Iron man vs Tuff dog kits

[Ben81C]

Hi all, im currently scraping together for a 3 inch lift lit for my GU (aka Goldie Hornbag) i have been advised that Tuff dog 45mm adjustable shocks with matching shocks are the go, but i have seen quite a few Ironman fitted trucks lately and when i did a little research into both i discovered the Ironman gear has double the warranty, both kays and months i guess whichever comes first. I am hoping some of you with either fitted could tell me how you find them on and of road and if you have had any probs at all. Other recommendations in terms of brands i will also be greatfull for. Thanks Patrol heads
Ben

[nissannewby]

I have tough dogs fitted in my patrol (45mm adjustables) I reckon they are great however i havent heard a bad thing about the ironman shocks the foam cell ones seem to be the way to go. I would recommend dobinson coils with either the tough dog shocks or iron man items whichever permits in your budget

[Ben81C]

Thank you i will look into the dobinson coils. I am thinking a 3 inch lift so i was hoping to buy an all in kit, but i guess i can just build the kit bit buy bit. I know i need to replace the panhard rod and get some other goodies to bring the steering back in line and push the diff back to original, would you recommend just getting the extras from tuff dog or iron man whichever i go with for the shocks?

[megatexture]

x2 on the 45mm adjustables mine are serveing me well couldnt be happier, well i lie they could be longer !u can never have enough

[Ben81C]

Are you running 2" or 3"? What gear are you running apart from the shocks?
Thanks

[MudRunnerTD]

Both the Iron Man and Tough dog hold a similar market share mate and will serve you well. Not a big fan of adjustables and the average punter right through to very experienced punter will likely, at best, guess what is the best adjustment and likely rarely ever adjust again? The Iron man is a variable valved foam cell shock so would likely get my vote there. If your budget allows you cant go past Old Man Emu though mate. Simply a Cut above.

As for the rest of the stuff you need... Give much thought to whether you go 2" or 3" as the list gets a bit bigger with a 3" lift and will cost you quite a bit more to setup over a standard 2' lift.

So why do you want the extra Inch??

2" lift you will need 4 x Springs & 4 x Shocks. Fit in your driveway in 3 to 4 hours if your handy.

a 3" lift you will need a little bit more but not as bad as a 4" lift.

A 3" lift you will need the following extra:
1 x Brake line for the back and fit the old back to the front.
Some kind of Caster correction. I Highly recommend 3" Drop Boxes over any other style of caster correction. Simply Awesome.
You will almost certainly NOT need adjustable Panard rods. dont buy these until you fit the kit and are absolutely sure you need them. I doubt you will.
Being a GU with a drivers airbag you will need an adjustable Drag Link to reset the steering wheel back into central position.
1 x Brake Bias Plate.

That list will likely add $600 to $700 to the cost of your lift over a 2Inch kit.

Going a 4" kit and you will spend that $700 again on adjustable Panards front and back and adjustable upper rear control arms.

Hope that helps. Think about why you need the lift to figure out how high you want to go.

[butters]

Cheers for that MudRunner. I'm looking at just a 2", with Tough Dog @ $990. EFS @ $950 & Ironman @ $770....thoughts? And the 2" Flexy coil lift thrown in there to mix things up, from Suspension Stuff @ $990....

[Bigrig]

Cheers for that MudRunner. I'm looking at just a 2", with Tough Dog @ $990. EFS @ $950 & Ironman @ $770....thoughts? And the 2" Flexy coil lift thrown in there to mix things up, from Suspension Stuff @ $990....

Having seen Adam's 2" flexi setup first hand (dhuck's brother), I would say its the go ... Amazing handling and flex from a small lift.

[Ben81C]

I like my sills and really its to get up and away from it all and also the further up the bigger the Tyre so diffs up correspondingly. (also they just look awesome) thank you for the tip on the panards i have been told with a 3" lift i would have to fit them, that's as you say a big chunk left in the wallet, go close to paying for bar work. Thank you very much. Great advice

[taslucas]

Both the Iron Man and Tough dog hold a similar market share mate and will serve you well. Not a big fan of adjustables and the average punter right through to very experienced punter will likely, at best, guess what is the best adjustment and likely rarely ever adjust again? The Iron man is a variable valved foam cell shock so would likely get my vote there. If your budget allows you cant go past Old Man Emu though mate. Simply a Cut above.

As for the rest of the stuff you need... Give much thought to whether you go 2" or 3" as the list gets a bit bigger with a 3" lift and will cost you quite a bit more to setup over a standard 2' lift.

So why do you want the extra Inch??

2" lift you will need 4 x Springs & 4 x Shocks. Fit in your driveway in 3 to 4 hours if your handy.

a 3" lift you will need a little bit more but not as bad as a 4" lift.

A 3" lift you will need the following extra:
1 x Brake line for the back and fit the old back to the front.
Some kind of Caster correction. I Highly recommend 3" Drop Boxes over any other style of caster correction. Simply Awesome.
You will almost certainly NOT need adjustable Panard rods. dont buy these until you fit the kit and are absolutely sure you need them. I doubt you will.
Being a GU with a drivers airbag you will need an adjustable Drag Link to reset the steering wheel back into central position.
1 x Brake Bias Plate.

That list will likely add $600 to $700 to the cost of your lift over a 2Inch kit.

Going a 4" kit and you will spend that $700 again on adjustable Panards front and back and adjustable upper rear control arms.

Hope that helps. Think about why you need the lift to figure out how high you want to go.

I have two mates in GQs with 3 inch lift and neither have extended brake lines? They have no problem, but we don't do crazy rock crawling articulation.


tappa slappn about

[Ben81C]

Can you get 35's under a 2" lift without scrubbing paint of the roof?

[megatexture]

Can you get 35's under a 2" lift without scrubbing paint of the roof?


ill post some pics as ill be puttin some on over the weekend to see how they go on a 2 " cant wait

[macca86]

35's will scrub pretty hard with 2' lift I'd imagine as some blokes are still scubbing with 4' lifts. 2' lifts rock sliders and front lokka for the price of 3 or 4' lift and get further and still have straight sills

[Ben81C]

I think this is the smarter approach, in time i will be fitting a winch as well so i think in the interests of straight sills i will stick to good quality 33's. Speaking of rock sliders they will be added just after the 2" lift, i have absolutely hammered the center bracket that holds my steps in place its twisted to buggery and has torn the bolts out of the step itself. Lucky i have steps as this was a pretty heavy duty hit.

[Ben81C]

Also what brands and quality are you talking about for the lift, barwork and lockers? as this approach does seem to make a lot of sense. And i like the idea of the go further button.
Thanks

[1MadEngineer]

as a bit of an industry insider, I can tell you the suggested brands are world apart as far as build and material quality go! While O'seas doing R&D for some suspension stuff, I was offered to buy a range of shocks from the same manufacturer as 'steelboy' ;) but there premium range! They were able to bargain @ sub $15AUD a pair...... As for the other brand in question (strongCat) They have done there homework over the years and have really got it down pretty good. The materials and manufacturing is excellent, little things like the material used in the foot valve which is 3 time the price of the cheap crap you find in some shock brands. I do know a lot more tech stuff about both brands, but will leave it at that cus it starts making one look REALLY bad!

HTH
Greg

[taslucas]

Give us a hint at least! Lol




tappn it

[MudRunnerTD]

as a bit of an industry insider, I can tell you the suggested brands are world apart as far as build and material quality go! While O'seas doing R&D for some suspension stuff, I was offered to buy a range of shocks from the same manufacturer as 'steelboy' ;) but there premium range! They were able to bargain @ sub $15AUD a pair...... As for the other brand in question (strongCat) They have done there homework over the years and have really got it down pretty good. The materials and manufacturing is excellent, little things like the material used in the foot valve which is 3 time the price of the cheap crap you find in some shock brands. I do know a lot more tech stuff about both brands, but will leave it at that cus it starts making one look REALLY bad!

HTH
Greg


Give us a hint at least! Lol

Good stuff Greg, Clear as day mate, Lucas read it again mate the answers are there.

I had always found it a little convenient that a player arrived and had a full range and seemed to have a strong name without really any establishment of credibility. Super hero stuff really! There is a fair bit written and tested about the old dog in that lot though, some good and some bad, i am not a fan but at least they have stood up the test and supported the industry.

Thanks for the insight. Appreciated.

p.s. Love ya stuff mate. ;)

[macca86]

so tuff dog then?

[taslucas]

Good stuff Greg, Clear as day mate, Lucas read it again mate the answers are there.

I had always found it a little convenient that a player arrived and had a full range and seemed to have a strong name without really any establishment of credibility. Super hero stuff really! There is a fair bit written and tested about the old dog in that lot though, some good and some bad, i am not a fan but at least they have stood up the test and supported the industry.

Thanks for the insight. Appreciated.

p.s. Love ya stuff mate. ;)

Worked out which brands he was talking about mudrunner........was inquiring about other "tech stuff" mentioned.

And even though its not exactly the original post, i was wondering, madengineer, if you had any ideas about the difference between "strongcat" and what they have "out on the ranch"...

[Ben81C]

Very clear advice and this will be followed. Thanks for that. Good stuff mate

[Shaunous]

Hi guys,
Just a question on load upgrade on springs, i've read and been told to not bother with getting springs to handle higher weight loads, as the ride quality when the vehicle is not loaded (Daily driver 80% of the time) is absolutely shithouse, and like myself will only have the vehicle fully loaded 20% of the time its better to just put up with the norm springs.

Any thought???

Cheers,
Shaun...

[macca86]

If you have a steel bullbar dual batteries winch rear draws etc tow a van most of the time this is extra weight all the time and should allow for that as the standard suspension doesn't. if it's the occasinal packed car I wouldn't bother.

[Lewy]

Gday,

I have in my GU a 3" tough dog lift with 4" adjustable big bore shocks and absolutely love it!!. I have them set at around 6 rear and 4 front and set them to 1 when on the hard dirt tracks.. I have fitted extended brake lines and caster bushes and that's it.. The steering wheel is only a tinny bit out hardly notice it.. It drives as new with this lift and with the 4" shocks I get that little bit more travel..

Cheers Lewy

[Ironman 4x4]

as a bit of an industry insider, I can tell you the suggested brands are world apart as far as build and material quality go! While O'seas doing R&D for some suspension stuff, I was offered to buy a range of shocks from the same manufacturer as 'steelboy' ;) but there premium range! They were able to bargain @ sub $15AUD a pair...... As for the other brand in question (strongCat) They have done there homework over the years and have really got it down pretty good. The materials and manufacturing is excellent, little things like the material used in the foot valve which is 3 time the price of the cheap crap you find in some shock brands. I do know a lot more tech stuff about both brands, but will leave it at that cus it starts making one look REALLY bad!

HTH
Greg

I know this is a bit of a thread dig, but I hate to tell you mate, there is no way they were our shocks! We've had manufacturers claiming to sell our stuff before and I can assure you if this ever did happen they would no longer be a manufacturer of ours!

As for the quality of our gear. I'll just let our thousands of happy customers do the talking :D, needless to say we've spent decades designing and developing our suspension range and products. We aren't a company that has just started producing suspension!

Cheers,

Matt
Ironman 4x4