Best shocks for a smooth ride?

Jerry Bransford said:
That's normal for the Bilstein 5100 which is known as a stiff/jittery riding shock. Mrblaine opined you should only run that shock if you want to know if the half-dollar you just rolled over was heads or tails.
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I intend to put Bilstein's on my motor home, but we're talking a 24,000 lb coach, not a 4k lb Jeep. A lot of other RVer's I know are happy with them in that application.
 
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I run the Gabriel’s on my TJ, all my other 5 vehicles all have Bilsteins. I find them very satisfying on my Tahoe which of course is pretty heavy.
The Gabriel’s are excellent on the TJ.
 
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I've tried Rough County N2, Rancho RS5000X, and now Fox. IMO the Rough Country are way too stiff. Rancho quality control is questionable at best . I had different compression and rebound rates, a couple of them I could completely compress with minimal effort then when released they returned to fully extended at different rates, I don't think there was two that were even close to the same compression/rebound. I installed them anyway and I could feel which side was softer at times. Wasn't happy with the Rancho's so I bit the bullet and went with Fox. I could've saved myself money by going with Fox in the first place. They're more expensive that the rest of the popular shocks for the TJ but well worth it. They are much better quality than RC or Rancho and the ride is firm (not too firm) and consistent. Made a huge difference in ride comfort on my rig.


2003 TJ Rubicon
3.25 total lift, 2.5 Rough Country X-Series + 3/4 spacers
33's with 1.5 spacers
 
Shopping for new shocks (All 4 corners) for my bone stock 2004 TJ and looking at Rancho 5000x and Bilstein 5100. Heard Rancho needs some modifications / grinding on lower control arms? Do Blisten also need any modifications? I must mention that I am getting a gala deal on Bilsten bring them in price not far from the Ranchos (Just $110 more for all 4 shocks). Also there are other options in KYB Gas-A-Just or KYB MonoMax (Both Monotube) but not much information available on their suitability for stock TJ’s.

I mostly (95%) drive on tarmac and almost never on anything even moderate off-road. Some occasional drives on gravel roads to appreciate beautiful New Zealand country side 😄.

Any input is greatly appreciated.🙂
 
AutoCrat said:
Shopping for new shocks (All 4 corners) for my bone stock 2004 TJ and looking at Rancho 5000x and Bilstein 5100. Heard Rancho needs some modifications / grinding on lower control arms? Do Blisten also need any modifications? I must mention that I am getting a gala deal on Bilsten bring them in price not far from the Ranchos (Just $110 more for all 4 shocks). Also there are other options in KYB Gas-A-Just or KYB MonoMax (Both Monotube) but not much information available on their suitability for stock TJ’s.

I mostly (95%) drive on tarmac and almost never on anything even moderate off-road. Some occasional drives on gravel roads to appreciate beautiful New Zealand country side 😄.

Any input is greatly appreciated.🙂
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Ranchos were plug and play for me. The bilstein 5100s were too rough imo.
 
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Alex01 said:
Ranchos were plug and play for me. The bilstein 5100s were too rough imo.
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Thanks, What year you TJ is? Wondering if grinding to lower control arms are year specific? Or may be related to lifts? I am keen on Ranchos but just want to make sure that I don’t have to do any modifications etc.
 
AutoCrat said:
Thanks, What year you TJ is? Wondering if grinding to lower control arms are year specific? Or may be related to lifts? I am keen on Ranchos but just want to make sure that I don’t have to do any modifications etc.
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Grinding lower control arms isn't a thing that happens. Other things, yes.
 
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jjvw said:
Grinding lower control arms isn't a thing that happens. Other things, yes.
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This is from Rancho’s catalog and also read somewhere on TJ specific forums, hence the concern 😀. What other things needed?

IMG_0445.jpeg
 
AutoCrat said:
This is from


This is from Rancho’s catalog and also read somewhere on TJ specific forums, hence the concern 😀. What other things needed?

View attachment 449638
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Rancho is very confused.

Frequently, the back of the rear lower spring seat gets cut off to make room for the shock body. Occasionally, some will scoop out the front lower control arm mount to allow for more shock extension.
 
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macleanflood said:
I'll just throw a shout out to Black Max shocks over your two other choices. Really love mine! They fit perfectly and the price is right. Customer service is excellent. Shipping is free and fast.

-Mac
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I had Rancho 5000x’s on my wrecked tj and I was not a fan… I thought they rode rough… i’ve actually got procomp‘s on the new TJ and they ride about the same as the Ranchos… thinking about going Black Max this time.. also in the back of my mind thinking about “buy once, cry once and getting Fox 2.0‘s… by chance have you run the Ranchos before and if so, how do they compare to the black max…?
 
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97JadeTJ said:
I had Rancho 5000x’s on my wrecked tj and I was not a fan… I thought they rode rough… i’ve actually got procomp‘s on the new TJ and they ride about the same as the Ranchos… thinking about going Black Max this time.. also in the back of my mind thinking about “buy once, cry once and getting Fox 2.0‘s… by chance have you run the Ranchos before and if so, how do they compare to the black max…?
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Yeah I'd do Fox 2.0s in a heartbeat.

I had Procomps on my 97 from the PO but they were completely blown out.

Zero points of comparison.

I blew both rear Black Maxes last summer (with Procomp springs since replaced with Curries) overloading the Jeep expecting the transmission to blow...and the rear end went instead. Warranty replacement was a breeze.

Wife bent one of those when she rammed me with her JK...I bought two more.

And I just bought a set for her new JK.

-Mac
 
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I too considered Fox 2.0, but not sure if they would offer any advantage since I drive only on the tarmac I.e. Highway and streets. Besides Fox 2.0 needs rebuilding every 30,000 miles or so.
 
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AutoCrat said:
Also there are other options in KYB Gas-A-Just or KYB MonoMax (Both Monotube) but not much information available on their suitability for stock TJ’s.

I mostly (95%) drive on tarmac and almost never on anything even moderate off-road.
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I’ve never run Gas-A-Just on a Jeep, but I have used them on other street driven vehicles and loved them. I wouldn't rule them out.
 
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In reality any decent quality shock set up should do a job for my driving style, if I was based in USA I would have taken plunge on some other less known options as well. Unfortunately here in New Zealand choices are next to nothing and then international shipping and duty almost prohibits trying different things 😂. Hence Bilstein are in the mix for their superior build quality over my other choices..
 
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97JadeTJ said:
I had Rancho 5000x’s on my wrecked tj and I was not a fan… I thought they rode rough…
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This is what is driving me crazy. My Rancho 5000x shocks are like being in a boat at sea. Looking forward to installing the replacements to see what they are like. I also read earlier in this thread that someone got a set of Rancho shocks with inconsistent performance.

Andy
 
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Alright bite the bullet and pull the trigger on Bilstein 5100, now all I can do is hope for the best 😂🤣. Hopefully 4 weeks shipping time from USA will keep my nerves in check 😎. I wanted to buy Rancho 5000x but I guess build quality, longitivtiy and minimal price difference won the argument in the end 🥸.

All I drive is less then 2000 miles a year in TJ and If I like the Bilstein ride then, I might not shop for shocks again in my lifetime 😃🤪.
 
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