Ironman bullbars

[The Woo]

Can anyone give any feedback for the latest generation of Ironman's steel bullbars?
Specifically, their "Delux Commercial" bar for D40. Mine is a V6 STX and they have advised their latest generation of bars has a suitable fitment.
The price is very tempting. I was set on an ARB, but for less than half the price.....

Pretty poor representation on their own site;

http://www.ironman4x4.com/html/deluxe_commercial.html

But for those who share pictures of their lunch;

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.p...02276191.98896.120670261336695&type=3&theater

 

[daniel09128]

Got one on my d22 happy with it. Brother spent over 2g on a custom made bar for hi a hilux n broke the welds under very little pressure using his winch for first time. Go for irom man I reakon.

 

[The Woo]

Custom bars are cool, but without airbag cert I worry about the insurance implications.
Thanks for your thoughts mate.

Anyone else?

 

[Titanium]

Got an Iron man on my D40. Have no complaints.

 

[steve1961]

Old saying in life , you get what you pay for , dig deeper on here , there's plenty on ironman

 

[Geoff3DMN]

Ironman bars aren't as solid as the old style ARB bars but the thing is, my new style ARB bar isn't as solid as the old style ARB bars either!

Side by side the Ironman commercial bar and my ARB commercial bar have similar thickness and similar weld quality and both are about half as thick and half as heavy as the ARB bar on my workmates 15 year old Toyota ute.

I can't see the money in the ARB bar I've got and the next one I get will be something else.

NB I'm talking about the Ironman commercial and deluxe commercial in the latest design (the earlier type had a different winch mount which wasn't as strong) and the protector bar is weaker, the top loops are bolted on not welded like the commercial and deluxe commerical.

 

[steve1961]

Ironman bars aren't as solid as the old style ARB bars but the thing is, my new style ARB bar isn't as solid as the old style ARB bars either!

Side by side the Ironman commercial bar and my ARB commercial bar have similar thickness and similar weld quality and both are about half as thick and half as heavy as the ARB bar on my workmates 15 year old Toyota ute.

I can't see the money in the ARB bar I've got and the next one I get will be something else.

NB I'm talking about the Ironman commercial and deluxe commercial in the latest design (the earlier type had a different winch mount which wasn't as strong) and the protector bar is weaker, the top loops are bolted on not welded like the commercial and deluxe commerical.

Iv'e also noticed the difference too , having crawled under my new Navara , but what i noticed most was the new ADR approved mounting arrangement , compared to the older ( more solid ) mounts , i guess its the price we now pay and out bars are only as stong as the weakest point , ( the mounts ) , but iam also tipping that the bars are made weaker as well to crumple , sort of defeats the purpose a bit , but i will say having had a good look at both , ARB , i believe is a much better product , ( ill wash my mouth out with bourbon later )

 

[The Woo]

Hmmmm well I considered hard and looked about, and have decided upon an IronMan Delux Commercial that is being fitted today.

I've had several ARB bars before, and have never had an issue, but my word the price man, the price!

Having looked at Ironman's latest generation of bars (this model is only a recent addition for the V6 diesel Navaras) I just can't justify an ARB. The IronMan is lighter, which I don't mind on an IFS ute, but it's likely not as strong.

Time will tell if this is the right decision. But, I can buy 2.5 IronMan bars for one ARB...... so they'd have to be pretty bad for me to be disappointed.

 

[BigTrev]

They all made in the same place go the iornman bar no complaints here.

 

[navarian]

Not sure where the antenna mount is on the bar you have bought but on the iron man deluxe commercial bar i have it is on the left hand side around the middle of the headlight.
On tight tracks my antenna cops a flogging from the scrub and was even bent.
ARB are onto this sort of thing and have the mount further in towards the center of the bar which is a much better design.Besides rust around a couple of the welds and the antenna thing i spose i'm sort of happy with mine.
I'll be grinding the mount off and moving it towards the centre where it should be.

 

[The Woo]

Yeah the antenna mount is toward one side. I've always run spring bases so not had that problem. I guess if the trees were extreme......

Finish is good. Now need to sort a small bit of lift and mod the side-step mounts to tuck them up. My pregnant missus uses the steps so flicking them altogether isn't an option.

 

[wirtod40]

Looks good mate. I dont know why you even looked at an ARB bar with number plates like that.

 

[Geoff3DMN]

on the iron man deluxe commercial bar i have it is on the left hand side around the middle of the headlight.
<SNIP>ARB are onto this sort of thing and have the mount further in towards the center of the bar which is a much better design

The antenna being towards the middle on my current ARB bar annoys me a bit because it's partly in my line of sight. It annoys my better half a lot more because it's just about right in front of her and the spring mount means it's wobbling around being distracting on rough roads.

As for damage on tracks I suppose it's possible but I've never damaged a compact 6Db spring mount antenna no matter where they're mounted and I'm not going to pay extra for longer all fibreglass antennas that are more fragile and prone to damage.

Me I prefer the more leftwards antenna mount

 

[The Woo]

Yeah gotta be honest, never had an issue with antennas either, and prefer them out of my line of sight.
Plus, the top corner of the bar is out of sight in a normal seating position, so an antenna mounted there will help identify that corner in tight situations....

 

[doc]

I really like the design of that bar. Looks tidy, how its upswept at the sides. Noice.

 

[navarian]

The antenna being towards the middle on my current ARB bar annoys me a bit because it's partly in my line of sight. It annoys my better half a lot more because it's just about right in front of her and the spring mount means it's wobbling around being distracting on rough roads.

As for damage on tracks I suppose it's possible but I've never damaged a compact 6Db spring mount antenna no matter where they're mounted and I'm not going to pay extra for longer all fibreglass antennas that are more fragile and prone to damage.

Me I prefer the more leftwards antenna mount

Fair call,i was driving on tight tracks on the weekend and been a long weekend there was plenty of traffic.I got damage from pulling over into the scrub when passing vehicles coming the opposite way,backed out of one spot,stainless antenna wrapped in branches,i didn't notice and it got bent.
Whether it was a spring base or not it would have happened.

The guys i spoke to on the weekend that have ARB say the antenna mounting point doesn't bother them,they are used to it.
Each to their own i guess.

 

[Ironman 4x4]

A leftward mounted antenna is something that you do get used to, though it can be distracting to begin with (speaking from personal experience). I found that a spring base is definately the best way to ensure your antenna lasts.

 

[The Woo]

Well, 6 months in and all is well.

Have a 12,000lb winch going in very soon. Was going to fit it all yesterday but as I discovered I need to remove the bar to get the winch in there, I just can't do it by myself. The IronMan bar comes complete with the winch mount FWIW, not extra cost.
Mounting a winch will somewhat impede airflow to the intercooler, however I'm certain if somehow intake temp gets too high a warning/limp will pop up.
I'm only in SEQ so don't really forsee much of an issue developing unless one of those weird days slogging through soft sand with a howling tail wind. Those conditions can cause many 4WD's to overheat though.

 

[doc]

Mate the Ironman bar is basically a replica of the ARB bar I have on my D40. Having had the bar and winch on for nearly 5 years, and doing all kinds of towing, 4wding and generally driving in that time, I have never noticed any kind of cooling issues.

 

[navaranewb]

they make these for the D22 by any chance?