Shock’ing Discovery

Yes, I like the tint but I have to be cautious when turning onto streets at night, because many people in my area drive at night with no headlights. Sometimes at intersections with no street light, I have to roll my window down to make sure there is no oncoming traffic.

As far as skids, I am just going to stick with the factory skids. I off roaded my 97’ Tacoma for years with only factory skids and never had a problem. I don’t rock crawl.

I mentioned on an earlier post that I was considering sliders, but at this point it looks like my nerf bars will work as is. I thought they were going to hang lower. Plus I really can’t justify spending a $1000 and adding a hundred pounds to the vehicle.

 

Makes perfect sense. The 4runner was designed around 265s. If you bought it with 285s, the change probably feels like a revelation lol.

Although, I will note that when I changed to my dobinsons IMS (2.5-1.5 lift) on 265 KO2s, it did not negatively affect driveability or mpg. To the contrary, I noticed improved initial acceleration feel, since the tighter shocks didnt compress much when accelerating from stops. So the throttle response is much better, which helps with transmission shifts because it’s easier to feather the throttle around anticipated shift points.

The steering actually became lighter and more neutral as well, but that was because I lost some caster (stock UCAs). Some might think it feels too light and not enough “return to center”, but I actually prefer it this way.

 

I'm having the same debate in my head over sliders. I wouldn't spend the coin on them though. So either I make them or, oem rock rails. I know people say they are weak(which they are).

 

Which Ironman lift did you get and how do you like it? I just ordered one.

 

I have the stage 3 foam cell pro kit. I like it a lot. I got the stiffest springs they sell. I am not as high as I had hoped but with all the extra weight I have added I believe that has brought it down a bit. Overall ride quality is great and they seem to hold up a lot better than stock (non fox suspension). It was like night and day comparing those two.

 

I’ve been driving the new setup for several days now and liking it more every day.

After driving on several different roads I believe the alignment is fine. The beeping I was experiencing when I shifted from park to reverse has gone away. No clue what was causing it, but it only did it the first couple of days.

I suspect that the 265’s are a little more sensitive to the road surface than the 285’s were. Maybe some of you can confirm that.

The car drives and rides so much better now. I’m glad that I went back to the 265’s.

It’s a little early, but it does appear that my mileage is improving.

 

Sometimes it takes doing something, then undoing it to realize what you really want. The lure of a lifted 4Runner with 33" tires can be quite enticing, when the vehicle is so capable stock.

I've thought about a 'better' lift from time to time, but realize down deep, I'm totally satisfied with about a 1" front lift, and don't need any more lift, bigger tires, or any of the issues that might rear their ugly heads.

I'm glad you ended up where you wanted to be. Somewhat poorer, but wiser, I'd say.

 

Thank you!

We all have certain preferences and needs, there is no one right answer. True, it cost me some extra $$, but now I know what works for me.

 

Ah I see that now, I wonder why they suggested the nitro one when I told them what car I had and what I wanted it for then. I’m really worried it’s not going to be worth it. I have heard it’s not a good lift, doesn’t ride well, sits higher than post to.

 

Well I tried warning you before I believe you purchased. I don’t believe they are horrible but they are known more for their FCP. Don’t go regretting before you get it.
https://www.4runners.com/threads/shock’ing-discovery.26659/page-7#post-370501

 

I can say Ironman has the worst customer service I've seen. You can't cancel an order even if you contact customer service within an hour of ordering. They will still ship you the stuff you don't want and customer has to eat the restocking fees and shipping when returning.

Customer service also don't know or pretend that they don't know what they are selling. When I ask if they have 1.5in rear spring for 4runner how can you believe customer service don't know that they have 1.5in opinion?

I would not recommend Ironman for their customer service. Imagine if this is the way they treat in purchasing process if you need help in warranty issues??

 

Wow I had quite the opposite experience. I had a warranty issue and got it replaced rather quickly with no expense out of my pocket. Sorry that was your experience. I bought the 12.5k pound winch, stage 3 foam cell pro lift, traction boards, and recovery gear for around $2500 and I am SUPER happy with my purchase.

 

I may have misread it then, I took it as a recommendation of the company, contacted them and told them what I wanted out of a lift and what it was for that’s what they said would be best but knowing their customer service isn’t great an may not be trained may be why I was led that way I guess blind leading the blind I suppose

 

I apologize for any clarity that was not conveyed. I thought the first and second sentence pretty much summed up my opinion on Ironmans Nitro suspension

(I can’t recommend their (Ironmans) nitro suspension. I recommend other brands for nitro suspension.)

When I decided on getting a new suspension and spend the money, I was going to get the best they had to offer (since it was in my budget). I think they have excellent customer service but I don’t trust just anyone to make recommendations for me. If I make a choice, I take responsibility for the choices I made. So I find it best to make sure I understand every element before proceeding. That way if I don’t like it, then it was all on me. You put your trust in someone who makes customer service support wages (not an engineer). So I am not surprised they recommended the Nitro system.

Now that you ordered the system I am interested in hearing what your experience with the Nitro system is.

 

There's no ironman reps on this forum?

I know I'm gonna eat shit for this.... but what makes the ironman lifts/parts special? Other then the green paint. Seems overpriced, for crazy high spring rates and not many coil options(atleast compared to dobinson)

 

I completely concur. That ship has sailed now, just trying to decide to take a chance and put it on or eat the money and send it back for what I can. I’ll post if it’s put on, I appreciate the input.

 

It’s still early but this picture shows my MPG today after some city driving. I never saw numbers like this in my four years of ownership.

With the lift and 285’s I was averaging 17-18.

 

Wow, that’s great! I don’t get that stock!

 

I was curious so I weighed the removed Readylift SST spacer lift kit.

18.6 lbs. that’s quite a bit of weight.

 

Ironman FCP lift + 285s + pregnant wife + careful dad driving slow (even with full time 4wd) =

 

^^^ haha, its amazing how having a newborn in the back seat increases mpg. With the 285s i average 19mpg

 

Went back today and had the alignment rechecked. It just didn’t feel right. Turns out that the toe was out of spec. It’s driving much better now.

 

Are you running the 505 coils in the rear? I've been debating the 300's in the front (1.75-2") with the 505's in the rear (1.5-1.75") but I've also considered the 296 front (1.5") with 599's (1-1.25") in the rear. Not looking for a ton of lift and while 285's are appealing, I'm also considering 275's on a 0 offset wheel. Seems the dobinsons improve the ride and that's a big factor too.

 

I'm running dobs 300s in the front. No added weight. After about a year they settled down to 1.5" of lift... I was running eibach rear springs 1" with them but I pulled them and went back to oem, due to to much rake. Right now I think its absolutely perfect for 285s.



Dobs 300 front springs, oem rear springs, eibach struts/shocks, jba arms