Stock Latest Gen. Replacement Shocks - Rancho Adjustable

[GeneralClortho]

I am not a fan of Bilstein dampers and the stock PW shocks are no exception. I ran 5100's on two lifted Jeeps (old Grand Cherokee and my current Wrangler) and was not impressed. I swapped the GC's out with Old Man Emu shocks, and it was a big improvement. On the Wrangler, I swapped to Rancho RS9000XL adjustable shocks for its 3" lift, and it was a night and day improvement. Despite the relatively low cost of the shock and a lot of hate being thrown at Rancho, I have found their products to be an excellent value. They are not the best out there, but they are not priced like it either.

Anyway, because the stock Bilsteins ride like crap, I went to Rancho to see if I could find replacement 9000's. I don't really plan on modifying the suspension much from stock other than this. No dice. I got in touch with them directly and worked with one of there tech's to come up with a solution for shocks that come from one of there HD RAM lift kits.

From what I have researched, these are basically the compressed and extended length requirements for the stock PW suspension. This is open for discussion but appears to be a pretty good starting point for hunting down shocks.
Rear: 19.375" x 26.875"
Front: 17" x 24.75"

Secondly, I wanted to make sure the valve body was large enough for an HD truck and the gas engine. However, our PW's have an extra 100lbs+ in the front for the winch and mounting plate that need to be thought about.

Front and Rear are the same shock and cover the compressed and extended length requirements. I though that was odd and he did too, but he double verified it. These only run a little more than $100 each.

RS999048 9-way adjustable shock
Compressed Length: 16.92"
Extended Length: 26.54"
Travel Length: 9.62"

My main concern is the front shock, having about 1.75" more extension, could unseat the front springs with the swaybars disconnected. Is this an actual concern?

Has anyone out there taken the plunge on this setup?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

1.75” is not enough to unseat the springs at full flex… also i doubt the front winch is even close to 100lbs as its synthetic line so you would be closer to about 50lbs for the full setup not that it will change your shock selection but more of an fyi

 

[RIDEaCANYON]

Check out Thuren maybe . I had tried Bilsteins on my 2015 2500 CC 6.4L and wasn’t impressed. Quickly went to Thuren front coils, front track bar, and matched Fox 2.0’s all around. Truck then literally rode about as well as most 1500’s. Just pulled my Fox’s off before I sold it and will be putting them on my new ’22 power wagon along with new Thuren front coils. Also running Fox 2.0’s on my 2018 JKU with lift, extended front lowers and rear uppers, track bars and all the other jazz that comes with owning a Jeep. Haha. The shocks are rebuidable so worth the investment in my book.

Just my two cents, everyone will have their own opinion/experience which is cool, but just sharing mine in case it helps anyone.

 

[el_barto]

I think those lengths are too long for stock springs…

I put Fox 2.0’s (designed for regular 2500s with 0” to 1.5” lift) and they are just a hair shorter than stock(fully extended) and be about the same length compressed.
Fox lists their fronts as:
Extended 23.280
Compressed 14.650

And rears:
Extended 24.980
Compressed 15.600

It’s hard to get good relaxed measurements with these stem type shocks, but it gives you a reference point vs the listed dimensions, vs the dimensions for the shocks you listed.

 

[GeneralClortho]

I see what you mean...about 1" too long. I am wondering if it shock would bottom out before hitting the bump stops. If I swap the dampers, I want them to be adjustable, even if I have to wait and save up the coin.

I contacted Teraflex about the Falcon shocks and no dice. That is obviously a big jump in price, but would be a nice option.

I'll keep sniffing around.

 

[jadmt]

I see what you mean...about 1" too long. I am wondering if it shock would bottom out before hitting the bump stops. If I swap the dampers, I want them to be adjustable, even if I have to wait and save up the coin.

I contacted Teraflex about the Falcon shocks and no dice. That is obviously a big jump in price, but would be a nice option.

I'll keep sniffing around.

I have been bugging TF about the Falcons every since I bought mine. I had Falcons on my Jeep and really a nice shock.

 

[GeneralClortho]

The guys at Shock Surplus put together this kit for the 9000s and had over 4k miles of testing on them and did a video review. el_barto was right in that they are shorter than the ones recommended by the Rancho tech.

Part Number	RS999044
Extended Length	24.600"
Compressed Length	15.950"
Travel	8.650"
Bottom Mount	EYELET/SLEEVE
Gas Charged	Yes

 

[Jvill008]

Filthy Motorsports has PW specific King 2.5 shocks in stock if you want to go gold standard. Also if you're willing to wait, I got word that Fox is coming out with their Performace Elite 2.5 shocks for the PW also.

King Shocks In Stock - Shocks Currently In Stock at Filthy Motorsports

Filthy Motorsports is an authorized stocking master distributor for King Shocks and the items listed on this page are currently in stock. Order on-line or contact us directly to place an order.

www.filthymotorsports.com