Socal Tom
Bronco Guru
I used to run a single rancho 9000 on the front of mine. It bottomed out just about every time I took it down a fast wash or through the dunes. I moved to a bilstien 7100 and now, I can go faster down the same road, and it doesn't bottom out.
There are two key differences between the bilstiens and the ranchos. Bilstiens have about 200 psi of nitrogen pressure on them. When the shock gets hot ( and they do -- feel your ranchos after a run down a bumpy road), the oil thins out, and it can even start to boil or foam. When the oil foams, it no longer slows down the piston thats pushing through it so its almost like it doesn't exist. Under 200 PSI, the oil won't foam, so bilstiens still work when they are hot.
Second, Bilstien valving can sense how fast the shock is moving up and down, if its moving slow, like on a smooth road then it moves easy ( gives a soft ride), if it moves fast like a hard bump, then if firms up to keep you from bottoming out.
What happens with dual ranchos, is that they ride really stiff on the road, then when you get off road, they get hot, and then they are too soft. Duals will take longer to heat up than a single, but they still will eventually foam.
I would take a single bilstien 5100 over rancho duals, and the Bilstein 5100 isn't that much more expensive.
Tom
There are two key differences between the bilstiens and the ranchos. Bilstiens have about 200 psi of nitrogen pressure on them. When the shock gets hot ( and they do -- feel your ranchos after a run down a bumpy road), the oil thins out, and it can even start to boil or foam. When the oil foams, it no longer slows down the piston thats pushing through it so its almost like it doesn't exist. Under 200 PSI, the oil won't foam, so bilstiens still work when they are hot.
Second, Bilstien valving can sense how fast the shock is moving up and down, if its moving slow, like on a smooth road then it moves easy ( gives a soft ride), if it moves fast like a hard bump, then if firms up to keep you from bottoming out.
What happens with dual ranchos, is that they ride really stiff on the road, then when you get off road, they get hot, and then they are too soft. Duals will take longer to heat up than a single, but they still will eventually foam.
I would take a single bilstien 5100 over rancho duals, and the Bilstein 5100 isn't that much more expensive.
Tom