Ironman, never again.

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Cobez

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
1,479
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Location
Ferntree Gully, Victoria
Fitted up my new Tough Dog foam cells in the Nav yesterday. I never actually realised how shit Ironman shocks are until i fitted these. It rides a billion times nicer along the road. Alot smoother and alot more solid.

Never again am i buying Ironman shocks. Crappola! Best investment ever. It really feels ALOT nicer on the road.

On that note, my IM rear shocks are up for sale, $70 lol.
 
Actually yes i probably should have worded that better. I meant in COMPARISON to Tough Dog, they are shithouse. But no way will i ever buy Ironman again. Got one of their water / dirtproof seat covers for my drivers seat, just noticed all the stitching is coming undone. Only 3 months old if that.

Springs seem to be ok but as ill be upgrading to constant load 150kg soon, im just going to go something better.
 
I know boots(Dave) has an ironman winch which had sucked in water or something of the such I'm sure he'll chime in soon.
 
Dont get me wrong, its good entry level stuff, all in all what i had did it's job, but when you start carrying extra weight when camping with things like chainsaws, spare tyre, decent jack, fishing rods and so forth, the gas shocks just bounce.

I still cant believe how nice these foam cell TD's are. The back just glides solidly over bumps.
 
I know boots(Dave) has an ironman winch which had sucked in water or something of the such I'm sure he'll chime in soon.

More than water, he was showing us pics while we were parked on top of the waterfall during our last 4WD trip and there was lots of mud too - I just can't believe how much muck was inside it.

They don't sell mud tyres to cope with bitumen. They don't need 4WD so they can be parked in a showroom and look pretty. Winches aren't used to hang your washing from. A winch is going to be used to rescue the vehicle, which means the thing is in it up to its nuts and needs getting out - and that winch is going to be right in there with it!

It's not a case of "you're not supposed to get mud on the thing". It's a case of "they're supposed to be designed to handle what they're designed to rescue!".

I'm sure Ironman would appreciate feedback on why these things are not living up to expectations. They are a member here, and constructive feedback adds value to their product and helps them improve their sales too.
 
An Ironman, Toughdog or any other shock brand valved with the same bump & rebound settings will drive exactly the same, the variance will be in the form of shock fade or longevity. eg, leaky seals.

I know my mate dynoed his HD Ironmans (Hilux) and found they had the factory dampening rates. Not much good with bullbar and winch.
 
Wow, that's not flash at all. I don't want people turning this into a slagging match against Ironman (not directed at you guys), but i agree, it would be good feedback for them.

I'm not 100% sure, but is Ironman AIMED at the 4WD entry level market?
 
I think Ironman are targeting the Australian market with products that will perform the task without costing the earth like pro comp stuff.

I don't think that's a bad goal or that they're doing a bad job. "Entry level" might be one way of saying it, but in reality we should be considering it in 3 levels:

1) Pro comp stuff, used heavily every weekend
2) Suitable for occasional use eg 4-6 times a year
3) Looks good, don't get into a need-it-to-work life-or-death situation

I think Ironman - like SCA etc - are aimed squarely in that centre bracket. Some products will be good enough to use in comps. Some products might fall into the last category. Whether that's poor design, or short-cuts in manufacturing or whatever, it doesn't matter.

We (the consumers) demand pro-comp quality for "looks good" prices and Ironman is trying to deliver the middle ground on our terms. Isn't always going to happen. Those Load Plus helper springs I had - worked fine for a short while, then they sagged along with the rest of the back end of my car. I don't think a "temporary use" helper spring was designed to hold up a full tub + 180kg of ball weight pulling 1800kg of van through corrugations and ruts and up and down mountains like we did.

Ask Luke how dumb I can be with the van - when we arrived at the Muster site last year, I saw the first entry and it said the main entry was further on, so I went in the second gate and started towing the van along a 4WD track, thinking "they're really into this 4WD theme aren't they?"!
 
Hmmm very good way of breaking it down. Couldn't disagree really. Like i said, i had them for around 2 years and they did their job, but the Tough Dogs just feel so much nicer, that if i went back to IM shocks, i feel id be going backwards.


Bahahahahaha man you put your truck through it paces with that van lol
 
Hi,
New to here but am about to upgrade my ST-X 550.
My "work" vehicle is a Suzuki Grand Vitara and I put Ironman on that - never, ever again. Gone through three front struts in three years. I could not recommend Ironman at all based on my experience.
I'm looking at Bilsteins and King springs for the Navara.
 
do the tough dog one's have have poly bushes in the lower mount, and also were your ironman struts foam or gas!
 
No poly bushes lower but considering buying some poly bushes for them. Also seriously considering Tough Dog struts. Can buy them pre loaded with the HD springs so you can put them straight in.
 
I had tough dog before and the bushes only last about 25000ks before they needed to be replaced same as all of them so I couldn't be bothered paying the extra hundred's for a strut that lasted the same as the cheaper ones, so I am running ironman foam struts with the same coils I put on my old d40 7 years ago they seem ok until the lower bush wares out.
 
iv got TD all round...little bit disappointed with the front shocks n springs (heavy duty as i have winch and steelbar)...i gained 35mm then 3months later sagged back down 35mm..i was expecting 10mm sag but not extra 25mm. shits me with IFS and their shitty lift allowance...and u cant add spacers to lift it since theres not enough thread on top of strut...
 
Dont get me wrong, its good entry level stuff, all in all what i had did it's job, but when you start carrying extra weight when camping with things like chainsaws, spare tyre, decent jack, fishing rods and so forth, the gas shocks just bounce.

I still cant believe how nice these foam cell TD's are. The back just glides solidly over bumps.

Hey Cobez,

We appreciate the feedback, and are saddened that you've had such a poor experience with our suspension products.

As an FYI, our nitro gas shocks aren't something that's intended for much regular 4x4ing and load carrying, they are primarily a road biased shocks for people who may on the occasional weekend head out bush.

For those wanting significantly better performance on and offroad, especially with a load like you're carry above, our foam cell shocks provide a more controlled ride (similar to what you are now experiencing with your TD Foam Cells), due to their different design and valving.

Hope you enjoy you new shocks, and if we can help out with answering any questions or providing any assistance/recommendations please let us know.

P.S. If your stitching is going on your seat covers take them back and get them replaced under warranty (well done by the way, they are bloody hard to wear out so you must have got some good use out of them!).

Cheers,

Matt
Ironman 4x4
 

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