Ironman 4x4 Foam Cell Pro

Lol ya i don't have a squeaky toy noise.

Mine is a low bassy groan. Kinda like me 10min after hitting the taco cart.

 

Read through the entire thread and I'm still having trouble deciding if I should remove 1 or 2 leaves from my constant pack.

DCSB w/:
sliders (150lbs or so)
full skids (one aluminum, 2 steel 100lbs)
DIY GFC (300+lbs)

I want to be brave and only pull the 5th leaf and leave the third in since I easily carry another 100+ lbs when I'm loaded up. I'm also eyeing a new rear bumper. It seems like @FashTaco, @mandog, and @dabbinuguay all have similar loads to me, but have all pulled the 3rd and 5th leaf.

Hit me with some sage advice. Otherwise I'm going to probably only pull the 5th leaf and I can be another data point.

Here's my current setup with a semi-custom 3 leaf AAL that is getting pretty flat...

 

What are those wheels? And specs? Did them for sure.

 

Got my camper installed a few weeks ago, and this is where I'm sitting with 3rd and 5th removed from constant load leaf pack.
Before the camper, I was carrying around 400lb of rock in the bed, to simulate camper and help the suspension settle in a bit.

Coilovers in front were dialed back a bit at install, so its not the full IM lift in front.
Have a minor driveline vibration I still need to dial out in the back. Have the IM carrier bearing spacer installed, but still have a little at 20-15mph when slowing down.

Pretty bad groan/creaking sound coming from passenger front coilover, haven't figured out what's going on there yet.
Still need to install the IM UCA's, hope that sorts it out.

Tires shown are 265/70/17 Grabber ATX, i'd say maybe 35% tread left.
I'm going with skinny 33's in the fall, and build out the back a bit more this summer, and reevaluate suspension height then.


So far I'm still happy with 3rd and 5th leaves removed.
If I ever add a bumper and swingout, then may need them back.


Sliders, 3piece skids (alu), Camper (~350lb), and bed is empty:



Maybe another 250lb added. (Group31 battery, 3 Yakima bars, Gas, Water, camp gear, etc...)

 

Did you have those deceleration vibes before the lift? I had some while breaking but don’t really notice those anymore. Also have an OR but heard it is a “common” issues.
If they’re during certain speeds that could be a different thing as far as driveline.
Someone here had a similar sound and it ended up being the coil over being clocked slightly wrong or not centered in the mount. Another person had the sound coming from the sway bar hitting the strut.

 

No vibes before lift.
I don't think sway bar is the issue, but I'll spend some time on it next week.

 

thanks for the detailed response. It seems like with 2 leaves removed the pack still handles extra weight extremely well. Do you have your spare under the bed still?

 

Yeah, i keep full spare underneath.

The IM leafs are super beefy, they definitely handle weight well. I'm glad I went the route i did, even though I'm not sure if I'll ever use those extra leafs.

 

I agree with @dabbinuguay. I'll be adding a topper/shell/canopy/camper, whatever you choose to call it, roughly 180lbs, and I have zero concerns about running that full time with the 3rd and 5th removed. I've yet to see any sag from these leafs regardless of the payload! Actually hoping the extra weights continues to soften them up a little. Speedbumps still sound like it's a hardtail. haha

 

Relation Race Wheels rr5s in bronze 16x8 -12 offset with Cooper discoverer at3 xlts in a 285/75/16

 

Got my leafs today and man... that paint really is awful. It’s thin, fragile, and flaky. I’ve split one pack and sanded, prepped and painted them with some automotive enamel.

I was also considering instead of removing leaves 3 and 5, doing leaf 5 and one of the overloads. I think this would provide slightly more lift, while also allowing for a bit more suspension flex. I think 2 overloads might be overkill for what I do 95% of the time. Will update with what I do.

 

Like the out of the box thought! Based on my experience and what I've seen through this thread over the last year or so, I don't think there are any comments that Ironman comes up short on the lift provided. No pun intended.
If anything, there are a significant amount of comments (mine included, initially) that comment on too much lift provided vs expectation. Of course, too much is subjective, and while the paint on the leafs is shit, the products seem to be holding up and performing for a broad spectrum of uses and applications.
Regardless, report back with your decision, initial impressions and a follow after a few miles!

 

You've got a bit more weight than I do with the GFC factored in. I’m averaging 5,200-5,300lbs on the scale. I think you’ll be better off with 2 leaves removed until you get a rear bumper, and even then you might be fine. I loaded my motorcycle (~230lbs) on a steel hitch carrier and the leaves didn’t even flinch, it’s a bit ridiculous lol.

 

So I’ve decided to experiment and remove 2 overloads and the 3rd from the top leaf. I’m not a huge fan of overloads and I’m going to be moving to a mid travel shock setup so they could potentially impede some of the flex I could get from the leaves. It’s entirely possible I’ll still be over spring so we shall see.

The two overloads measure 1in thick so removing those should already drop me from the max lift of 5-7 down to 4-6 and removing the 3rd leaf is about a 1/3 of an in thick which should bring me down ever more.

I have a 3000 mile road trip that starts on Wednesday so plenty of road time to get some seat time.

 

Is it possible to adjust the coilovers while still on the vehicle, or will the spring tension be to much to turn the adjustment collar?

 

It is possible, well at least to lower them. I lowered mine while still installed. While IM recommends that they are removed you don’t “need” to. I want to say most want them removed and tension taken off before their adjusted (could be completely wrong on this). I did need to use a breaker bar pipe on the end of the spanner wrench to lower it but was completely doable.
As another data point, they didn’t offer the 2.5 and 3” lifts when I bought mine. They only listed the performance and custom for the front. I’m not sure if there is any difference between buying the performance 2.5 or 3” besides them being preset to those heights. Here is a thread I made and put a bunch of pics in there. Most are probably buried in this thread too. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ironman-foam-cell-pro-review.687891/

 

Thank you. Do you happen to have a link where you got that spanner wrench? I actually just installed a kit on my Xterra over the weekend. I'm frustrated because it's supposed to be a 2" lift...but the front ended up being more like 3" and it was so high the UCA was almost touching the coil bucket under load after I dropped the vehicle.

 

Sure do, it’s also in the products discussed on the thread below. Like I did say, you’ll need a pipe or something to use as a breaker bar. Make sure to take out the set screws before you start trying to turn them too. I had a post a page or 2 back that I may have talked more about lowering it some. I did hear the IM tool does work better but I don’t see that in stock often.

$44 GEDORE - 6337390 40 Z 80-90 Hook Wrench with pin, 80-90 mm

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UYTHTQ

 

So what you guys are saying is I should call to see if I can change my order that is still on backorder from 3" front to 2.5" or else my ride will be stiff as hell with my tube bumper lol

 

I'm not familiar with Ironman's C/O design, but on my Fox's I've read that you only should remove the set screw a little possible. With the immense force of the spring, there's a chance the spring perch can jump threads and then you've got a big problem on your hands. Hit the threads with some WD40 or other similar and let it soak before you try and adjust the c/o's.