Ironman 4x4 Suspension Mega-Thread

If you have extra money to spend, @AccuTune Offroad can hook you up.

unfortunately I’ve not seen any reviews about the IM2.5s but I’d guess they are a middle ground. They look nice.

I’m pretty happy with my FCPs now. I have the medium leaf packs. Not has harsh as they were. I’m sitting about 2-2.5” up front but have OME 660# springs on there. Before swapping to those springs I was considering Dobinson MRR or saving longer for the Billie 8112s. Both of those are supposed to be maintenance free, like the FCP.

 

I got Dobinson's IMS on my old Frontier and truthfully, it was the worst riding suspension I've ever had. It was like riding on steel beams. Extremely uncomfortable, but I have heard better things about the MRR, so hopefully those aren't as stiff.

Did you have the 775 springs or the 827? Glad to know that the OME springs have greatly improved your ride quality, that's comforting. I enjoy the stock ride quality of the truck, but wish it was more composed over bumps, cracks, drops, and turns. The body roll, nose dive, and cabin movement are pretty rough stock, so just trying to figure out the best way to go. I wish I could afford Accutune, but I don't have that kind of money sadly.

 

I’ve heard the same thing with the Dobinsons but figured being able to adjust the MRR, I’d eventually figure out the right ride for me.

I had tried both springs, and at different heights. I had planned on changing to a lower weight fluid but then found a cheap pair of OME springs on FB and that worked out.


I’m not saying the ride with the 720# IM springs was terrible, I just wanted a softer or more plush ride.

Not sure where you’re located but maybe there is someone close with the FCP you could ride with.

 

I have the standard leafs and I honestly forget which springs I have in the front. Now that everything has settled over the last few years with the weight of a shell, sliders, front bumper and winch, and skids I'm probably only around 1" of lift if anything. I haven't adjusted the coils though.

To your point about corrosion however, after 4 or 5 years of Montana winters there's next to no rust on the coilovers. They've held up great and I don't wash or treat them with anything.

 

This is such a good way to put it... If I'm going over a pockmarked uneven road I feel like my truck is going to fall apart... there's this one spot going down the mountain near my house that's a massive uneven dip in the pavement... in my wife's stock SR it'll darn near throw you off the road if you hit at the wrong angle... in my FCP-equipped rig it floats right through it

 

That's a tremendous amount of sag, but at least you can adjust them? I talked to IM today for a while and found out that FCP are digressive and not linear, so that's probably why they're very harsh at low speeds. I'm glad they're still working for you!

So I talked to them again this morning (IM) and actually, I'm going to be getting their IM2.5. Realistically, they remind me of the Gen 2 Raptor shocks that Fox put out. They have a great dirt/rock guard in the rear, LINEAR (thank god) valving, OEM style bushings, are rebuildable, and valved for comfort. Honestly, they just really remind me of Ironman's attempt at Fox OEM shocks for TRD Pros/Raptors, etc. I think they'll be awesome. I was worried, as I don't want a 3" lift in front, but I can adjust the height with the collar and it should be okay.

 

I think that’s probably a good idea and I’m excited to hear about your review! Good luck!

 

Thank you! I haven't seen a single review out there in the wild about these, so I guess I'll be the test mule for them. They look really great and having had IM stuff in the past, I have no worries about their quality or durability. The weird part was that the guy on the phone told me since they come pre-assembled at 3", if I want 2.5, I needed to move the seat up 1/4". This seems counterintuitive.... I figured I would be moving the seat down 1/4"? I'm curious if he was just confused about what I was asking, though I didn't think it was that tough haha.

 

yea, that’s doesn’t sound right, that would give more preload… at least normally.

I did see a reddit post or two with people installing the kit but they didn’t reply with any feedback.

Are they in stock for shipping or you pre ordering them?


Also, did they say what the spring rate is for the 2.5s? Good news is that they look like you can put most other springs on there to find the rate that works for your truck.

 

Hahaha, that's what I kept saying. He was like "yeah going from 3 to 2.5" would raise the preload" and I sat there so confused....even their video says to just lower it. So, I'm just going to lower it lol. They have them in stock. I may need to wait 2 weeks or so before pulling the trigger, but I have them in my cart already.

As far as spring rates....no idea. They didn't mention. I didn't get the feeling the guy really knew too much about them in all honesty. They only offer a singular spring for the shocks, so I'm curious what it is.

 

Google AI came back with 775# like you mentioned. Seems kind of high.

If you have an account logged in with them in your cart, you might get an emailed discount code.

 

Well.....I called them, talked to the same guy from this morning. You won't believe it, but supposedly they said they're 800 lbs. That seems....wrong. That's extremely high, especially for what they call the plush ride option.

 

Does seem pretty high. I could almost understand it with the FCP with them being no pressure but the nitrogen shocks used the same springs. I think it’s something that’ll always confuse me.

could be from testing and use in Australia.

 

Yeah I'm genuinely not sure at this point. Truthfully, I'm actually pretty hesitant on pulling the trigger after all of that info. The only other kit that I was looking at is the Eibach 2r, but I've heard such mixed feedback on those that I'm not genuinely sure what way to go. Maybe the IM2.5 is genuinely not that bad? Just feels risky to spend $2k to find out lol.

 

I looked into this a few months ago out of curiosity. The part numbers for the springs are the same between the IM2.5 and FCP shock variants. For the normal and medium load they’re both 775 lb/in but different lengths. For heavy I think they’re over 800. 775 is a little higher than stock ~720 on a 3rd gen TRD OR. I was thinking 6112 fronts and IM2.5 rears could be a really good mid-budget option… just waiting for some reviews.

 

You’re also getting a new leaf pack in there. I’d think the comparable would probably be the 6110/5160 bilstiens. Sucks that no one has them really reviewed yet. If I was looking for a new set, they would be considered but so would dobinsons MRRs.

that’s really weird. Unless something changed the A springs they had, the softest were 720# unless they were always mislabeled with the rate. Got photos somewhere in this thread and another one.

I wonder how the part numbers are the same since the top and bottom of the springs look to be flat. The greens had a flat top and rounded bottom. Which is why the OME springs are really the only ones that are a direct swap on the FCP and nitros.

brings into question, curiosity what the nitrogen charge and fluid type in the IM2.5s.


I’d doubt the 2.5s are a bad deal still but 2k for the kit without reviews is a tough pill to swallow

 

Here’s a newer review of the FCP- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke6-KgEFL2g

Here are a few of the IM2.5-

https://***************/review/ironman-4x4-im2-5-coilovers-shocks-overview-initial-impressions/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tacomaworld/comments/1jho90p/new_ironman_suspension/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Tacomaworld/comments/1k9mawq/the_end_all_be_all_whats_your_suspension_setup/


This isn’t a review video but still pretty good explanation of the 2.5s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HXSj6S7eiH0

if I could get a set for 1-1200 I would consider it. Knowing nothing, I put them around that price range just for the coil overs and rears, not the leafs and rest of the kit.

 

This video is pretty informative too: https://media.ironman4x4.com/media/?mediaId=B193B10A-E9A3-4631-8680C761CDD7CF3B

this might have been where I got the impression the springs were the same as the FCP

edit: it’s the last 2 mins of the video the guys says “all the coils are the same” and they just add a “b” to the part number. It’s hard to tell what he’s referring to though

 

Yeah those reviews are at least nice to see that someone is using it and liking it. I like that the commented about the ride and seemed to enjoy it. It's just tough. With just the 4 shocks and a carrier bearing spacer, it's $1700 with a military discount. Then you add in tax and still needing a new leaf pack....it's a lot. I could get Eibach 2R with Headstrongs Progressive 3 leaf AAL for $1500 or with Icon RXT for $2k flat. I want to take the leap, but I am a bit nervous with already knowing I need to adjust preload down and them being relatively untested.

Meanwhile, a guy locally to me took a heinously lowball offer of $1200 for 2023 TRD Pro UCAs and all 4 shocks with 9k miles on them, so if that actually pans out, I may just do that with the Westcott lift and AAL or RXT. I had a Pro a few years ago and adored those shocks, so I wouldn't be bummed with that. If they don't pan out, I'm just stuck between the IM2.5 and Eibach 2R. The idea of getting a 2.5 body instead of 2" is really attactive for just a couple more bones. But, like we've all said.....it's basically going to be $1800/$1900 after tax to test out something with essentially a reddit post's worth of reviews. I do trust IM, but it's expensive for being unknown.

 

Wouldn't the digressive valving of the 6112 fronts really throw off the linear valving of the IM2.5 rears? I'm curious how different that would ride/feel and if it would be wonky.