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I don't think anyone really answered your question on "How do you know when it's time to replace struts".
Here's the deal......the struts don't wear out, the damping mechanism inside them wears out. Please don't call it dampening.....it's DAMPING.
Dampers are mechanisms which control the oscillation of the springs (how fast the springs compress and rebound). When the dampers wear out, you will notice that the ride becomes much bouncier - this should not be confused with a stiff ride. What you will notice with worn-out dampers is that when you hit a bump, instead of hitting the bump and then the car taking a set, the car will continue to bounce ever so gently until the oscillations of the springs stop. The more your springs oscillate, the harder it is to control the car. Why do you think racing dampers are valved so stiff? There's tons of energy stored when heavy racing springs compress, and you don't want that stored energy being released in an uncontrolled fashion and throwing off the balance of the car.
Make sense?
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