Never fucking happen. That isn't why you buy them. If I had my way, they would leave Fox with the shims zip tied to the shaft.
All in the name of science
- Thread starter hosejockey61
- Start date
The hayday of the JK Rubicon is over. But It was nice picking up a set of 4 Red bodied Rubi shocks for free or nearly free. They were decent shocks
And that is part of why I have purposely made the effort recently to undermine this unquestionable recommendation of the 5000x. It isn't a one size fits all shock, because there isn't one. Just like there really isn't a simple "TJ tune" even on a custom set of Foxes, Kings, Radflos,...
No one here is wrong for wanting to get the most from a bolt on shock, because a F/R outboard is a hurdle many don't want to cross for all kinds of good reasons. What we really need are a few solid shock recommendations for light and heavy rigs. And that requires people to experiment.
Haha!
But I wasn't being sarcastic, now it's got me pondering options
deadbeat son
TJ Addict
I have no frame of reference, I’m starting my first stage of my build on my first TJ, but I’ll be using the lighter of the two tunes OME offers for TJ shocks. I’m happy to meet up somewhere and let any of the Colorado contingent drive it and report butt dyno results. If you want to compare before and after to stock, we can do that too. I have a stock ‘02 X with 60k miles, and the OME probably won’t go on for another couple of weeks or so.
@hosejockey61? @jjvw? @tworley? @rasband?
If it’s not worth the time or effort, that’s okay by me too. Just offering.
@hosejockey61? @jjvw? @tworley? @rasband?
If it’s not worth the time or effort, that’s okay by me too. Just offering.
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i'd guess, you could put the MC 3.5" on the heavy list. shocks and springs. they held a full 4" when empty, and i was never heavy enough to use much of that progressive rate design.
this was a sports car on the road, brick in the field lift for me.
That was a shock issue. I guarantee your Jeep was heavy enough to move those springs. And they aren't progressive rate, only progressively wound.
my apologies dual rate not progressive, TY for correcting.
i mentioned once b4 i could jump on that rear bumper with no shocks connected and barely move those springs.
it took the hard top, rear seat and spare on the gate with gear in the back to get to 3.5".
and maybe i had different expectations but i never felt the sys bow to anything, just pushed off/over shit rather than flex.
i figure the shock was stiff also and suggested that for the heavy category as well.
Maybe we can start some comparetive catagorizing based on weight. Light duty/medium duty/heavy duty as an example.
Let's say 3400-4000lbs a light duty, 4100-4600lbs, medium duty, 4600-5000lbs heavy duty. Based on my butt dynometer, I'd place the Ranchos in the medium duty catagory. The JKS shocks would be in the upper end of the medium duty catagory. Yes, a bold statement, but we need to start somewhere.
Let's say 3400-4000lbs a light duty, 4100-4600lbs, medium duty, 4600-5000lbs heavy duty. Based on my butt dynometer, I'd place the Ranchos in the medium duty catagory. The JKS shocks would be in the upper end of the medium duty catagory. Yes, a bold statement, but we need to start somewhere.
I still need to weigh mine. I never seem to remember to hit the feed mill when they are open.
Here is a prime example of why its best to get more info from somebody about the weight of their jeep before recommending shocks (I'd suggest adding driver preferences and type of driving as well). Someguys Jeep is used so different than mine there is no way we would ever have the same experience with the same set of shocks. Someguys jeep is going to be about as light as they come. Where I start with an LJ with hardtop, rear seat, steal bumper on back, winch up front, steel skid plates and rock sliders. So right from the start we are at different ends of the weight spectrum. The shocks he says are too stiff are probably about right for me. Then when I go on vacation and load up the wife and kids, even the stiff shocks start to feel like they could use a little help.
I could go 'round and 'round with many member on this forum about how my experience with the Rancho sucked but I love my Bilstiens. I think some of it is due to personal preferences of where we drive and how we want our jeeps to handle. But the role that the weight of the Jeep plays can not be overlooked. It will change things dramatically.
My personal experience with shocks on my personal Jeep is stock, Rancho, Bilstein 5160s and 5100s. Driving time in other Jeeps with other setups is limited. But my thoughts on shocks based on personal experiences as well as what I have read from others is similar to Bobs.
I would put Ranchos in the category of light to medium Jeeps. I don't have experience with JKS, terraflex or any other twin tube shocks. I expect they will mostly be in the range of light to medium weight. From comments on the forum I would say the OMEs belong on heavier Jeeps as well. OME is interesting to me because they are a twin tube design, but I think they have more of a digressive type of valving because they like to compare themselves to monotubes. But they do not say they are digressive. So I don't know how they are valved.
I think once we start looking at monotube shocks like Bilstein and Falkon, you are looking at more digressive valving (not that all monotubes have to be digressive). Which can feel very stiff to some people. Especially on small events. So they are better suited for heavier Jeeps or somebody who spends most of their time on the highway and wants a flatter handling Jeep. I love how Bilstein handle on my Jeep. Nothing else has given me the sense of being so firmly planted and composed. I do not think they are overly stiff at all. However, they are sensitive to imperfections in the road and you will feel more feedback over smaller events. To say that you can tell if a coin is heads or tails is (obviously) an exaggeration. But I understand how people can sometimes feel that way if you want a softer ride. On some roads, that small event feedback might just be a bit too much.
Fox, as we've stated before are a bit different due to custom tuned by many vendors. I agree that most are likely selling the generic Fox. But in the case of JKS and BDS, they are owned by the same parent company as Fox. So its in the best interest of the mother company to utilize Fox to sell its other products. With that kind of access to Fox, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't have easy access to custom valving. Being owned by the same company puts them in a unique position others don't have.
Savvy is a bit unique as well in that they are a small company of enthusiast. So they go the extra step to get the Fox tuned to their specs. I'm not sure if its done by Fox or 3rd party. But I don't question that they are a different tune. The same goes for Accutune who has some great technical documents on their website.
I’m not sure if “they” is savvy, but if it is:
I emailed them asking about the tunes as I have a set of 12” on order. They said they have to send them out to their tuner and asked for details of my rig for when they eventually arrive. I’m not sure that if I didn’t ask if they would have reached out or not, so I’ll be curious if mine end up getting sent out.
@Fargo and @bobthetj03, I’m ready to give my shock report for the Fox Savvy TJ Valved offering on my Jeep. Right off the bat, I don’t know the weight of my Jeep for sure. I will try to get that so this is more meaningful.
These are the shocks:
Front https://savvyoffroad.com/product/fox-tjf4/
Rear
https://savvyoffroad.com/product/fox-tjr4/
Prior experience:
I’ve run stock shocks on a 2004 Sport, KYB on a 2003 Rubicon, old OME, Bilstein 5100’s, and Rancho 5000x on an 2005 X. These shocks were installed on the 2005 X along with a set of 4” Currie coils. Of all these shock setups, the ones with a good travel bias were the stock shocks, the OME, and the Rancho’s. Travel bias for the Fox’s is below
The Fox Savvy were driven on this setup:
33’s, with hardtop and without (slight improvement with), spare delete, rear seat.
Front Coils 16 3/4” (4 3/4” Lift)
Front Shock Travel 4 7/8” Up 4 5/8” Down
Rear Coils 13 1/4” (5 1/4” Lift)
Rear Shock Travel 5 3/4” Up 3 1/3 Down
Buttometer:
Stiffer than the Rancho 5000x. Possibly more control. Possibly as stiff as Bilstein 5100’s. The Rancho’s were more fun to drive IMO.
Onroad
Highways = good
poor neighborhood streets = terrible
Potholes = jarring
Washboard gravel = surprisingly pretty good
Off-road (aired down to 10 psi)
Hill climbs = good
Descents = good
Rock crawling = good
Woopdedoo’s = poor unless you really slow down
Overall one of those shocks you spent more money on so you say, “I’ll get used to it .” If they tuned it for the TJ, I’d like to know more. What weight TJ? Nothing special except they are pretty. I preferred the Rancho’s, but I would like to try them on my new setup before being certain. The Jeep feels entirely different.
These are the shocks:
Front https://savvyoffroad.com/product/fox-tjf4/
Rear
https://savvyoffroad.com/product/fox-tjr4/
Prior experience:
I’ve run stock shocks on a 2004 Sport, KYB on a 2003 Rubicon, old OME, Bilstein 5100’s, and Rancho 5000x on an 2005 X. These shocks were installed on the 2005 X along with a set of 4” Currie coils. Of all these shock setups, the ones with a good travel bias were the stock shocks, the OME, and the Rancho’s. Travel bias for the Fox’s is below
The Fox Savvy were driven on this setup:
33’s, with hardtop and without (slight improvement with), spare delete, rear seat.
Front Coils 16 3/4” (4 3/4” Lift)
Front Shock Travel 4 7/8” Up 4 5/8” Down
Rear Coils 13 1/4” (5 1/4” Lift)
Rear Shock Travel 5 3/4” Up 3 1/3 Down
Buttometer:
Stiffer than the Rancho 5000x. Possibly more control. Possibly as stiff as Bilstein 5100’s. The Rancho’s were more fun to drive IMO.
Onroad
Highways = good
poor neighborhood streets = terrible
Potholes = jarring
Washboard gravel = surprisingly pretty good
Off-road (aired down to 10 psi)
Hill climbs = good
Descents = good
Rock crawling = good
Woopdedoo’s = poor unless you really slow down
Overall one of those shocks you spent more money on so you say, “I’ll get used to it .” If they tuned it for the TJ, I’d like to know more. What weight TJ? Nothing special except they are pretty. I preferred the Rancho’s, but I would like to try them on my new setup before being certain. The Jeep feels entirely different.
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Great review. Thanks. Surprising results.
Now more than ever I wish you did have a set of 5100s to compare against. Your onroad reviews sound more like I would have expected from the Bilstein. I would have expected the Fox to have poor highway handling but good at neighborhood streets and potholes. Pretty much the opposite of what you found. Offroad is about what I would have expected.
Thanks for the informative review.