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RS9000 Problems

old_man

NAXJA Forum User
Anybody else have a high failure rate on RS9000 shocks? I have been called a fairly agressive driver but my 1 year old RS9000's in the rear are totally blown. There is no damping action at all. I do trails only, no jumps or anything.

Why is it you can never find your receipts when you need them.
 
I've had multiple sets, with many miles on different trucks. I've never had a failure. Were you using appropriately sized bumpstops? How about limiting straps? I ran them on my Samurai, I think 9112's, and then on my first XJ at 3 inches, and then a set of longer ones at 3 inches with appropriate bumpstops. I've never used limiting straps, but I'm under the impression it is not good to over extend the shock. How long, how many miles on them when they let go? I'd contact Rancho and see what they say.:wave1:
 
Mainly it is a couple of hundred hard miles at Moab and all over Colorado. Maybe 10k on the highway. They gave up at Fall Fling.
 
I went through a few of them myself, before I gave up on Rancho junk and joined the bilstien nation.

I'll never go back.
 
I went through a few of them myself, before I gave up on Rancho junk and joined the bilstien nation.

I'll never go back.

That's the word on the street. I have never heard anyone not liking Bilstein. I just haven't found a situation yet that I don't like the RS9000's. So...what do you like about the Bilstein's? What's different from the Rancho's? I like to learn:viking:
 
They do everything better.

They dampen the hits better, they rebound better, they go longer before fading, after which they recover faster. They are made from better parts, are supported by better customer service, etc, etc, etc.

Its like asking why a Ford F350 does a better job towing your XJ than a Toyota Tacoma does - they aren't the same class of device. If you want a shock that lets you drive to the mall and handle the potholes, grab a rancho. If you want to wheel, get a real shock.
 
They do everything better.

They dampen the hits better, they rebound better, they go longer before fading, after which they recover faster. They are made from better parts, are supported by better customer service, etc, etc, etc.

Its like asking why a Ford F350 does a better job towing your XJ than a Toyota Tacoma does - they aren't the same class of device. If you want a shock that lets you drive to the mall and handle the potholes, grab a rancho. If you want to wheel, get a real shock.

So we know the jounce and rebound rates of both shocks? It's funny you mention the ford, because the long RS9000's I was running on my XJ were a full size ford part number.
So aside from your anecdotal info, are the rates firmer or softer? Is there a different ratio jounce to rebound? I'm not sure about fading. I don't think I've been able to punish a shock hard enough to experience fade on a trail ride. We really should hold the mall comments for some other thread. We're talking shocks here.:wave1:
 
The bilstiens have much firmer compression damping, but also more rebound damping (so the little bumps don't hit as hard - your springs dont kick you in the butt).

I can't give you a direct comparison as bilstiens are available in a LOT of valvings, but they and rancho don't seem to use the same scale to rate them either.
 
The bilstiens have much firmer compression damping, but also more rebound damping (so the little bumps don't hit as hard - your springs dont kick you in the butt).

I can't give you a direct comparison as bilstiens are available in a LOT of valvings, but they and rancho don't seem to use the same scale to rate them either.

That is more useful info. Thanks. I may go join the Bilstein Nation next time I need some shocks. All I hear is positive feedback. :sunshine:
One of the things I've like about the RS9000's is the adjustability. When they were on my daily driver, I would firm them up to keep the body lean in check. I alsways seem to be in a hurry! Then on the trail, I could soften them up as needed. Or, if there were hours of highway cruising to get to a trail, we could soften it up, and it would ride much smoother. I've never had the coin to go for the incab controler. I think that would be the way to go for ultimate convenience.
 
Funny. I would like softer on the road and stiffer on the trail.

We wheel different terrain though, and probably have a lot more aggressive driving style out west.
 
Funny. I would like softer on the road and stiffer on the trail.

We wheel different terrain though, and probably have a lot more aggressive driving style out west.

Funny, I started my wheeling and driving career in SoCal back in the '80's ....If you've got a flexy trail suspension, it will roll and lean all over the place on the road with every turn. My drive to work was 45 min of mostly surface streets. Stiffer helps minimize weight shift, and body lean. When I'm cruising the interstate, I want those wheels moving, and they generally are just moving up and down, not so much leaning....turn those shocks down to 1 and it's really too soft...and smooth over expansion joints. On my current XJ, I'm running 35's, and I'm finding I've got to turn up the stiffness another notch or two to control the bigger meats.

Sorry for the thread jack....Back to Topic....:D
 
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