Iron Man vs OME Dakar... (1 Viewer)

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J

John E

Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Threads
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Location
Pasadena, CA
Went to Mark's Offroad shop yesterday to get some info on the Iron Man suspension upgrade for my FJ62.

Price wise it's close to what an OME Dakar setup from Cruiser Outfitters would cost, there would be shipping costs on the OME but the kit includes a steering dampener and there wouldn't be any sales tax.

So which one should I get?

The Iron Man will give me about a 4" lift which will settle down a bit, I can get as much or as little lift as I want on the Dakar depending on the springs I choose.

I like the idea of using a local guy, Mark clearly knows his stuff and has a very good reputation but Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters is a good guy too and given the wider variety of stuff he carries I'm more likely to be buying more stuff from him as I move along rehabbing the 62. Not a negative comment about Mark's business, he's more focused on older models than I own and that's good for the 40 and 60 guys out there.

I'm not looking for a trails only ride, more of an expedition style ride. I'm far more likely to drive to interesting places and to remote work locations than driving on trails at interesting places if that makes sense. I'll be carrying a couple of hundred pounds worth of bumpers and other gear eventually but the bulk of the driving itself will be on asphalt and dirt roads, not on trails. We have a ton of cool fire roads here in SoCal and my work involves some driving on dirt on occasion as well.

I'm highly unlikely to ever put anything larger than a 30" or 31" tire on the 62 and I have no interest in having to modify the drive train at all to accommodate a suspension lift.

I'd be interested in hearing thoughts and opinions, especially from anyone currently running an Iron Man setup on either a 60 or a 62.

Thanks.
 
Personally I'd go with an OME kit from Kurt. He and OME will stand behind the product, so even if something goes wrong, you will have peace of mind that it will be resolved quickly. Iron Man might have a decent product, but I don't know anybody that has one and I don't know if they or Mark will help you out much if something goes wrong.

TK
 
from what I read around web in forums .. OME it's more compfy compared with Ironman .. my personal ( good ) experience it's only with Kurt and OME .. can't said anything bad and all about fantastic customer service and support.
 
I purchased the OME heavy/heavy "ultimate kit" from Kurt a couple of years ago. I would do it again without hesitation. I'm looking to go spring over axle now (now that I've seen the light) :) Its not that aggrivating to install yourself... you will also need sway bar mount extensions and potentially longer primary brake hoses.
 
For over a year now I have the complete OME Dakar heavy/heavy set with shackle reversal and OME shocks and steering dampener and the whole shabam from MAF. In total approximately 4" lift. I'm not a heavy wheeler, but was aiming more at traveling.
I must say that it feels very comfortable on-road, as long as you don't do curves. When you take a curve though (with normal speed), the cruiser is leaning to the side too much. Even when you're not loaded. Annoying.
Also off-road the suspension is comfortable, even when you go through a ditch a little too fast. It can handle quite a lot. But when it comes to leaning, the suspension is too weak and gives you the feeling that your cruiser is gonna flip over.
I get the feeling that OME went for the comfort, and thereby compromised the off-road quality.
The last thing I want to say about it, is that after a few months the front suspension got the form of a "W".
I think the heavy's of OME are just too weak.
 
Well, I have the OME Dakar, extra-heavies (one extra leaf) that I got from Kurt, with full set up of shocks, shackles, dampener, etc... They're good springs and I'm happy with them, even though one of the fronts I received had a cracked bottom spring from the factory. Kurt took care of it no problem, and a new one was drop-shipped from ARB. Kurt is a great guy and very knowledgeable and you won't go wrong if you go that way. I've had the OME now about 3 years, no problems. I wanted the extra heavies because I have a 40 gal tank and plan on a heavy, expedition rig.

That being said, I helped Mark unload a bit of that pallet of springs at his shop. I was very impressed with Iron Man, 60-series. The rears have 3 beefy overload springs, one more than the OME, and are a bit thicker. As you saw, they have a nice fit and finish, and, something to think about, you won't need the OME bushings (which are $$$), you can run the energy suspension poly which are far cheaper and easily available.

Between shipping and tax canceling each other, both setups will run you about the same, the Iron Man being a bit cheaper if you factor in New shackles (not OME) and steering dampener, bushies, etc. If I were buying today, I'd get the Iron Man 'cuz I try to buy local (within reason), and the IM are a very beefy, well-made spring, and I would pick different shackles and shocks. And I like the ability not be locked into the OME bushies - OME has an insert in the spring eyelets that requires them.

Funny how no one ever mentions the springs and suspension stuff SOR sells :D

Good luck!

LINK:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/525215-iron-man-suspension.html
 
Thanks....

Ironically, no pun intended, I have looked into the SOR stuff and it seems, at least on the surface to be overpriced compared to both the OME and the Iron Man setups. Overpriced might be the wrong term, lets say that I think I can get equally good quality for less and leave it at that.

I like SOR, they're somewhat local to me and I have had no problems in my limited dealings with them so far. I like them enough to have signed up for their buyers club.

I'm leaning very heavily, again, no pun intended, towards the Iron Man setup.

Spike, you brought up some good points and gave me some info I wasn't aware of regarding the bushings and such so thanks for that especially.

Mark is out of town until next week so I've got a few days to decide anyway, the springs on my 62 aren't likely to fall apart in the next couple of days...:)

I'm thinking that the Iron Man springs and shocks, a set of Mark's shackles and a steering dampener from Kurt would suit me pretty well at this point.

And of course, some expert help in putting it all together...;)
 
If you're never putting anything larger than a 31" tire on the rig, save yourself the expense and just get add-a-leafs.
 
Why do you want to buy a lift and heavy bumpers? I'd put that money towards making your drivetrain bombproof and your interior nice and comfy.
 
I thought our drive-trains were bombproof from the factory ?

Well, FJ60s anyway :D

Flame away!

(Sorry for the wee hijack, JoeE)
 
Interesting points...

here's my rationale.

My 62 has the original OEM suspension on it, couple of the shocks have been replaced and I had a used front spring put on it right after I bought it cause one of them had several broken leafs. The rest of it is simply worn out, rough ride, squeaks, body rolls etc.

Given the cost of simply replacing the existing suspension I thought it wiser to go aftermarket and all of the aftermarket stuff I've found seems to involve some sort of lift. In addition, I plan on loading it up with work gear on occasion as well as use it for camping. I work in the film/production industry and have a couple of hundred pounds of gear that I typically bring with me on location.

As for diverting the money into the drivetrain, I'm planning/hoping to do both.

As for putting heavy bumpers on it, the stock bumpers are bent and dented, rather than put a pair of OEM bumpers on it, I'm planning to put on something with hitch capability on the front and something with a tire carrier and recovery points on the rear. Not at the expense of other work but in addition to whatever else I do to it which includes some reworking of the interior, adding some storage capability, sleeping space, possibly a fridge, etc.

This will hopefully be a long term rehabbing of a vehicle I hope to keep and use for years, I'm hoping to do all of the work it needs and that I want over time. The drivetrain has already received some attention with more planned as I move along. The suspension is getting higher priority because I took it out on a short trip a few days ago and realized just how bad it is. Same reason I bought a set of tie rod ends and will also be doing a complete bearing and seal replacement on the axles.

Thanks for the tips and advice so far.
 
I'm in Altadena. PM me if you want to go for a ride and see what an OME medium lift on 33" tires is like.
 
I put OME springs and shocks/shackles on my 60. I just got back from a long road trip/hunt into northern BC and over 700 kms of logging roads. On the trip out my brother said my truck road softer than the other guys truck - a 2008 Ford XLT F150. The OME were designed for just this purpose and I'd only recommend them now. I should also say I ran 40lbs of air in my tires the whole time, with 20 lbs in the tires it's like driving on pillows!
 
Spike Strip said:
...something to think about, you won't need the OME bushings (which are $$$), you can run the energy suspension poly which are far cheaper and easily available...
Click to expand...

To be fair, the 60 Series Old Man Emu springs have always used the stock dimension bushings. The older non-Dakar springs without inserts as well as the new Dakar's with inserts use the same bushing which is 100% identical in dimension to the stock bushing. Thus its entirely possible to run the stock rubber bushing, Energy Suspension or similar poly bushing or the Old Man Emu poly bushings with the OME springs. We spec the OME SB1 bushings with all of our kits but that is because it really is the premium bushing, fluted exterior for grease capacity, quality poly, etc. That said if a customer is looking to shave a bit off the cost we can substitute the Energy Suspension or rubber bushings in the kit too. Along with that, the original Toyota shackle and spring pins are all 100% compatible with the OME springs too.

I wish I had more experience with the Ironman stuff to relate but beyond my visits with their product in Australia, I've pulled more off than I have installed and that wasn't a 60 Series so I'll leave that aside :D
 
That's good info, Kurt - Thanks.

But I was going by what I had read in the tech section of your site:

"Why the OME leaf spring bushings with OME/Dakar leaf springs?

Some of the poly bushings on the market, are not made to the same tolerances of the OME springs, this isn't to say every manufacture, but there are some. This play can lead to premature wear of the bushing. Also, some are using a much harder poly material, while harder might sound better... its not always the case. The harder bushing is more likely to fail by loosing the "ear" than a similar bushing made of a softer material...

Make sense? "

So I guess the key is to know which Poly bushings are the right ones to buy. :D

Too much information for this early in the morning :wrench:

:hillbilly:
 
I bought an Iron Man lift off eBay several years ago. I have been pretty satisfied with it. The ride was a little stiff buit it is a truck - and a darn good one. It came with everything I needed and was straighforward to install. I have no experience with OME but have seen several trucks with them on and they seem to do well.
 
Last edited:
I am very happy with my Iron Man suspension, good ride and plenty of room for my 33's.
 
Well i hate my dakar springs,they ride ok but that stupid sleeve and the sagging and lean :mad: won't by them again.

I had another with opposite lock springs a few years back,now they were great! Quality. Seems arb are skimping on that as of late.

That sleeve in the spring is a joke
 
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