After reading endless reviews on shocks i narrowed my choices to the OME nitrocharger and the new Rancho 5000x. With great reviews and a fantastic price through quadratec plus a rebate right now i ordered the Ranchos and have to say i am shocked. I didn't know what to expect really but these have massively improved the ride of my JKU Willys. With 32k on the factory rubicon shocks i thought it was early to change them, now i wish i did it immediately.
I swapped the shocks out today in less than an hour and went for a long drive that has mixed driving (winding country roads, through, town, freeway). I would call my driving spirited at times and the Jeep handles it fine. Cornering is flat (maybe small improvement), less nose dive braking hard (improvement), bumps/potholes (big improvement), overall the Jeep feels so much smoother seemingly gliding along in a more luxury car way (its no cadillac but massively better). So on the road these shocks are fantastic and imagine they would do fine on any terrain.
My JKU is basically stock for reference - hope this helps anyone on the fence
Glad to hear you like them! In my opinion, they are far and away the best value shock on the market and as good or better than most that cost twice as much. The one downside is the paint is thin and poorly applied...
Thanks for your input and agreed on all points - i did clear coat them before installing having heard that about the thin paint (maybe from one of your posts) I am really amazed at the difference these shocks made, its like i put a cushier seat in the Jeep as it still handles well (even better it seems- the proof being i seemed to be driving too fast everywhere) but is so much less jarring.
I am on the fence in regards to ordering these. IF I do order new shocks, these will be the ones, but I am not sure I am there yet. I too have 32k on my Jeep and just recently put a 2.5" Rough Country Coil Spacer budget boost on my Jeep. I honestly don't mind the way it drives, except for pothole, big bumps or any other harsh impact.
I thought I read reviews, maybe even here, that these were more of a stiffer ride than the factory shocks. I could have sworn I was directed towards the 9000 if I wanted a softer ride.
I thought I read reviews, maybe even here, that these were more of a stiffer ride than the factory shocks. I could have sworn I was directed towards the 9000 if I wanted a softer ride.
I think this might be due to the different factory shocks on different models along with JKs being lighter compared to JKUs, if you have rubicon shocks these are much better but not overly soft. The engineering works magic with these as they soak up harsh bumps better than the factory rubicons and smooth the ride out while not being too soft under harsh cornering or braking. The 9000s set to a soft setting might be more plush but these are the latest and for the price an amazing deal, no changing settings for different conditions- they just work. I really do wish i had done it sooner-
I swapped out my Bilsteins (from the AEV 2.5 kit) with the 9000xl adjustables. Much more compliant ride. Set to around 3-4. Almost went with the 5000 but figured its always good to have options, just in case.
I read nothing but great reviews on the 5000. I knew Pressurized would chime in. He loves them. I installed, in early spring, the 9000's and couldn't be happier. They ride so great. They handle the abrupt bumps in the road so much better than the stock shocks. Very impressed with the ride.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the 5000's.
I have a '15 JKU w/Leveling kit.
Considering new shocks and wonder if the 5000's would have an improved ride over the factory Sahara shocks.
My 2017 big Bear came with the Sahara shocks and I replaced them after 2 months and 3,500 miles with the 5000x. I will lift my jk when tires are worn so with the low cost and great reviews I figured there was little risk in trying them for 2 years, I am glad that I did. Ride is about as soft as stock but much more controlled. When I take this one route home the exit ramp has several braking bumps as you come to the stop sign and with the stock shocks you'd feel the rear end get all squirrely as if it wanted to kick out but with the ranchos it is still bumpy but maintains much better contact which eliminated the squirrelyness. Hitting bumps mid lane change is much improved as well.
I have them on my jku with the re 2.5 coil lift. They feel ok. It's so tough to tell how good they really are with the roads so damn rough here in Louisiana. Also I have cooper stt pros and they seem to ride a little rough also.
Well, I just placed my order. Hopefully these dampen the violent blows that the road I take every morning has. There is a section I wish I could take a detour around, unfortunately its the only way to get to my son's daycare.
I put the Rancho 5000X on my JKU, along with the TF spring leveling kit. I am stock weight, no bumpers, winch or armor, but heavier tires. The low speed ride is smoother than stock, but still a bit harsh, but once I'm above 35-45mph, the ride smooths out in a big way.
If your ride is that harsh on the road, make sure your tire pressure is at a reasonable level for the tire. Too much pressure (like what Discount Tires put in when I go there) results in a jarring ride, no matter what shocks are on the jeep. I am running 33" Hankook ATM's which have a max pressure of 80psi. I run them around 30psi cold to smooth things out on the pavement.
You can do the oft-mentioned chalk test to see if the whole width of the tire is contacting the pavement, at the weight that you typically run most of the time.
Warning stupid question coming that I am pretty sure I know the answer to......
As mentioned, I put on the Rough Country Coil Spacer kit, which came with stock extenders. I ordered the RS55330 and RS55329 shocks, so I would eliminate the extenders now, correct?
I ordered these from Quadratec last Thursday, got them Monday and installed them yesterday. Huge props to Quadratec for getting these to me so quickly, I didn't even ask for expedited shipping.
The installation for the rear was a breeze and the front driver side was not so bad, but the front passenger was a bitch. I finally took a dremel to the plastic to replicate the front driver side.
Something that was odd was one of the front shocks came with 3 rubber bushings and the other came with 2, so I am not sure if it was a packaging error or what?
Now for the actual review of the shock..... Within 25 feet of leaving my driveway I knew I made the right decision. These shocks improved the ride drastically! I drove down some gravel roads with huge pot hole, drove through a field and took it on the highway. These are a huge improvement over stock in every way possible.
But the real test was the road to my son's school with train tracks and huge bumps in the middle of the road. Well this is where these shocks shined and even if I didn't notice a single difference in the other conditions, which I did, they earned their money on this road. When I went over the train tracks I didn't feel like I was going to get bounced out of my seat. And when I hit the huge bumps in the road, there are two BIG ones where roads were connected, it didn't feel like my dashboard was going to crack in half.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with these shocks, and I only have probably 25 miles on them.
Hi, I drive a 2013 JKU Sahara with a 2.5" TF Budget Boost Lift. I have noticed my ride being EXTREMELY stiff in general and was wondering whether these shocks would make a big improvement as a DAILY DRIVER. I want that emphasized as I'm trying to figure out whether the investment would be worth it. ATM I do not go to the trails.
Still loving the new shocks - glad others are in the same camp. I really am impressed and wanted to add i don't take it lightly telling people to buy product A over product B but Rancho deserves a pat on the back for these and am glad we have more knowledgeable people than me advising on here, like Pressurized (thank you), turning people on to great products.
I've been running 5000x's for 9 or so months now. Great shocks, really have no complaints and they definitely are better than stock. I painted mine with a couple coats of red Rustoleum before installing. I really wish they would move away from white - what genius thought white shocks was a good idea?
I'll be spending a week in Moab in October so it'll be interesting to see how they hold up to hours of offroad driving at a time.
Have any pics of them installed? I too plan to buy and do NOT like the white. I have anvil jeep and I will be getting my coils painted red and I assume the boot comes red but curious what the entire shock looks like all red and installed.
I emailed one of the Jeep parts businesses about which shock I should get for my 2017 JKU with a teraflex leveling kit and Rubicon wheels/tires. No off road as of yet, but plan to in the future. The response was Bilstein. I was surprised by the answer. I put those shocks on my BMW.
Bilsteins are a popular shock for our Jeeps. They also have one of the widest variety of opinions... Some love them, some think they are just ok and others can't/couldn't wait to get rid of them.
Just ordered a set of these (well 3 of the 4) from Canadian Tire and will be picking them up in a few days. It looks like they only had one of the fronts in stock, so I will need to go around to some other retailers and look to order. They were 25% off at a price of $71 CAD. Not sure when I'll get around to installing but i've been eyeing them for a while now and the other positive reviews put me over the edge.
I just installed the RS5000X shocks when I got the Rancho 2" Progressive Sport Lift this week. They are great shocks. I was replacing stock Sport shocks that had 50,000 miles on them. The new shocks take every bump way better, have less body roll, and minimal dipping on braking. Definitely recommend the shocks and the lift kit.
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