not finished yet....

I've blown coilovers out before. I did it at rausch creek once, we hit a fitting on something, and spewed out the oil. Even with the shock dead, the springs in this case would be such an upgrade to getting this beast under control.

So from my perspective, Coilovers are the choice.

1. The question becomes which coilovers do you get? Here's what I'd do next, research how coilover shock companies deal with returns for problems. If you blow one, do they send you a new one?, or do you have to send yours in and wait? thats the draw back. I dont know anyones policys on the matter. (matter of a blown shock)

2. Adjustability - RK's coilover can be tuned to your type of driving, maybe others can custom tune also, So Gary says he has a hemi, and they valve the shock up to deal with that weight, or give heavier duty springs, BEFORE we get to the point of Gary being able to adjust further in his garage with the lock rings and spanner wrenches.

3. Broaden the view. - You knew this was coming counselor, The final step is to strip weight. But I wouldnt do it until the coilovers are in. You may not feel like you need to change the weight of the truck if the suspension wasnt suffering underneath it. If you try to go standard spring and shock, then the steel everywhere else has to go.

4. Rebuilds - I sincerely do not think you will care about this. I would check that a shop near your home can do it IF you feel its neccessary. I sincerely do not think your truck will drive badly. What will happen will be that your truck drives incredible when you take it home, and you feel the coilovers moving. You will enjoy it and hit train tracks harder than you should at first. then 2 years later, you may hit the same train tracks and think to yourself, that wasnt as much fun as before, and you may treat yourself to a rebuild.

It will not be, "oh this truck drives awful, i need a rebuild". not at all. You may never feel the need for it.

I think id go as far as to say id take a blown coilover over a standard shock, spring combo in this case. So to me this decision is not really a close one.