Yep my personal D2's are all from southern states minus the 04 which was up north for a short time before heading to LA. So all my shock towers are fine. I have without a doubt seen those puppies when they rust and it looks more like a pile of dirt vs a shock tower!

 

I had Old Man Emu springs and Bilstein shocks/damper on my first D1. The springs gave it the lift I wanted and the shocks the ride comfort. Just my 2 cents to help out. Good luck!

 

I've run Bilstein shocks and they are not the most bang for the $$$ at about 3x the cost of Terrafirma. I mean they ride good when new but just like every other shock I've tried they soften after about 10k miles. The TF's have been the best bang for my buck between the big three brands. It was a set of Bilsteins that I wore out in 10k miles actually, when I installed them without refreshing the springs first.