Topic: Which Rancho RS9000... Or Bilstein?

[Plainview]

I'm going to be putting OME springs on my '84 truck with 5" shackles front & rear.

Rancho sells the RS9000 in a couple of different versions including one for 1" lift () and one for 3" lift.  I'm guessing I'll be closer to 3" with this setup and that's probably the one I should get but thought I'd check in with the gurus around here first.  The 3" shock specifies the bump stop should be lowered 2" to prevent shock damage.

Or, should I just get Bilsteins?  I can't find a part number for Bilsteins for lifted rigs.   Will the stock application Bilsteins work or does anyone know of a Bilstein application that would be better for my setup?

Thanks!

[jangelfire]

I did the custom hoops with 14" bilstiens and kinda wish i got 12".i made it work but had to cut the fender wells and get em up in the engine compartment.i have 4" allpros with 6" shackles so you might even try the 10" bilstiens. I really like the shocks tho.

[Plainview [OP]]

Thanks for the input.  I just found the Bilstein shocks listed on Marlin's page.... duh.

I don't want to have to weld in shock hoops or anything like that though.  If the stock application Bilsteins won't work then I guess it's the Ranchos.  Just a question of which ones.

Would it be better to have droop limited by the shock or up-travel limited by a lower bump stop?

[jangelfire]

Definetly a bump stop

[blackdiamond]

I much prefer my Rancho 9000s over the Bilsteins that Marlin sells. I don't run bump stops (probably should) and I hammered on the Bilsteins while in Moab. They bottomed out constantly while crawling. The Rancho 9000s have pretty much the same travel and I think I hit bottom once or twice over this last week in Moab. The Bilsteins seemed great on the street and maybe even better but off-road they stink of in my opinion. I suspect that running bump stops would somewhat mask what I expereinced because it would be seen as simply maxing out the travel and not as much of a difference in the shock performance.