Needing new shocks. Have always been a fan of Bilstein and had planned on going with the 5100's. Local shop is advising me that the Rubicon Express RXJ713/714 are made by Bilstein and just as good. Only about a $7 difference per shock so that's not an issue.

I've got JK with a 3.5" lift if that matters.

Any opinions?

 

If choosing between blistein and so-called RE "blisteins", I'd go with actual Blistein 5100s and not what some shop was trying to peddle me. Shocks are all personal opinion though. The 5100s are pretty budget friendly, ride a little rough IMO. I have FOX 2.0 and they're fairly similar in regards to rough ride, but work for me. When buying, def take a look at the collapsed and extended lengths though, not just buy something that says "for X"-X"lift", especially if you're heading off road and plan on some articulation.

 

I just changed my Rubi shocks to Rancho 9000's. I would definitely consider those. I liked them better than the Fox shocks I was running.

 

Y, the Ranchos have nice adjustability feature.....and I think are the only ones at that price level that do unless I'm mistaken. Wish the knob to adjust was a little more protected....seems lotta people knock em off when wheelin'.

 

Ditto on the Rancho 9000's. I just changed to them and the ride is incredibly better.

 

Couldn't wait to get rid of the Bilsteins. Went with Ranch 9000s and still wasn't overly impressed, but they were certainly a little bit of an improvement over the Bilsteins.

 

Regarding the Bilstein 9100s, I always like to point out to folks that they were not engineered for install into a JK. If they had been, then you wouldn't need to remove the battery, TIPM, tray and air cleaner housing in order to install the front passenger. Or cut the plastic to allow access to keep it from spinning. Or have a shop do the install, and leave that nut loose and the shock ends up losing its top nut (I've seen it happen twice). But, if you must have Bilsteins, then be extra careful to double check that one is properly torqued down.

As for the Ranchos, I have them. Had one leak, which was replaced under warranty. Another pulled apart when I hit a pothole rushing to catch the ferry at Bullfrog Landing, Lake Powell. Called that one my fault. As for those adjustments: Yes, vulnerable to damage. More importantly, after a period of time of real use on dirt and in mud, they are no longer adjustable. So, find a setting you can live with, set it and don't try to adjust in the future unless you want to break off the plastic knob.

At the end of the day, the longest lasting shocks I had that gave satisfactory performance were the TF that came with their 2.5" lift. At about 175,000 miles when I removed them to install the Ranchos, they still were fine--no leaks, good pressure. Folks can cast smears at TF all they want, but they did the job for me in real world use. Hard use, not rock crawling where everything is slow motion. Overlanding on washboard roads beats gear to death. Just yesterday I had to have my propane bottle bracket welded because two were broken from the harsh vibration.

 

Yepppp, the only reason I switched to the Fox 2.0's. The Rancho 9000's rode nice, but it took 1 wheeling trip for both of the rear knobs to shear off (even with the EVO rockstar brackets) and stay stuck at setting '4'....which is way too soft and handled like crap on the highway. I also had a lot of brake dive with them, even at their higher settings. Good shocks for a rig that sees 90% pavement though.

 

Knocked mine off as well. Found out afterwards that they're easily replaced and not too expensive. Apparently a lot of folks simply remove them after install and just keep them in the Jeep somewhere. Install them when you want to adjust them. It's only two screws. Makes it a little more time consuming to make an adjustment, but it works.