vha23

i'm thinking about getting coilovers, but I am kinda concerned about the lifespan of them.

does anyone know what the expected lifespan of the tien CS is for example?

what is the lifespan of the stock shocks?

what does a coilover rebuild cost and how long will i have to wait when that time comes.

thanks for your help.

sincityIS

Stock suspension should last about 80K to 120K they deteriorate though over time. Most people don't worry about till they are leaking or blown though and that will be well into the 100K range.
Aftermarket coilovers, that are of high quality, tein is in this category. These should last in the neighborhood of 30K-35K before they need to be rebuild, they may go longer though if you wanted to wait till they totally blew.
They can be rebuilt normally for around $75 per damper plus shipping.

Giggity

It depends entirely on how you use them...
I've had KW's that went well in the 50k miles before a rebuild was needed.
I've had H&R's that only lasted about 15K, luckily I was in Wa on H&R's test track when we figured out 2 were blown and they were rebuilt on the spot. I was warned the car was lowered too much and blew 2 more a few months later, lesson learned.
Most manufacturers recommend a 35-40k rebuild....

vha23

thanks for the info.

does anyone know where the tiens have to be shipped to and how long it would take to rebuild? what do most people do, just change over the the stock suspension while the coils are being rebuilt?

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

It took two months for the rear Tein HAs in my Supra to get rebuilt. This was after they told me it could be done in two weeks. I was not impressed at all.

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

That's exactly what I plan to do when the time comes

I8ABMR

Thats a surprise. I had no idea that the coilovers had such a short lifespan. I dont have time for swapping entire suspensions out on my car. I am sticking with my stock shocks and extremely soft tein h techs and wil probably save the money for a lexus oem body kit. I am will do a little more research into this. At worse case you can have a shop switch out the springs left to right and that will give you a perfectly even drop for alot less money. I had tokico d spec shocks on a g35 sedan that went for 70k on them with no shock issues . I am asuming the really high spring rates mixed with low ride height will burn the dampers out

chris07is

iTrader: (10)

ha.... i didnt know that when you purchased a coilover you have to rebuild it on a certain time... isn't that expensive? sorry im new to this... what is need to be rebuilt? right now i'm lowered in S-tech,but seems not low enough for me....im thinking about getting coilover so please guide to the right direction my fellows CL members.

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

From what I've heard, it costs around $75 per strut to rebuild. That is not expensive at all.

Giggity

If S-techs aren't low enough and your planning on doing the full CS coilover kit to go lower, then yes, you more than likely will be rebuilding them over the course of ownership. The CS's are kind of half-a$$ed solution because the adjustability is in the spring perch, moving the stroke of the strut closer to the bottom of the operating range which makes bottoming out the strut more likely. But hey, who knows, I don't think there are any members here who have had CS's for a significant amount of time to really know how durable they are....

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

^I personally know 2 people who had CS's and had them rebuilt within 20,000 miles of getting them installed. I don't think this is common, but it happened nonetheless.

Javier

ChrISF

every 22,000-25,000 miles you should get them refurbished

LILDANTE79

iTrader: (11)

i plan to get new coilovers by next yr i only drive 15k miles a yr. so ill be selling soon.

huddleston

iTrader: (3)

if you are wanting improved handling as well as increased longevity, i would recommend using a strut/spring combo. the performance isnt as good as coilovers, but it is better than stock.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

????

coilover - coil is concentric with shock absorber or strut. The vast majority of stock vehicles come with coilover suspension.

Strut - device that provides both damping and locates the upper part of the suspension, does not exist on any vehicle with double wishbone suspension.

Shock absorber - a damper used with double wishbone suspension which does not locate anything, but merely damps spring oscillation in passive suspension systems.

Unfortunately the "tuners" have made the term coilover synonymous with adjustable preload/damping/ride height devices. It is not. Anytime the spring is concentric with the damper - even if there is no adjustability of any kind - it is still a coilover design.