Shock Advice - Rancho RS9000XL, Bilstein 5100 or Bilstein 7100?

[RyanITV]

I'm trying to figure out what shocks to put on my build and am looking for some guidance. The setup is 4.5" of suspension lift, extended radius arms, 35s (though I may go to 37s). Most off-road duty is beach and field use, though you never know what kind of trouble I'll try to get into. Setup is 2 on each corner.

Getting the Raptor last year was a real eye-opener about what a huge difference good suspension made.

I've narrowed it down to 3 choices:

Rancho RS9000XL - adjustability
Bilstein 5100 - non-adjustable, but good reviews
Bilstein 7100 - can get proper valving for 2 per corner

I'm kinda leaning towards the 7100s, because they're rebuildable, specific valving and get great reviews but am a little worried about clearance with the remote reservoirs.

Any advice or other contenders I might have forgotten?

Thanks in advance!

Ryan

 

[WyleCoyote]

First of all, how stuck are you on having 2 per corner? That is generally thought of as unneccessary with the high quality shocks you can get today. I'm running Rancho rs9000xl's on the front (1 per corner) and like the adjustability. I dial them up for street use and have very good road manners, then set them to the softest when I hit the trail, and it smooths the washboard right out! I have cage shocks on the rear, inboard hoop mounted, but I'll be getting rs9000's to replace those soon too.

Bilsteins are really nice from everything I have heard and read, but I haven't ran them so I can't comment too much on them though.

 

[RyanITV]

Pretty set - already have the hoops, rear mounts, radius arm and other changes done. With the 7100s, they listed 2 per corners with the recommended valving.

Ryan

 

[73stallion]

say "hell no" to rancho! got bilstein 7100's in front and 5125's in the rear of mine. valved properly single shocks work great!

 

[hartbronco]

Well Well Well ........ I run the Rancho RS9012xl and only one on each corner ! Because thay are adjustable You dont need two!! My Bronco Is used for hard core wheeling on the weekends and I also use it for taking the kids down to the park to school etc. So having a totaly adjustible shock is best for my setup and use . If you are going to use it for street and FS Roads then I think the Bilstiens would be best . It comes down to what you are going to do with your Bronco ( what kind of driveing ) are you going to do with it . Don't wast your money on 8 shocks ( like Wyle said ) you only need 4 !!! this is just my opinion ;D

 

[RyanITV]

Primarily beaches, sand and some fields. There's no real hilly terrain in Delaware. It'll be driven on the street as well.

Ryan

 

[chuckinphx]

i agree with 1 per corner i have W H 5.5 lift with 2 shocks a corner it rides like a lumber truck. harsh.. pulled one out of each and adjust as needed.. works fine (rancho adjustables) ill keep the other ones for when i bend one or bottom out. only other shocks i had on it were 30 years old not a good comparison..

 

[garberz]

Pretty set - already have the hoops, rear mounts, radius arm and other changes done. With the 7100s, they listed 2 per corners with the recommended valving.

Ryan

What are the numbers for 2 per corner?

 

[mavereq]

i vote for bilsteins, but one per corner. nothing wrong with running a single with hoops and rockjocks

 

[RyanITV]

What are the numbers for 2 per corner?

Depends on what you're doing with them, see Page 10 here:

http://www.digitalperformance.com/bilstein/OffRoad.pdf

 

[JIMS74]

I'm using dual 170/60 in the front, and dual 150/50 in the rear. the 7100 bilsteins will not fit on the stock upper rear shock mounts. the spherical ball end is a 1/2" dia. and the stock shock mount is 5/8" dia., I had to use prothane bushings on the upper rear mounts, or make new rear shock mounts.
Jim

 

[garberz]

OK, I see what they offer. With the single shock up front, the 360/80 is the correct valving for the Bronco. You can create the same or close to valving with duals. Looks like two 170/60 would be about right or the 150/50 would be softer. You can run two per corner and have it set up great. The great thing about these shocks are you can have the valving changed to meet your needs.
I think what you guys are doing with the left over Bronco is Awesome.

 

[RyanITV]

I'm using dual 170/60 in the front, and dual 150/50 in the rear. the 7100 bilsteins will not fit on the stock upper rear shock mounts. the spherical ball end is a 1/2" dia. and the stock shock mount is 5/8" dia., I had to use prothane bushings on the upper rear mounts, or make new rear shock mounts.
Jim

Thanks for the pics. The rears shouldn't be an issue with my build - my frame's got the WH "Shock Jock" mounts in front of the axle.

What did you valve yours for? That looks a little softer than what I was originally thinking.

Ryan

 

[hartbronco]

I'm using dual 170/60 in the front, and dual 150/50 in the rear. the 7100 bilsteins will not fit on the stock upper rear shock mounts. the spherical ball end is a 1/2" dia. and the stock shock mount is 5/8" dia., I had to use prothane bushings on the upper rear mounts, or make new rear shock mounts.
Jim

Have you run this set-up yet ? If you have what is the ride like?

 

[JIMS74]

I have not driven it yet, have not finished the bodywork. I plan on using it on the beach on the outer banks

 

[Clint]

not sure if you are interested, but FOA is putting out a pretty good shock, would be comparable to the 7100s.

 

[englewoodcowboy]

It sounds to me that you will be doing the most of your time off road which will be cycling the suspension alot. This is exactly what a remote resevoir shock was designed for, extra capacity for oil and better cooling. Thats my vote for your app. If you were doing 50/50 street/trail I would goto the 5100's but the 7100's will be a nice feature IMHO.

 

[Sac '68 sport]

I went with single Rancho 9000's all around to replace dual Duffs all around. The dual 70/30 Duffs were really harsh. Awful ride both on and off road. I went with Rancho over the Bilstein's because they were running a buy 4 get $100 gift card back, and I found them for only $85 each shipped no tax. Rancho always seems to be running some sort of deal, either buy 3 get one, or get a free incab controler. So the Rancho's are likley cheeper that the Bilsteins. I'm sure they can make the valving on the bilstin's soft enough to run two and still be comfortable but it as others have said it's probably not necessary. Jim's set up does look sweet though.

 

[gravy]

I run the 9000XLs, Very happy with them and the adjustablity is perfect for on or off road and dialing the suspension with coils at all 4 corners. I have used many different types and brands over the years and 9000xl is a good adjustable shock for the money. I run dual in the front and single in the rear but I can easily run a single in the front if I wanted to- but it looks cooler with 2

 

[englewoodcowboy]

I run ranchos on my F250, great shock, only downfall is their paint sucks. Def. repaint them well before you install,otherwise they will start to rust in a year.