Shocks

[Burns]

My bronco has a blown shock (in the sense that the inner rod is... no longer inside, it's resting peacefully OUT of the main body) and luckly it's the quad shock setup, so I was able to limp home. I'm not driving on it as it is. It's got a 2" lift as is, and I want to keep it that way till I can afford everything else, so I'm looking for a set of 2" lifted, prefferably stiff shocks. Brand's not too important, but quaility is. I don't want some cheap no-name brand, but I can never tell the difference between who's got stiff shocks and who's got bouncy shocks. Any tips? I've never done anything lift-orientied, the truck came with the lift on already.

 

[shift1313]

i wouldnt think youd have to limp it home. you could drive around without shocks if you really wanted to but it would be a bouncy ride. the fact that you have the dual shock setup you could probably pull the rears off(the back shock that mounts beind the spring and to the radius arm) and be okay like that.

I dont know a ton about shocks but i have seen a few out there that are adjustable. i think rancho makes them. why do you want stiff shocks? it will just make for a rougher ride. the springs are what take up all the load and the shocks just dampen the movement.

 

[Burns]

I say stiff cuz I don`t want to bounce on every bump. I really want a pretty stable ride. I was under the impression that stiff shocks would give me that.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I say stiff cuz I don`t want to bounce on every bump. I really want a pretty stable ride. I was under the impression that stiff shocks would give me that.

I found this page of information.

If you are interested enough to read all the way through it you will know more about shocks than me. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

http://www.4x4review.com/feature/shock-genius.asp

joe

 

[shift1313]

if you want your truck to absorb bumps and things you really want softer than harder. If you have a stiff shock, when your truck goes over a bump and the suspension tries to compress the sping fast, the shock will be too stiff and give you a harsh ride. If you think about this. sports cars/street cars usually run stiff suspension to keep the contact of the tire pressed into the road. this works really well on smooth surfaces but is horrible for rough stuff. if you watch like an off road/baja truck the wheel travels through the full range very fast. they usually have speed sensitive dampening which means if the suspension compresses fast vs slow it has a different dampening. its all done with fluid being pushed through a certain size hole or set of holes.

http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/W_shocks_...**.htm#RS99700X

if you look at the rs5000 you will see it lists 10 stage velocity sensing. this means there is a valve inside that moves at different rates depending on how fast or slow your suspension compresses.

at the bottom of the page you see the pro series. the remote reservoir design allows more fluid to travel and keep cooler and also helps in larger travel. these are 9 position adjustable so you can dial in the rebound/compression dampening(together not individually). there is also an incab on the fly adjustment kit so you can tune it while driving. you can see the price difference your looking at.

there are lots of brands out there that will offer a simlar product. I know rancho is a good name and thats why i linked you to it. Bilstein is another great company and i think trail masters are pretty good.

http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/W_shocks.htm

 

[Justshootme84]

Burns, what brand of shocks are on there now?Most major brands like Rancho, PRoComp, and Skyjacker have a lifetime or 1,000,000 miles warranty. Even if you don't have the original receipt, you may still be able to get a replacement. Either way, if you have five Rough Country shocks that are good, I would just get another RC shock to keep them all the same. I do agree with you on preferring a "stiff" or "firm" ride over a cushy/ bouncy one. I for one do not like being thrown around in the cab while driving. A firmer shock like the Rancho RS5000 will handle bumpy roads and railroad x-ings better than softer shocks. you don't get near as much up and down body motion or "porpoiseing" (like a swimming dolphin) with a firmer, offroad shock. I do have the adjustable RS9000X's on my 98 Z-71, and feel that those are the best shock made for that type of suspension (IFS). I have them set on "7" for highway driving. JSM84

 

[michibronc]

I've had Rancho RS 5000's on 3 different trucks now, including the Bronco. I've been very impressed with the valving on them. I get a stiff (but not crashing) ride on the highway and GREAT performance off road. I wanted to try the RS 9000's on the Bronco, but was a little short on $ when I needed shocks.

I can't speak for lots of the other brands, I just haven't had any first hand experience with them - but Rancho makes a quality product that you'll be happy with. The RS 5000's are reasonably priced and will last a long time as well.

 

[BLADE262US]

Ive got the 9000,s on both of mine and they work very well got rid of that bucking bronco thing . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I was thinking about this earlier today and noted that there was NO Mention of AIR shocks. Are they out of vogue or something?

Couldn't they be used to give you an extra couple of inches of lift for wheeling? and then put back down for street riding? Should one get stuck/ frame out in the mud, could they be used to lift the frame so that the truck could be more easily pulled out?

 

[shift1313]

price! ive looked into an air ride drop for a 71 that im restoring and the cheapest was $1000 for 4 bags, compressor and all the lines/controls.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

price! ive looked into an air ride drop for a 71 that im restoring and the cheapest was $1000 for 4 bags, compressor and all the lines/controls.

No... nothing fancy like that... I meant something like this from JCWhitney.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product...tt=air%20shocks

Gabriel's $62 a pair.

Just standard old cheap air shocks.

Just wondering.

 

[shift1313]

ive got a set like that on the rear of my 68 camaro so the 275 tires clear the body they dont give you any kind of appreciable lift like your talking about and you would still need a compressor, or atleast an air tank. when you pump them up, the ride gets stiff!!!!

 

[Burns]

Burns, what brand of shocks are on there now?Most major brands like Rancho, PRoComp, and Skyjacker have a lifetime or 1,000,000 miles warranty. Even if you don't have the original receipt, you may still be able to get a replacement. Either way, if you have five Rough Country shocks that are good, I would just get another RC shock to keep them all the same. I do agree with you on preferring a "stiff" or "firm" ride over a cushy/ bouncy one. I for one do not like being thrown around in the cab while driving. A firmer shock like the Rancho RS5000 will handle bumpy roads and railroad x-ings better than softer shocks. you don't get near as much up and down body motion or "porpoiseing" (like a swimming dolphin) with a firmer, offroad shock. I do have the adjustable RS9000X's on my 98 Z-71, and feel that those are the best shock made for that type of suspension (IFS). I have them set on "7" for highway driving. JSM84

It came with edelbrock shocks. They look somewhat new, based only on the fact they're still nice and red painted and I can still read the numbers on the side. I think when I get teh cash, I'll go with the flow and run some Rancho 5000's.

 

[Justshootme84]

Burns, if those are the Edelbrock IAS shocks, I bet you can get a new one from Edelbrock. Those run about $80-$85 apiece, so it's worth a shot, right? I've never had them on a truck, due mainly to their cost. But they're in the ballpark of the Rancho RS9000X adjustable shocks. One note on the RS 9000X's is that each yhear about this time (March-June), places like JEG's and Summit Racing run a "buy three, get one free" sale on those. Rancho also makes the RSX shock, which is a self-adjusting model similar to the EDL IAS. THE RSX shocks run about $50-$55 each, and are often in the same 3+1 deal. I put a piar of the RSX shocks on my 85 Checvy K-10 about 5 years ago, and they're still working fine.

 

[Burns]

Burns, if those are the Edelbrock IAS shocks, I bet you can get a new one from Edelbrock. Those run about $80-$85 apiece, so it's worth a shot, right? I've never had them on a truck, due mainly to their cost. But they're in the ballpark of the Rancho RS9000X adjustable shocks. One note on the RS 9000X's is that each yhear about this time (March-June), places like JEG's and Summit Racing run a "buy three, get one free" sale on those. Rancho also makes the RSX shock, which is a self-adjusting model similar to the EDL IAS. THE RSX shocks run about $50-$55 each, and are often in the same 3+1 deal. I put a piar of the RSX shocks on my 85 Checvy K-10 about 5 years ago, and they're still working fine.

Well, I emailed Edelbrock and explained what my situation was, and the reply was that they are covered under limited warrenty and only with a reciept. Oh well, it was worth a shot. They ride pretty nice, all things considered. It might be better for me to order 1 and just replace it itself than to replace all 4 with something else.

 

[black beauty]

come on guys. this seems to be a rancho oriented crowd on this topic. no one has mentioned bilstein shocks. the 4' lift from rough country i had put on my 89' had the rough country shocks for about 2 weeks then i put them away for a rainy day. i have ranchos on my f150 but i dont think you can beat bilsteins. my bronco never leaves the road and people seem to like the bilsteins for off road but i love mine for highway. mine are a mild stiff setup that handle awesome for the weight of my bronco. check out their sight. they have shocks to 6' lifts to race shocks with the piggy back resovoir on them. just thought i would throw that brand in this jumble

 

[Justshootme84]

I didn't mention Bilstein shocks because I have broken a few of the lower-price ones and dont' like'em. I haven't broken a Rancho shock in 25+ years of wheeling. Alot of folks I talk to like the Bilstein 5100 series...

 

[Redneck86]

Ive always heard cheaper Bilsteins arnt worth the money becuase a Rancho RS5000 will do better and cost less, i like Ranchos and RS5000 are whats goin on my truck. But i was told Bilsteins high end shocks are really nice though.

 

[black beauty]

ya ya guys thats one thing i didnt mention. i discovered that low end bilstein shocks dont hold up all that well. now the higher end shocks to great or at least they have so far in everything i have put them on. but yea jsm is right about the bilstein 5100 series, alot of people do like them and they are what is currently on my 89. their is nothing wrong with ranchos and im not taking anytihng away from them. just for what i want in my ride quality bilsteins do the job. i just didnt want them to be left out in this forum cause they are a great shock(just not so much the low end series)