aftermarket coilover life cycle?

[Dipstick]

my shocks and strut are pretty much shot.. anywho, to make a long story short, the dealer quoted me $500 for the front struts and $200 for the rear.. was going to get a quote on springs too but when i saw those prices, i was like "are ya shitting me?" so now what i want to know from those of you who has after market coilovers, what's the average life on them? note, i'm not a racer or drifter or whatever.. just a poor college kid trying to get his car running rigidly without resonance at 50 mph.. don't want my steering column falling off on me on the highway if ya ever experienced resonance.. so the car is basically used for daily driving.. of course i'm only looking at coilovers around the $700-$900 range which would correspond to the insane price of the oem struts and springs.. i know oem stuff are made to last a lot longer, but i'm just curious to see how long after market coilovers last so i can make this decision. it's a hard question to answer as i'm sure cases differ from person to person.. but just gimme some number so i can sort of get a broad idea of what i'm up against. oh, and this is for a '93 fastback.. thanks..

[gogeeta13]

if your not racing just get some kyb gr2 and call it a day....

[Toahk]

www.tirerack.com has new kyb-gr2's struts for like 50 a piece front and 34 a piece rear, will ride like stock....but new

[sLiDewAys]

HAHA, with those you DEFINALTLY wont be going far. in terms on handling. COIL OVER SLUT HERE. sorry... stock ride heigh and soft struts will do u NO GOOD..

they will on the other hand help you understeer and wear unnecesary tire and create an unsafe bounce on teh touge due to an unstable car

wish you luck with the decision

[pruto]

yes, get GR2s, cheap, good, stock replacement. daily driving, last you anywhere between 2-5 years. again, $50 a shock. cheap stuff.

don't listen to the coilover sluts. Coilovers are NOT for EVERYONE. Some people just doesn't understand that not everyone drive their cars hard on the track/street/touge. And MOST people cannot stand the ride quality of coilovers, especially shitty coilovers that you'll get for 700-900 bucks. Cheap coilovers provide more than enough performance, but usually have shittier ride quality on the streets.

to answer your question, coilovers will last as long as you want it to. but how long they last is related to how much you flog your car. track days every week? you'll need to rebuild the coilovers probably yearly. Track them once a month, maybe rebuild 2-3 years. Daily drive them and never track? why the hell are you getting coilovers?

also, coilover rebuilds are cheap. If they go bad, it doesn't mean you have to REPLACE the entire coilover system, just rebuild/replace shock, depending on company. My $2500 MSRP Apexi N1s can be fully rebuilt for like $280 bucks. So if you do buy coilovers that have some sort of company support, you shouldn't worry about how long they'll last you. each shock is fairly easy to rebuild/replace and cost 70-100 bucks. A lot cheaper than replacing aftermarket performance shocks or OEM shocks.

my pick: go with the GR2s. If stock suspension is good enough for what i'm doing, i would stick with it without a second thought.

[sykikchimp]

Koni's carry a lifetime warranty, and can be custom revalved later for a small fee to match any spring you want. Match those with a set of normal springs, or even some Ground control coilover sleeves and springs, and you will have a very nice setup. matter of fact, the Koni/GC setup is what most of the SCCA IT cars use.

[sLiDewAys]

Originally Posted by pruto

yes, get GR2s, cheap, good, stock replacement. daily driving, last you anywhere between 2-5 years. again, $50 a shock. cheap stuff.

don't listen to the coilover sluts. Coilovers are NOT for EVERYONE. Some people just doesn't understand that not everyone drive their cars hard on the track/street/touge. And MOST people cannot stand the ride quality of coilovers, especially shitty coilovers that you'll get for 700-900 bucks. Cheap coilovers provide more than enough performance, but usually have shittier ride quality on the streets.

to answer your question, coilovers will last as long as you want it to. but how long they last is related to how much you flog your car. track days every week? you'll need to rebuild the coilovers probably yearly. Track them once a month, maybe rebuild 2-3 years. Daily drive them and never track? why the hell are you getting coilovers?

also, coilover rebuilds are cheap. If they go bad, it doesn't mean you have to REPLACE the entire coilover system, just rebuild/replace shock, depending on company. My $2500 MSRP Apexi N1s can be fully rebuilt for like $280 bucks. So if you do buy coilovers that have some sort of company support, you shouldn't worry about how long they'll last you. each shock is fairly easy to rebuild/replace and cost 70-100 bucks. A lot cheaper than replacing aftermarket performance shocks or OEM shocks.

my pick: go with the GR2s. If stock suspension is good enough for what i'm doing, i would stick with it without a second thought.

kyb's suck, koni's suck, all struts besides coil overs suck, and you suck.. everyone sucks. i even suck HAAHHAAH..

yes i am a coilover slut.. damper adjustable, ride height adjsutable, strut case adjustable, i can swap out spring rates. WHAT ELSE CAN U ASK FOR.. for those of you who complain about the ride quality.. sell your 240 and stop driving it like a baby.. BEAT that s13 beat it till it falls apart. then buy anotherone and continue the cycle.

my honest opinion on strut/spring.. i dont like them. but i love to pound on my car so those are my reasons for onot purchasing that particular set up. if u just want to rinde arround with gay ride heigh and SOFT POONANY struts then by all means go ahead but it is a serious waste of money. well not totally. he quoted 50.00 per strut. probly get something decent with springs for 400'ish then. not badd .. spend anotehr 300 and u can get something just as firm or firmer with adjustablility..

ALSO, i perosnaly know over 10 owners with he's that have had them well over 3 years pounding on them and they are still holding up... just dont run into curbs like a dumy and u'll be A O K

LMAO

please ignore my previous comments if u plan on replying to them.. coil overs are the sex........point made

[MrSkinny]

im runnign GR2s with sportlines and its great for daily driving and occasional weekend track events the GR2s are a great bang for the buck. the ride height with the sportlines is perfect and i have no complaints about the ride quality.

[sLiDewAys]

to everyone who wonders what the hell was i getting at in my last point

to tell you the truth people, strut and spring arent that bad....when u have a good mixture of strut and spring that is. Maybe some adjustable dampers with some stiffer springs. TO ME he ride heigh on them SUCK. i had tokico blues w/eibach sportline springs, then switched to kyb gr2 struts with ground control coil springs then switched to tein he' coilovers......just that soft struts and high rigde height werent enought for me. i had like 3+finger gap in the front and like almost 4 finger gap in the rear. THATS GAY./.. i wasnt satisfied until i did 1 1/2 finger gap all the way arround. PERSONAL PREFERENCE. finger gap is gay

[Replicant_S14]

Originally Posted by sLiDewAys

to everyone who wonders what the hell was i getting at in my last point

We got it. Buy coilovers so people won't think you're gay.


For the original poster:
If you're sexually secure, GR2s, or maybe even some parts store shocks, will be fine. Your OE springs probably don't need replacing and you can do all this work yourself.

[Xren17]

I've had my JIC FLA2's for less than a year and the left rear seem to have blown. For me, I don't think that's reliable. But I like the fact that they're adjustable, I might not adjust it more than once or twice a year but I'm happy because of that option.

[sLiDewAys]

Originally Posted by Replicant_S14

We got it. Buy coilovers so people won't think you're gay.


For the original poster:
If you a sexually secure, GR2s, or maybe even some parts store shocks, will be fine. Your OE springs probably don't need replacing and you can do all this work yourself.

i think you and your 200 post history need some CLOSURE.. thank you and have a nice day MAYTE*