- 60046 Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport Front Shocks
- 60048 Old Man Emu Nitrocharger Sport Rear Shocks
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Shocks. The good the bad and the ugly.
- Thread starter TJScott
- Start date
Had a hybrid setup for about 4 months, Zone 1.75 BB and the Rancho shocks. Sold the shocks to help offset cost of OME suspension. Looking back now, I should have simply gotten the OME springs and kept the Rancho shocks. Would've saved some bucks and had the same end result. Live and learn.
You guys are making me question my Bilstein purchase. Oh well, if I don't like them, I should be able to sell them for what I have into them, and replace them with the Ranchos.
I feel your pain ! I’m thinking of selling mine and getting the Rancho’s. Wish I could drive TJ’s with all things equal except shocks. Alas opinions of long time multi-shock users is the best data we have to go on.
It may be the best data, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. We drive lots of rigs. We talk to the owners about how they think their rig rides and handles. The actual number of folks who can evaluate what their rig is doing and relate it in some manner that is objective is miniscule. I've even had them hop out of their rig, go for a test drive in one of mine to give them a comparison and they still struggle with being able to tell the difference or tell us what they want. I just swapped out a set of OME springs and shocks on a rig with a new set of springs and shocks from OME. We were scratching our heads a bit trying to figure that one out but we did it anyway. We compared shock numbers, they were the same, the springs may have been different but the lift height change if it existed was not discernible.
Owner called me after his 30 mile drive home and wanted his old parts back since the new stuff rode like crap. (I tried to get him to take them when he left but he didn't want to.)
Long story short, what we know is we do not trust anyone to be able to tell us what is good or bad, all they can really say is what they like and what they like is often very far removed to anything tolerable which to us totally invalidates most any recommendations on subjective criteria. In other words, what someone else likes and can tolerate may be the very opposite of what you can handle or find acceptable. It is very much like aftermarket seat recommendations. If you don't go park your butt in them at the store or showroom, the chances of you liking how they feel and fit you is very small. I've sat in a lot of aftermarket seats in rigs and I've only found one set out of at least a 100 that I would consider owning.
Forgot to mention. For our test rig, I have at least 6 sets of shocks that I have purchased and test run. Every time I see a lot of recommendations for something that I haven't tested or that I haven't tried, I fetch them up and give them a try. Here is how screwed up that is.
Had a TJ Unlimited at stock height that was brought to us to build up. We test drove it to see if it had any issues and it had KYB shocks on it. They were very nice but it also had a set of JK mud terrain stock take-offs on it. When we were done, I put the same set of shocks on my stock TJ Unlimited and they rode like crap. Almost as annoying as Bilsteins. The only difference is tires. Mine are the JK street tire take-offs.
Had a TJ Unlimited at stock height that was brought to us to build up. We test drove it to see if it had any issues and it had KYB shocks on it. They were very nice but it also had a set of JK mud terrain stock take-offs on it. When we were done, I put the same set of shocks on my stock TJ Unlimited and they rode like crap. Almost as annoying as Bilsteins. The only difference is tires. Mine are the JK street tire take-offs.
What makes the Bilstein annoying to you? I know your opinion is subjective, but you DO have a lot of experience with different set-ups. Just curious more than anything.
Because I have a lot of shock experience having invented shock outboarding, I do a lot of test driving and evaluation on a known test drive circuit both before and after we do the shock work. I have also worked with a few shock companies to try and come up with more suitable tunes for what we do. As such, one of the big things we work on is trying to get rid of small event harshness which is the annoying "rumble" or vibe in the cabin when you get on rough asphalt. The Bilsteins we are around are the worst at transmitting small event harshness and I find them just a very annoying shock when all they have to do is put a small flutter stack in the tune and that would go away and then it would be a pretty decent shock. I despise being able to run over a quarter and being able to tell if it is heads or tails.
TNHEADDUCK
TJ Enthusiast
Lots of truth and knowledge in the above statement and very well put. Some of your customers probably don't know what they want and lean on you for advise to tell them what they want I would think.
Interesting. Thanks for the info. I've felt that feeling before, but always attributed it to tires...The more you know, right?
I start every conversation the same way. "What do you want to do with the rig and what are you trying to accomplish?"
Excellent info Sir! I have a 2014 F250 that we love all aspects of, EXCEPT ride quality. I completely understand it is an HD truck, and with that comes some ride harshness. But it is ridiculously bad at “initial harshness”. So much so that we have thought of selling it. I replaced the original Rancho 5000’s with Bilstein 5100’s about 10k miles ago. Ride was a little harsher with the new Bilsteins. But not much. It really didn’t occur to me that my harsh ride could be because of the Bilsteins. Because I’ve always thought they were a great shock choice. BUT now I’m thinking I need to order a set of 5000x’s or even 9000’s and see if the harshness improves.
Since this is a TJ forum, I should also add that I need to replace the leaking ProComp shocks on my TJ. So I’m going to order a set of 5000x Ranchos after reading this thread.
What are your thoughts on giving shocks a "break in" period and if anyone noticed a ride quality difference after putting some miles on new shocks?
My rancho rs5000x shocks were trash. They rusted within 5 months. Plus the rears come with a hard permanent boot (sucks). I hate boots on shocks. They also come not pressed so you have to press ur own pins. I moved on to quality shocks and never had a problem
I would highly urge you NOT to put 5000x shocks on an F-250. I did it 3 months ago on my F-250 and they were horrible. Way way way too soft, in fact I thought they were safety hazard soft.
I called Rancho and received a refund on them.
I went with the RS7000 which is about the same as the custom valved stock Rancho shocks.
If you want something close to stock, go with the 7000 series. If stock is too harsh go with the adjustable 9000 series.
Jay P
TJ Enthusiast
I think everyone is different which is pretty much stated above. I actually don’t notice much difference from one to the other. I’m running Pro Comps right now which are temporary until I decide how much lift I want/need. I’ve ran Rancho Rs9000 in the past and liked that you could adjust them but I never thought there was much difference. Now that I’m a bit older, I’d like to run the best shock for both worlds that will allow me to slowly convert my dd/weekend TJ to a rig that is capable of most trails in Moab excluding the few 8+ rated ones. Now someone tell me which ones to go with? At this point it’s going to be RS9000 and hopefully I will notice the difference when I turn the adjustment.
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The boots are plastic and can easily be removed. Mine had the bar pins and fit perfectly. I'm guessing they might cut corners on the paint finish to maintain the price point they sell for. That is speculation on my part. Do they salt the roads where you live?
Roger That! I definitely don’t want TOO soft. I tow an 8k pound RV about 8-10k miles a year. Sounds like 9000XL’s is the way to go. Soft setting when empty, harder setting when loaded.
Yep, a quick slice with a box cutter and the boots are off. Mine also came with bar pins in place. I wouldn't call a shock trash due to those particular reasons. Especially if you are in an area where the roads are salted. In that case, you could call the TJ itself trash since they are so prone to rusting in that environment.