Originally Posted by projectdna

^ and there will be those to tell you to "go with coilovers and slam that btch you won't regret it blah blah blah." don't bother with the parrots or the monkeys that give uninformed, biased (read: useless) suggestions.

yes, coilovers do need periodic service in the form of rebuilding. however, how long in between periodic services depends on your driving habits and type of driving that you do (street, race, or both). for the majority of us who don't track our cars, we don't need to look at rebuilding coilovers until there is an obvious, noticeable compromise in handling abilities. in majority of cases, that may come a lot later than sooner - unless you hit a pothole from hell, but i digress... exactly how much later or sooner, i wouldn't be able to tell you. however, i would imagine that they would last as long as 30k miles or more if driven regularly (with the occasional spirited maneuvers), and maybe even longer if babied. with track driving, that number will drop significantly.

rebuilding will require removal of the coilovers, which means if you can't do it, you'll need to pay a shop to do it. same with getting the coilovers back from rebuilding. and then there's the cost of rebuildling coilovers. imo these are unavoidable costs that come with the territory. if you want to play, you have to pay.

when weighing the two options, consider your budget and your needs. do you have the money for coilovers now? if not, when can you afford coilovers? do you really need the functionality of coilovers? do you really need to have the ride height dialed in at an exact height? or can you get by with a certain fixed height for your ownership period?

again, don't bother with opinions from monkeys and parrots in this forum. get your facts right, do a lot of research (here and around the internet), and make an informed decision based on your budget and your need.

good luck, and keep us informed.