Shock Comparison: Rancho RS5000X vs Skyjacker Black Max vs KYB Monotube

You need to tell my wife this. She would change your statement to:

FEW BRAVE STUPID SOULS WHO DOLE OUT THE CASH TO TRY SOMETHING NEW, TAKING MONEY FROM THEIR CHILD'S FUTURE!

:)
Need to remind her that you can’t really put a price tag on fun.
 
You need to tell my wife this. She would change your statement to:

FEW BRAVE STUPID SOULS WHO DOLE OUT THE CASH TO TRY SOMETHING NEW, TAKING MONEY FROM THEIR CHILD'S FUTURE!

:)
It's hard to put a price tag on ingenuity. She is benefitting in every appliance she owns, every car she's driven, every house she's lived in, every light switch she's turned on.
 
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It's hard to put a price tag on ingenuity. She is benefitting in every appliance she owns, every car she's driven, every house she's lived in, every light switch she's turned on.
My wife has a STEM Bachelor Degree and two Master's Degree's, including one STEM. I'm not going to win a logic argument with her! 🥴
 
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My wife has a STEM Bachelor Degree and two Master's Degree's, including one STEM. I'm not going to win a logic argument with her! 🥴
I know the feeling. Back to really cool stuff, your light and nimble build is really coming along! Almost there, driveshafts going in, I assume today, and someone's going to be rolling down the road.
 
I had the Skyjacker Black Max's out in Uwharrie yesterday. Lots of rocky, bumpy trails. They felt very good to me. Even my friend (not a Jeep owner) who rode with me thought they rode really good. I had a couple places in mind that I thought the rear bumper might drag when coming off a ledge, but it didn't. If I had come off them faster, probably,

On a different note, off-roading is crazy sometimes. Some places you think your going to have a little trouble and then the Jeep just goes with no issues. Then you drag your main skid on something you didn't even give a second thought too. :ROFLMAO:

Lots of this kind of stuff there:

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I know the feeling. Back to really cool stuff, your light and nimble build is really coming along! Almost there, driveshafts going in, I assume today, and someone's going to be rolling down the road.
Thanks. I got the rear shaft last night and should be getting the front this evening. I'm a little bummed because I'm going on a 4 day wheeling trip in a couple weeks and was going to take both the TJ and LJ. However, I'm not going to wheel the TJ on 31" tires until I get at least the Savvy rocker guards on. That won't happen before then. I'm going to take my time and, hopefully, get the install done right!
 
I just put the Skyjackers on the rear of mine the other day. Have probably 50 miles on them and for my setup, they were an improvement. I'm one of the ones that's tried a few different brands- Pro Comp, Rancho, KYB, and now Skyjacker. Best setup I've found for mine so far are KYB in the front and Skyjacker in the rear. I'd say the KYB's might be a tad on the firm side still, but I'm not going to mess with the fronts anymore until I decide what front bumper and winch is going on it.
 
One of my front Black Max's started leaking oil. I pulled the shock and looked it over and found this. My initial thought was maybe a rock hit it the other day when off-roading, but after looking closer at it, I think that's a defect. I bought them through Summit Racing they are going to do an exchange. I mailed it out today with their pre-printed return label that came with the receipt and it's supposed to arrive to them Tuesday. Summit Racing is always easy to deal with.

For now, I have 3 Black Max's and then a Rancho on the right front. LOL

I didn't notice this when I opened them. For those buying the Black Max's, check them when you get them.

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One of my front Black Max's started leaking oil. I pulled the shock and looked it over and found this. My initial thought was maybe a rock hit it the other day when off-roading, but after looking closer at it, I think that's a defect. I bought them through Summit Racing they are going to do an exchange. I mailed it out today with their pre-printed return label that came with the receipt and it's supposed to arrive to them Tuesday. Summit Racing is always easy to deal with.

For now, I have 3 Black Max's and then a Rancho on the right front. LOL

I didn't notice this when I opened them. For those buying the Black Max's, check them when you get them.

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It would take a hard hit to damage the shaft like that. I checked mine over closely, before installing, and didn't see anything like this. I'm anti-boot, so let's hope this isn't an indication that they need to be installed. ;)

Thanks for the heads up and I'll be keeping an eye out for any signs of leakage!
 
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One of my front Black Max's started leaking oil. I pulled the shock and looked it over and found this. My initial thought was maybe a rock hit it the other day when off-roading, but after looking closer at it, I think that's a defect. I bought them through Summit Racing they are going to do an exchange. I mailed it out today with their pre-printed return label that came with the receipt and it's supposed to arrive to them Tuesday. Summit Racing is always easy to deal with.

For now, I have 3 Black Max's and then a Rancho on the right front. LOL

I didn't notice this when I opened them. For those buying the Black Max's, check them when you get them.

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Thanks for the heads up. I noticed a stripe of paint on mine, but nothing like that. I should get my fronts today, rears are installed.


Speaking of, in the quest to make my ride tolerable again...I pulled the rear shocks OFF my jeep and went for a drive. That was...interesting. Anyone who wants to see how much the springs don't matter to ride quality should do the same. I have about the cheapest springs you can get for a 4" lift (Ranchos from Summit for 130 dollars or something) For one, its real soft and bouncy (as you might expect). The more surprising thing is how much the rear shocks contribute to vehicular control. I was driving with front shocks and no rears...A big bump at speed (45-50 mph) would really push me around the road. Caught me by surprise a couple times...so I turned around and went back home.

I worked on installing the black maxes next. Got them in, Can up this time. Fought with the passenger side due to my exhaust routing. Once installed, I took the jeep for another ride. I think I'm going to finally be OK with how the jeep drives. Black Max in the rear and KYB's up front and things felt decent. I could tell the front was still too stiff on compression, but its better. My front skyjackers should be here today, so I'll report back when I have them on all four corners.
 
The more surprising thing is how much the rear shocks contribute to vehicular control. I was driving with front shocks and no rears...A big bump at speed (45-50 mph) would really push me around the road. Caught me by surprise a couple times...so I turned around and went back home.
I spent a fair amount of time getting smarter about shocks. They're one of those seemingly simple, and often overlooked, items that can have a profound difference on how your vehicles drives and handles. The simple fact that they do this by converting kinetic energy into heat really helps you understand why different shock designs are used. The more I read about them, the more I realize what I don't know, but should know! (y)
 
For now, I have 3 Black Max's and then a Rancho on the right front. LOL
Can you tell me if the right front now rides better or worse than the left front? ;) I trust you and Irun's opinions and will probably go with these when/if my Zone hydro shocks crap out. It's been 4 years so I can't complain if they do. My Rancho shocks are backups for now.
 
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I pulled the rear shocks OFF my jeep and went for a drive. That was...interesting. Anyone who wants to see how much the springs don't matter to ride quality should do the same. I have about the cheapest springs you can get for a 4" lift (Ranchos from Summit for 130 dollars or something) For one, its real soft and bouncy (as you might expect).
Once you do that experiment (safely), it is astoundingly obvious that springs have next to nothing to do with ride quality. For the sake of stopping the BS, I'll quantify that with springs we can actually buy and install that fit the TJ.
 
....


Speaking of, in the quest to make my ride tolerable again...I pulled the rear shocks OFF my jeep and went for a drive. That was...interesting. Anyone who wants to see how much the springs don't matter to ride quality should do the same. I have about the cheapest springs you can get for a 4" lift (Ranchos from Summit for 130 dollars or something) For one, its real soft and bouncy (as you might expect). The more surprising thing is how much the rear shocks contribute to vehicular control. I was driving with front shocks and no rears...A big bump at speed (45-50 mph) would really push me around the road. Caught me by surprise a couple times...so I turned around and went back home.

...

Anyone who thinks springs have an effect on ride quality needs to go for a drive without shocks. It would go a long way towards helping people understanding how things work.
 
Anyone who thinks springs have an effect on ride quality needs to go for a drive without shocks. It would go a long way towards helping people understanding how things work.

Once you do that experiment (safely), it is astoundingly obvious that springs have next to nothing to do with ride quality. For the sake of stopping the BS, I'll quantify that with springs we can actually buy and install that fit the TJ.

I was surprised to be surprised, if that makes sense. I've driven vehicles with worn out shocks, and they bounce all over. Thought it would be similar...but its not. Even worn out shocks help control an oscillating spring. Simply backing out of my garage, the little step in the concrete from the garage floor to the driveway made me think..."ohh...this is gonna be interesting."
 
I was surprised to be surprised, if that makes sense. I've driven vehicles with worn out shocks, and they bounce all over. Thought it would be similar...but its not. Even worn out shocks help control an oscillating spring. Simply backing out of my garage, the little step in the concrete from the garage floor to the driveway made me think..."ohh...this is gonna be interesting."
If one was so inclined, you could repeat that same test with every single spring made for the TJ and the results would be identical. There is absolutely no way to tell what spring is back there by how it rides.
 
Speaking of, in the quest to make my ride tolerable again...I pulled the rear shocks OFF my jeep and went for a drive. That was...interesting. Anyone who wants to see how much the springs don't matter to ride quality should do the same.
LOL, Yes!!

I did this last fall with all 4 shocks off. Just a quick trip around the neighborhood after work one night. It was like driving a pogo stick, and that’s with the OME 2933 and 2942 HD springs. :ROFLMAO:
 
Can you tell me if the right front now rides better or worse than the left front? ;) I trust you and Irun's opinions and will probably go with these when/if my Zone hydro shocks crap out. It's been 4 years so I can't complain if they do. My Rancho shocks are backups for now.
I’ve only driven it once like that and that was just only 4 miles or so, to the grocery store and back. It wasn‘t anything obvious, but the roads aren’t real bad in that area.