Affordable shocks

[Zerokharma]

Ok I have another noob question but I had a lot of great help with my other one I thought I would give it a shot. I am adding a 2.5 tf spacer lift. Now I need longer shocks. I have a 4 door sport. I don’t want to break the bank but I also don’t want an awful ride. It’s a daily driver so there will be no rock crawling or anything like that. Had anyone used the quadratec shocks? Are they any good? Also what other decent shocks should I look at?

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[angrykitty]

I don’t want to break the bank but I also don’t want an awful ride. - awful ride is subjective. I believe I have an awful ride but two shops told me "your Jeep drives better than ours!" and that's why I hate taking my precious to the shop.

That being said, try some Rancho? I've never used them but people say they're decent and they're cheap, they even have very inexpensive adjustable ones.

I would not recommend Accutune to purchase your shocks. Unless you live down the street from them and you're trying to dial in a race suspension, don't spend the money. I went back and forth between Accutune tuned Fox 2.0 with remote reservoir and the Fox 2.5 adjustables and I wish I just spend a couple hundred more and bought the adjustables. Accutune is priced higher and doesn't put the hardware on sale because they offer "$1000 of tuning services" which I don't find beneficial. At least with the 2.5s, I'd be able to tune them daily myself.

I knew I wanted remote reservoir because I've blown shocks before, too many washboard roads. The theory is they won't heat up and break down when I'm wheeling and hit the trailhead/end and have 5 miles of washboards to get back to pavement.

Good luck on your decision! There are so many options it makes it difficult.

 

[Fonzilla85]

Rancho 5000’s. I’ve never ran them, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about them.

 

[Jeffy56]

Rancho. I've run 5000s and 9000s (adj), both pretty good. 9s you have the ability to tune it. Best bang for the buck, the newer RS7xxx. This is what I'm going to replace the OEMs with.
They have sizes for various lifts. My application is forest roads, washboards, light to medium 4x trails.

 

[m3reno]

I purchased the 9000XL adjustable and replaced my shocks within the first week of ownership. The OEM were just to stiff and bone jarring. I set the adjustable on the 4th setting as that is the best overall ride for comfort and sporty driving, and for all 4 for under 500 it was a great deal. I also heard the 5000 were good shocks but not adjustable and stay away from the 5100 as I heard that shock had bad reviews. The 7000 was equivalent to the Bilsteins which I thought was too stiff of a shock.

 

[wibornz]

I am a fan of the Rancho XL9000 adjustable shocks.

 

[Dg1615]

I am a fan of the Rancho XL9000 adjustable shocks.

I second this. Really underrated shock. No shiny bling on them I suppose

 

[longfiredragon]

I just did a crap load of research on this because my Rubicon shocks at 45K are trashed. Witch I am fine with because they have served well and I beat the crap out of them.

The three I looked at were Bilstein,rancho, and fox. The Bilstein are said to ride pretty rough and I didn't want that. They do tighten up the cornering a bit though.

Ranchos RS9000XLs are adjustable, which is nice as long as the adjusting works, never ran them. People seem to like them and reviews were great unless your doing more serious rock crawling. And some people use them for serious off roading as well with no issues. The reviews just stated there were better off road shocks. But more money to.

The Fox 2.0 IFP monotube came in the best off road but are a little soft on the street.

So it comes down to want you are wanting to do. Sounds like from what you stated, budget, use, Ranchos would serve you great for years.

 

[Zerokharma]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I don’t really need adjustable but at under 500 I might give them a shot. I am definitely leaning towards the ranchos. Everyone’s input has been a great help. Now on to the next parts.

 

[Terpsmandan]

Another vote for the Rancho 9000’s. Broke one of the Fox Shocks from the Mopar lift and got a set of Ranchos and it really improved the ride.

 

[AcesandEights]

... and it really improved the ride.

How so? Did it make it more firm or more soft?

 

[wibornz]

How so? Did it make it more firm or more soft?

the XL9000 shocks are adjustable. I run mine soft on the street. My jeep is as smooth as most passenger cars on the road. When I go off road, I adjust the shocks and firm them up depending on the type of terrain. The shocks are super easy to adjust and you can do with without getting under the Jeep. I just reach down and dial them to the position that I need for the the type of wheeling that I am going to do. It takes less than a minute. When I get done wheeling, I will often soften the shocks back up for the road while my tires air up.

 

[wibornz]

the XL9000 shocks are adjustable. I run mine soft on the street. My jeep is as smooth as most passenger cars on the road. When I go off road, I adjust the shocks and firm them up depending on the type of terrain. The shocks are super easy to adjust and you can do with without getting under the Jeep. I just reach down and dial them to the position that I need for the the type of wheeling that I am going to do. It takes less than a minute. When I get done wheeling, I will often soften the shocks back up for the road while my tires air up.

Also should note that they have a lifetime warranty on the shocks. They replaced my shocks at 84,000 miles. That is with thousands of miles of off roading and towing a camper approx. 40,000 miles at that time.

 

[Terpsmandan]

How so? Did it make it more firm or more soft?

Like he said. I also run them full soft on the street and turn them up for the trails. Wife has one with the Mopar lift still with Fox shocks and I like the ride on mine better.

 

[MK212MX]

These replaced the old Rancho 7000. If you don't need the adjustable function of the 9000, these are a little cheaper, but are also better than the old 5000.

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