Pre-2016 LX570 - Ironman Bullbar Install Assistance

[ExpeditionMan]

For those of you who have installed an ironman classic or premium front bumper on your pre-2016 LX570...

Did you have to trim the lowest bit of the grille (rung directly below where the camera installed)? How about the fascia connector (pictured)?

I'm trying to mount as high and tight as possible and the bumper is impacting this area. The only paths forward are to lower the bumper OR cut the pictured fascia connector and the lowest "rung" of the grille. However, I am concerned about the long term durability of this setup due to the limited remaining mount points.

 

[Boston Mangler]

If my damaged memory serves me correctly, that @tbisaacs posted info on this

 

[ExpeditionMan]

If my damaged memory serves me correctly, that @tbisaacs posted info on this

You are correct. His install thread here mentions he installed as high and tight as possible while also trimming the plastic under the grille, but doesn't mention any clashing or permanent section removal.

His truck is also a 2008 so there could be some differences.

 

[tbisaacs]

hey

Mine is an 08 and I jammed that sucker up as high is it would go. I also cut the middle out of the metal grill support so it wouldn’t block access to my winch clutch under the pass through. It looks like you are in the ballpark.

 

[ExpeditionMan]

hey

Mine is an 08 and I jammed that sucker up as high is it would go. I also cut the middle out of the metal grill support so it wouldn’t block access to my winch clutch under the pass through. It looks like you are in the ballpark.

View attachment 3781075

Hey!

A few targeted follow up questions.

Did you end up removing any material from the Lexus grille?

Did you end up removing the fascia trim connector that I included pictures of?

Does your bumper contact your grille between the inner vertical bars?

 

[tbisaacs]

Hey!

A few targeted follow up questions.

Did you end up removing any material from the Lexus grille?

Did you end up removing the fascia trim connector that I included pictures of?

Does your bumper contact your grille between the inner vertical bars?

Yes I cut bottom rung of grill

My 2008 looks a little different, that grill support on mine isn’t painted. I cut the middle out and it’s fine.

Mine does not make contact but that’s because 08 grill is slightly narrower. I’ve seen 2012-2015 installs and you may have to trim the “spindle” part of the grill a bit.

 

[ExpeditionMan]

Yes I cut bottom rung of grill

My 2008 looks a little different, that grill support on mine isn’t painted. I cut the middle out and it’s fine.

Mine does not make contact but that’s because 08 grill is slightly narrower. I’ve seen 2012-2015 installs and you may have to trim the “spindle” part of the grill a bit.

I followed your thread and cut the metal support bracket between the headlights. The white connector shown above rests on the non-body colored metal support bracket that we both cut out. Sounds like you may not have had a plastic connector between the fascia pieces like my model year.

Have you had any issues with your spindle grille deforming since eliminating support/the lower tabs?

 

[tbisaacs]

No issues with grill at all. It’s super solid even after thousands of off road miles.

 

[ExpeditionMan]

No issues with grill at all. It’s super solid even after thousands of off road miles.

One more question. How did you manage to drill the pinning holes? There's no room to get a drill in which makes me think I need to pull the entire bumper cover off again and HOPE my paint marks for the pinning hole location stick. I'd much rather match drill.

 

[tbisaacs]

One more question. How did you manage to drill the pinning holes? There's no room to get a drill in which makes me think I need to pull the entire bumper cover off again and HOPE my paint marks for the pinning hole location stick. I'd much rather match drill.

View attachment 3781410

To be honest it’s been a while but I believe I pulled the bumper off and drilled the pinning holes.

 

[ExpeditionMan]

To be honest it’s been a while but I believe I pulled the bumper off and drilled the pinning holes.

Ugh, I suppose it has to be done.

 

[EscapedTexan]

Ugh, I suppose it has to be done.

closely as I just purchased this bumper for my 2015 LX and will look to install it when the Frontier winch comes off backorder. How has this turned out?

 

[ExpeditionMan]

closely as I just purchased this bumper for my 2015 LX and will look to install it when the Frontier winch comes off backorder. How has this turned out?

I really need to make a supplemental thread for the face-lift trucks. The existing thread from @tbisaacs is great, but ours had a few wrinkles worth highlighting.

 

[EscapedTexan]

I really need to make a supplemental thread for the face-lift trucks. The existing thread from @tbisaacs is great, but ours had a few wrinkles worth highlighting.

Yeah, I may be biased but I think it would be very useful You're seems to turned out well, though. Happy? Any ragrets?

 

[ExpeditionMan]

Definitely happy with the quality of my install. It took a lot of time and thought. The ironman directions really are useless and I have some reservations about the design choices of the bumper such as too many fasteners for under plates, poor integration with factory skid, and general missed opportunities to improve front ground clearance (aka empty space behind the bash plate and outward extension of the bumper). Mine was also missing a few of the pieces that were supposed to be in the hardware kit and has a fair amount of left over hardware... which is slightly concerning. If Dobinsons had bumpers in stock when I ordered this I would have paid more and gone for them.

All that being said, I like the look, the price, and it's an improvement over stock. Also the seperate winch mount and bumper cover is absolutely awesome. More companies should design it this way.

 

[EscapedTexan]

Definitely happy with the quality of my install. It took a lot of time and thought. The ironman directions really are useless and I have some reservations about the design choices of the bumper such as too many fasteners for under plates, poor integration with factory skid, and general missed opportunities to improve front ground clearance (aka empty space underneath bash plate and bumper). Mine was also missing a few of the pieces that were supposed to be in the hardware kit and has a fair amount of left over hardware... which is slightly concerning. If Dobinsons had bumpers in stock when I ordered this I would have paid more and gone for them.

All that being said, I like the look and it's an improvement over stock. Also the seperate winch mount and bumper cover is absolutely awesome. More companies should design it this way.

Thanks of sharing your experience with installing this bumper. I'm probably going to pay a pro to install w/ the winch when it arrives. Hopefully I'll get an accurate set of supporting hardware. I also took a hard look at the Dobinsons bull bar but it had no info about weight and was out of stock so that led me to Victory Strike vs. Ironman b/c the ARB is just too dang heavy. Again, thank you for sharing and good luck wheeling.

 

[ExpeditionMan]

Thanks of sharing your experience with installing this bumper. I'm probably going to pay a pro to install w/ the winch when it arrives. Hopefully I'll get an accurate set of supporting hardware. I also took a hard look at the Dobinsons bull bar but it had no info about weight and was out of stock so that led me to Victory Strike vs. Ironman b/c the ARB is just too dang heavy. Again, thank you for sharing and good luck wheeling.

Same exact process I took when deciding. I will say I'm happy with this over the ARB due to its two piece construction and the price difference.