I can vouch after years of chassis development that Bilsteins are hard to beat. First off, they aren't gimmics and second, they are
OIL shocks that use a floating piston pressurized with nitrogen gas to keep the
oil under pressure so it won't gas and will damp immediately. As for durability, I have had a set of Bilsteins on my Mustang since 1974 and have not experience a single problem.