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King vs Fox

10K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  stumblinhorse 
#1 ·
I am in the market for some new shocks and I was wondering what the best choice would be. I just ordered a new set of rock krawler springs for my Jeep, and while I was on the phone with someone who worked with rock krawler, he gave some suggestions for the best shocks to pair with my springs. For my usage (daily driver and off-roading whenever possible, but no rock crawling) he said there would be no need for reservoir shocks and that if I wanted the best ride quality the non reservoir king shocks would be the best. However, he made an exception for the reservoir shocks and said that adjustable reservoir shocks, such as the fox performance series adjustable shocks would be just as good. They are both around the same price range, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either shock and could give advice before I spent the money
 
#3 · (Edited)
:welcome: to the forum!

The 2 options you are looking at are both very good, high quality, and $$$ options in the shock market. Either one is going to perform very well but in reality the one that best suits you will come down to the butt test. Which one is going to provide the type of ride YOU like. I will offer this advice... Reservoir shocks hold more oil so they typically will last longer in the bumpy fast trails (think desert racing) without fading as fast. They also sometimes will have longer available travel for the same length shock because some of the valving is in the reservoir instead of stacked in the shock body. Reservoir shocks typically will have some adjustment so you can dial in the ride somewhat. They also tend to be a little more expensive and you have to deal with mounting the reservoirs which can sometimes be a pain. You will need to do a little research with both shock manufacturers. I have also swapped out $3500 shocks in a guys JKU to have him tell me he was soooo much happier with $200 worth of Rancho 5000X monotube shocks. Your butt likes sometimes what your butt likes?!?
 
#5 ·
Both Fox and King are excellent shocks. If you are using on a DD and you live in the rust belt I'd suggest Fox since my buddies Kings developed severe rust on the shock bodies very quickly here in Michigan. My Fox 2.0s are still rust free after several years.
 
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#6 ·
Yep, you're looking at 2 of the best... I can't directly compare the 2 since I've never been on the Fox adjustables. But the Kings are nice for sure.

I'll add that the Teraflex Falcon 3.3's are also really good shocks to pair with RK springs. I would choose the Falcons over the King non resi....
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the advice. I’m kind of leaning toward fox because I found out that the fox warranty is much better than the king one. And although I don’t live anywhere where the shocks would rust, it’s nice to have that added security knowing the fox ones wouldn’t rust
 
#8 ·
Two door or four door? If you decide to look at Kings contact Filthy Motor sports in Colorado. They will know what works well with those springs and your intended use and jeeps configuration. I do considerable highway and have a two door I went with kings reservoirs about four years ago and 50K miles, factory springs. In rust belt no issues, shocks ride very well for my usage.
 
#9 ·
You should also cross shop the ADS shocks. If I was spending that much $$$ they would have to be on the list.

Andrew at Letzroll Offroad is a genius with ADS on a Jeep. Give him a call and have a chat, you might learn something that makes your decision easy.

https://letzrolloffroad.com/
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the info. Honestly I’m open to any suggestions around that price range. Fox reservoir and king non reservoir were the 2 recommended through the rock krawler rep but I’d be open to any other shocks around the same price if they’re the same quality
 
#13 ·
I am a shock snob. Off the self shocks are a compromise. The engineer that designed them had to make assumptions on spring rate, vehicle weight, the type of terrain and how you drive. This is easy to do with stock vehicles but much harder to do once we start down the mod path. This is why I stress either going with the lift manufactures recommendation or spend the money and go to a custom shock. The later is the best choice but only make sense if you plan is to keep the vehicle for a long time.
 
#14 ·
The shocks you are looking at are overkill for your needs. Since people drop 1500-2000 on tires, seems like that much is no big deal for shocks for a DD with occasional off road. I see oil reservoir shocks all the time on jeeps that spend 1 mile for every 10000 off road.

My advice about shocks. The nice thing about spending a few hundred on a set is you can try something else if you don’t like them. When you spend 2k you are pretty stuck if you don’t like them, and possibly you can’t tell any difference than a set of 5000x, because you aren’t often doing 75mph on a forest service road.
 
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