff and bouncy but that is the price you pay when you need a ridiculous 3-4" lift.

 

Some musings from my current situation in dealing with this.

They bow more once under load, as they compress more and then bow more, mine werent touching while off the vehicle and then the passenger side rubs once installed. The springs are simply too long for the size of the shock body, which is why just about every one else that makes a coil over will use higher tensile rates rather than longer springs.

I just picked up my replacements from Ironman, they are very good about warranty stuff. The new passenger side looks better, probably closer to 3/8" or 1/2" of clearance. Unfortunately this time the replacement drivers side looks like it will rub once installed. I will likely just swap out the PS since my current DS is fine.

They do ride stiff, IMO, at the OE setting. I lowered them .33" and now they ride very nice. Lowering them helped with the bowing, not surprising, but the passenger side still contacts despite the drop. Lowering them also visibly reduced bowing, again though just not enough to clear.

 

So you’re springs are still making contact with the shock, even after the warranty replacement?

Anyb further updates? From anyone?

 

They’re sitting in storage, I haven’t swapped them out yet. I will adjust them prior and see how it goes. Even though they are close they look better than the original set I still have on the truck. Ironman has been great so far and is working with me to figure it out.

 

Just installed stage 1 pro kit constant load. Hopefully I’m one of the lucky ones and no issues arise.

 

looking sweet!!!

 

A few days ago, I took the truck to Prairie City Vehicular Recreation Park in Rancho Cordova for to test out the trucks capabilities. Mind you, I have never gone off-roading ever so this was an inaugural run for me.

The Ironman suspension performed flawlessly.
For the normal usage I plan for this vehicle and the few “off-roading” adventures like above I’m still glad I went with this setup.

Here’s some quick pics. The park was a dust bowl and I woke up early the next morning to wash it up!

 

Did you install your coilover at the 3.5 inch setting?

 

My setup was preassembled by Ironman.

I had @dcsleeper408 install it. Although I really wanted to get the full 3.5 out of it, due to the preload already on the springs, we set it at 2.5 and a CB shim on the driver side.

i have the Ironman wrench to adjust it, but I never have.

 

Maybe someone here can help me out. Looking at the IM rear leaf springs and can't decide between performance (0-440lbs over stock) and constant load (440+ over stock). Currently the back of my truck is loaded down with a ton of stuff between the topper, solar panel, batteries, drawer system, tire swing, etc and conservatively adding that up I'm a little over 440lbs normal load. That doesn't account for another 150lbs or so of stuff when I'm taking a trip but that wouldn't be constantly back there. I'm worried that the constant load spring might be too much if I change things up or take anything out for winter that might not be needed but I also don't want to wear out a set of expensive springs prematurely if I undersized them. Currently my stock rear springs are a bit flat and I installed some air bags to help out temporarily while I get suspension figured out (and also for future towing).

So go constant or go performance and rely a bit on the airbags when needed? Also shocks are currently TRD OR but I have a set of OME BP-51's showing up today so I'm looking at a 2.5" - 3" lift in the front and the rear would need to match so I have a little rake still. From what i've seen here IM can't seem to decide how much lift their springs give you . Thanks!

 

Ironman finally got me all squared away. Im now on a new set of coil overs, no coil rub on the shock body anymore.

Couple things I learned along the way. IM America obviously is working with parts sent to them from Australia, so I think the issues for our Tundra are probably most likely related to the lack of Tundras over there. The issue looks like its either related to the coil itself or the rotation or placement of the coils when assembled. Basically it can be corrected by compressing the coil and repositioning it so the tail end of the coil faces a different direction, it looks like guess work though as each one is different.

IM America is wonderful to work with, they ended up building multiple sets and essentially let me see and choose the best looking ones. Never any push back and always friendly, havent had service like that in a long time. Theyre also very punctual, no long waits.

As for the suspension, the OE setting produces a 3.5" lift. I lowered mine down to a 2.75" and the ride improved considerably. The dampening isnt the same as the Pro Foxes, since theyre not gas charged but the ride is supple like the Foxs, just with a bit more bounce.

If you go with just the shocks in back, without the leafs, its a little bouncy. At first I wasnt pleased as much with the ride in the rear since my Eibachs felt better. Again the ride was noticeably more bouncy due to the shock being oil filled and having no gas charge and low pressure. They are soft, but they do little to stop the back and forth jutter over uneven terrain. I can say this though, anyone that goes without the IM leafs, get the TRD sway bar. After adding the RSB the rear rides better, I was surprised as the sway made the Foxs stiffer in the back, but Im guessing it reduces the side to side travel over bumps and actually smooths the bounce out, resulting in a soft and controlled ride.

Now that everything is sorted out Im completely satisfied with these at their price point.

Between these and my prior Eibach 2.0s Ill say the Eibachs have less bounce, feel less floaty but are just about as comfortable. If you'd prefer a more controlled ride, more sport like, I'd get the Eibachs. Otherwise the IMs are a bit more of a comfort ride, they dampen large dips better, but bounce more over the small and fast stuff.

 

I just installed 0-440 and have a camper shell. It still netted close to 4” so make sure your shocks are long enough.

Rides similar to stock but feels like it can handle more weight.

 

Thanks for the info. What are you running for rear shocks?

 

I’m running Fox 2.5 DSC all the way around. The rears are advertised for only 1.5” of additional lift. I’d say they actually could support closer to 2-2.25” of lift, so I had improvise and use shock mount extenders so I’m not bottoming out at full extension. I don’t do hardcore off-roading with crazy articulation so this works for me while giving me adjustable shock capability. The extenders worked perfect with about .25-.5” to spare at full extension. I already had the shocks before I added the leafs and didn’t realize that the leafs would give me that much lift even with the camper shell. Ironman changed their website at some point. It used to say around 2” of lift and now it says 4”

the 25% off and free shipping is the only reason I bought these. Ideally it would have been Deaver because they have more smaller leafs for smoother ride, but I didn’t want to spend double of what I paid for Ironman.

just FYI while you decide, they do have 2 overload leafs. So it may support the weight of your gear just fine with the 0-440 set.

 

Thanks again! 4" seems way high since I don't want to dial the OME's all the way up to 3". They're set to about 2" now which seems good to me. I'll keep researching!

 

Oh yeah it’d look weird with that much lift in the rear. My fronts are around 3.5” of lift for reference.

you could always go with Icon RXT. The extra adjustable leaf would give you the flexibility to dial in the height with all the weight with 3 different options.

 

During assembly, positioning of the coil spring is one of 2 main orientation points to be done properly, the other being the strut caps. I'd say their installer/assembly guy probably just learned this now.

 

Most of the Tacoma guys end up taking 1-2 leaves out also, especially if not running around with full weight in back.

 

Just got my Stage 1 kit, went with JBA uppers to save some coin. Should have it installed in a couple of weeks, they forgot the spring shackles and bolts and need to order some top hats.

 

Just went to start the install.. front coils have chipped/cracked paint with rust underneath, not happy.

 

Send em back. Only going to get worse.