How often do you replace shocks?

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Good topic because I going thru similiar problems now and can relate.

HOW DO I KNOW MY SHOCKS GONE BAD ??????

My ride is really harsh and bumpy like skateboard on rocks, but not valowy. but then again it was always harsh and bumpy to begin with. car is 02 civic with about 35k on it. Should I go ahead and replace them or new shocks will make it even worse and i better off replacing the whole dam car cause i'm really tired of all this bumpiness. any 7 gen civic owners? Thanks!
 
Did you buy the car used? The previous owner may have installed "racing" shocks. Are your rims stock? Low-profile tires will also give you a harsh ride. Check your tire pressures.

A bad shock usually presents itself as too much bounce.
 
no man, car was new when i got it. suspension is stock, wheels too, rubber is not a low profile. pressure is ok. i know my car. I had it for 4 years now and it's always been a rough ride. 7 gen civics are notorious for their bumpy ride, i've seen quite a few people complaining about the same problem. with all the mods you mentioned above i wouldn't even be able to imagine how worse can it actually get!
 
My favorite shock, to date, is the Monroe Severe Service shock, but the availablity on it is pretty much limited to vehicles that serve as taxis/police vehicles.

After that, I like the Monroe Reflex, but, again, availability is somewhat limited on that one as well.

I've used Sensatracs, and they are ok, but I'm not a big fan of position based damping.

As for Bilsteins, my experience with them is limited to the reviews about them on Impala forums and in person form Impala owners, and based on those reviews, they are great, but pricey. I've heard of very few failures in that application, and they are a very popular choice.

I've also used KYB GR2s, which seemed to be a stock replacement, and did well if that was what you were expecting.
 
the shocks on my 92 Galant haven't been replaced (to the best of my knowledge)...but i couldn't pass up the price of $146 for four RSX's for the truck.
 
My professional and personal opion are the same 50,000-60,000. This will ensure in 90% of applications that the ride,handleing and brakeing performance remain like new. You also tend to get less noise when you replace them every 50K-60K. I am looking right now to replace my OEM struts on my 2003 Camry and I am just over 50,000 miles!
 
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My favorite shock, to date, is the Monroe Severe Service shock, but the availablity on it is pretty much limited to vehicles that serve as taxis/police vehicles.


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Can you tell me more about your experience with the Monroe Severe Service? I see that they are available for my Cherokee.

I'm looking for something that will better control brake-dive. I'm running Monroe Gas-Matic LT now, and the nose dive during hard braking is terrible. It seems much worse since I put the rear discs on.
 
front struts at about 225k miles on my 528e, rears not yet at 342k. My 72k '04 Astro work van needs shocks , but I will prolly get a new van instead
 
Does any rebuild the suspension when shocks/struts are replaced? Maybe not so much in cars but in trucks wore out bushings can cause poor ride and handling. The only shocks i've replaced was on a s10 and it didn't help at all even though the old ones were shot, used kyb's as the replacement. When my current vehicles need either i'm going to replace all the bushings at the same time, hopefully with poly variety. Otherwise i'll leave it alone.
 
Buying out the lease on 2000 Outback next week. Booked in for four KYB struts/shocks next Wednesday. $999 fitted and four wheel align. Average shock life is 40,000kms and these have 110,000kms on them.
 
I have 175k kms on my '96 Audi S6. It's on the second set of shocks rear and third front. At 160k km I changed the springs and all front suspension bushings.
 
OEM shocks should be replaced at 30000 miles. This applies only if they are the regular OEM cheapies. As you all know some upgraded OEM suspension packages use Bilsteins and the like. These should go to 100,000 miles or more barring leaks.
Personally I like Bilsteins the best. I've tried Rancho and edelbrock. Their not bad, but Bilsteins give better control and ride. Just my 2 cents.
 
With my Volvo 740 wagon (348K miles) I replaced the original units at 100K. At 190K I re-did the suspension with new bushings all around and some fun parts including Bilstein HD's. Well 158K miles later they ride as nice as the day they were installed.
 
The rear shocks on my '01 Windstar were shot at 40K (you could compress them and they would stay that way). No signs of leakage. Replaced them with Monroe Sensa Tracs (shocks with the helper springs around them). Works great. Now it's time to replace the front struts and springs as the front is beginning to bounce and sway a little at 73K.
 
Could anything really bad happen from not replacing struts which are shot? I have 120k on my '03 civic and i think mine are gone.. But i really don't want to replace them yet because the dealer quoted me something like $600 for just the labor..
 
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Could anything really bad happen from not replacing struts which are shot?

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The tires may not be able to hold the road as well over imperfect surfaces, possibly reducing cornering and braking performance. Not normally a big deal if you're a conservative driver, but it could be in an emergency situation. It depends a lot on how bad they are, and that's hard to determine from here!
 
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