Well, what about the Rough Country 2.2 shocks? Can anyone compare them with the OME or the Bilsteins or the Rancho 9000's?

 

thanks everyone for your comments

 

No...........

 

I've been running RC 2.2s for over a month.. very rough ride and looking to replace them ASAP.

 

I had the chance to drive a 2 door JK with a 3" lift with Teraflex springs and Icon shocks on it tonight. The Jeep was running 37" tires and had 5.38 gears in the differentials. It drove better than any other Jeep I have ever driven, and the shocks felt amazingly good to me. Icon reservoir shocks are spendy though.

 

I've had rough country 2.2s less than a year and they are horrible. They leaked oil bad and the ride got worse and worse. I just ordered a teraflex 2.5 inch lift with shocks to replace my rough country components. I had to put my stock shocks back in the rear because mid corner bumps were getting pretty bad (stability control would kick in due to the uncontrolled rebound of the rear suspension). When I unbolted the RC shocks from the top mounts they sank right to the bumpstops on the shock piston.

 

In the past year I've gone through 4 different brands of shocks.

- OEM (Factory)
- Rough Country 2.2
- Fox 2.0 External Reservoir
- Bilstein 5100

The RC's were the worst ever. The rear drivers side top rusted and broke off completely, the other rear was totally blown. When I replaced them, the passenger rear piston wouldnt extend on its own. My dual steering stabilizer is also blown.. go figure.

I picked up the Fox second hand and they were the universal units. Meaning they did not have the built-in mounts on the shocks, instead I had to purchase JK compatible brackets to make them work. Since the brackets did not have any rubber bushings, they were loud as well. Clank clank clank clank all day long! On the otherhand, the ride was firm but tolerable for street, and on fire trails is where these shined. Aired down the tires to 20psi and it felt like driving an underpowered pre-runner through Baja.

Shocks arent supposed to make strange metal to metal on a daily driver and so I replaced them last weekend for a set of Bilstein 5100's. Wow. Buttery smooth ride on pavement, and decent on the fire trail. However I am a bit worried that I picked the wrong ones for my ride. I got the 3+" 5100's for my Teraflex 3" JK and the rears look like they have only 5 or so inches of compression before bottoming out. I'll see if they bottom out on the rocks next month. Best $300 I've spent on the Jeep thus far.

For $25/shock more than the RC's, the Bilsteins are worth every single penny.