How often to rebuild coilovers or stock shocks?

[stockysnail]

I have read a lot on here that coilovers require rebuilding around every 5 years. I've never had coilovers, only Billstein strut/springs all in one on my Elise and R32. I'm wondering if the stock shocks (or that general type) on the BRZ/FR-S also needs to be rebuilt on an average of every 5 years or if the non-coilovers tend to last longer.

Also I need to start telling myself I don't need to upgrade the suspension if I like it how it is currently or since I haven't had it on the track for a HPDE yet (which I will probably only do a couple times a year). Good thing about suspension parts it that it doesn't generally void factory warranties, but engine related stuff has a higher chance of doing so.

I'm learning a lot from spending a couple weeks at work reading this forum since it's so slow slow at work currently.

[Hanakuso]

Depends on many factors such as mileage, roads, weather, etc. I've been on Showa shocks that lasted 100k+

On a side note I was just in Oregon and you guys have very nice roads. The highways are super smooth compared to Cali :P

[7thgear]

Your shock could require a rebuild every month or week, depending on how you use them.

Higher quality shocks tend to have higher quality materials (like seals) that don't blow easily etc

There is no magical timeline,

(Application + Brand ^ Frequency)*chuck Norris =

[silversprint]

Depends on the seals, specially the piston seal. Usually real racing shocks have seals that have less hysteresis, like some ohlins. These low drag seals decrease hysteresis and stiction and allow for much more precise shock tuning.

However the downside is these shock require rebuilding much more frequently, as often as every 10K-20K miles or once a year.

On a side note, shock have oil. The oil degrades just like any other oil in the car. Sure a suspension system may not "need" to be rebuilt but it doesn't mean it work as well as it did after 10K, 20K, or 100K miles. On a street car you may not notice but on a performance car specially on the track it will be noticeable.