Mild lift suggestion for overlanding?

These setups are completely unnecessary for what the vast majority of 4runner owners will ever do. Bilstein 6112's ARE an upgrade over the stock suspension.

Some people might not want to deal with the maintenance that comes along with high-end shocks.

Just my opinion

 

That’s what steered me away personally. I’m sure the ride is great, but not only are they expensive, I’ll have to spend money and time taking them off and rebuilding them every 30k-40k miles if I want them to last. From my perspective, there is literally no need for kings unless you’re doing some high speed trails and/or are looking for a quality long travel kit...or just some bling bling shiny underneath besides, there’s better shocks out there than what the mainstream Instagram broverlanders use

 

Me, too. Although, Kings would probably be my #1 choice if and when I decide to go all in. They might be popular with the Instagram crowd, but they're also popular with the hardcore off-road crowd for good reason.

 

There’s lots of ELKAs still going strong on atvs after 10 years and more of pretty demanding use. But I understand that some other high end brands require regular rebuilds. I’m not sure why this is though.

 

I will in a few weeks. I was gonna buy Radflos or Icons but I got a good deal on this and the group I'm in wanted me to try them because no one has hands on experience with them.

Also, one compelling thing. Foam Cell don't have nitrogen charging. You can rebuild in your driveway if you're competent rebuilding. I've rebuilt a set before but I still had to take them to the shop for 150PSI of Nitrogen. These would be a weekend job and don't have to put in a temp set or figure something out for 6 - 8 weeks.

 

That's interesting!

I saw a video about rebuilding Kings and it didn't look hard. Maybe I missed something.

I just don't want to have to remove them and screw around every year or two.

 

It's not that hard, but the one thing you likely don't have, a tool capable of charging the shocks with 150PSI of nitrogen. So, you can do the rebuild, take to a local offroad shop, should be able to get it done that way instead of sending them off.

 

Ah. No, I don't..

But, the shop I work with services Kings, I believe. If I ever did go that route, I'd probably have them take care of it.

 

Also, one additional point. The big name brands are big name cause of quality, and hardcore marketing. However, popular brands such as ARB (and thusly OME), are quality at a lower price point. They don't have the King of the Hammers rep, but Australians have been beating the hell out of them for a long time. I didn't like OME Nitrochargers, but the BP51s were nice.

Ironman 4x4 is also an Aussie company, apparently well know there, not so much here. If these provide a good ride, then they will end up being a good bang for your buck. I get a set of adjustable fronts, rear shocks, rear springs, panhard, swaybar extensions front and rear, and upper control arms, shipped...tax....$1900. These are 2.8" diameter body shocks.

I'm going to post a very honest review on them when I get them. I bought with my own money, and I have ridden in a bunch of trucks with all the major brands, including a $200k+ trophy truck. I won't say my experience is comprehensive, but it will beat the "WHOA MAN I JUST BOUGHT THESE AND THEY ARE GREAT! Haven't taken them off road yet...." reviews.

 

The seems to be my direction too, for first real mods....those and tires....

 

Also in many places more clearance can be added easily by stacking rocks.

 

BTW I did promise to come back here and give a review after I got my Ironman 4x4. Since installing, I've put 4,000 miles on them. I went wheeling in Hots Springs ORV (and did stupid stuff), and I went to Colorado and did some of more iconic passes and some cool exploring.

Compared to lesser expensive, such as Bilstein's and Eibach, I think they are slightly better on compression and rebound, but not so significant I'd say I'd never consider a Bilstein again. If you hit something faster, it's more digressive than Bilsteins. If you hit something slowly, its about the same.

I do like the compression, it "catches" and smooths it way to full stuff better, and because the shock is a little more stiff, it does the same on rebounds. If you drop off something, the Bilsteins struggle to overpower a heavier duty spring, and it slams down the tire, sometimes to the point where it's jarring. This is where you can tell a big difference between the two. The Ironman is much smoother on rebound, and it gets the tire down quickly, without the jarring slam.

Worth 2x the price? Still kinda depends. The big reason I like the Ironman are they are huge (2.8" bodies), and they claim they don't fade as quickly. This is very true, as they do not fade nearly a quickly as the Bilsteins. However, I was able to get them fading after an hour or so of 20 - 30 MPH running backrounds and rocky, 2 MPH trails. I don't believe the marketing of Ironman when they say they are as fade-resistant as Remote Resis at this point, but it certainly held on way longer, and recovered way quicker than Bilsteins.

Would I buy them again?
I don't know, I like to try new stuff out. I certainly don't have any issues with them, and can recommend them, but my next suspension might be Radflo, Dobinson, maybe even big blues. But I'm not planning to get rid of these, and I'm satisfied with what I have...a mid-priced, high performance shock for the trails and medium difficulty stuff I enjoy doing. It's probably a little overkill, but I like it.

Oh, and those green coils look sexy still!

 

this term wins the day

 

I snickered about this too!

 

Nice review!

Thanks!

Maybe cut and paste into the IronMan thread so people looking specifically for this product have this review as well??

 

Honestly, being totally new here and with my 4Runner....I went to the Ironman site and really like what I'm seeing. So, yes, put the link there! Plus they're 'local' for me!

 

I will give 3 pieces of advice & I strongly recommend the last one. Buy your lift locally! It's cheaper on your wallet because you can pick it up. First upgrade should be tires! Lastly, remember to buy the wifey something to keep your ass out of the doghouse.