[IN2DEP]

Just want to know what every one things of these 2 shocks and whats the best one to go for

I wanted to get the RS9000 but they are pretty $$$ and some told me that ill have to modify the shock towers ?? now i rather not do that anless they are a really great shock

Now the RS5000, are they just as good as the RS9000 ?? perform the same and do the same stuff ??

Cause i always read in 4wd magz, people that have the 5000 shocks always say they want the 9000 and thats the next thing to do bla bla bla

So what are you opinions

cheers
Keith

[Rusho]

Neither.....they are truck shocks. Look koni's if you want a really good shock. There are plenty of better shocks out there then rancho's

[SuziBlu]

Surely if they were sized right they would be good, if you tried putting UNIMOG shocks on a sierra then that would suck.

9000s have multiple valving, and if sized right should be good from hard for the blacktop, to very soft for the play time.

Im going for Rancho 9000s when it all comes together.

[zuk94]

The 9000 is good but after nearly 2 years the adjustment nobs are getting harder to turn . Still no regrets.

[SuziBlu]

zuk94 wrote:

The 9000 is good but after nearly 2 years the adjustment nobs are getting harder to turn . Still no regrets.

How often do you adjust them, would you say that its an age or use problem.

[royce]

zuk94 wrote:

The 9000 is good but after nearly 2 years the adjustment nobs are getting harder to turn . Still no regrets.

Undo the 2 screws holding the knob on and spray some inox in there will free it up

[Fatzook]

I have used the 9000's before and they were alright. The 5000's are made to a much lower spec by monroe or similar, so they just aren't worth the money ( or so I was told)

Personally I think adjustable knobs are just for wank factor. I'd rather have and adjustable swaybar

[lump_a_charcoal]

I would get neither- I have the 9000s and on every setting apart from soft, they are too hard. They are not designed for Sierras.

[JrZook]

Rusho wrote:

Neither.....they are truck shocks. Look koni's if you want a really good shock. There are plenty of better shocks out there then rancho's

Yep I went the koni 80 series and they work really well!! They are also priced quiet similar to the rancho's as well!

[shep]

my lwb had OME springs and rancho5000's and it was the worst riding piece of shit that i had ever driven.

[Jccck]

shep wrote:

my lwb had OME springs and rancho5000's and it was the worst riding piece of shit that i had ever driven.

Haha, worst for what reason?

My Zook is running an ebay 2" liftsprings+shocks kit
Sure, you'll spill your coffee on the slightest bump (It's ok, i don't drink it anyway)
But you can corner as fast as you like!

So it's rough, but offroad it does the trick.. So idk how you guys are classing shocks as "bad"
Based on flex allowance or comfort?

[lump_a_charcoal]

OK - Mine allow no flex (cannot rock the vehicle) unless they are on the softest setting. Useless IMO.

[Jccck]

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

OK - Mine allow no flex (cannot rock the vehicle) unless they are on the softest setting. Useless IMO.

Yes that is rather useless.. You can rock mine like a boat! But if you go around a corner fast it doesn't body roll at all.. I dont have swaybars either.. Confusing

After Sunday's efforts i'm going for a full suspension overhaul though.. This had me scared a little.. 5 seconds before the pic i popped the rear left wheel off the ground too, and nearly went over lol
I recommend ebay shocks, sorry.. But they haven't let me down yet

[JrZook]

Jccck wrote:

shep wrote:

So it's rough, but offroad it does the trick.. So idk how you guys are classing shocks as "bad"
Based on flex allowance or comfort?

Comfort and control. Try yours on some descent corrugations and tell us how well your shock/spring combo works. Too hard (either by spring rate or dampening) will see the zuk skip across the undulations on the road/track and most likely end up sliding off it.

In regards to Shep's comment, the OME springs are one of the softest sets out there but in combination with some heavy dampened shocks it will ride like a go-cart over the bumpy stuffs!

[SuziBlu]

Suziblu has OME comfort springs and matching shockies, stationary its so bloody soft, one handed you can rock her like a baby, but like Jccck says, with no sway bar, no roll on the road, off road, reasonably nice, no complaints.

The maruti, hard as blasted rock.

[shep]

JrZook wrote:

Jccck wrote:

shep wrote:

So it's rough, but offroad it does the trick.. So idk how you guys are classing shocks as "bad"
Based on flex allowance or comfort?

Comfort and control. Try yours on some descent corrugations and tell us how well your shock/spring combo works. Too hard (either by spring rate or dampening) will see the zuk skip across the undulations on the road/track and most likely end up sliding off it.

In regards to Shep's comment, the OME springs are one of the softest sets out there but in combination with some heavy dampened shocks it will ride like a go-cart over the bumpy stuffs!

yep. very softly sprung and very and i do mean very over damped. the thing was dangerous.

[Jccck]

shep wrote:

JrZook wrote:

Jccck wrote:

shep wrote:

So it's rough, but offroad it does the trick.. So idk how you guys are classing shocks as "bad"
Based on flex allowance or comfort?

Comfort and control. Try yours on some descent corrugations and tell us how well your shock/spring combo works. Too hard (either by spring rate or dampening) will see the zuk skip across the undulations on the road/track and most likely end up sliding off it.

In regards to Shep's comment, the OME springs are one of the softest sets out there but in combination with some heavy dampened shocks it will ride like a go-cart over the bumpy stuffs!

yep. very softly sprung and very and i do mean very over damped. the thing was dangerous.

Something in mine is definitely hard, i'm sure it's springs.. And shockies must be well matched or a little on the light side
Over bumps it's a bit rough, but the wheels always stay planted and the handling is good.. So :shrug:

[IN2DEP]

So rancho arnt really that great ey i just thought for the price they go for they would be a pretty good shock, back to the drawing boad

[JrZook]

I brought this up in a previous thread looking for descent shocks have a look in this one http://www.auszookers.com/index.php?nam ... ic&t=14363

[Gwagensteve]

IN2DEP, everyone has to start somewhere and all, but you've raised a bunch of questions lately that seems to indicate you're taking your inspiration from US sites/builds rather than from local sources.

A) Not everything that comes from the states is good. Some of it is not even safe. Some of it is terrible value for money even before it's shipped over here.

B) There have been epic internet arguments forever between NSW and Vic drivers about what works. The outcome of this is that it's clear that different setups work in NSW and Victoria. The US has terrain that's extremely varied between states. Using US builds and parts as a guide isn't likely to result in a build that works in Victoria.

That's not so say that everything from the US is garbage - far from the truth. Trail Tough, for example, produce some great gear, but their location is a clue - they are from the Pacific Northwest (Oregon) where the terrain is pretty similar to Victoria, and you can see that in their builds - low, stretched out and stable. They might not work that well elsewhere, or even elsewhere in Australia, but it's a fair guess they'd work pretty well in the terrain down here.

In any case, I'd probably recommend you pay attention to the Victorian builds, and maybe come along to a Suzuki club meeting. It's hard to beat local knowledge.

Steve.

PS RS9000's are nothing better than average (I've had them for years on my Gwagen) RS5000's are well below average.

[BlueSuzy]

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

OK - Mine allow no flex (cannot rock the vehicle) unless they are on the softest setting. Useless IMO.

You also run 2" full packs..

When my suz had 2" lifted springs, they were stiff.

[IN2DEP]

Its not that im swing to the usa brands, to be honest i didnt even know rancho was from the state, its just i hear good things about these brands and i only want the best that i can afford

Ive worked out what springs i want 100% EFS 2" now i just gota work out what shocks and i see rancho in the 4wd magz heaps so i put it out there now that i know there not crash hot, Ill move to the next brand lol

whats yous thing of the EFS shocks ??

I must be a pain in the ass right now sorry guys

PS. koni any good

[lump_a_charcoal]

I have EFS, and they are average. The rears are too short.
OME seems to be fairly good from what I hear.

[Gwagensteve]

There's no point spending good money on shocks that fit stock mounts - it's a waste - they are so short and the shocks on a sierra do so little.

You'll find the shocks that fit into stock mounts seem to short. That's the side effect of trying to run 2" of lift (or over 1/3 of the total travel available in the suspension design) there's just not enough room between the axle and the shock mount for a shock that will let the spring fully open up.

There's lots of Hiace/Commodore shock threads (which are longer) here and on other forums. They kind of work, but IMHO they're a poor solution. I know this because I still have commodore shocks on the front of my sierra. The require bumpstop spacing and they are a car shock - they're not really heavy duty enough for an off road application.

In my opinion, if you don't have the ability to fabricate your own shock mounts, just buy an off the shelf suspension kit. That's shocks and springs from the same source. Trying to second guess a suspension that works is fun for some of us, but it doesn't always result in the best solution.

I only ever recommend OME - their springs are the softest and their shocks are fine.

That's just my opinion though.

Steve.

[Ben_Sierra]

I'm running Lovell's springs with KYB shocks in mine...

The shocks are nothing special, but the springs are brilliant...

[royce]

Even Fox or Penske are going to be shit if they arent valved to suit your setup

the Ranchos on the rear of my vit give me the ride I like, the OME on the front are too soft and bounce around, but the world says they are great, see no definite answer

[Gwagensteve]

And that's a fair point Royce - many of the shocks we choose (and are marketed for) our cars were never valved for them. That might make for a great result (like the Rancho 99012's on the front of my Gwagen) or a terrible result (like the 99009's on the rear of my Gwagen)

Another point though Royce is that strut valving on a vitara will make miles more difference to the behaviour of the car than shock valving on a sierra.

Many people have lost/broken shocks on sierras and never noticed. Nobody every fails to notice a blown shock on a coil car.

Steve.

[IN2DEP]

Thanks guys this is all good reading

But ive called up OMU (ARB) and they dont have a 50mm kit, EFS do supplie a 50mm springs and i want it to be pretty soft

[mnemonix]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Many people have lost/broken shocks on sierras and never noticed.
Steve.

I broken a front lower shock mount on an offroad trip ~300km's from home due to incorrect bumpstop placement.

Removed the shock and wheeled it like that for days until I returned home.
Noticed zero difference offroad (bush+beach) and only noticed it onroad when hitting bumps while cornering loading that wheel.

[lump_a_charcoal]

Chris has 50mm OME springs, try another store.