Spring Lifespan (1 Viewer)

[Front Range 4x4]

I just read the bit about stock 62 springs at Urban Land Cruisers - http://www.urbanlandcruisers.com/products/suspension.html#stock

"Even the best aftermarket suspensions have a lifespan of 30K miles or so."

I am assuming the mention of "even the best" means OME. Does your experience confirm this?

 

[Spook50]

I think what he means is that is the common time frame before they start to settle/sag. My stock springs are nearly flat, but they've got 214K miles on 'em. Other than riding an inch or two lower than it should, my truck has no problems at all suspension-wise.

 

[Front Range 4x4]

It sure doesn't sound like settling is what they are referring to:

"The second advantage to the new stock springs is that they will last a long time, probably longer than your truck! Even the best aftermarket suspensions have a lifespan of 30K miles or so. The cheapo aftermarket suspensions often sag within 10k or so. The new stock suspension will last."

 

[Mace]

Any time you add a degree of arch to a set of springs, and then flex the tar out of them they will sag...

One of the inherent problems with lift springs is that people use them.. so, your 2.5" lift springs will not be 2.5" lift springs when they are older...

Proper bump stop height is the key to making a spring live...

 

[Chase77]

In light of this Im trying to figure out why the hell I'd pay little over a grand for a SUA kit when SOA isnt going to be all that much more (assuming Im doing most of the the fabrication)

 

[Front Range 4x4]

Any time you add a degree of arch to a set of springs, and then flex the tar out of them they will sag...

One of the inherent problems with lift springs is that people use them.. so, your 2.5" lift springs will not be 2.5" lift springs when they are older...

Proper bump stop height is the key to making a spring live...

Understood, of course but this is the bit that I'm curious about : "Even the best aftermarket suspensions have a lifespan of 30K miles or so."

It sounds to me like they're saying anyone's hard earned money spent on OME or anyone's else aftermarket springs will only have a useable lifespan of up to 30K miles.

30K?!

 

[CTiger]

Understood, of course but this is the bit that I'm curious about : "Even the best aftermarket suspensions have a lifespan of 30K miles or so."

It sounds to me like they're saying anyone's hard earned money spent on OME or anyone's else aftermarket springs will only have a useable lifespan of up to 30K miles.

30K?!

I'm sure there's someone on here who has had one of the aftermarket spring kits for more than 30k miles and they're still holding up...

 

[Godwin]

I've had two FJ60's and both had flat stock suspensions by about 120-125k miles. One of these Cruisers currently has a BDS suspension which now has been on for about 100k miles. The BDS has settled some but it still has plenty of arch for the running of 33" tires. No extra weight in the front such as bullbar, winch, second battery, but the rear typically has at least an extra 200 lbs in the rear. I don't expect any suspension to last forever, but I do think this aftermarket suspension has plenty of miles left in it.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I'm sure there's someone on here who has had one of the aftermarket spring kits for more than 30k miles and they're still holding up...

Yeah ,that made me want to go and check my Dobinsons that were installed on my 73 series about 2 1/2 years ago.
Theyve done about 20-25000 miles and have not sagged any amount that I can determine.
They still sit 1010mm (40.5 inches)from ground to headlight centre which is what I measured after the installation.
Best of all,it has no cruiser lean
Surprisingly I have also added a new diesel which is about 100lb heavier than the old 3F

The springs still are firm but comfortably so. When loaded up with camping gear and a fullload of passengers it rides like a big limo.
A 73 series uses 75 series on the front and 60 series on the rear from the factory.
Mine were not heavy duty,just the Dobinsons standard spring which has a load rating closest to OEM with a 2 1/2 inch lift

 

[crawlin60]

I dunno if I this is relevant, but my 4" SUA Alcans, installed in dec 2000 at 100k miles finally bit the dust (fronts) last week, odo now at 180k. They were soft and flexy from the start, and didn't sag noticeably. But in a handful of Moab trips, and two rubicon runs resulted in a broken mainspring LF, in fall '03 and now the RF last week. So I took them both out with finals two weeks out, a$$ broke and missing some parts still for the SOA. And of course, it's snowing and blowing, truck outside & such. So yes, aftermarket does last more than 30k miles, and to be fair, my springpacks cost like, $300/ea (I forget the exact amount), so it's not like I got shafted, but I was a little disappointed the fronts didn't last longer. The rr are just fine.