"completely shot to the point of compromising safety".

really? My Lexus LS430 has 150,000 and still has the original shocks. My girlfriends Lexus is a 93 SC 400 with original shocks on it and it has 100K on it. They both look and drive great. Yet you suggest driving a 98 993 with 32k is quite possibly unsafe. I think we can all agree that's a bit of an exaggeration.

I took the car to Detroit for an oil change and a top adjustment last summer with 31,000 miles on it. The head mechanic and owner has been there for 28 years. I asked him to drive the car and give me any suggestions on what else it might need. He has done all the work on the car from day one. He stated it needs nothing.

So I guess we have established the car is somewhere between perfect and unsafe at any speed!

Sure, whatever you say. Guess me and all the boys here with all our decades of collective wisdom regarding these suspensions were mistaken.

Take care :cheers:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...48af2e9e25.jpg
Please don't misunderstand or mistake what I am saying. I posted here looking for suggestions on what I could possibly do to my car to jazz it up a little. Some people with years of knowledge suggested the suspension was shot, worn out and not very good to begin with. I started researching what a suspension would run. I was lead to believe between 4 and 5 K installed. I then started calling a few other guys with probably more experience than the vast majority of the guys in this forum. They had differing opinions.on what should be done to the car. I just shared their thoughtss. Not saying who is right or wrong.

I don't meant to be rude, disrespectful or anything like that. TStafford was posing some questions on the true cost of owning a 993 and I gave my opinions based upon my experience of owning 4 Porsches over the past 18 years.

I will also say this. Your black 911 is one of the best looking 911's I have ever seen. I researched the wheels. They are from France, I believe and probably cost $7500 with tires. very nice indeed.

FTR these are speakers I have in my living room. They retailed for $74,900 Yes many people think I am an idiot. Its what I like!

It seems to me that shock absorbers are relatively simple devices. When they fail they are pretty obvious, kind of like the brake hydraulic system, they leak. External leaks are obvious but internal ones not so. Internal leaks are what causes degradation of a shock, assuming there are no external leaks.

Degradation of a shock is very difficult to tell for most people. Unless you are able to do a back to back comparison with replacement with same components or you can have the shock tested it would not be possible to decipher the difference. Even at that, unless the difference is obvious it may not be possible.

I assume the folks that recommended replacement of shocks and springs because of their age have also replaced all their hydraulic cylinder in their brake system because they’re “20 years old”. Like the OP, my career was in the automotive field, it can be a very “dirty” business because people, generally, know very little about cars so they’re often sold things that are not really necessary. I think the OP is wise for being thoughtful.

The missing point of your analysis is that the Monroe shocks that were stock, weren't of the best quality to begin with. And, yes, most owners do address other rehab projects, hydraulic or otherwise, as they sort a car out.

Are those amazing speakers driven by just that set up on the wall or are there amps and pre-amps hiding somewhere?