Dampers (shocks) lasting nearly “forever”?

No extra bounce at all? Probably not. But could it still work “fine?” Sure. Like most things it depends on how it got to that 200k miles. All freeway driving you’d probably get there without drama.
Yep, really depends. 200k on the Cross Bronx Expressway and you might not even have mounts left to attach them to :eek:
 
I wouldn't believe a soul who can get their OEM shocks to last longer than 100k in the NE corridor or the rust belt. In the south and midwest with flat smoother roads possibly.

Personally I give it til then and when replacing them I was proven right when the whole vehicle changed as a result. A person won't notice it changing as they age until they replace them.
 
The state of NJ used to test brake operation on a skid plate. I failed once with a '89 Taurus. It had a frozen rear wheel cylinder, I didn't even notice it as I never encountered a full panic stop with it to experience a skewed stop.
They also had a shock dyno test similar to the one pictured that bounced the front wheels.
They no longer perform these tests, just OBD plug in, basic lights, horn and wipers working and out the door you go with a 2 year sticker.
 
Hated the way my Sierra felt with the stock Rancho shocks. Anytime I went over any small bumps, felt like the whole truck was bobbing up and down way more than it should. Swapped them out for Bilstien 5100s at around 40K and it was a night and day difference, especially when towing or hauling something. The stock Ranchos were already to the point where I could compress them easily by hand as well and one was very slightly leaking oil.

I've replaced the shocks on my brothers 97 Chevy K1500 multiple times as well. Again, truck that hauls stuff and tows a lot. Don't bother putting anything fancy on since its a beater truck but the wear and tear on vehicles that haul and tow will definitely make you need to replace suspension components over time.
 
I wouldn't believe a soul who can get their OEM shocks to last longer than 100k in the NE corridor or the rust belt. In the south and midwest with flat smoother roads possibly.

My E class, that I’m original owner of, spent its first 5.5 years near Chicago, driven through winters (but washed nearly daily via car wash subscription) and the last 2.5 years in another north east state, also driven daily trough the winter and car washed. It’s almost a 100k.

There is a tight freeway bend where with a speed drop from 70 mph to 45 and about in the middle of this bend, one road plate is lower than the other more than usual. So the faster one goes, the harder the catapulting and then landing is + it’s in the middle of the tight bend, so the car is in the process turning. I think it’s a good suspension test.

Usually I don’t slow down, and go through the bend at ~70 mph. Today, keeping the info in this thread, I went at 90 mph through. This produced a hard boom-landing (not bang or crush), without bottoming, and: near full compression on landing, then near full rebound, and a finally a return to an equilibrium; the car was barely thrown of its trajectory, nigh imperceptibly.

This tells me that my struts and especially rear dampers are as close to OEM as they can be — despite 8 years and 100k mi that include annual driving through northerly winters. Unless I have a big blind spot, which is entretela possible, about how the struts and dampers should act on my car, since I’ve gotten used to them over 8 years.
 
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My E class, that I’m original owner of, spent its first 5.5 years near Chicago, driven through winters (but washed nearly daily via car wash subscription) and the last 2.5 years in another north east state, also driven daily trough the winter and car washed. It’s almost a 100k.

There is a tight freeway bend where with a speed drop from 70 mph to 45 and about in the middle of this bend, one road plate is lower than the other more than usual. So the faster one goes, the harder the catapulting and then landing is + it’s in the middle of the tight bend, so the car is in the process turning. I think it’s a good suspension test.

Usually I don’t slow down, and go through the bend at ~70 mph. Today, keeping the info in this thread, I went at 90 mph through. This produced a hard boom-landing (not bang or crush), without bottoming, and: near full compression on landing, then near full rebound, and a finally a return to an equilibrium; the car was barely thrown of its trajectory, nigh imperceptibly.

This tells me that my struts and especially rear dampers are as close to OEM as they can be — despite 8 years and 100k mi that include annual driving through northerly winters. Unless I have a big blind spot, which is entretela possible, about how the struts and dampers should act on my car, since I’ve gotten used to them over 8 years.
Or tires have way more to do with that equation than anything else. Even if you are in fact correct, that is 1 in the 10,000 cars that have blown shocks/struts and not even a data point on the graph not to mention entirely subjective to the person who drives the car.
 
Replaced shocks on a 13 year old 150,000 mile F-150. The original factory shocks were of much better quality and ride than the new direct replacement shocks. Varies by vehicle but if there are no indications of weak/leaking shocks I’d ride on and keep my money.
I had a similar experience on a Dodge Ram 1500. Truck had 170k and I assumed the shocks were garbage despite being nice and dry. They were fine and the KYB's I replaced them with didn't ride any different.
 
Or tires have way more to do with that equation than anything else. Even if you are in fact correct, that is 1 in the 10,000 cars that have blown shocks/struts and not even a data point on the graph not to mention entirely subjective to the person who drives the car.

Wouldn’t a car with the best, new tires drive terribly with bad dampers/struts?
 
I wouldn't believe a soul who can get their OEM shocks to last longer than 100k in the NE corridor or the rust belt. In the south and midwest with flat smoother roads possibly.

Personally I give it til then and when replacing them I was proven right when the whole vehicle changed as a result. A person won't notice it changing as they age until they replace them.
Not forcing you to believe, but i have dampers that is over 100k in rust hell where roads are really really bad😷
 

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I've had them last the life of a vehicle with no noticeable difference  but I think noticeable is the key here.
If you've ever serviced a damper with fresh oil (on a motorbike for example) you notice the difference fresh oil makes even though it felt fine before. The performance degradation is gradual so you don't notice it until you reverse the gradual change suddenly.
 
My 2006 Tacoma (185k miles) still has the factory original shocks & struts. I doubt they work as good as new but they still work pretty good. I don't care that much as long as the ride is decent and the truck does what I need.
 
My 2006 Tacoma (185k miles) still has the factory original shocks & struts. I doubt they work as good as new but they still work pretty good. I don't care that much as long as the ride is decent and the truck does what I need.

Do you notice extra bounce of bumps or weird side to side movement or, generally, anything untoward at all?

How are your tires wearing?
 
Do you notice extra bounce of bumps or weird side to side movement or, generally, anything untoward at all?

How are your tires wearing?
Nothing unusual. After a speed bump, the bouncing stops after 1-2 bounces, pretty normal. No noises and the tire wear is fine, but in all honesty this little 2wd truck has lived a pretty easy life... other than a 30-mile daily commute it occasionally goes camping, dirt biking and moving friends here and there. It's all original except the water pump and AC condenser. I'm hoping for 400k or more, but not on the shocks lol. I'll probably replace them around 250k even if they are still working.
 
I'll have to disagree with this.. as the standard shock needs to be replaced every 30K - 50K miles. I mean if you don't see a handling issue, then you shouldn't up and replace them.
 
Could you please expand as to why you are guessing so?
A double wishbone upper arm takes the front and camber loads and distributes it to the subframe instead of the strut. In this case the strut only has to handle up and down loads. On a Mcpherson strut, side loads are directly taken by the strut and it also has to take on front loads, as it holds the caster angle in place. In short, a McPherson strut has a lot more to do.
 
I have a 2015 Lexus RX350 with 212k miles on it. It’s more or less my daily driver. It has the original struts and rear shocks on it.

I have a new set of OEM struts and shocks to put on it. I will do it in a week or so.

I don’t think any are leaking. Toyota says do not replace unless they are dripping. I feel 200k miles is enough.

I am extremely interested in seeing what difference the new struts and shocks make.
 
I have a 2015 Lexus RX350 with 212k miles on it. It’s more or less my daily driver. It has the original struts and rear shocks on it.

I have a new set of OEM struts and shocks to put on it. I will do it in a week or so.

I don’t think any are leaking. Toyota says do not replace unless they are dripping. I feel 200k miles is enough.

I am extremely interested in seeing what difference the new struts and shocks make.

Yes!!! Wooooooooo-HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

What do current struts and dampers feel like? Any secondary motions, extra bouncing, and so on?

Also: where do you see that Toyota says not to replace unless leaking? Thanks
 
I have a 2015 Lexus RX350 with 212k miles on it. It’s more or less my daily driver. It has the original struts and rear shocks on it.

I have a new set of OEM struts and shocks to put on it. I will do it in a week or so.

I don’t think any are leaking. Toyota says do not replace unless they are dripping. I feel 200k miles is enough.

I am extremely interested in seeing what difference the new struts and shocks make.
New lower control arms will make a bigger difference.

Be careful with compressing those front springs. My compressor hates those.
 
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