Hey guys, not starting a which shock is better thread. Just looking for opinions from those who have installed and used these shocks before. I have pretty much decided on these, and they are about the most I am willing to pay for a set of shocks, unless a better set can be suggested in the same price range. About 6 months ago, the stock shocks that were on the truck were shot and I put a set of Monroe Matic shocks on which was all I could afford at the time. I figured they were better than what was on there, but never liked them. Started out with a noise that I drove my self crazy with and wrote off as stuff in the bed, until the front shock started making the same noise, followed by the other back one. The truck has never really rode to my liking after putting those on there either, feels like I am driving a 1976 Lincoln Town Car or a Cadilliac, or bluntly a cloud. Thanks for any opinions of these shocks.

 

I've heard that the Bilsetein HD's were a better choice over the rs5000's. Lots of guys have not been happy with the Rancho's and not too many complaints have flown from the guys with Bilsteins. If I remember correctly the Rancho's are trail made but street friendly, and the Bilsteins are street made but trail friendly.

 

I have the RS5000s on the front of my truck. VERY stiff. If you want a really stiff shock, get these. As Dirtydog stated, trail made but street friendly.

Sometimes I start to dislike the feel of them over small bumps in the road, but then I go through a large dip in the road (when I go onto a side street off a main drag) or accidentally do a slight curb hop when making a sharp turn, and I am reminded of why I got them. Far better handling in those situations then the factory or Monroe Gas Magnums that I had after the factory units.

 

Are the RS5000s the adjustable ones? Or are those the 9000XLs? I thought about those for the back to adjust stiffness for towing, etc.

 

I had the RS5000s on my 2nd Gen Ram, with body lift and a SFA, the ride was a little jarring off-road, but IMO felt like a truck should have felt. I dunno how much of it was shock, lift or solid axle.

Currently I run RS9000x's on my 3rd Gen (yes the 9000s are adjustable) and this truck rides like it's on a cloud compared to my 2nd Gen. BUT this is a IFS truck AND I have a SUSPENSION LIFT which also makes for a better ride quality over my 2nd Gen (not that I wouldn't sacrifice a little comfort for a solid axle again though) so it's hard for me to compare just the shocks.

More than happy with both of them...

 

I had RS5000's on my 01 4x4 F150. I liked them. Firm but not overly stiff. I'm gonna try the Bilstein truck shocks on the Ram soon. The stockers are way too soft for the 20" wheels and cause the tires to cup and the truck to jump lanes when you hit a bump because they don't damper enough and the wheels bounce. It's very annoying!!!

http://www.shockwarehouse.com/site/bst_truck.cfm

 

Sounds like I will likely be happy with these then, as a firmer ride is what I am after. I recently started experiencing the wheel hop over bumps thing and had my alignment redone due to front passenger tire cupping. I half expected the hopping to stop after alignment but it didn't. One of the tires that was on the rear was also cupped. I didn't know that cupping could be caused by soft shocks though, these cheap Monroes are definitely soft too. Firmer is what I'm after, a truck that rides like a truck makes the stars fall into place lol. Thanks for the experiences guys.

 

I put RS5k's on the front of my truck to replace the OEM shocks. They are quite a bit stiffer. I would say it certainly feels like a truck!

joe

 

Okay, they came in today and I changed the fronts but it started raining on my *** so I will do the backs at work tonight. Went for a ride and all I can say is . Bumps where the front of my truck would dip 2-3x with the Monroes now barely dips once, and not a deep dip like it used to if that makes sense. I can tell the difference in the front and the back as well. Front feels controlled, the back feels like...............its somewhere back there, somewhere lol.

 

Okay I changed my rear shocks last night now the truck rides more like I feel it should. The tire cupping thing is bugging me though and if I may, would like to get you guys opinions on it.

I noticed it first on the front passenger side tire, I was walking away from the truck and the wheels were turned and I noticed that the inside rib of the tire looked "clean" compared to the gravel dust on the rest of the tire. Upon inspecting I saw the cupping and figured I needed an alignment as I hit a nasty bump a week prior and the truck started pulling and just didnt feel right on that side. BUT, naturally I checked the other tires out. The passenger rear, and drivers front was also just beginning to cup. The passenger front was the worst one though. It had also been about 8,500 miles since last rotation. I checked out everything in the front, tie rods, ball joints, and bearings. They were all good, they are also all a year or so old. So I took the truck for an alignment and the camber was WAY out on the passenger front. After alignment I had tires rotated, and balanced. I decided to change the shocks because I never liked the ride of the truck with the Monroe Matics I replaced the stocks with (all I could afford at the time). I read in a few places after reading LXmans post about cupping that worn shocks could cause cupping. When I took the Monroe Matics off though, they were not leaking, and compressed and expanded the same as when I put them on. The front passenger one was slightly bent though. These shocks have always been soft and floaty and noisy from day 1. Could they have just been too soft and caused my tires to cup? Or just luck of the draw with the combination of bad alignment and tire balancing? If it was just that 1 front tire cupping I wouldnt have bothered, but both fronts and 1 back. The back one is what makes me wonder.