Topic: Rancho 9000's or Bilstein 5125's

[87toyotaman]

Im trying to decide which is the best shock for the rear of my 87. Right now i'm running  12" rancho 5000's  with chevys like / \ with no lift block; and im looking for a little bit more performance. I like the adjustability of the 9000's but is it worth the extra $; yet I hear nothing bad about bilsteins.  

[blackdiamond]

I think the majority will vote for the Bilsteins, but I originally started with them on my 89 4Runner SAS and had issues with them bottoming out at slow speeds in Moab.  When I'd slide of a ledge I'd go all the way to the bottom on a regular basis.  The did ride nice and if you hit them hard they would respond, but they didn't work for me when crawling.

I'm now running Rancho 9000 XL and have not bottomed anything out since.  I think the Rancho's are actually a bit shorter so it was due to shock length.  The ride is actually fairly similar and I love being able to change it up for highway driving (i.e. very firm for stability).  Truck Addons is a great online place to get them.

[H8PVMNT]

I think bilstiens are a better shock overall but I really like having adjustables.

It's probably a personal preference thing really. There are alot of good shocks out there. Most importantly be sure to set them up right as far as mounting and length.  I see too many guys running great shocks mounted wrong so they bottom out too soon.  After trying it out several different ways I've found going for full stuff performs better than going for more droop and sacrificing up travel...

[emsvitil]

If you ever have a large load, or pull a heavy trailer you'll want the 9000s.

(Had mine up to 5 pulling my 64 Valiant from PA to CA)






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[87toyotaman [OP]]

ttt

[87toyotaman [OP]]

ttt

[4RunnerChevy]

I ran 9012's and still am to this day, but they are beat and have served well.  I keep them soft, but I remember once...........I adjusted them firm, sorry no story.  They are now on 2 and have remained there ever since.

[John Doe]

I had bilsteins and now Rancho 9000's, I like the Rancho's better. Adjustable, and they are much larger shaft.

[88_Pathy]

`Bilstiens for me.. Had the 9000s sold them, they were too stiff for DD IMO.  But, the bilstien shock is 100x better for me on the long fire roads before the trailhead.  The dampen better in the choppy stuff.

[blackdiamond]

`Bilstiens for me.. Had the 9000s sold them, they were too stiff for DD IMO.  But, the bilstien shock is 100x better for me on the long fire roads before the trailhead.  The dampen better in the choppy stuff.

The old style 9000s were much more firm than the XLs seem to be.  I've run both and the old style felt like you had welded the suspension when maxed out and I can run maxed out with the XLs and still feel the suspension.  When loaded for camping I might even go more firm if possible on the XLs.  The bilsteins that I ran rode great empty on the street, but bottomed out dropping off ledges in Moab and couldn't control my 4Runner when it was loaded.  The 9000XLs are a much better ride than the old style were.

[bigarms23]

i use either the bilsein 5150s or skyjacker platnums and lastly polyperformance bbcs all great shocks

[nor-cal yota]

I say go with ranchos..
If you buy 4 shocks now, they will kick down a free ride control.

http://www.gorancho.com/promotions.php