Does anyone have any handy dandy high info links about the lifespan of a hydraulic shock absorber/strut/shock? Something to the affect of what Q45Tech likes to post about...I'm in the middle of a discussion where one individual does not believe me that they wear out. He likes to quote that fact that most shocks have lifetime warranties...ahahahahaha.

http://www.me.dal.ca/~dp_98_7/...t.htmh ... ...phtml"A motorist who is experiencing a shudder or shimmy after hitting a bump may think something is wrong with the steering rather than suspect worn shocks. If their vehicle handles poorly, leans like a wounded ship when cornering, or sways or veers in strong crosswinds, they may not realize the shocks play a major role in countering such things.

Because shocks wear slowly over time, the loss of ride control is usually gradual and occurs over many miles. Consequently, people get used to how their vehicle rides and handles, and often don't realize how loose and sloppy their suspension has become compared to when it was new. That's why technicians need to visually inspect shocks and struts for leaks and damage, and to also test drive the vehicle to check how well the shocks perform on a rough road."............http://www.babcox.com/editorial/cm/cm40130.htm

http://www.carcarecouncil.org/gabriel.htm

The problem is shocks have no published specifications so how do you know they are out of spec except for leaks. Why its easy to give a lifetime warranty since if you keep a car after oem are replaced you usually don't keep them more than another 60k.

Every time I have replaced my rear Blue Tokicos [first installed at 50k] at 120k and 185k {TWICE} they have no or little gas pressure to extend the rod back out thus the rebound has failed! I have 53,800 miles now on the 2nd set and the funny feeling is back as is the excessive rear sway in maneuvers.........even with Eibachs and a 20mm rear bar.................people don't realize how much the rebound controls the sway!

Based on the before after feeling new rears will reduce the 55 mph lane change oscillation by half!

Never had a problem returning the Tokico blues if they don't self extend at the normal rate! But we buy lots of shocks from NOPI.

as usual, YOU'RE THE MAN!

It's easy to offer a life time warranty on a shock because it does not include the labor to take them off and no way to test them. They calculate some warranty returns [accounting reserve] but I'll bet it is less than 1% as they go through so many hands.It all depends on the shop that installs them for you whether they will take them back and go through the hassle of sending them back to where they bought them.

We get a credit memo after 6 months from Nopi but as I've said we probably buy 20 units per month times two stores.......that's $33,000 per year in shocks alone.When one buys a million dollars worth of parts [say 6-8 vendors] per year you get some respect.