[BRAD]

hi all , just wondering what you vitara owners think of the rancho 9000x shocks worth buying? ive got tough dog shocks but never tried any other shocks so dont know what they are like. thanks brad

[MrRocky]

i set mine to 3/10 and snapped my standard shock crossmember in half
leave them on the 1 setting and they are still way too big but liveable

on a sierra that is

[BRAD]

ouch

[Gwagensteve]

RS9000's are a waste of money.

They used to cheap because you couldn't get quality shocks in long lengths with soft valving. Now you can, there is no reason to use Ranchos.

MrRocky - I've been in (and owned) cars with that and the opposite problem - RS9000's that are far too soft for the application, even when turned right up. Whilst this is unlikely in a sierra, it is possible in a vitara.

RS9000s are valved for the application, just like any other shock. If you use a 9000 "out of application" like using a shock for the rear of a leaf spring ute in the rear of a coil sprung wagon, it's quite possible for the valving to impossible to adjust properly.

Brad - I can't comment on tough dog shocks myself. What are you asking? Are you unhappy with the ride of the TD shocks? The length?

Steve.

[MrRocky]

mine were listed for an F250 and are 980 open and have a huge bore size
there plenty hard i can assure u

[Gwagensteve]

I don't doubt it.

My comment was only that there's a misconception that you can adjust a 9000 to work in any application and it's false.

It's quite possible to end up with a shock that's far too stiff or soft for the application even when adjusted all the way soft/stiff because the original application was too different to the intended use.

Steve.

[BRAD]

yeah steve its the length i want abit more flex but dont know what shocks to get. but dont get me wrong the tough dogs are great

[Gwagensteve]

BRAD wrote:

yeah steve its the length i want abit more flex but dont know what shocks to get. but dont get me wrong the tough dogs are great

How much too short are the Tough Dogs? I'd be surprised if there was much travel left in the springs that the shocks couldn't accommodate. If you have spring spacers and have therefore spaced your bumpstops down the length of the spacer, the lower shock mount can be raised to recover the travel "lost" by fitting the bumpstop spacers.

I see no advantage in having shocks longer than the spring travel. Loose springs=no added traction (with an otherwise standard suspension configuration)

Steve.

[BRAD]

yeah they extend right out and the spring is at full travel, but ive got 30mm spacers im about to put in just need abit longer shocks

[vitzookman]

Have thought about rancho 7000s ?

[got_bar_work]

Steve do u know any shocks that are around the 600 open that you would recommend for the rear of a heavy lwb vit
I'm running the commo ones but find them a bit to soft

[Gwagensteve]

BRAD wrote:

yeah they extend right out and the spring is at full travel, but ive got 30mm spacers im about to put in just need abit longer shocks

Bits for Vits sell these:

http://www.bits4vits.co.uk/store/vitara ... d_173.html

and while I'm not all that crazy about them, they are a solution once you add the spacers and space the bumpstops accordingly.


No, I haven't given a thought to RS 7000's. I don't think 9000's are much chop so I have no reason to consider a mono tube from the same manufacturer. The valving is likely to be waaaay too stiff.


got_bar_work - I don't think the 600 open is all that relevant - what's the required collapsed length? That comes out at about 9" of travel by my guess.

Steve.

[BRAD]

thanks steve, i was looking at the Shock Repositioners / Spacers they seem like not a bad idea

[MrRocky]

I inverted/inboarded mine to decrease the dampening effect to try and negate the stiffness a bit

[multimaster]

Gwagensteve wrote:

They used to cheap because you couldn't get quality shocks in long lengths with soft valving. Now you can, there is no reason to use Ranchos.

Just wondering what some of these other long travel shocks are, I've been looking everywhere for em.

Thanks
James

[Gwagensteve]

Bilstein 5125's from lowrange off road.

Steve

[DarkHorse]

I'm running Rancho 9000Xs and find them quite good turned right down to their softest setting. Still a firm-ish ride, but I'm usually carrying at least some weight in the back, so copes well with that.

Cranked up to about 8-10 I can hit corners at silly speeds and get almost no body roll. Not really suited to my application all that often, but nice to know it's there if I want it (as long as I can avoid pot-holes and speed bumps...) At that setting they feel like the old GV Tough Dog shocks I ran for a while.

Anyhoo - long story short they work quite well at their softest setting offroad, but are waaaay too long for even lifted GV coils. A long soft coil like the Calmini 3" would probably be OK, anything else is liable to drop out unless you've extended your bumpstops, which they also require.

[tassie jeeper]

BRAD wrote:

ive got 30mm spacers im about to put in just need abit longer shocks

how long are the tough dogs over standard...?
how old are they?
are they the adjustable tuffdogs?
would u sell them off after getting new shocks...?

[VitNick]

I'm currently running them and I agree with DarkHorse, they are good when they are turned right down to their softest even ~5 on them is decent, but can be extremely harsh on the smallest of all bumps when past this. I haven't had problems with springs dropping out, but they come rather close to. The previous owner got them out of a Jeep, so unsure if the valving would be different.

[DarkHorse]

From memory the part number listed for Vitara is unique, but I didn't look that hard.

[BRAD]

tassie jeeper wrote:

BRAD wrote:

ive got 30mm spacers im about to put in just need abit longer shocks

how long are the tough dogs over standard...?
how old are they?
are they the adjustable tuffdogs?
would u sell them off after getting new shocks...?

no sure on lenght
about a year old
not the adjustable ones
i would but dont know what new shocks to get

Anyone know about the OME shocks any good??

[Gwagensteve]

OME shocks are fine, I have no problem recommending them. However, if you are running more than 50mm of lift they might be too short- they are designed for stock bumpstop positions.

Steve.

[tassie jeeper]

BRAD wrote:

no sure on lenght
about a year old
not the adjustable ones
i would but dont know what new shocks to get

Anyone know about the OME shocks any good??

ok pitty about unverified length maybe if u replace them u can measure the collapsed length ans someone on here can tell if/how much longer than standard.

i had OME shocky on my jeep they were ok i put 9000xs on and they were about the same on the hardest setting and then i couls soften them for offroad but in the end i cbf crawling under a muddy car to adjust them all the time so int the end i just set them on full and left them.

[BRAD]

isnt there supposed to be some ome long travel ones you can get , i think someone on here has them

[Gwagensteve]

Are they specifically valved for a vitara? ARB are pretty conservative and it would be unlikely they'd sell a shock that required bumpstop spacing to prevent vehicle/shock damage.

The whole point of using OME in my opinion is that they are properly valved for the application. You pay more, and you have to work with conservative lengths, but you should be happy with the ride. If you step outside the recommended fitment then the ARB application specific valving isn't relevant anymore.

Steve.

[BRAD]

yea your no wrong, might hit them up for a price cheers steve

[atari4x4]

BRAD wrote:

isnt there supposed to be some ome long travel ones you can get , i think someone on here has them

are you talking about the ones that bigrig91 fitted? if so he had to chop his floor out & remake top shock mounts.

[got_bar_work]

Or the long ones steve used to use
Just grab some 8in bilstiens
or if u have long coils go 10 and bump stop spacer

[BRAD]

got_bar_work wrote:

Or the long ones steve used to use
Just grab some 8in bilstiens
or if u have long coils go 10 and bump stop spacer

yea i was looking at bilsteins i think these are the 8 inch ones (bilsteins 5125)

[DarkHorse]

You remaking top mounts?