Ironman 4x4 Suspension

Some light reading on coil spring buckling again last night reminded me of the general causes - combination of too long (length to diameter ratio really), too much preload (or not enough coil diameter/strength), and/or unproperly constrained ends. Either not flat enough or loading causing the two spring ends to become un-parallel. So yes reducing preload and carefully installing so that you're directing load anti-the-bow by orienting the perch as rruff mentions should help.

Still a poorly packaged application on the Tundra which I think they understand, which is why they pulled it from the market to try to make it right. I'm a big fan of the shock design itself though so if the coil issue is surmountable it should be worth it.

 

It's not buckling though. If that was the case, the bow would be much more pronounced near max compression. From what I've seen if it isn't touching in the minimum compression state, and you orient the shock so the bow is towards the inside rather than the outside, then it won't rub when installed.

The "improperly constrained ends" appears to be the reason for the bow, along with the fact that a lift will naturally cause the spring to bow outward (the upper mount on the truck is angled for stock height)... and the extra long coil and extra large shock body mean that it can't bow much at all before it rubs.

I believe the long coil with a light spring rate is part of the reason why it rides so good. I wouldn't want to change that.

 

I ordered mine with the heavy springs because I plan to run a heavy bumper with a winch. But even with the stock plastic bumper the ride is not at all harsh and is better than the stock suspension in my opinion. I am curious to see if that changes at all once I do finally get the bumper and winch mounted.

I haven't done any major "flexing" yet, but as far as I can tell the springs aren't rubbing. I used the spring compressors to try to straighten out the bow in the coils as much as I could before I installed the coil-overs on the truck. Then once I installed them, I snugged down the tophat studs first in the upper mount, leaving the lower shock eye sticking out away from the truck. Once I pushed that in to seat it in the lower mount on the LCA, that pretty much finished straightening out the bow in the coils.

 

Was your coil bowed inward before you installed it in the truck?

 

This thread is a wild roller coaster ride!
So I was about ready to place an order for the FCP kit about a month ago, but wanted to wait for a sale and then boom 4th of July! But no more FCP.

Live chat and email responses gave me the same answer, “we’ve stopped selling the FCP kit due to a bad batch of coils”

So sounds like they’re blaming the coils and no the struts or mounting points…

anywho, I sure hope this gets resolved quickly so I can buy their build package

 

I might’ve missed it in this thread, but has anyone tried using different coil springs, like Eibach springs?

 

everyone seems to think it’s not even worth trying because of the unique shape and length of the IM coil, plus the larger shock body that it needs to fit over.

 

Let's hope they know what they are doing. The issue can certainly be solved by slight mods to the coil design, though I suspect the coils have been "bad" a long time... maybe since they went green. Changing the bottom slightly to fit the existing ramp better, and grinding the top truly flat rather than partially, would probably do the trick.

No idea how long it will take to produce and deliver new springs though...

See if Kur will sell you his extra set if you are in a hurry.

 

Not in a hurry, and I got them to guarantee the price they were at when I was ready to buy.
I’m going for their build kit that comes with bumpers and skid plates.
It’s taken down for now but if you look up other applications, it’s a sweet deal when compared to piecing it together from different companies.

 

Wondering about this kit myself, my rear leaf packs are flat and I need to get rid of my spacer lift. Any more thoughts on this kit?

 

Can’t comment on how the kit is on the tundra but I had one on my Tacoma so I’ll share my 2 cents.

Bought my Tacoma new and after about 4,000 miles on, I decided to get the Ironman foam cell pro stage 2 I believe. Came with UCA’s and new leaf packs. I love the idea of swapping out entire parts to upgrade rather than add to existing - felt a lot cleaner. All parts were precise to the eye and appeared to be good quality. The ride quality was firm but felt well planted. I wanted a nice and smooth cushioned ride but I am glad it ended up being a little more firm because everything just felt more grounded and could tell a lot more from just feedback from the truck.

fast forward to now and I have a 21 tundra. I browsed this forum plenty of times and was upset to see a lot of QC issues which steered me away. So I went with Bilstein 6112s (delivered a week from today hopefully). I always wanted to get the 6112s but with my Tacoma I wanted to go off the bandwagon and try something different that had great reviews from the few who had the kit. And plus it’s nice to try something different just to switch things up.

if you get a good issue free kit from them I’m sure you’ll be pleased. I just figured for the name and quality of the 6112s I got a solid kit for less than the Ironmans. Gamble I wasn’t willing to take with the QC issues.

 

They still aren't selling springs for the FC Pros. Call them and find out what's up!

I don't think "QC issues" is a very good description, but rather having a design that it very sensitive to random spring installation, and maybe a spec that isn't quite right to start with (coil shape vs perch/ramp spec). Except for that the components seem great and I'm very happy with the performance.

 

I appreciate the information guys. So torn here. Lol

 

It’s been a while since I last checked in on this thread. I discovered that my springs (both driver and passenger side) were rubbing on the shock body on my FCP’s back in June. I was told that a plan to remedy this is in the works, and asked to please be patient. It’s approaching 3 months since this problem was discovered, and I’m hoping there’s a remedy in sight. I’m currently still running these on my truck, even with the rubbing. It’s certainly not ideal.

 

Is that the medium duty or heavy? Thanks for information very helpful.

 

Pretty sure that can be remedied with the springs you have. Any interest in pursuing that? Did you install the springs yourself?

 

It’s the medium duty, set at 3.5” on a pretty heavy rig.

 

I’ve considered that, but this was already my second set of FCP’s, after having a top hat problem with a previous pair, and I’m waiting to see what IM does to remedy this problem before pulling everything apart once again. Also I didn’t expect it to take this long.
I bought them pre assembled.

 

What was the nature of the tophat issue?

Pulling them, reassembling, and installing is a PITA for sure... but the wear on your shock bodies ain't good.

 

I might just have to end up with the Old EMU on my tundra. I am finishing up the install on my old land cruiser fj55 this week.

 

In that case the regular FCs would probably be as good. Or look at Dobinsons too.

 

Problem is I need at least 3” up front and new rear leafs. Mine are flat.

 

Foamcells are advertised for 3.5". And they have 25% off now. https://ironman4x4america.com/foam-...t-suited-for-toyota-tundra-2007-2021-stage-1/

 

I have emailed a couple of times hoping to hear back from them.

 

I’d noticed a rattle coming from the front of my truck after about 6 months on the FCP struts. I discovered that the top of the shock shaft was loose on both driver and passenger side, and the top of the shock shaft was banging around, causing the rattle noise over and kind of bumpy road or terrain. When I tried to tighten the drivers side, it’s was already stripped out. IM took care of me. But the replacement set have the coil rubbing issue. One other thing to note, the rubber isolator for the top of the shock shaft, and the isolator for the top of the coil spring on my first set was already badly deteriorated, an splitting apart. Probably why the shaft became loose in the first place. I sure hope they come up with a solution for this stuff!

 

I just called them and got a young man, he was very vague. He did tell me they are not selling assembled struts. He was not clear on how much lift just leaf springs has. Was not impressed with technical help. Will call back next week one more time to see.

 

Dang, good thing I read this thread before jumping in.

 

You wouldn't have been able to jump in anyway... still not selling springs for the FCPs.

 

November 30th, and still waiting on Ironman to correct this issue..

 

Anyone know if the issues mentioned in this entire thread, about the bowing in the coil, are also affecting the non pro foam cell version? Read through all 28 pages here and was really wanting to full send on the IMs, but unsure as most of the issues seemed to be around the FCPs, and not much heard on the non pro version? Or is one better off going the Bilstein 6112/5100 route?