Anyone running Skyjacker m95 shocks? Thoughts?

[stretch-bsn]

Not the whole lift…seems like all the searching results in the skyjacker lift. I’m just wondering about the shocks, ride quality and durability…on and off road handling.

I ordered a set of Rancho rs7mt’s and talked with several distributors and local off road places that told me to save my money…that ranchos aren’t what they used to be. That and the fact they were on back order for who knows how long I was talked into a set of skyjacker m95’s. With the discounts I was given and the mail in rebate skyjacker has right now it was less than $50 more for a full set.

I’m not bashing Ranchos because I don’t have experience with them so if you got them and love them that’s awesome.

I’m just wondering what people experience with the skyjacker m95’s. I currently have leaking rubicon shocks so that is what I’ll be comparing them to haha. It’s a little rough but rather like the ride of the stock shocks. A little softer would be perfect imo.


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[stretch-bsn]

Nothin? Lol they came in today…guess I’ll give a review when they are installed!

 

[Jeffy56]

I hope they work out for you. 30 days ago I put on Rancho RS7s on a stock JLUS. I've had 5000s and 9000s before. The RS7s are easily the best shock I've ever had for spending less than $100 each. I had to get 3 from Amazon and one from O'Reilly. Your part number are different. I like the ride and control. They handled a nasty washboarded fire road with aplomb. I suppose there's a first, but I've never worn out a Rancho shock.

 

[stretch-bsn]

I hope they work out for you. 30 days ago I put on Rancho RS7s on a stock JLUS. I've had 5000s and 9000s before. The RS7s are easily the best shock I've ever had for spending less than $100 each. I had to get 3 from Amazon and one from O'Reilly. Your part number are different. I like the ride and control. They handled a nasty washboarded fire road with aplomb. I suppose there's a first, but I've never worn out a Rancho shock.

That’s awesome…yeah I mean lots of things I read and watch say they are great! It was odd for that a few different dealers and retailers said don’t do it! The rs7’s look like a great shock!

 

[stretch-bsn]

Got them installed!

I’ll give a ride report tomorrow or the next day.

 

[Jeffy56]

That’s awesome…yeah I mean lots of things I read and watch say they are great! It was odd for that a few different dealers and retailers said don’t do it! The rs7’s look like a great shock!

A lot of these "dealers" try to goad you into having the latest/greatest/fancy-est/one up 'est, to upsell you and make more money.

 

[Jeffy56]

Got them installed!

I’ll give a ride report tomorrow or the next day.

I like that they are mounted body up, less unsprung weight.

 

[stretch-bsn]

A lot of these "dealers" try to goad you into having the latest/greatest/fancy-est/one up 'est, to upsell you and make more money.

Funny thing is the brand and these shocks have been on the market a long time. But I agree…up sales are a real thing!

 

[stretch-bsn]

I like that they are mounted body up, less unsprung weight.

Yeah supposedly since they are a mono shock design they are supposed to be pointed up to protect the body if the shock while crawling

 

[There’sOnlyOne]

Let us know how they ride. Guess I'll install my Rancho rs7mts now. And give an opinion on them.

2021 JLUR all stock Wildpeak MT's. Daily driver mostly surface streets. 25K miles

I originally went with the Rancho 9000 shocks but did not like them at all. I did a lot of research also to finally make that purchase. Based on reviews here, history of shock and one forum member that swears by them (I forget name but him and his wife have traveled 10's of 1000 of miles on the 9000 all over the US and I figured that was a great indicator of their ride quality. No offense to the member though. Ride feel is subjective to any driver/passenger).

I tried all the settings and they were harsh when hitting any bumps in road no matter what number settings I was on. Either way too soft, like a 70's Cadillac or way too stiff. But always harsh. I never felt there was any in between with the 9 positions with harshness. Returned them and put my leaking stock rubicon red shocks back on. They ride much better than those Ranchos did.

I even called Rancho and had a good conversation with a technical guy. Everything he suggested I had already done. One of those was priming the shocks, which I did a few times. No diff. Told him they were the only new shocks I've ever dealt with that you could just collapsed the shock with little to no resistance, like a worn out shock does. And they made liquid swishing trapped air sound when you did. He didn't understand how they were doing that but they did. And hardly any rebound after collapsing, they took forever to go back to length. All 4. So either that's their design or I got 4 bad shocks, which I doubt. He said return if I didn't like them or he could do a warranty exchange and try another set of the 9000, he wouldn't exchange for the 7's.

I went with the Rancho 7 since it's a mono tube. I have always liked Bilstiens but again several reviews claim they are harsh. But when I found reviews compared to the Rancho 7 they all say it's a good in between mono tube shock. So I'll have to install and see. I guess, part of me wants to just return them and keep the Rubicon red shocks.

Got them from Oreliy with a 20% discount. Best price on web I could find. But one of them was wrong part right box. So I had to do a return on that one. And the manager said she always uses Skyjacker for her jeeps.

 

[Jeffy56]

Let us know how they ride. Guess I'll install my Rancho rs7mts now. And give an opinion on them.

2021 JLUR all stock Wildpeak MT's. Daily driver mostly surface streets. 25K miles

I originally went with the Rancho 9000 shocks but did not like them at all. I did a lot of research also to finally make that purchase. Based on reviews here, history of shock and one forum member that swears by them (I forget name but him and his wife have traveled 10's of 1000 of miles on the 9000 all over the US and I figured that was a great indicator of their ride quality. No offense to the member though. Ride feel is subjective to any driver/passenger).

I tried all the settings and they were harsh when hitting any bumps in road no matter what number settings I was on. Either way too soft, like a 70's Cadillac or way too stiff. But always harsh. I never felt there was any in between with the 9 positions with harshness. Returned them and put my leaking stock rubicon red shocks back on. They ride much better than those Ranchos did.

I even called Rancho and had a good conversation with a technical guy. Everything he suggested I had already done. One of those was priming the shocks, which I did a few times. No diff. Told him they were the only new shocks I've ever dealt with that you could just collapsed the shock with little to no resistance, like a worn out shock does. And they made liquid swishing trapped air sound when you did. He didn't understand how they were doing that but they did. And hardly any rebound after collapsing, they took forever to go back to length. All 4. So either that's their design or I got 4 bad shocks, which I doubt. He said return if I didn't like them or he could do a warranty exchange and try another set of the 9000, he wouldn't exchange for the 7's.

I went with the Rancho 7 since it's a mono tube. I have always liked Bilstiens but again several reviews claim they are harsh. But when I found reviews compared to the Rancho 7 they all say it's a good in between mono tube shock. So I'll have to install and see. I guess, part of me wants to just return them and keep the Rubicon red shocks.

Got them from Oreliy with a 20% discount. Best price on web I could find. But one of them was wrong part right box. So I had to do a return on that one. And the manager said she always uses Skyjacker for her jeeps.

I happy with my RS7s, they ride decent yet control the sudden bump or hole well. They actually did well on a badly washboarded road. Note, I am running a 265/70x18 tire that has less sidewall than most.

 

[stretch-bsn]

Shock review



So I’ve been riding around on these shocks for about a week. I’ve put about 300 to 500 miles on them and did one wheeling trip over the weekend.



Disclaimer, I am new to jeeps and new to offloading, and my only experience is my stock sport shocks that I never went off Roading with, the Rubicon XR shocks that I took off Roading a couple of times before they started leaking, and now these shocks. So I do not have extensive experience with Different types of shocks or different offloading rigs but this is my experience with the skyjacker M 95.



My initial impression of the shocks is mixed? Leaning towards positive. To be clear, they are a $400 set of shocks mono tube that are not adjustable. I got some discounts from the place. I ordered them from and a $55 mail in rebate putting them at just over $300 shipped to my house. For that price I am happy with the purchase as long as they hold up for the next 50,000 miles plus.



On road I feel the shocks are responsive. I do feel they are slightly stiffer than the Rubicon shocks I had. I really wanted softer shocks initially however I have found with these shocks while there is more road feedback the shocks deaden the road feedback (I’ll try to explain). I’m not a shock expert or a pro reviewer so I will try to explain that the best I can. Typically when I would go over bumps with the stock shocks, there would be the initial bump, and then the settling down after the bump or pothole. With these shocks, what I have found is the Jeep gives slightly more feedback on the bump but settles immediately after the bump there is no “aftershock” (that’s how I’ll describe it).



I will also say, although there is more feedback and maybe this goes hand-in-hand, but I do feel more connected and planted to the road which I initially did not think I would like, but I am enjoying.



Off-road, I believe the shocks worked very well. I do believe they gave me a little more travel in my front end. The reason I believe this is because I had some rubbing for the first time when I was wheeling the other day and I have not experienced that with the stock rubicon shocks and my current suspension set up.



I think to know for sure, I would have to run a trail that I have run before for a proper compare and contrast. The trail I ran this weekend was a new trail to me. There was a bit more rocky area and rutted out uphill mud climbs, but all in all I think they performed well .



Hopefully, I’ll be able to give an updated review in a few weeks. I’m headed out to Moab and should be able to put them through their paces pretty heavily out there!

 

[Roadrunner71]

Stretch-bsn ... I've read the entire string and I'm thinking about buying the Skyjacker M95. Can you provide an update now that you've had them for a year? Thanks!

 

[Roadrunner71]

@stretch-bsn .... Stretch-bsn ... I've read the entire string and I'm thinking about buying the Skyjacker M95. Can you provide an update now that you've had them for a year? I'm specifically looking for a shock that smooth on the road, but will handle level 3-ish trails.

Also, have they rusted at all?

Thanks!

 

[stretch-bsn]

@stretch-bsn .... Stretch-bsn ... I've read the entire string and I'm thinking about buying the Skyjacker M95. Can you provide an update now that you've had them for a year? I'm specifically looking for a shock that smooth on the road, but will handle level 3-ish trails.

Also, have they rusted at all?

Thanks!

So far I like the shocks. I think they are reasonable for the price (I think I paid $300 for the set because there was a mail in rebate). I personally think they are a little stiffer than stock rubicon shocks but they handle very well off road imo and they preform fine on road. Rust…I have noticed a little bit of pitting on some of the shock body. It really isn’t bad but it is there. They flex great. I typically do 5/6 level trails. I guess the big question is would I buy them again…at this point I would still put Skyjacker on my short list of possible options but I would probably have spent a little more and got a more premium shock. By that I mean either from Skyjacker or another company but the next tier of shock quality I guess is what I mean.

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