I have a 2017 JKU Sport (17/59 springs) with about 87k miles that needs new shocks. I was thinking of adding new springs also in preparation for new bumpers and a winch down the road. I have a new set of 006/009 springs that I was going to pair with Rancho RS5000X shocks, however I see Rancho makes a full kit (RS66119BR5) that would do the same thing. I'd appreciate your thoughts, opinions, experiences on which springs would be better, the Rancho's or 006/009's as far as quality, durability, sagging, etc.. Besides bumpers and a winch, the only other upgrade would be adding 255/80/17's next time I need tires (up from the 255/75/17's I have now). That's it. Not looking to do anything crazy.
Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to the Forum Don't personally know crap about Rancho and those numbers. Adding the extra weight changing to springs with a higher rate would be appropriate.

 

Sorry, big assumption on my part. The Rancho kit is a leveling kit that advertises 2” lift in front and 3/4” in the rear and includes the 5000x shocks. I’m basic curious if aftermarket (Rancho) springs are better quality than the OEM Mopar Hard Rock/Rubicon/10th Anniversary springs.

 

I would not say Rancho springs are any better or worse than factory, but what i would say is that any time you change springs, you open a can of worms in regard to what actual lift heights will be. conversely, if you needed to level something out after adding some weight, and you are fine with your general height, adding a spacer on top of the spring will always net the stated amount of difference as that spacer is not compressing at all. 1" will always add 1". now, if you want to actually lift the suspension for the sake of lifting the suspension, different conversation.

 

I lost an inch of ride height with bumper and winch, thinking about installing a spacer myself which will recover the ride height, but won’t recover the 1” lost suspension travel.
Stiffer springs would do both.
But is one inch worth it? Or is an inch just insignificant? I’m thinking it probably is.

 

Unless you are out driving over big rocks, or getting off camber in ditches, not really anything that matters IMO. outside of general appearance, it doesn't start mattering till you are getting that 4th wheel hanging in the air cuz you don't have enough articulation to stay planted and stable. most people are just so superficial about it and concerned about the actual looks. the path to fun and happiness often has much less resistance than most of us accept.

 

I really don’t see me doing any serious rock climbing and when I put the tires on I tried so far unsuccessfully to find a ditch steep and narrow enough to lift opposite tires but I think I did limit out on the suspension just didn’t get the wheels in the air.
‘The short wheelbase of the two door makes I think it take a lot steeper ditch to limit out, Neighbor has a lifted JKU on 37’s that limits out on the same ditch with tires in the air.

So I don’t think that inch is significant so I’ll probably install a spacer just for the looks, eventually

 

that neighbor should be embarrassed. you can have big tires and "a lift", and still not have things done properly. your jeep is performing as it should, but if they are lifting tires on something that you are not, then they don't have very good articulation and are being limited by something that is not optimal.

 

It’s the longer wheelbase of the U, being longer it puts the tires on the embankment higher up so it lifts the ones in the valley, I’m sure he has more articulation than my stock Jeep.
A longer wheelbase vehicle of course needs more articulation and ground clearance to go through the same obstacles as a shorter wheelbase.

I bought my kid a Suzuki Samurai years ago for him to learn to drive, off roading teaches you a lot that carries over to regular driving in my opinion, anyway it was stock except oversize tires but as it was so small and lightweight it was surprisingly capable off road. Power or lack of limited it somewhat. I don’t think it would reach 70 MPH on road, but I didnt want to give him something that he could easily hurt himself with.