Shock recommendations

[Halbarad]

New member to the forum, so bear with me please. I know parts of this question has been answered in other threads for some of them. But I’m wondering if I can get a comparison for shocks. Stock height 02’ that bottoms out on any bad bump on the road. I’m pretty sure the shocks have never been changed. So I’m looking to replace them. I’ve heard Ranchos, Bilstiens and Fox can be good. But what is the ride like on them? If anybody who’s run aftermarket shocks on a mostly stock TJ, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how it rides, and which shocks you have.

 

[CharlesHS]

WELCOME... to the Forum
Manitoba. Canada.... Nice countryside to explore...
I have a 2" lift with RS5000X shocks and they work well on road and on dirt roads.

 

[Harold&Cat]

Welcome , nice looking TJ

Skyjacker Black Max shocks come highly recommended , I am running them now and they seem to do a good job . Ours is lifted 2 inches and running heavy tires and steel wheels . I would imagine they would work even better with less unsprung weight .

 

[Dylan_See_TJ]

Welcome to the forum! I'm running a 2.5" JSPEC lift and the Fox Adventure Series shocks I bought with it. Honestly, seeing as I also replaced the coil springs and those are a lot stiffer than my old stock springs and budget boost, my ride is a bit stiffer, but it's hard to tell if the shocks have much to do with that. I've been happy with them so far on and off road, especially after a few thousand miles of break-in.

 

[Halbarad]

Welcome , nice looking TJ

Skyjacker Black Max shocks come highly recommended , I am running them now and they seem to do a good job . Ours is lifted 2 inches and running heavy tires and steel wheels . I would imagine they would work even better with less unsprung weight .

Thanks, same to you.

I forgot about the Skyjackers, I’ll check them out.

 

[Halbarad]

Welcome to the forum! I'm running a 2.5" JSPEC lift and the Fox Adventure Series shocks I bought with it. Honestly, seeing as I also replaced the coil springs and those are a lot stiffer than my old stock springs and budget boost, my ride is a bit stiffer, but it's hard to tell if the shocks have much to do with that. I've been happy with them so far on and off road, especially after a few thousand miles of break-in.

Thanks!

I imagine I should also do my coil springs sometime, but they might wait a couple years to see if I lift it or not. I imagine stiffening my ride wouldn’t be the end of the world, it’s my daily so it does see a fair bit of pavement. But when things turn a bit muddy…

 

[Halbarad]

WELCOME... to the Forum
Manitoba. Canada.... Nice countryside to explore...
I have a 2" lift with RS5000X shocks and they work well on road and on dirt roads.

Thank you, MB is quite beautiful.

I’ve heard good things about the RS5000X. My main draw is they are fairly cheap, but cheap doesnt always go hand in hand with reliable. I think Rancho has something going though. Would you say they are softer or stiffer ride?

 

[Weasellee]

I recently noticed Amazon had 25% off Rancho 5 & 9k series. Picked up a pair of rear 9000’s for $195ish delivered. Haven’t installed so no reviews. I’ve been happy with my 5000’s but with added weight I’m gonna try the 9000 in the rear. All about cost/function for me. Check prices at Shock Surplus website.

When i replace shocks on the wife’s Wranglers I typically go for a Monroe since hers is a pavement rig that sees some fireroads and campgrounds.

Oh, welcome to the forum.

 

[jjvw]

Welcome to the forum! I'm running a 2.5" JSPEC lift and the Fox Adventure Series shocks I bought with it. Honestly, seeing as I also replaced the coil springs and those are a lot stiffer than my old stock springs and budget boost, my ride is a bit stiffer, but it's hard to tell if the shocks have much to do with that. I've been happy with them so far on and off road, especially after a few thousand miles of break-in.

Any coil spring designed to fit a TJ will have no effect on the ride quality. That came entirely from the shocks; either/or from the valving or how the shock's travel bias is positioned.

 

[Dylan_See_TJ]

Good to know. In that case, the Fox shocks are fairly stiff, at least at first.

 

[jjvw]

Good to know. In that case, the Fox shocks are fairly stiff, at least at first.

No idea. Fox shocks live and die on the valving and how that is paired to the vehicle weights. This is true with all shocks.

 

[Halbarad]

I recently noticed Amazon had 25% off Rancho 5 & 9k series. Picked up a pair of rear 9000’s for $195ish delivered. Haven’t installed so no reviews. I’ve been happy with my 5000’s but with added weight I’m gonna try the 9000 in the rear. All about cost/function for me. Check prices at Shock Surplus website.

When i replace shocks on the wife’s Wranglers I typically go for a Monroe since hers is a pavement rig that sees some fireroads and campgrounds.

Oh, welcome to the forum.

That sounds like a great deal. Shock Surplus is very convenient, thanks for that.

Thanks, I’ve quite suitably welcomed, I didn’t expect to get this many replies so quick hahahaha!

 

[Halbarad]

Thanks to all the replies on the thread here! Ended up going with the Rancho RS5000X. About 200km in and they are solid. Washboard is no issue and bumps are much better. Stock ride height on this TJ still. Anybody else who might stumble across this thread. The Ranchos are perfectly capable of daily driving. Can’t attest to its trail readiness.

Yet…

 

[DakotaTJ]

Thanks to all the replies on the thread here! Ended up going with the Rancho RS5000X. About 200km in and they are solid. Washboard is no issue and bumps are much better. Stock ride height on this TJ still. Anybody else who might stumble across this thread. The Ranchos are perfectly capable of daily driving. Can’t attest to its trail readiness.

Yet…

View attachment 601716View attachment 601717View attachment 601718

You changed the shocks and not the springs, correct? My 98 SE is a little too "bouncy". Not interested in a lift but not totally against it either.

 

[Halbarad]

You changed the shocks and not the springs, correct? My 98 SE is a little too "bouncy". Not interested in a lift but not totally against it either.

Correct! I put Ranchos on mine. It sits about
2 cm (3/4 in) higher now. Mine used to be quite rough/bouncy in a stiff way over bumps, especially washboard (MB roads for the win! Or not). It still is a little loose and bouncy (that’s more of a Jeep thing though) but handles it waaaay better. They were reasonably priced as well. Compared to my other options anyways. Off the top of my head, I believe part numbers are RS55128 for the front, and RS55240 for the rear. I still have the boxes so I can verify tomorrow if you want. Do you have any pics of your TJ?

 

[DakotaTJ]

Correct! I put Ranchos on mine. It sits about
2 cm (3/4 in) higher now. Mine used to be quite rough/bouncy in a stiff way over bumps, especially washboard (MB roads for the win! Or not). It still is a little loose and bouncy (that’s more of a Jeep thing though) but handles it waaaay better. They were reasonably priced as well. Compared to my other options anyways. Off the top of my head, I believe part numbers are RS55128 for the front, and RS55240 for the rear. I still have the boxes so I can verify tomorrow if you want. Do you have any pics of your TJ?

Thanks! Not many photos right now. Took this one before we took out the interior to clean and install a stereo. New rims nd tires are going in today, but they are the same size as this photo. I think the height and stance are fine, going up 3/4 is great.

 

[Halbarad]

Thanks! Not many photos right now. Took this one before we took out the interior to clean and install a stereo. New rims nd tires are going in today, but they are the same size as this photo. I think the height and stance are fine, going up 3/4 is great.

View attachment 602154

That is a beauty! Very nice blue. That slight rise is nice for sure, I didn’t want a lift yet either. Please share more photos when you can. Also, those part numbers are correct. Let me know if you need anything else!

 

[tworley]

Shocks don't provide lift. Your springs do that.

 

[jjvw]

Shocks don't provide lift. Your springs do that.

Our fancy shocks with 180psi gas pressure might add an 1/8" if anyone can find it. There is no way a rancho 5000x is adding anything measurable to the ride height.

 

[DakotaTJ]

That is a beauty! Very nice blue. That slight rise is nice for sure, I didn’t want a lift yet either. Please share more photos when you can. Also, those part numbers are correct. Let me know if you need anything else!

Thanks! I ordered the RS5000 and Rancho steering stabilizer. Used a link from an older post yesterday. 99.9% sure what I ordered is correct. Couldn't verify the part numbers on Amazon just now. So will find out when they get here.