Ironman Foam Cell stage 2 OR Icon Stage 3 - or other suggestions...

I got a 2020 Tacoma Offroad last year and am ready to put suspension kit. I read a great review on the Ironman 4x4 Foam Cell stage 2 but found a shop that will do the Stage 3 Icon for $800 less.

Looking for which if the 2 will be better on road for 80-90% pavement daily driver. Off-Road will be Sierra Nevada snow, possible snowmobile trailer, Mountain bike trail access and trailside camping, kayaking, lakeside camping. Not Rubicon-level rock/trails but def want to be able to not worry about most Sierra trails and other overland activities. Possible front/rear bumpers and or shell down the road, otherwise low weight requirements in general.

First time going suspension upgrades, so not very experienced...

 

Welcome OP sounds like a great build.
Good Luck

 

FWIW ironman frequently has 25% off sales, which makes it much more tempting. Sorry I don't have any first hand experience, but I've received everything except my UCAs from ironman. All I can say so far is that the coilovers and shocks seem solid, but the leafs appear to have a real thin paint job. It's also a plus that they can be DIY rebuilt since they're not pressurized. I can definitely say that they have top teir customer service though if you happen to run into any issues. Theres an ongoing thread about them here on TW if you give them a search.

 

That's what I did with my eibachs in california and they worked fine. You can change out the front spring for a heavier one too when you add bumpers etc.

If you wanna drive long desert roads/washboards you need reservoir shocks and different valving.

 

In fact, they're having a 25% off sale right now. But a lot of things are out of stock though.

 

Yeah, their lead times WILL be longer than what they initially claim. I ordered mine mid march and just received most of my order last week when it was only two weeks out according to the website. At this point I wouldn't expect anything till late August.

 

I'm running icon stage 3 with the delta joint upper control arm, 2.0 shocks with reservoir in rear, and the 1.5 add a leaf by icon. I really like the suspension on and off road. It's on the stiffer side on pavement and it handles great. Ill add a reservoir to the coilovers whenever the shocks are serviced/rebuilt. I might consider the icon ext leaf pack then, too; the rear is a little stiff going over speed bumps, for instance, and I think the add a leaf is the culprit - but I dont know. I dont have any other suspension to compare to but I am satisfied

 

I’ve got the IM Foam Cell stage 1 and SPC UCAs. Ended up costing me the same as the stage 2 would have been.
So far I’ve been happy with the lift but only have about 3-4K miles on it so far, all on road. Initially I had 3” up front but that, the SPC uppers and 255/85/16 ST Maxx load E tires, the ride was pretty stiff. I lowered the fronts about .5-.75” and enjoy it much more. They are rebuildable, which is a plus and you can do it by yourself. I can’t say anything about the Icons. Check out the IM thread, if you’ve not seen it already. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ironman-4x4-foam-cell-pro.427407/page-74#post-25659925

 

I had a foam cell stage 2 on my 4th gen 4Runner and I absolutely loved it. Most favorite lift I’ve had and I’ve had them all.

 

Justin - what kind of terrain and how much pavement vs off-road? I figure it’s mostly more moisture than here in CA where we get lots of washboard. The comments so far about washboard have me looking closer at the icon…

if the icon is better on washboard and most CA terrain AND cheaper, and readily available, seems hard to pass up

I wonder if I could swap out to Ironman shocks Down the road if I don’t like the icons

 

I didn’t get a bunch of off-road time with this set up just some cow pastures and dirt roads. It’s difficult to explain the ride vs king or icon. The foam makes it feel like you “float” over the big stuff. Pot holes and rail road tracks It didn’t like all that well but most everything else it soaked up perfectly. I think being in cali icon would probably be a better fit for you if your plan of attack consist of higher speeds. The Ironman seems to like the overland stuff better. Granted all this is just my opinion.