Another suspension question.

NevadaJohnny

NevadaJohnny

Active Member
I have a JK and my suspension is all stock. I want to upgrade my shocks but I'm not sure what brand to go with. I'm interested in Fox or King but I don't know if they make a "stock" sized shock, and should I upgrade the coils as well? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for the help.
 
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Is your plan lift in the future? I would get high dollar king or fox shocks if it is. Rancho are a great option and a good price. For stock I would do the new 7000’s.
 
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I'm with OverlanderJK on this. If you're plan is to stay stock, I might recommend giving the new Rancho RS7MT shocks a try. They are affordable, should be offered in a stock size and I think you'll find that they offer nice dampening. If in the future you decide to go taller, you won't feel like you've wasted your money on high dollar shocks.
 
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wayoflife said:
I'm with OverlanderJK on this. If you're plan is to stay stock, I might recommend giving the new Rancho RS7MT shocks a try. They are affordable, should be offered in a stock size and I think you'll find that they offer nice dampening. If in the future you decide to go taller, you won't feel like you've wasted your money on high dollar shocks.
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They are offered in stock and do ride nice. It’s what we are running right now. 👍🏻
 
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Running Rancho here too. Didn't feel the need to go big on the shock budget just yet, super happy I did so. Ride quality (while 100% subjective) is close to stock if not better even with my 2.5" Lift and 35s. Definitely plush. I'd run them time and time again until I go the adjustable route just for their simplicity, ride quality, and price point. Oh and made in the USA!
 
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Running Rancho RS7MT shocks in my 2012 Rubicon with a 3.75 short arm lift and control arm drop brackets. Tires are 35 inch BFG MTs. The RS7MT works surprisingly well for an “entry level” shock to control axle hop when wheel speed is needed to get through loose terrain, especially taking into consideration the limitations of the short arm lift. On road ride is good. The RS7MTs are more fade resistant than OEM shocks and other Ranchos I’ve tried in the past. I’d recommended them to anyone looking to replace their OEM shocks.

As good as the RS7MTs are, don’t expect the same level of performance as the more expensive Fox shocks. My brother has the Mopar lift in his JLU and Fox non reservoir shocks. Ride quality of the Fox shocks on and off road is noticeably better.

According to the customer service guy at Shock Surplus, the RS7MT is made in Germany. If I recall, Rancho is now owned by the same umbrella corp that owns a German brand of shocks.
 
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GP NOIR said:
As good as the RS7MTs are, don’t expect the same level of performance as Fox shocks. My brother has the Mopar lift in his JLU and Fox non reservoir shocks. Ride quality of the Fox shocks on and off road is noticeably better.
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It would be a mistake to assume that shocks alone will make a "noticeably better" ride. Springs make up the bulk of ride quality and shocks simply dampen and smooth things out. A good suspension system will have shocks made specifically that are valved for the coils they're paired up with and the Mopar kit does that well. Of course, this is to say nothing about tire make, tire size, load range and how much air is in them.
 
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wayoflife said:
It would be a mistake to assume that shocks alone will make a "noticeably better" ride. Springs make up the bulk of ride quality and shocks simply dampen and smooth things out. A good suspension system will have shocks made specifically that are valved for the coils they're paired up with and the Mopar kit does that well. Of course, this is to say nothing about tire make, tire size, load range and how much air is in them.
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That is a good point.
 
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I will say after having the Mopar lift with the Mopar Fox shocks on my 2 door and the fox 2.0 on my black 4 door, the Rancho 9000XL I went with (although subjective) are a far superior ride over the foxs. I enjoy the flexibility to adjust when needed. Super plush around town and you can stiffen them up off-road so you don’t blow thru the suspension. They resist fading off-road just as well as the two kinds I previously mentioned.
 
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onlyone said:
I will say after having the Mopar lift with the Mopar Fox shocks on my 2 door and the fox 2.0 on my black 4 door, the Rancho 9000XL I went with (although subjective) are a far superior ride over the foxs. I enjoy the flexibility to adjust when needed. Super plush around town and you can stiffen them up off-road so you don’t blow thru the suspension. They resist fading off-road just as well as the two kinds I previously mentioned.
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Happy to hear this, planning on getting the adjustable 9000s next after I blow my 5000s on my next trip through the desert 😂
 
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onlyone said:
I will say after having the Mopar lift with the Mopar Fox shocks on my 2 door and the fox 2.0 on my black 4 door, the Rancho 9000XL I went with (although subjective) are a far superior ride over the foxs. I enjoy the flexibility to adjust when needed. Super plush around town and you can stiffen them up off-road so you don’t blow thru the suspension. They resist fading off-road just as well as the two kinds I previously mentioned.
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In my opinion, old school hydro shocks will always feel a lot better/smoother than monotubes especially for daily driving. However, I can and have fried a set in just one day.
 
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wayoflife said:
In my opinion, old school hydro shocks will always feel a lot better/smoother than monotubes especially for daily driving. However, I can and have fried a set in just one day.
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I agree. I will say after about 8 hours in Moab last fall I did click them up to 8 because I usually run them at 6 in the rocks. They were definitely losing some shock ability. They were just fine after we hit the highway. Dropped them back down to 3 and they were just fine.
Definitely not saying they are a better shock than the rest, but for most they are more than adequate and you can buy 8 sets of them, for the price of a set of adjustable Foxes/Kings. With as good as warranty as they have, you wouldn’t need to. After running foxes and seeing your review of the Ranchos back then, I tried them and was definitely sold on the ride for the price.
 
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onlyone said:
I agree. I will say after about 8 hours in Moab last fall I did click them up to 8 because I usually run them at 6 in the rocks. They were definitely losing some shock ability. They were just fine after we hit the highway. Dropped them back down to 3 and they were just fine.
Definitely not saying they are a better shock than the rest, but for most they are more than adequate and you can buy 8 sets of them, for the price of a set of adjustable Foxes/Kings. With as good as warranty as they have, you wouldn’t need to. After running foxes and seeing your review of the Ranchos, I tried them and was definitely sold on the ride for the price.
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It always cracks me up that people convince themselvs that they need super expensive, high end monotube shocks, reservoirs or even coilovers just to go rock crawling. For me personally, the ONLY reason to run them is to drive hard and fast across the desert. Even they will fade in these conditions but hydros will fry.
 
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wayoflife said:
It always cracks me up that people convince themselvs that they need super expensive, high end monotube shocks, reservoirs or even coilovers just to go rock crawling. For me personally, the ONLY reason to run them is to drive hard and fast across the desert. Even they will fade in these conditions but hydros will fry.
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I have regular shocks on the JKU and it's great for all around daily driving and crawling.

My JLU has coil overs with EVO LA's and while the daily ride is a little stiffer than what I like, the times I get to drive fast off road and not be overly concerned about shock fade or losing control is both scary and exhilarating.
 
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wayoflife said:
It always cracks me up that people convince themselvs that they need super expensive, high end monotube shocks, reservoirs or even coilovers just to go rock crawling. For me personally, the ONLY reason to run them is to drive hard and fast across the desert. Even they will fade in these conditions but hydros will fry.
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So basically I need new shocks after every NYR. :LOL:
 
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