Life Expectancy of standard Shocks

Hey guys, I'm wondering how long are shocks expected to last? The reason I'm asking is because I'm looking to lower my car a little (Tein H-Tech), and I use my car solely on the street. So I'm wondering if I should change over to coilover kits instead of just the springs. The reason I'm against coilovers is because 1. Cost and 2. Ride. However, I'm not sure how much shocks cost alone, and people have been telling me that it could be cheaper in the long run. H-Tech only drop a little btw, so stuff about dropping the ride significantly reducing the life of shocks shouldn't apply.

Have you thought about getting aftermarket shocks to suit?

Possibly, but latter on. Was looking at Koni's as well, but my budget doesn't want to stretch, and I believe the ride would be firmer as well. I know a lot of people say it's only a bit firmer, however I've moved from 16" to 18", add the fact that H-Tech are ~15% firmer as well, the result would be a lot firmer ride. If anything, I would prefer softer dampers.

A well matched shock and spring combo will be definitely more comfortable than a mismatched one.
But since you arent going that low I'd just run the gauntlet if I was you, dont think they'd drastically affect shock life.
You can get standard front shocks again for cheap at a wreckers.

Done 130,000km on a 1.5 inch drop and shocks still going strong...

Done 100 000km on koni yellows with a 1.5" drop and still going strong...

Depends on the conditions of the roads you drive through and the amount of lowering. Some lower by 2" and get blown shocks within a year, others lower slightly less but don't have problems. Personally if you can afford it, get matching shocks as well because lowered stock shocks have poorer damping compared to stock height. You get a floaty feeling going over bumps/corners.

This in turn affects everything from cornering and bump absorption/rebound as mentioned above, in extreme and unfortunate circumstances it may affect braking performance and tyre contact to road. Its similar to overly stiff springs and poor valving in cheap coilovers, the tyre's time in contact with the road is shortened when going over bumps therefore braking performance is reduced.

Hmmm, well the Tein's drop 1.1"/0.7" so a fairly small drop by all means. Any recommendations for what dampers to go? I know Koni Yellow are very popular, but from what I've read, they seem to be fairly firm and cost nearly as much as basic coilovers. My mates say Monroe would do, although I've not really heard much about their quality yet.

Main benefit to coilovers is the height adjustability.

If 1" isn't enough/too much you can just change it.

'stndrd' on this forum sells H Drive coilovers with your choice of spring rates so you can get a softer ride but still have full adjustability.


Otherwise just throw kings springs on and be done with it.

Coilovers are not always better than a good spring and shock combo. There are many combos out there that cost more than basic coilovers, which are poor for driving comfort anyway.

Koni Yellows plus Ground Control coilover sleeves and springs.

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Originally Posted by ChaosMaster

Hmmm, well the Tein's drop 1.1"/0.7" so a fairly small drop by all means. Any recommendations for what dampers to go? I know Koni Yellow are very popular, but from what I've read, they seem to be fairly firm and cost nearly as much as basic coilovers. My mates say Monroe would do, although I've not really heard much about their quality yet.

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Nah, Koni Yellow quite comfy imo...

Monroe is 'ok' but if you want a little 'sporty' feel to go with your car, definitely Koni...

If you want to lay back in comfort and save yourself some money cause you don't care about cornering performance, go the Monroe [GT if I'm correct?]

Yeah, seems like H-Tech are the go. Might keep the stock shocks until they die (seems like I can get at least another 100 000km out of them) then decide then, but had an Evo8 so I'm kinda fed up with firm ride and road noise.

keep in mind that not all coilovers are crazy hard, i drove a dc2 the other day with pedders coilovers and it was like driving on a matress and the coilovers whernt old but the constant threat of litteraly bouncing off the road was a bit much for me....

pedders o.0?

From memory, Pedders made their own springs, but not the shocks, which are just rebadged.

What brand of shocks do they rebadge?

I thought they were rebadged BCs?

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Originally Posted by Daveho1

keep in mind that not all coilovers are crazy hard, i drove a dc2 the other day with pedders coilovers and it was like driving on a matress and the coilovers whernt old but the constant threat of litteraly bouncing off the road was a bit much for me....

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If they were bouncy, then the shocks were not working!