All I know is that the irs has a smoother ride than the sra. I do a lot of steep trail riding and norm. trail riding. No work in store 4 my future atv, just joyriding.

 

I think the general concensus is that since the SRA has fewer moving parts, it is more reliable. There is probably some truth to that, but that would not stop me from buying an IRS machine.

If the failure rate of a SRA is 1 in 1000, I would guess it would be 1 in 900 for IRS (of course I am making these numbers up). The increased ground clearance and better ride would more than make up for the potential decrease in reliablity.

 

i had a 03 500 arctic cat and the IRS was a sweet set up.
it was a great trail quad and it had more ground clearence then any other quad around and it would go anywhere but it had to many moving parts and it kept braking axels. everytime i got in to some rough riding it broke.
i know it was the 28" gators that helped brake the parts but it was always at the cv joint where it broke.
and i know guys who have 28s on there SRA quads and have never hade a problem with axels so it all depends on how hard you are on it.
i know my new rubicon has 1500 miles on it and i have 26" mud lites on it and i havent had any probs with it yet.
and i do everything i did with the cat and it go's just as far but the only thing is it dosent have the gc the cat did.
and the ride is not as smooth as the cat on the dirt roads.
but i like the SRA better because when you load it down the rear end dont sag like the cats did.
even with an extra person on it it sagged.
with the honda you hardly even feal an extra passenger.
also the IRS has a boot at both ends of the axel like the front end and they take a beating if you do any kind of bush riding.
and for some reason the rear boots always take a stick or somthing to screw them up.
like RSeb said less moving parts less wear end tare.
good luck with your choice.
eather way you'll be happy.

 

yeah an AC is known to breakin stuff but i kick the crap otta my polaris and its still holding together.. my buddy has a grizz still goin strong. i think irs works great.. if u keep good maintance on it it will last as long as swing arm

 

Its like anything else, you have got to give up something to gain something.....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Given the same exact use and the same exact maintainance (or lack thereof) the SRA would have to last much longer given, amongst other things, the fewer number of moving parts, the manner in which they move (rotation versus articulation), the fact that one is in a lubricating fluid bath while protected by steel tubing and seals while the other is relying upon flexible, exposed to the elements (UV and trail hazards) rubber boots.

From a standpoint limited soley to reliability and durability the SRA wins out everytime. Think about it, have you ever seen a heavy truck or piece of earth moving equipment using independent suspension on a powered axle? I not saying that it does not exist, only that it woul dbe very, very rare.

IRS has many advantages over SRA, but reliability and durability are not among them when compared one agianst the other.