Aftermarket Shocks For Stock Suspension

PoorDad

PoorDad

Member
I’m planning on keeping my stock suspension for a little while due to back issues keeping me from getting in and out of a lifted jeep. I’ve been considering putting on Bilstein 5100s, Rancho 9000XL, OME, and possibly Eibach. Wondering if anybody else had any other suggestions or thoughts. I don’t want to spend a bunch of money on shocks for a stock height jeep. I’ll be spending money on better shocks when I lift but that’s not for a while yet and I want something better than the stock Rubicon Shocks. I’d like to buy new, but would consider used better shocks like fox 2.0 for the meantime. Any thoughts?
 

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What’s wrong with the stock shocks? A factory rubicon rides pretty nicely. Most of your ride quality comes from springs anyway so any shock probably won’t help much.

With that said, OME are firm and I didn’t even know they were still in business. Eibach would be nice if you had a lowered 1995 Honda civic.
 
I have the Rancho RS7MT shocks in my 2012 two door Rubicon which has 3.5 inches lift springs. They were installed about a year ago and have over 20,000 miles on them. You can get a set from Shock Surplus for about $300.

For the money, the shocks work surprisingly well. Good performance on and off road and are resistant to fade. They’ve been rock crawling, blasting over sand dunes, through mud, over washboards & whoops and down rough & rocky trails and have held up well. There are better shocks, but you’re gonna pay a lot more money for them.
 
Echoing what OverlanderJK said, what seems to be the problem with your ride now? Too bouncy? Too stiff/harsh? It would help to know this before making any kind of recommendation.
 
Like the others have said, stock rides great. However, ride quality is subjective. I went with Rancho as well since it's a great option for its price point and performance, but of course this was after I lifted it.
 
Stock, the ride feels squirrely on washboard roads that I drive on twice a week, and doesn't feel planted over bumps in general. Stock, for the most part is OK, but I want to see if there are any options out there that are better dampeners than the stock. Since my first post, I have discovered Eibach and Rancho RS7MT shocks are only available for lifted Jeeps. I had 9000XL on my lifted JK, and they were OK. I had 5100s on my JK before the Ranchos, which were on the stiff side, but also OK. They are also both available at stock height. OME (yes ARB is still in business) has a 0-2 two inch lift shock, and they come in regular or heavy duty. The HD ones would definitely be stiff on anything other than a fully loaded jeep. Bottom line is, I want to know if there are any better shocks out there that I could put on before I lift without spending over $150 a shock. Thanks for your input.
 
PoorDad said:
Stock, the ride feels squirrely on washboard roads that I drive on twice a week, and doesn't feel planted over bumps in general. Stock, for the most part is OK, but I want to see if there are any options out there that are better dampeners than the stock. Since my first post, I have discovered Eibach and Rancho RS7MT shocks are only available for lifted Jeeps. I had 9000XL on my lifted JK, and they were OK. I had 5100s on my JK before the Ranchos, which were on the stiff side, but also OK. They are also both available at stock height. OME (yes ARB is still in business) has a 0-2 two inch lift shock, and they come in regular or heavy duty. The HD ones would definitely be stiff on anything other than a fully loaded jeep. Bottom line is, I want to know if there are any better shocks out there that I could put on before I lift without spending over $150 a shock. Thanks for your input.
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The Rancho RS7MT are available for stock height. I currently run them on my stock Jeep.
 
OverlanderJK said:
What’s wrong with the stock shocks? A factory rubicon rides pretty nicely. Most of your ride quality comes from springs anyway so any shock probably won’t help much.

With that said, OME are firm and I didn’t even know they were still in business. Eibach would be nice if you had a lowered 1995 Honda civic.
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So why did YOU switch shocks? Why didn't you mention you switched shocks on your otherwise stock suspension?
 
PoorDad said:
So why did YOU switch shocks? Why didn't you mention you switched shocks on your otherwise stock suspension?
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Because I had 90k miles on the factory shocks. They were worn out. I wasn’t wanting anything else and I thought the factory shocks were good up until then.
 
I have only a little experience with the factory shocks given that I only drove on them for four days before having the Mopar 2" lift with the Jeep-provided FOX shocks installed. Regardless, I did immediately feel that the Jeep felt better on Dallas's remarkably bumpy streets with the minor suspension upgrade. Part of the improvement would be due to the shocks.
 
OverlanderJK said:
Because I had 90k miles on the factory shocks. They were worn out. I wasn’t wanting anything else and I thought the factory shocks were good up until then.
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Ok. If the stock shocks were the bee’s knees, why not replace them with stock shocks? There must be a reason you went with something else? How long have you had your Rancho shocks? Do you have enough miles on them to have formulated some sort of opinion on them? Are they an improvement on stock?
 
PoorDad said:
Ok. If the stock shocks were the bee’s knees, why not replace them with stock shocks? There must be a reason you went with something else? How long have you had your Rancho shocks? Do you have enough miles on them to have formulated some sort of opinion on them? Are they an improvement on stock?
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Lol man you read into things too much. I never said they were the bees knees I said they were good paired with the stock coils. Have you looked at the price of factory shocks? They are more expensive than the ranchos. If I didn’t like them I wouldn’t still be running them.
 
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PoorDad said:
Ok. If the stock shocks were the bee’s knees, why not replace them with stock shocks? There must be a reason you went with something else? How long have you had your Rancho shocks? Do you have enough miles on them to have formulated some sort of opinion on them? Are they an improvement on stock?
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You're really overthinking this, lol.
 
OverlanderJK said:
Lol man you read into things too much. I never said they were the bees knees I said they were good paired with the stock coils. Have you looked at the price of factory shocks? They are more expensive than the ranchos. If I didn’t like them I wouldn’t still be running them.
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It will be a while before Overlander's supply of cast-off take-off factory shocks runs out. He knows a guy...
 
Okay, I'll wade in.

I'm going to assume (ass/u/me) you have JEEP spec FOX shocks on your Rubicon.
You have a JL, I have a JT, so there are some differences, BUT, JEEP/MOPAR/Stellantis screwed up by speccing out shocks instead of just letting FOX build them to suit the weight, springs on the vehicle. Your FOX shocks are too soft, wallowing all over the place. Body roll and too much travel on the shocks and too long for them to recover. Sound familiar?

If so, buy any name shocks you want, specifically for stock height and your JLUR. They're going to be better than what came on your JL. The shocks aren't FOX's fault, they built what they were told. Get the same size shock FROM FOX for your JLUR and they will be night and day to what you have on now.

Some people swear by OEM parts. When it comes to shocks, I strongly believe manufacture's engineers can't hold a candle to the guys that build the shocks. Just give them the numbers they need for input, let them build the shock to suit the vehicle.
 
kevman65 said:
Okay, I'll wade in.

I'm going to assume (ass/u/me) you have JEEP spec FOX shocks on your Rubicon.
You have a JL, I have a JT, so there are some differences, BUT, JEEP/MOPAR/Stellantis screwed up by speccing out shocks instead of just letting FOX build them to suit the weight, springs on the vehicle. Your FOX shocks are too soft, wallowing all over the place. Body roll and too much travel on the shocks and too long for them to recover. Sound familiar?

If so, buy any name shocks you want, specifically for stock height and your JLUR. They're going to be better than what came on your JL. The shocks aren't FOX's fault, they built what they were told. Get the same size shock FROM FOX for your JLUR and they will be night and day to what you have on now.

Some people swear by OEM parts. When it comes to shocks, I strongly believe manufacture's engineers can't hold a candle to the guys that build the shocks. Just give them the numbers they need for input, let them build the shock to suit the vehicle.
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No, they are the red regular stock Rubi shocks, not Fox.

All I was looking for was input from someone who had changed their shocks from stock while retaining the rest of the stock suspension and if it was worth the effort. I also think just about anything else would be an improvement over stock, as they do not feel planted.

I think I have made up my mind and will make some calls tomorrow. Thanks. Especially OverlandJK. You have been most helpful.
 
kevman65 said:
Okay, I'll wade in.

I'm going to assume (ass/u/me) you have JEEP spec FOX shocks on your Rubicon.
You have a JL, I have a JT, so there are some differences, BUT, JEEP/MOPAR/Stellantis screwed up by speccing out shocks instead of just letting FOX build them to suit the weight, springs on the vehicle. Your FOX shocks are too soft, wallowing all over the place. Body roll and too much travel on the shocks and too long for them to recover. Sound familiar?

If so, buy any name shocks you want, specifically for stock height and your JLUR. They're going to be better than what came on your JL. The shocks aren't FOX's fault, they built what they were told. Get the same size shock FROM FOX for your JLUR and they will be night and day to what you have on now.

Some people swear by OEM parts. When it comes to shocks, I strongly believe manufacture's engineers can't hold a candle to the guys that build the shocks. Just give them the numbers they need for input, let them build the shock to suit the vehicle.
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I thought my fox shocks were pretty good until I started driving a bunch in Houston. There’s a lot of trash roads here and the Fox rubi shocks on my JT just aren’t up to the task. Makes me wish I would have gone for the Mojave.
 
TheGrendel said:
I thought my fox shocks were pretty good until I started driving a bunch in Houston. There’s a lot of trash roads here and the Fox rubi shocks on my JT just aren’t up to the task. Makes me wish I would have gone for the Mojave.
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Still JEEP spec FOX shocks.
 
I cant speak got the other Rubicon fox shocks, but I don’t think they missed the mark with the Mojave, I could see where you could argue the suspension is a little soft but it’s all there.
 
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