New shocks
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Joined: Feb 2011
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From: Central Minnesota
New shocks
I just replaced all four shocks on my ’99 Durango for the second time.
The first time was at around 60,000 miles and I put Rancho shocks in place of the OEM brand. It now has 148,000 miles and I should have changed the Ranchos out 20,000 miles or about 18 months ago.
This time I chose the Bilsteins. My mechanic suggested Monroe Sensa-Trac and with the 4-for-3 Shocktober deal, I would have saved over a $100. But having read the feedback from this and other forums, I decided on the more expensive Bilsteins. I briefly considered the Monroe Reflex due to cost, but still decided on the Bilsteins.
Please understand that I’m comparing new shocks vs. old worn out ones, and this is not meant to be a Rancho vs. Bilstein vs. Monroe thread. Here are my purely empirical findings:
My first reaction was that the Durango seemed to be sitting up about an inch higher – sort of like a 1-inch lift. This is probably an indication of how worn the old shocks were.
My second reaction was disappointment – the new shocks did not seem any better over bumps than the old ones. Please note that I was not expecting the Durango to glide like a Cadillac, but I could still feel the bumps on the road. I seriously wondered if I had made a costly mistake!
But having driven around for a week, the new shocks seemed to have seated themselves. The ride has suddenly become smoother – still not carlike but now much better. I no longer have to avoid manhole covers and even the occasional pothole or crack in the road does not transmit up – I hear them but not feel them much. Acceleration and braking seem a lot smoother. And if I took a corner a little too fast, the tires no longer seem to skip around the bend.
Now I am very happy with the Bilsteins. I will write an update in about a month if there are further improvements. I do not remember how good the Ranchos were when new, but I like how these Bilsteins feel and would recommend them. I just wanted to warn people that (in my case) there seemed to be a brief “running in” period before the shocks seemed to work properly.
The first time was at around 60,000 miles and I put Rancho shocks in place of the OEM brand. It now has 148,000 miles and I should have changed the Ranchos out 20,000 miles or about 18 months ago.
This time I chose the Bilsteins. My mechanic suggested Monroe Sensa-Trac and with the 4-for-3 Shocktober deal, I would have saved over a $100. But having read the feedback from this and other forums, I decided on the more expensive Bilsteins. I briefly considered the Monroe Reflex due to cost, but still decided on the Bilsteins.
Please understand that I’m comparing new shocks vs. old worn out ones, and this is not meant to be a Rancho vs. Bilstein vs. Monroe thread. Here are my purely empirical findings:
My first reaction was that the Durango seemed to be sitting up about an inch higher – sort of like a 1-inch lift. This is probably an indication of how worn the old shocks were.
My second reaction was disappointment – the new shocks did not seem any better over bumps than the old ones. Please note that I was not expecting the Durango to glide like a Cadillac, but I could still feel the bumps on the road. I seriously wondered if I had made a costly mistake!
But having driven around for a week, the new shocks seemed to have seated themselves. The ride has suddenly become smoother – still not carlike but now much better. I no longer have to avoid manhole covers and even the occasional pothole or crack in the road does not transmit up – I hear them but not feel them much. Acceleration and braking seem a lot smoother. And if I took a corner a little too fast, the tires no longer seem to skip around the bend.
Now I am very happy with the Bilsteins. I will write an update in about a month if there are further improvements. I do not remember how good the Ranchos were when new, but I like how these Bilsteins feel and would recommend them. I just wanted to warn people that (in my case) there seemed to be a brief “running in” period before the shocks seemed to work properly.
