Zone lift (18 months later)

How does Rancho compare to other lifts? I believe that's what was installed on mine when I bought it. I assume this because it has Rancho RS9000 shocks on it.
I noticed it does the same thing as described above, rear end is really bouncy and bottoms easily.
 
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S1. said:
How does Rancho compare to other lifts? I believe that's what was installed on mine when I bought it.
I noticed it does the same thing as described above, rear end is really bouncy and bottoms easily.
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I can't comment on anything other than the Rancho shocks. While I haven't owned them personally, I know that many who run them such as @Jerry Bransford really like them.
 
S1. said:
Guess I need to crawl under it and see if I can find a name on anything other than the shocks.
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Not a bad idea. Most people pair the Rancho shocks with springs from different manufacturers.
 
S1. said:
Looks like I have a lift made by "Rubicon" with Rancho shocks. Y'all know anything about Rubicon???
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It's a Rubicon Express lift. They're probably a step above Skyjacker and Rough Country (which are bottom of the barrel lifts) but still a step below a high end lift like Currie.

Not the best-of-the-best, but definitely not the worst-of-the-worst.

If the suspension feels bad, it could very well be that your shocks and springs need replacing. If there's a ton of miles on them, it's certainly possible.
 
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Aren't the Rancho 9000 series shocks adjustable? Maybe look and see if they are and what setting there on. I run the RS5000X and love the ride.
 
Kevin E said:
Aren't the Rancho 9000 series shocks adjustable? Maybe look and see if they are and what setting there on. I run the RS5000X and love the ride.
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Yes they are. A rock broke one of the adjusting knobs so I do have one "brand new" shock on the rear. I've played around with the adjustments and really can't tell much difference. The rear on this Jeep has a very loose feel. I'm new to this TJ so I don't know if this feel is normal or not. Example: parking lot speed bump, front feels fine when hit at say 5+ mph, but rear is real bouncy. Out on a trail I'll feel the rear bottom out quite a bit.
 
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Here's some symptoms of bad shocks or struts:
  • Badly cupped tires and/or noticeable tire shaking, wheel shimmy or vibration after hitting a bump.
  • Suspension bottoming on rough roads or when backing out of a driveway.
  • A bouncy ride.
  • Body sway or rocking when cornering or driving in strong crosswinds.
 
CasterTroy said:
As a result, Savvy 3” dual rate springs will arrive this week, along with Fox 2.0 shocks.
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So an update since the Fox 2.0 Shocks and Currie/Savvy 3" progressive springs.

Coupled with my IronmanFab4x4 short arm kit, and antirock, these springs and shocks make an ABSOLUTE world of difference on the trail. Before, the trails would beat the hell out of me. After 4 hrs I was begging for my chair by the fire back at camp (and a camp chair is by no means a Lazyboy)
This time out though? WOW, what a difference!
Where before the side to side was drastic, it was a mere sway, and big drops? Like a trophy truck! The low speed compression and rebound is AMAZING. The high speed is impressive as well but not nearly as dramatic a difference as low speed. It truly is like riding in a Cadillac in the woods!
 
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A couple of comparison shots of the "Settled" zone 3" springs, and the new Currie 3" springs

spring2.jpg


spring1.jpg
 
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So from what I gather, it sounds like shocks and springs that come with the Zone lift really suck (similar to Rough Country).

That would completely make sense though. I speculate that aside from bushings (i.e. Johnny Joint versus rubber or poly), the place where these low budget lifts are reallllllly cutting corners is with the shocks and springs.

Sadly, the shocks and springs are basically the entire lift!
 
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It seems so. One could speculate it's where they may have sourced the steel, or the forging process....who knows, but I think it's clear there was considerable settling. And you're 100% right, the springs and shock essentially MAKE the lift itself. Bottom line, buyer beware; if you USE your TJ prepare to pay a little more for some decent suspension
 
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CasterTroy said:
Bottom line, buyer beware; if you USE your TJ prepare to pay a little more for some decent suspension
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I always try to tell people this, but it seems they don't listen. I can't blame them, everyone is looking for a deal. However, you find out down the road why lifts like this are so cheap, and all you can do is learn your lesson from it.

The shocks themselves are probably pretty easy to figure out. I'm sure if we took one of their shocks apart and then took apart a Rancho or Bilstein apart side-by-side, we'd probably instantly be able to see the inferior quality of the Zone (or RC) shocks. So that one is easy I'll bet.

However, the springs are a different story. All I can guess there is that they're using lower quality metals and a lower quality process. The one person who would likely know about this for sure (and all the processes involved in manufacturing shocks and springs) would be @mrblaine.
 
Well I'm guilty.....I mean it wasn't till I rode in Jasons JK with GOOD springs and shocks that I truly saw the light. I bought the Zone lift because of so much praise on wranglerforum. Man...did I learn a lesson
 
CasterTroy said:
Well I'm guilty.....I mean it wasn't till I rode in Jasons JK with GOOD springs and shocks that I truly saw the light. I bought the Zone lift because of so much praise on wranglerforum. Man...did I learn a lesson
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Yep, and I could see how people would fall into that trap too. They buy a Zone or RC lift having never ridden in anything else. The put it on, and just assume that since it's a Jeep with large tires that it's not supposed to ride nice and smooth.

Then they go for a ride in their buddies TJ with a higher quality lift and say, "wow, my TJ doesn't ride like this".

I've seen all that praise on WF. I'm not sure what that's all about, but again, I assume it's coming from people who have simply never ridden in anything else. They're just looking at it as a very good deal from a cost perspective.

But it's like I always say, you get what you pay for! I've found that out the hard way on many occasions, most of which aren't even related to Jeeps!
 
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FTI76 said:
Thanks for this post. I was going the Zone route but not totally jazzed about it. I'm going to go OME and suck it up. Starting to buy the other items I'll need little by little and lift come May.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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You'll be very happy you did. The OME lift is a very high quality lift. It may cost a bit more, but it will last you the life of your Jeep.
 
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