Iron Man Suspension first impression

[jonheld]

I'm more interested in how it rides with the Swampers on. Than the puny stock tires.

Those puny tires are 33s and what I run on the street. Handling and Swamper should never be used in the same sentence. I'm never at highway speed with them on and they drive like crap in the best of conditions. But you would know that if you ran something besides the all terrains that you have.

 

[IBCRUSN]

Handling and Swamper should never be used in the same sentence. I'm never at highway speed with them on and they drive like crap in the best of conditions.

Interco must have improved the tire since you purchased because my 36's aren't bad on road once warmed up and round. Other than being 120lbs each for the tire/wheel combo they run pretty darn good.

 

[Nay]

Interco must have improved the tire since you purchased because my 36's aren't bad on road once warmed up and round. Other than being 120lbs each for the tire/wheel combo they run pretty darn good.

Trxus are a beautiful road tire, my 37's are more true than the 33's I started with 4 years ago at 75-80 mpg (where I spend little time). A lot better than hard compound AT's.

 

[IBCRUSN]

I can't speak to the Trxus tires but I hear they work well. Jon and I both run the 36x12.5 TSL SX bias tires off road.

 

[silverhorse]

I run a SX and Trxus M/T. The trxus handles great on the highway! So good in fact, I'll be putting them on my 80. The SX is good also but I don't need anything that aggresive on my 80.

 

[jonheld]

Interco must have improved the tire since you purchased because my 36's aren't bad on road once warmed up and round. Other than being 120lbs each for the tire/wheel combo they run pretty darn good.

LOL. I'm on my second set. They're just about a year old. I don't like to go more than 50 wih them aired up. I lost one on the highway on the way back from CMCC 2 years ago. Hard to forget that.

They still sound like I'm being chased by a swarm of Huey Cobras and they don't like to hold in the curves and forget about the rain.

 

[IBCRUSN]

38psi and 65-70 on the highway. Oh, they're balanced internally which is why they ride so well. I agree they do suck on twisty roads. A grooving iron is a cheap way to improve them in the wet and on the trail for that matter.

It fell off the back or blew out? Either way that would suck. I feel some of that pain, I have two stolen off my trailer coming back from SD two years ago. Suffice to say I was pissed.

Enough about tires, back to the Iron Man suspension thread. More pics please.

BTW what color are the shocks? It's difficult to tell in your profile pic in #17

 

[jonheld]

The coils are orange/yellow, the shocks are white.

The swamper had an internal failure at 65 mph. It didn't blow out, but 1/3rd of the tread ballooned out. The left rear of the truck was litterally floating off the road. Crazy ride that could have been much worse. Now I trailer my Swampers.

 

[Rusty]

Jonheld, thanks for posting this up, I've been looking for some first impressions on Ironman's 4" kit for the 80.

In terms of material and build quality, how do you find that their parts compare generally, say to OME, or whatever else you're familiar with?

I was contemplating going with Slee's 4" kit because it's comprehensive, well made and has a good reputation, but the Ironman kit, if it is as well made as it looks, should be a serious contender at Camel's price point. I'm also going off the assumption that Ironman has a good reputation in Australia, which it seems to (any Aussies out there that could clear that up?).

The part that seems to be lacking from what I can tell in the Ironman kit is that there is no front DC shaft; it looks as though the price difference between Slee's 4" kit and Ironman's can be made up pretty quickly should you end up needing the front DC shaft. I would think that you would definitely need one with a 6" lift. From what I read here on Mud, most say that with anything over 3" lift you should bank on needing the front DC. What was your experience with this on your 4" set up?

Sorry if any of this was already covered, I tried to skip past some of the posts pertaining to herniated tires and coil spring thickness.

 

[Corbet]

Slee also includes or Iron Man missing:

Steering stablizer
Rear Upper control arms
Bump stop drop brackets
Sway bar drop brackets
E-brake drop bracket
Breather extension

I think apples for apples both "kits" are priced pretty close. Whether or not you feel you need everything in Slee's kit has been debated at length already and really up to the user in the end.

All the reviews of Iron Man products I've read in Aussie magazines have been good. They advertise heavily over there equal to ARB but, I have no personal experience with the product personally.

 

[jonheld]

Corbet,

Keep in mind that the only thing I'm running is the coils and shocks from IronMan. I never found a need for the entire Slee "kit". I've had the OME Js on since 2005 or so. I get no vibration from my front shaft and the truck handles well with the blue 3 degree caster bushes. I don't have adjustable panhadrds or any of that fluff.

It's Mother's Day today, so I'm going to put the "wayback" seats in an haul the whole family to my mom's house, picking up assorted cousins on the way. It'll be the first ride with any real weight in the truck.

 

[Corbet]

The only point I was making is that its not fair to compare them based on price as the Slee kit includes much more. If you bought just the Slee springs/shocks/caster plates price would no longer be a big decision maker between the two.

 

[jabhb]

so anymore updates? im considering buying the iron man rear springs and all 4 shocks to match up with my slee 4 " springs that i already have for up front... i can do it relatively cheap yet have i nice working suspension. i hope anyways!and you said youre running the 3 degree bushings? i cant decide between plate and bushings.

 

[cybrstar]

Looks good. Shoot, I should have read this post before I bought my OME 850J/863 set up from some Toyota website for $300 shipped for the springs.

IMO from your post it looks like the Ironmans were better on the street for Sway.

 

[cybrstar]

so anymore updates? im considering buying the iron man rear springs and all 4 shocks to match up with my slee 4 " springs that i already have for up front... i can do it relatively cheap yet have i nice working suspension. i hope anyways!and you said youre running the 3 degree bushings? i cant decide between plate and bushings.

I would go with plates for anything over a 2.5 lift. I am with my 850J/863 setup. Should give me about 4-4.5" of lift with no bumpers...... YET

Ohh plus with the plates, if you ever wanted to go back to stock.... Just replace your old stock suspension, and remove the plates. No need for buying new bushings and pressing them back in. IMHO.

 

[jonheld]

so anymore updates? im considering buying the iron man rear springs and all 4 shocks to match up with my slee 4 " springs that i already have for up front... i can do it relatively cheap yet have i nice working suspension. i hope anyways!and you said youre running the 3 degree bushings? i cant decide between plate and bushings.

I have carried a good amount of weight with the setup and have commuted almost daily with it. It drives great. Like I said, I have the 3 degree bushings and the truck tracks very well. I am not one to look at numbers and go by the book as far as this stuff is concerned. If it feels OK to me then it's OK. I ran the 2" OME setup for years without caster correction and ran the 4" J springs without as well. The 4" really needed correction so I went with the Slee bushings. SHe doesn't lock into grooves and tracks well. Return to center is good.

I'll be in the woods over Memorial Day weekend and will have a chance to flex out things.

 

[jonheld]

Had a chance to flex her out over the long weekend. Very nice on the rocks. Decents and impacts were less harsh and more controlled. Overall flex was pretty much the same as OME. Here's a pic one of the kids snapped of me climbing a small step. Not very dramatic. The left rear is pretty well stuffed and up against the frame rail, but the front left could have come down more had the right been compressed.

In any case I'm very pleased with the setup right now. She was loaded to the roof with camping gear and supplies for 3 over the weekend, pulling an M416 loaded with 36" Swampers, water, etc. Handled very well on and off road. She climbed anything I pointed her at without hesitation.

 

[jlg32281]

looks like decent flexing to me, especially for a vehicle with some road manners.

 

[jonheld]

Here's a few shots from the side during CMCC2010. Truck did well.

 

[jonheld]

I've had this kit on for 5 months now so I thought I'd post a followup. Yes I still love it. This morning was beautiful with bright sunshine and light traffic. I had no weight in the truck and was tossing her into corners till the tires squeeled. Horror on the faces of the other drivers. Good times.

Over Labor Day weekend she was packed to the roof with camping supplies and clothes for 3 and pulling my loaded M416. Certainly had some top sway, but still gave a very nice ride for the 3 hours we were on the road.

Very happy with the off road performance. Too bad the driver isn't better.