mpetty Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 So now that the iONs have been out there for a while, what do some of the "early adopters" think. Who has the most mileage on their springs, and how are they holding up? Has the ride height or quality changed much in the time they've been on? Just curious, as I am not one to be changing springs on a yearly basis. Thanks for the input, especially from those who have been running iONs for more than six months! Morgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Not six months, but have around 5-6k miles on mine so far. Still very happy with the springs. The stock struts are obviously going south, however, and there's still a serious lack of aftermarket options (w/o going to coilovers).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 6 months / 6000 miles - still happy with them, although with everything settled and in place, the ride is slightly stiffer than i was anticipating. They've made a huge improvement in how the car feels overall, especially on the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy05 Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Gosh I have had mine I think since May, so I probably have put about 13k miles on the car since. The ride is a bit stiffer than stock, but I love the way the car looks and the ride isn't harsh at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleBlueGT Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 The stock struts are obviously going south, however, and there's still a serious lack of aftermarket options (w/o going to coilovers).... +1 Waiting for struts as well! Full tune of 68HTA, KSTech 73 MAF, Racer X FMIC and ID1000s................by the DataLog Mafia!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVXWRX Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 so after having the iON springs for a while, the factory struts will give out??? i wasn't expecting that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb-z Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 so after having the iON springs for a while, the factory struts will give out??? i wasn't expecting that.... Cliff Notes why (without vectors and blah blah blah): Lowering springs allow less travel and have higher spring rates Struts absorb energy Energy is force times distance Less travel (or higher spring rates) means higher forces on the struts Higher forces on the struts means less strut life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalkerLGT Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Its fairly well documented that the stock struts don't last as long with any aftermarket springs. I am installing my new iON's tonight (GB#3) on a car with 26k miles. I expect I will be replacing the struts/shocks with factory units soon, as I haven't found anyone who sells aftermarket dampers. I could go with the Bilstiens from the bspec for big $$$.... sigh. Why oh why are manufacturers dragging their feet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. T Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I am installing my new iON's tonight (GB#3) on a car with 26k miles. What? I'm not there yet!!!!!! Seriously, mine just showed up today. Let me know how the install goes! Thanks Mr. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I've asked Jack from ION about durability and strut life. yes as joeb-z has noted any after market spring is going to shorten the life of your stock set up. If you drive fairly normally Jack estimates about a 10-15% loss in strut life. Not a bad trade considering the much improved ride and handling the springs provide. You could be driving totally stock, but on ruff roads and have to replace your struts before someone with ION's driving on smoother roads. spring life: ION has been making springs for some time now. they know what they are doing. the made thier springs with the UDM struts in mind, not like the "Pinks" which work fine, but were tailored to the JSDM struts. Jack has had owners with ION springs for 7 years with no problems. Your struts will wear out before the springs ever do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansGT Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 2 months and 2K on my ION's. no problems. very pleased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleBlueGT Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I think 10-15 % less life is a bit optomistic. Still the best springs I have ever bought. Full tune of 68HTA, KSTech 73 MAF, Racer X FMIC and ID1000s................by the DataLog Mafia!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mann Engineering Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I've asked Jack from ION about durability and strut life. yes as joeb-z has noted any after market spring is going to shorten the life of your stock set up. If you drive fairly normally Jack estimates about a 10-15% loss in strut life. Not a bad trade considering the much improved ride and handling the springs provide. You could be driving totally stock, but on ruff roads and have to replace your struts before someone with ION's driving on smoother roads. spring life: ION has been making springs for some time now. they know what they are doing. the made thier springs with the UDM struts in mind, not like the "Pinks" which work fine, but were tailored to the JSDM struts. Jack has had owners with ION springs for 7 years with no problems. Your struts will wear out before the springs ever do. I did not know that iON Performance had been in business for 7 years. As far as I know they started in 2001 with improving the spool up characteristics of the original TD04s. I know because I had one of their early prototypes comparing theirs with the FP TD04. Regards, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Stock struts are really only good for 30-40k, so at 32k I'm not losing that much by using aftermarket springs. I had just hoped the aftermarket would have stepped up a little more quickly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Mann Engineering - Gary, we've been in business for over 15 years. We were "discovered" by the N.America market back in 2000; but we've been exporting our products to Europe, Asia and Australia since the early 90's. (We do alot of 3rd party R&D for other "tuners"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mann Engineering Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Mann Engineering - Gary, we've been in business for over 15 years. We were "discovered" by the N.America market back in 2000; but we've been exporting our products to Europe, Asia and Australia since the early 90's. (We do alot of 3rd party R&D for other "tuners"). Ah ok, that makes it all clear now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpetty Posted December 22, 2005 Author Share Posted December 22, 2005 So, a realistic assumption is that normally struts are good for 40k miles or so, but with the iON's they should probably be replaced every 30k? And in the meantime, if the aftermarket comes along with some replacement struts, this might help longevity as well as dampening? What is the limiting factor - stiffer valving or shorter travel? Or a combination of both? Sorry, a bit of a noob on this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 mpetty - On stock struts, if you want optimal performance out of your car; they should be replaced whenever they're worn. There's no "rule of thumb" as to how long they'll last as we've had customers come in with cars with ~10k miles and shot struts. The longevity is highly dependant on the roads you drive on, the way you drive etc. The "limiting factor" of the stock struts is associated with it's dampening curve profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungo Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Noob question: Do springs like the IONs (or the stock springs) also "wear out" over time in the same manner that the struts do? I'm just trying to get a handle on the long-term suspension replacement schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Mungo - Generally speaking springs "fatigue" and not really "wear out". We have Porsche customers that have ran our springs for 8+ years without any fatigue issues. You're more likely to wear out your shocks/struts/bushings etc then our springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungo Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Thank you for that speedy reply. I'm trying not to think too far ahead but was just curious. Seriously, one of those asteriods could wipe us out next year for all we know. Or cats may launch their global conspiracy to enslave us. Isn't that a pleasant thought? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy05 Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 Just to let everyone know, I have been on my Springs since May of last year .. car still handles and rides well. Of course, we have a lot o flat roads here in AZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I'm happy to put my iON's on the car, as 35,000 miles = 56,000 KM's. I drive about 10,000 KM's per year, so 5+ years on the stock struts is totally acceptable to me. In 4 years time, Hopefully I'll have the money to buy some more OE (or even Bilstein!!) struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sashadg1 Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 So ION, you guys R & D, and Manufacture your own springs? I worked @ Eibach for 5 years and a process like this is not easliy done. Your talking $500K Spring Winder, $50K Shot Peen machine, $30k Blocking machine, then powder Coat, Or are these out sourced which would be a more logoical assumption. If so who is making them for you. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iON Performance Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 sashadg1 we R&D all our own stuff. The springs are then manufactured to our spec, which is then sentback to us for the final steps. Unfortunately Eibach isn't one of the companies that were receiptive to doing special order batch quantities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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