Wierd or whatever question, but i am kind of new at this truck stuff......I want my truck to ride a little smoother but i don't want to sacrifice smoothness for "toughness". Can aftermarket shocks that are made for a smoother ride handle the same as the stock shocks?

 

I installed Bilstein shocks on my truck and they improved the ride and handling.

 

Shocks are built with different valving that affects the compression and rebound circuits. With that said, you can go with some Edelbrock IAS shocks, but I've heard negative and positive on them, mostly positive. Bilstein also has a good reputation. Rancho's also have thier benefits, especially the tunable 9000 series. If I were you, I'd opt for the Rancho 9000 series and you can adjust the valving from soft to rock hard. If that is too expensive, look at the Bils.

 

I have had the Rancho 9000's and they suck, you should stick to name brand gas shocks like the Bilsteins. The 9000's are not gas shocks, therefore do not provide the ride comfort of such.

 

Bilsteins, you won't be dissapointed.

 

Hey guys thanks a lot for all the help, could I install them myself or should i have them installed by dealer??

 

that would all depend on your mechanical ability and how much extra fat your wallet might be right now(because it never is after the visit to the dealer)

 

There easy, I would do it myself if I were you. Plus good shocks aren't cheap so save the money where you can

 

I thought Rancho shocks were a name brand? While they are gas charged shocks, they are not monotube nitrogen filled shocks like the Bils. For overall design, I like the Bils more. I also like the Rancho 9000's for thier adjustability. I am very surprised that you were not happy with them. Anything specific. I'm just trying to decide which ones I want in the future. I have ridden in trucks with both shocks and they both seem to ride quite well, at least better than stock.

 

well for curiosity sake I went to Rancho's website to check out the current model, I had the original 9000's not the x's... and the ones I had either were not gas at all or simply just dont act or ride like a modern gas shock. One thing a gas charged shock should do is quickly rebound back to its original position to be ready for the next bump or bounce. This is something that the 9000's I had simply did not do. Picking the single cabs and "sport" models at that, I expect a little better handling, quicker response and dont mind a little stiffer ride. I found that with the 9000's to get a typical ride stiffness that compared to what you come to expect from a gas shock, I had to set it at "4" but it didnt give me the compliance that a gas shock also provides under less demanding driving, which I got at about "2" so I drove most of the time at "3" which was mearly a compromise between the two settings. Oh and dont stick it on "5" because it would rattle your teeth out, it was like riding in a buck-board wagon. And of course the worst part is getting to the ***** to change the setting to begin with. The placement of the shock position on our trucks doesnt make it easy to get to without getting on your knees or actually having to crawl under the truck to get to it. And if it is raining or if you were off road, I would say forget it unless you just like getting wet or muddy/dirty.

Now I know that there are remote kits available and I recently had a demo of which had the 9000's on it with the remote compressor and gauge kit, and it rode a bit better although it was a 4x4 and being so I have come to expect a stiffer ride in general from it. The remote kit filled the system fine to help increase the stiffness but it had one hell of a time releasing the pressure, I would have to go out and unscrew the lines to get it back to "0" if I wanted to change it immediately.

Considering the price of the shocks and of the additional remote system I would simply go with a set of bilsteins, kyb's, edlebrocks or a comparable shock instead and be done with it. When I removed the 9000's from my Dodge(it was on the '96 model I had) I went to the kyb's and was more than happy(as usual) with their performance. I have been using kyb's for over 15 years on all the vehicles that I have had to replce shocks on and have yet to be disappointed.