CO2Wrangler
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So I thought I'd post my feedback here to help anyone else considering these shocks for their builds. I bought all 3 so you don't have to!
Vehicle: 21 JLUR Diesel with a 2.5" Clayton lift and 37" Cooper Discoverer ATs.
On road PSI: 30-32 / Off-road PSI: 17-20
Backstory: I read EVERYTHING on this forum and others for every shock on the market and found that shocks are a very personal matter and everyone interprets their performance and attributes very differently. Here's where I landed with each of these after buying and running all 3 both on and off-road in CO.
FOX 2.0 (~$900): I bought these with the Clayton lift. Initially they were significantly firmer than the Rubicon shocks, but not in a harsh way.
PROS: It felt better on road and less squishy off-road. They do absorb bumps and mild terrain well. As long as both tires hit the obstacle at the same time it's great (more on this later). They feel compliant on the road to separate road imperfections from the driver in most cases.
CONS:
After about 8k miles I had one start leaking (fixed under warranty but I paid shipping - note I bought a 5th shock new as I couldn't be without my vehicle while they warrantied it). Around 15k miles, I started to get a noticeable increase in body roll that wasn't there initially around town.
*Here's the one thing that made me start looking elsewhere - when your tires come off something or bump something unevenly, the Fox 2.0s allow the Jeep to rock side to side for several cycles and passengers get tossed pretty violently in the process. There isn't enough resistance in the shock to slow down the momentum. It's possible this is a diesel/weight issue but it was rough and combined with the body roll led me to look at some thing else. No mods I have add weight besides the tires.
Bilstein 5100 ($425)
So I went with these next to see what a digressive shock was like and because they're cheap!
PROs: These control the Jeeps motion fantastically on and off-road. The previous rocking motion was gone as was the body roll when cornering. I read many people viewed these as harsh so was worried about off-road performance. I had the opposite experience. Off-road (crawling and rocky trails) my family noted that the ride was MUCH less rough and I attribute that to the 5100s ability to control the bounce and weight of the Jeep better. I love the feedback on the trails and thought it was a great experience overall. Very pleasantly surprised.
CONs: Here's where the reviews were correct - on the street you will feel the small striations and imperfections in the road more. The Jeep tends to follow small dips in the road downward where the Foxes would only dip the suspension (if that makes sense). To me it's the same feeling as a performance car - less cushy and more firm to give better handling, but you'll feel the road more. *If roads in your area suck, you might get sick of this, but I didn't see it as a big deal* One other thing I noted is that on the trails the 5100s got HOT. Which is why I tried...
Bilstein 5160s (~$1k)
These are pitched as 5100s (digressive), but with resis and that seems mostly accurate in my experience.
PROs: These are really close to the firmness of the 5100s, but not quite. To me it's the perfect middle ground between the Foxes and the 5100s - controlled and responsive without being overly harsh. Off-road they perform like the 5100s with composure and still control the rocking well without the heat issues. To me, this is the experience I was looking for all along and, as far as shocks go, a grand isn't all that bad.
CONs: They're the most expensive of the 3 and you still feel the imperfections in the road like with the 5100s. That's it.
Summary:
I was happy with the Foxes initially and they're the most compliant especially if you're focused more on comfort on road than composure and control/handling. They absorb more of the little stuff like potholes and speed bumps but were not good enough at minimizing the shake and roll of the body and it's contents for me. Would also hesitate if your Jeep runs heavy as I think they don't control weight/motion as well.
If you're on a budget, the 5100s are a damn good shock. If I didn't do long trails with a ton of rocks and crawling obstacles that heat up the shock, I would have stopped at the 5100s and been happy as a clam.
The 5160s are all the good things the 5100s provided without having to worry about the heat fade AND feel just a touch less harsh. These were the exact ride I was looking for both on and off-road and give me a ton of confidence in how the Jeeps going to react and handle in every situation.
Hope this helps someone!
Vehicle: 21 JLUR Diesel with a 2.5" Clayton lift and 37" Cooper Discoverer ATs.
On road PSI: 30-32 / Off-road PSI: 17-20
Backstory: I read EVERYTHING on this forum and others for every shock on the market and found that shocks are a very personal matter and everyone interprets their performance and attributes very differently. Here's where I landed with each of these after buying and running all 3 both on and off-road in CO.
FOX 2.0 (~$900): I bought these with the Clayton lift. Initially they were significantly firmer than the Rubicon shocks, but not in a harsh way.
PROS: It felt better on road and less squishy off-road. They do absorb bumps and mild terrain well. As long as both tires hit the obstacle at the same time it's great (more on this later). They feel compliant on the road to separate road imperfections from the driver in most cases.
CONS:
After about 8k miles I had one start leaking (fixed under warranty but I paid shipping - note I bought a 5th shock new as I couldn't be without my vehicle while they warrantied it). Around 15k miles, I started to get a noticeable increase in body roll that wasn't there initially around town.
*Here's the one thing that made me start looking elsewhere - when your tires come off something or bump something unevenly, the Fox 2.0s allow the Jeep to rock side to side for several cycles and passengers get tossed pretty violently in the process. There isn't enough resistance in the shock to slow down the momentum. It's possible this is a diesel/weight issue but it was rough and combined with the body roll led me to look at some thing else. No mods I have add weight besides the tires.
Bilstein 5100 ($425)
So I went with these next to see what a digressive shock was like and because they're cheap!
PROs: These control the Jeeps motion fantastically on and off-road. The previous rocking motion was gone as was the body roll when cornering. I read many people viewed these as harsh so was worried about off-road performance. I had the opposite experience. Off-road (crawling and rocky trails) my family noted that the ride was MUCH less rough and I attribute that to the 5100s ability to control the bounce and weight of the Jeep better. I love the feedback on the trails and thought it was a great experience overall. Very pleasantly surprised.
CONs: Here's where the reviews were correct - on the street you will feel the small striations and imperfections in the road more. The Jeep tends to follow small dips in the road downward where the Foxes would only dip the suspension (if that makes sense). To me it's the same feeling as a performance car - less cushy and more firm to give better handling, but you'll feel the road more. *If roads in your area suck, you might get sick of this, but I didn't see it as a big deal* One other thing I noted is that on the trails the 5100s got HOT. Which is why I tried...
Bilstein 5160s (~$1k)
These are pitched as 5100s (digressive), but with resis and that seems mostly accurate in my experience.
PROs: These are really close to the firmness of the 5100s, but not quite. To me it's the perfect middle ground between the Foxes and the 5100s - controlled and responsive without being overly harsh. Off-road they perform like the 5100s with composure and still control the rocking well without the heat issues. To me, this is the experience I was looking for all along and, as far as shocks go, a grand isn't all that bad.
CONs: They're the most expensive of the 3 and you still feel the imperfections in the road like with the 5100s. That's it.
Summary:
I was happy with the Foxes initially and they're the most compliant especially if you're focused more on comfort on road than composure and control/handling. They absorb more of the little stuff like potholes and speed bumps but were not good enough at minimizing the shake and roll of the body and it's contents for me. Would also hesitate if your Jeep runs heavy as I think they don't control weight/motion as well.
If you're on a budget, the 5100s are a damn good shock. If I didn't do long trails with a ton of rocks and crawling obstacles that heat up the shock, I would have stopped at the 5100s and been happy as a clam.
The 5160s are all the good things the 5100s provided without having to worry about the heat fade AND feel just a touch less harsh. These were the exact ride I was looking for both on and off-road and give me a ton of confidence in how the Jeeps going to react and handle in every situation.
Hope this helps someone!
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