i was curious to see what people thought of the illuminas after having them in for some time whether a few months or years. i have had mine in since may. first set to 2/2 them moved to 2/3 and now im at 3/3.
in the beginning the felt wonderful. but now i dont now if its me since they have been in for some time or the illuminas themselves. the car doest feel as controlled as when first installed (maybe its just me). if i go down a long straight road and corner side to side the rear feels some what soft as in marshmellowy. i run them with sprint springs.
just wanted to get some thoughts on if im crazy or do people feel like this as well. im contemplating moving to 3/4. can or do these shocks and struts "wear" quick?

 

I think I'm the only one who found the ride with illuminas harsh, even with H&Rs on the softest setting. My tein coilovers are so much more comfortable. But to answer your question, my illuminas felt the same way throughout the whole time Ive had them as far as handling and comfort are concerned. I had them for 5k miles

 

Mine feel the same after 20k miles. I think they are a little harsh. I'm on Eibachs and have never set them below 3/3, currently on 4/5. The struts seem to have alot of pack damping; resistance to sharp quick bumps and an OK amount of static or slow speed damping. I wouldn't mind a little more static damping and less pack to improve the ride some. 3/3 did seem to soft to me, near stock but still harsher. They are gonna be harsh anyway so I set mine stiffer so the springs are more controlled over big dips and heaves on the express way.

 

Mine have felt much softer after about 15k. But don't be too quick to blame it on Illuminas yet if you're on stock bushings.

 

I've been running my illumina and eibach setup for about 80,000 miles now and i've never had a single problem. The ride has definitely lost that tight feeling and now my car feels like a boat at times. One day I will replace the worn out setup and go for something more stock.

 

Compliance seems lacking.

 

I've had mine for 2 years w/Progress Springs with about 60K miles and I'm still very satisfied with their performance at the same settings of 2F/4R for street use...When adjusted up to #5 on the front and rear, that's usually for the track! And for the cost of those Tein Coilovers (Pbn85) I could probably buy 5 sets of Illuminas w/ performance springs!

 

I found the ride to be...unrefined. Illuminas & Progress.

Handled very nice when cranked-up...but the trade-off was obviously the compliance in road manners.

Not for me anymore. better for auto-cross, i'd say.

gr

 

I've had mine installed for 3 1/2 years and 60k miles and they're still just as tight as the day I bought them. I run them at 4f/5r and the ride isn't bad at all. I love how buttoned down the car feels; especially after driving my BMW, which seems to float a lot more even with new struts.

 

Before yanking the struts off, first try replacing your End Links with the beefed up Moog End Links. (approx $40 for the parts, IIRC, about 2 hours for install w/impact)

Made a world of difference in my ride, as its now smooth as silk when going over bumps or diving into turns, ect.

Struts currently have 38k on them.

 

i changed to 3/4 last night and drove it today. i actually like the setting now. even though its stiffer a bit it seemsto go over imperfections alot better. doesnt dip as much when going over bumps or dips. ill have to set it back to 3/3 for a few days when i get used to it and go back to 3/4 to remind of how nice it is. has anyone replace the trailing arm bushings... what effects did you notice and was it a pita to do?