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

[Mike_H]

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.

 

[Irun]

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!

 

[TheBoogieman]

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.

 

[mrblaine]

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.

 

[jjvw]

....


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.

 

[Mike_H]

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."

 

[mrblaine]

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.

 

[MountaineerTom]

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.

 

[MountaineerTom]

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.

 

[bobthetj03]

Now we're getting somewhere!

 

[Mike_H]

Now we're getting somewhere!

are we? wanna let me know where we're going? I'm lost, LOL

 

[bobthetj03]

are we? wanna let me know where we're going? I'm lost, LOL

Smoke and mirrors my friend, lol! It's magical!

 

[Jamesval035]

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.

Lots of this kind of stuff there:

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Nice man. I’m out here today. Let me know when you get back out here. I’d love to join up with a fellow forum member.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Nice man. I’m out here today. Let me know when you get back out here. I’d love to join up with a fellow forum member.

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We drove to the ledge on Daniel. Just wanted to see it because my Jeep isn’t set up to handle it. Then we wen up the back side of Daniel to the top of the mountain. That hill climb coming from the front side is no joke. Even the easy side looked too much for me. LOL Pictures and videos don’t do it justice.

 

[SSTJ]

Nice man. I’m out here today. Let me know when you get back out here. I’d love to join up with a fellow forum member.

Ditto. I'm in Greenville SC. It'd be a 2-hour drive for me, but I might be able to make it sometime. Do we have a Carolinas group on here yet? Will check.

 

[Mike_H]

All four black max shocks are installed. I think I can live with these for a while. They feel pretty good for the cost. Hopefully, they last me a couple years. It's been interesting experimenting with different shocks and feeling the vastly different ways my Jeep ride and performed.

In summary:

Rancho 5000x: decent ride, but the front and rear ends seemed to be doing different things. Made for a very disconcerting driving experience. I'm starting to wonder if I got a bad set of rear shocks. I didn't feel any real differences between them, but there was something definitely wrong, that I haven't felt with any of my other experiments.

KYB monomax:. Better than the ranchos, in that they controlled the Jeep and the rear started reacting predicably again. Very stiff though. High pressure charge, enough so that when I was checking my bumps without the springs, the Jeep would lift up, then settle back down on every stroke of the jack. Bouncy ride.

Black max: compliant, good travel for the lift height (4'ish inches). They didn't exhibit any of the handling weirdness that the ranchos did, either. They will give a bit of a jolt in big bumps. I don't really have much else to say about them. They feel like they will be decent off-road, but I won't know until I try it. An added benefit... Because they aren't nitrogen charged, they are VERY easy to install.

 

[bobthetj03]

Thanks for the insight Mike.

 

[JMT]

All four black max shocks are installed. I think I can live with these for a while. They feel pretty good for the cost. Hopefully, they last me a couple years. It's been interesting experimenting with different shocks and feeling the vastly different ways my Jeep ride and performed.

In summary:

Rancho 5000x: decent ride, but the front and rear ends seemed to be doing different things. Made for a very disconcerting driving experience. I'm starting to wonder if I got a bad set of rear shocks. I didn't feel any real differences between them, but there was something definitely wrong, that I haven't felt with any of my other experiments.

KYB monomax:. Better than the ranchos, in that they controlled the Jeep and the rear started reacting predicably again. Very stiff though. High pressure charge, enough so that when I was checking my bumps without the springs, the Jeep would lift up, then settle back down on every stroke of the jack. Bouncy ride.

Black max: compliant, good travel for the lift height (4'ish inches). They didn't exhibit any of the handling weirdness that the ranchos did, either. They will give a bit of a jolt in big bumps. I don't really have much else to say about them. They feel like they will be decent off-road, but I won't know until I try it. An added benefit... Because they aren't nitrogen charged, they are VERY easy to install.

Are you running the 8525/8528 combo?

 

[pagrey]

Yeah, I do wonder about the rear shocks. The Ranchos are so popular on this forum, and I don’t think that anyone else has reported a similar experience. (Someone correct me if I’m wrong.)

I've pulled mine twice now because I suspected they were blown and posted about it once. The description of the 5000X being uncontrolled matches my experience pretty well. From what I'd call a detailed description some people called them blown. For my use way too soft or under damped on recovery from a hard hit whatever shaft speed that is.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/shock-advise-wanted-for-heavy-duty-use.27028/

 

[Therbytj]

After lots of back and fourth I have ordered the rancho 5000x shocks
Running full currie 4” lift and 35” baja boss tires
Replacing bilsteins, hoping to smooth out the bucking wagon a bit

(can’t believe im putting $60 shocks on my jeep)

also, i almost bought the skyjacker m95 monotubes. Good price and good specs
They pull 10” of travel front and rear

but no reviews on them