Iron Man 2" lift install and impressions

[Corbet]

After 4 years of wheeling my truck with its stock suspension it was shot. My springs were sagging due to extra weight and at rest about 1" off the bumpstops in front maybe 2" in the rear. My truck is around 6000lbs in its daily driving form. The ride arond town was miserable. And offroad clearance was tight.

My kit contained the following

Front springs TOY024C 242lbs additional weight
Front shocks 24683FE foam cells
Rear springs TOY013B 660lbs additional weight
Rear shocks 24682FE foam cells
Steering Dampener 3524
Caster Bushings 1144 Adjustable to 0, 2.5, & 3.5 degree of correction


Comparings some of the new and old: The Iron Man shocks are about 1" longer extended than stock. The rear springs are about the same length unloaded but with more coils and thicker wire. Fronts are about 1" longer and again with more coils/thicker wire.

 

[Corbet]

I choose the adjustable caster correction bushings or "bushes" as Iron Man calls them. The design is pretty cool and allows for 3 different positions. 0, 2.5, & 3.5 degress of correction. Picture below. Mine are set at 2.5 degrees but if I ever add some spring spacers to the front I could change them out to 3.5 for the increased height.

Install was pretty straight forward and the same as a similar OME kit. I will not go into great detail as its already been covered in the past. A pickle fork made the removal of the OEM steering dampener a breeze. The springs went in easily by using the OEM jack against the framerails to force the axle down one corner at a time. My only problem I had was with the rear drivers side lower shock bolt. My PO had a new set of shocks installed at one time. The mechanic at that time must have dropped the bolt and lost it. As the one I removed was not OEM and it sheared off. I tried an ezout but that did not work. I ended up drilling it out then retapping the post. All is good now. I picked up two new lower shock bolts from my local Toyota parts counter.

 

[Corbet]

Before and After shots. Tires are 295/75r16 Nitto TG, added 3rd pic with 315's

I ended up gaining about 3.5" of lift from this kit as my old suspension was so over taxed. Ride quaility improvement was evident immediately as I left my driveway. Small bumps are absorbed better and the big stuff is night and day from before. I drove it for about a week before I had my mechanic install the caster correction. Steering was heavy and the truck wandered a little. Now with the caster correction the truck feels like new.

Camel 4x4 website link for more info and pricing: Camel 4x4: 80 Series & Lexus 450

The first real offroad test will come in Ouray over the Labor Day weekend. Check back for more then.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

Looking good...

More pics, cost, and lastly How's the ride?

One more, gotta love Gazpacho's and Steamworks which are 2 of my fav. restaurants when visiting.

 

[BLACKGOLD]

Sweet! Looking good!!!

 

[eli4x4]

Thanks Corbet! the truck looks great!

 

[warpdriv]

Looking good...

More pics, cost, and lastly How's the ride?

x2 This is on my list.

 

[Corbet]

Looking good...

More pics, cost, and lastly How's the ride?

x2 This is on my list.

The ride is greatly improved. Around town it feels much like it did when I first got it. I am yet to have it on any real trails. But I live a mile off pavement on a wash board dirt road. Bad enough that with my OEM suspension I got ABS feedback almost anytime I hit the brakes. That is now gone. The suspension is controling wheel hop. I guess I can add that body roll does not seem excessive. Basically the way I'd expect a lifted truck to ride.

I'll report back once I have it offroad.

 

[landtank]

it looks like those bushings extend outside the arms and might fill the void between the side of the arms and the inside of the bracket. If that is the case then these will really have a negative impact of the front flexing.

And I've been eying the 6" springs and shocks myself.

 

[Corbet]

Rick, good eye. Below is a picture that shows the filled void. I will see how it flexs soon. But the bushings are pretty soft in the hand. However I don't have anything else to compare them to. Iron Man also offers a more traditional bushing with a 2 degree correction.

Again I choose these as I may go higher in the future. Giving me the option of moving them to 3.5* or back to 0 and add plates.

 

[arndog123]

Looks great.

 

[Tools R Us]

That is a slick design, but my guess is it will take more force to flex it, the center metal spud looks even bigger than the OME. This is how much the OME has to deflect to flex, that type looks to have less area to crush/deflect?

 

[Muleysam]

Why is there two part numbers for the 4" and 6" lift. Is this for different load rates or is one for the front and one for the back

 

[jlg32281]

I wonder how the 3.5* would work with 4" springs or J springs.

 

[Corbet]

Why is there two part numbers for the 4" and 6" lift. Is this for different load rates or is one for the front and one for the back

You got me, contact Eli in post #6.

 

[Ebag333]

I wonder how the 3.5* would work with 4" springs or J springs.

Depends on the truck. Every truck will have different caster. One truck may need little to no correction on J springs, while another may need 7* (probably an extreme example, but you get the idea).

A big part of it is the driver preference as well...

 

[landtank]

IMO what makes the trucks need different CC is the weight they are carrying. When evaluating for caster it's all about ride height, not the springs used. Once you start thinking in those terms they are pretty much all the same with very little deviation.

 

[little_joe]

I wonder if once the elements get to those caster bushings, when the bolt seizes to the inner sleeve, will flexing rip those locating ridges to pieces? That seems to be an innovative design in theory, but I wonder how they'll hold up over time.

 

[Trapper50cal]

Looks great Corbet...it was fun helping out!

 

[Corbet]

Just got back from Ouray this evening. We ran the following trails:

Black Bear Pass
Ophir Pass
Poughkeepsie Gulch
Cork Screw

The new suspension worked great. Not much on these trails pushed the articulation of the system. I did not lift a wheel all weekend. I feel the shocks controlled the movement of the vehicle very well. The extra approach and departure angle helped out a lot. And it was nice to not be on my sliders all the time. I came away feeling like I don't need more height than I currently have now for what I want the truck to do. Very happy with the new Iron Man system.

I did not get many pictures as I forgot my memory card at home in my computer. So just a few off the internal memory.