Differences in shocks. Just Shocks! 95% Daily Driving

[Martial Fartist]

Ok.
What difference have you felt when changing to a different shock?
In this scenario shocks are the ONLY thing changing. Not new shocks and lift kit. Just shocks.
Going stock rubicon shocks to fox? bilstein? rough county? rancho?
The list goes on…

What difference did you notice? Good or bad.
And difference going from say rough country to bilstein or fox?

would like to know others experiences when switching shocks.

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[Zandcwhite]

Bilsteins will be firmer, which has benefits and drawbacks. The digestive valving will give better handling, less brake drive under hard breaking, and it will dampen much better on big bumps on and off road. With the added firmness you will feel bumps more and the ride will be stiffer. On road foxes will be much more similar to the stock shock. They will ride very much the same but with much better dampening. They will smooth out the big bumps or repeated bumps much better than the stock shocks. They will obviously perform much better off road. No experience with the others.

 

[Jtphoto]

Personally I’ve tried Mopar lift FOX shocks, Bilstein 5100, Rancho RM9000XL adjustables, and Metal Cloak RockSports.. Favorite is the RockSports with Rancho close second.
Personally I found not much difference in ride between the Bilstein and Fox. They were pretty harsh for daily driving whereas the RockSports and Rancho were very street friendly and not so tiresome on longer drives. The RockSports are actually valved quite differently then other shocks.

 

[Fast-n-Furious]

I’m still running the stock XR shocks after 2.5 years. Set my eyes on the new Fox 2.5 IFP HTO shocks. 99% daily driving.

 

[renegadecaderyn]

Rancho RS9000XL. Nicer ride than Rubicon shocks. Feel the bumps, but don't feel the bumps with your body. Replaced worn out KO2s with 315/70/17 KO2s, smooth ride. Even my wife commented on the ride the first time she rode in it after the new tires were on.

 

[m3reno]

Rancho RS9000XL. was the best upgrade I did to the jeep. I changed them out the first week I had the Jeep because the ride was so rough with the stock shocks. The Rancho's improved ride quality and handling. I also added the Hellwig sway bar.

 

[Jtphoto]

If you guys like the Rancho 9000 you’ll love the RockSports BUT you will need a lift with them. The RockSports are a long travel shock.

 

[Zandcwhite]

If you guys like the Rancho 9000 you’ll love the RockSports BUT you will need a lift with them. The RockSports are a long travel shock.

Definitely the best budget friendly long travel shocks on the market. Ride great on road. Tons of travel. My only complaint was under dampened at speed off road. We spend far too much time at speed in the desert so we upgraded to foxes.

 

[Nokones]

I have a 23 Wrangler "IZARUBI" 2 Dr. and I had the Mopar 2 1/2" Lift kit installed at 2,000 miles. The kit included the Fox 2.5 non-reservior non-adjustable shocks. The ride quality was significantly improved on the road and off-road. The shocks felt very compliant with the bumps and made the vehicle very stable at speeds and ride was very comfortable.

However, if you add a significant amount of weight such as the required recovery gear, equipment, tools, and passengers, the vehicle would ride a little on the soft side and become just a little unstable at freeway speeds and become a handful in the turns especially with some wind. Even a big truck driving pass would make the vehicle become a handful on the freeway.

On the trail, it felt like the vehicle would bottom out on some of the obstacles and you had to watch your speed because the handling was not very compliant and the vehicle felt a little tipsy at times.

After inquiring with various off-road ride and suspension sources, regarding the aforementioned ride quality with the amount of weight I was carrying and the vehicle being unstable at highway speeds and the poor performance on the trail, I had to do something to improve this situation.

So, I decide to call the various off-road ride and suspension specialists to see what can be done to resolve this situation. There was no doubt that I have went beyond the capabilities of my springs and shocks with not only the added weight of the recovery stuff, but also with the added-on equipment such as the winch, skid plates, trail lights, two Motorola remote-mount radios, CB Radio, Dometic refrigerator, front and rear Steel Bumpers, and the 35" spare tire and wheel on the rear.

After, consulting with several sources, I was very appreciative for the time I spent and the patience with Accutune Off-Road and Clayton Off-Road, and I was also very confident in their expertise in recommending the appropriate solution and the fact that they were not over-selling me. I received great level of customer service.

Accutune was the only one that recommended the custom valving of the shocks and they explained the reasonings very well which I understood since I had spent many years in racing Corvettes, Camaros, and Porsches with custom-valved shocks and tuned suspensions. Just about everyone else was suggesting off-the-shelf stuff like Bilstein and Rancho. I was not impressed with their recommendations and it appeared that they were just selling a products without a real solution.

Accutune also designed and built my shocks for the increased lift of an inch for the appropriate travel lengths, compression and droops, because of the new springs. The other off-road suspension sources never suggested the subject of the shock travels

The recommendations were to go with the Fox Elite 2.5 External Reservior double adjustable shocks custom-valved for my weight and with the Clayton Dual-Rate Spring Packages. Accutune asked for the corner weights and since I have the capabilities of corner weighing vehicles, I provided the requested weight information and Accutuns was able to custom-valve the shocks for the weights and that will be compliment the spring rates.

The new shock and spring packagd was installed at about 4,000 miles. After the shocks and springs were installed, it was unbelievable, night and day difference, on both the highway and the trail. It had a whole new meaning to a compliant ride with no stiffness and harshness. The ride was totally stable and very comfortable. There was no bottoming out on the trail rolling over obstacles and at speeds on trails where before I could only safely drive at 30-35 MPH, I was able to safely drive those same roads at 50-55 MPH, and I felt that could have safely drove a little faster.

At this time, the shock settings are about 25% above the softest setting and more than likely, I will leave them where they are now, because I am totally satisfied with the ride and the handling.

Was it a little pricey, I guess, but we'll worth the expense. I wouldn't change a thing now.

 

[Chris D]

Rancho RS9000XL. Nicer ride than Rubicon shocks. Feel the bumps, but don't feel the bumps with your body. Replaced worn out KO2s with 315/70/17 KO2s, smooth ride. Even my wife commented on the ride the first time she rode in it after the new tires were on.

Did you replace the E rated with C rated? The C rated will have a much smoother ride but not as 'tough' as the E rated. Size alone does not sufficiently define the tire.

 

[Martial Fartist]

Besides going from stock, what was your experiences going from shock to shock?
brand a to brand b?

just wondering I guess how much difference there is between the different shocks. no other suspension components.

 

[renegadecaderyn]

Did you replace the E rated with C rated? The C rated will have a much smoother ride but not as 'tough' as the E rated. Size alone does not sufficiently define the tire.

Went from the 285/70/17 KO2 load range C to 315/70/17 KO2 load range C. Both mounted on Fuel Trophy 17 x 8.5 wheels. The smaller tires fit the wider wheel, but side wall bulge was minimal. A significant amount of increased sidewall bulge is present on the larger tires.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Even the base Rancho 5000s will be a significant increase in comfort over the OEM shocks. I've used the 5000s on a few different vehicles and they simply work well. Nothing fancy, no adjustments to make, relatively inexpensive.

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