scoot_mcgrute
New member
Hey everyone! I recently installed the Ironman4x4 Foam Cell Pro suspension on my Xterra and wanted to share my experience. The install went pretty well, I ended up having to do the front shocks twice because I made a little mistake the first go around but the rest of the kit was very straight forward. It's a 2" lift kit and I ended up right at 2" in the front and a little more in the rear, the rake looks great! So far, I'm absolutely in love with the suspension, it meets all my needs while on the street and exceeds my expectations off pavement. I will be getting out this weekend hopefully to try it out on some 4x4 trails but driving rough dirt and gravel roads, the suspension soaks up all of the bumps quite nicely.
The kit includes new front springs, rear springs, all 4 shocks, u bolts and leaf spring bushings. For the front springs, you have your choice between a performance load or a constant load. I opted for the performance load front springs and it works well with my ARB bumper and ZEON Platinum winch.
My Xterra initially had front spacers and longer rear shackles for about a 1" lift all around after the bumper and winch were added. You can order the front shocks assembled from them, I opted to assemble them myself as I had access to a good spring compressor at work.
New assembly vs old assembly. The green is a little much for some but I really like it.
Front shock installed, I found that it was easiest to get the shock back in if I disconnected the sway bar endlinks and also disconnected the tie rods. Doing that gave me plenty of room for the larger diameter shocks to slide right in to place.
Something that is worth noting is that the upper control arm was contacting the shock mount with the spacer installed, with the new shocks and springs there is quite a bit of clearance now.
Onto the rear, the leaf spring eyes are different diameters to match the bushings, this allows you to install the springs the correct way very easily. The bushing for the spring hanger is a little larger than for the shackle side so you know you are installing the spring the correct orientation and do not have to guess.
New rear leaf vs the old. The old springs while they were not sagged out yet, they left a lot to be desired with just a little extra weight in the cargo area and made for a really squishy driving experience. The new rear leaf springs allow for an additional 660 pounds in the cargo area and look the part too.
Lets get to the shocks, you can see that the new Foam Cell Pro shocks have a much larger diameter than the factory ones. This allows them to have separate chambers for more oil and are not nitrogen charged. Mix this with a foam mat that encapsulates the shock piston and the ability to rebuild the shocks at home, you end up with one heck of a shock that is in it for the long haul.
All installed and looking awesome! One thing to note here is that Ironman utilizes a 14mm u bolt in place of the factory 12mm u bolt so I had to open the u bolt plate holes up to 9/16"; super easy to do with a cheap step bit. Their u bolts are also the nicest u bolts I have come across, they are the real deal.
Finished product! I don't really have a great before picture to compare it to but It looks so cool now!
Thanks for checking it out, I will post up a little bit more today and tomorrow but gotta get to work!
The kit includes new front springs, rear springs, all 4 shocks, u bolts and leaf spring bushings. For the front springs, you have your choice between a performance load or a constant load. I opted for the performance load front springs and it works well with my ARB bumper and ZEON Platinum winch.
My Xterra initially had front spacers and longer rear shackles for about a 1" lift all around after the bumper and winch were added. You can order the front shocks assembled from them, I opted to assemble them myself as I had access to a good spring compressor at work.
New assembly vs old assembly. The green is a little much for some but I really like it.
Front shock installed, I found that it was easiest to get the shock back in if I disconnected the sway bar endlinks and also disconnected the tie rods. Doing that gave me plenty of room for the larger diameter shocks to slide right in to place.
Something that is worth noting is that the upper control arm was contacting the shock mount with the spacer installed, with the new shocks and springs there is quite a bit of clearance now.
Onto the rear, the leaf spring eyes are different diameters to match the bushings, this allows you to install the springs the correct way very easily. The bushing for the spring hanger is a little larger than for the shackle side so you know you are installing the spring the correct orientation and do not have to guess.
New rear leaf vs the old. The old springs while they were not sagged out yet, they left a lot to be desired with just a little extra weight in the cargo area and made for a really squishy driving experience. The new rear leaf springs allow for an additional 660 pounds in the cargo area and look the part too.
Lets get to the shocks, you can see that the new Foam Cell Pro shocks have a much larger diameter than the factory ones. This allows them to have separate chambers for more oil and are not nitrogen charged. Mix this with a foam mat that encapsulates the shock piston and the ability to rebuild the shocks at home, you end up with one heck of a shock that is in it for the long haul.
All installed and looking awesome! One thing to note here is that Ironman utilizes a 14mm u bolt in place of the factory 12mm u bolt so I had to open the u bolt plate holes up to 9/16"; super easy to do with a cheap step bit. Their u bolts are also the nicest u bolts I have come across, they are the real deal.
Finished product! I don't really have a great before picture to compare it to but It looks so cool now!
Thanks for checking it out, I will post up a little bit more today and tomorrow but gotta get to work!
