Time to upgrade the shocks

Tims02ford

New member
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
Location
WEST CHESTER OH
Hello just seeing what you guys are putting on the trucks now. My truck is stock for now and it’s a fx4 and I pull trailers with it and drive it every other day. I do plan on adding a leveling kit so that’s a option to.
And also who has the best deals on leveling kits and shocks?
 

Connor M

Youtube Certified Master Technician
Joined
Oct 12, 2016
Messages
693
Reaction score
6
Location
Masshole
Foxes. Worth the money over the bilstiens, although they're a great option if you want to save the money.
 

dsberman94

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Messages
11,545
Reaction score
56
Location
Pennsylvania
I remember about 7-8 years ago when everyone was talking up bilstein and ****ting on those Rancho 9000s. Lol. How times change.
 

ForeverFixing

New member
Joined
Jul 5, 2021
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Location
SW Washington USA
I put on Bilstein shocks, took off the stock Rancho. I didn't think I would feel a difference but wow! We have a speed bump by our driveway and going over it was so much smoother after putting on the new shocks. I should not have waited so long. 48k miles on the truck.
 

6_Riders

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Messages
48
Reaction score
2
Not many would say this, what's reasoning for your opinion? Truly interested as mine has the 9000s, they washboard like a lot talk about.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
The main advantage of the rs9ks over the Bilstiens is the adjustability of the shocks. It actually works..... Fox have a lot of advantages over the other two.
A 3/4 or 1 ton truck isn't going to ride great over speed bumps and plain ****ty on rough roads at lower speeds. Once you speed up and the suspension starts moving, ride smooths out.
Shocks don't truly change the ride, they dampen the spring vibration, so to truly change the ride, you have to change the springs.
That being said, bad shocks do cause a bad ride, because the spring can't stop moving fast enough, or stops to fast. You feel stopping to fast on slow crappy roads, the constant rolling inside the cab (for lack of a better word), usually this is the case on big trucks even with good shocks, the springs aren't moving enough to absorb the rough road. If the same road is driven at faster speeds, getting the springs to move more (and the shocks are OK), you'll feel the axle moving, but the truck smooths out. With bad shocks, it will have a weird uneven ride, possibly with a dance side to side.
I describe the speed bumps a little different, because of different shape and height of speed bumps, it's harder to determine exactly what is going on by driving over them. I guess on short and tall bumps, the type where the rear tires tend to fall off of them, instead of rolling off of them, the feeling your looking for is a kick up at the rear end. It should fall off and not really bounce, or kick up. You'll feel it hit the ground, but it should be a hard hit.
Front shocks mainly give you
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
642
Reaction score
1
Location
Gainesville Ga.
I am reporting back, I actually don't believe they are the 9000s on my truck. I swore I saw the full label as the 9000s, but as I discovered this morning upon further inspection, they're just white, red boot and say Rancho. Guess this was a different shock used on the FX4 package

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
 

6_Riders

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Messages
48
Reaction score
2
I am reporting back, I actually don't believe they are the 9000s on my truck. I swore I saw the full label as the 9000s, but as I discovered this morning upon further inspection, they're just white, red boot and say Rancho. Guess this was a different shock used on the FX4 package

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
The stock fx4 shock is the rs5000. The 9000 has adjustment knobs on the bottom of the main body. You can adjust the ride, from 1 to 9, soft to hard. I run around set pretty low, but if I'm loading up or towing, I set them a bit higher.
I replaced my oem with new 5000s, that shock just sucks, ended up with the 9000s..... Which I wasn't completely sure I wanted because the 5000s are so bad.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Top