I know alot of people are using the bilstiens. But i am torn betwwen the bilsteins, rancho rsx, and the edelbrocks. what are the difrences between them. And most inportantly has anyone hear used more than one of the shocks i have mentioned hear for comperson perposes. i have herd there is no diffrence between bilsiens and stock. I have herd the bilstiens are realy stiff. And i was at a shop today asking about shocks and the guy said to stay away from the edelbrocks becouse they are way to stiff and said he could order any of them but recomended the rsx. please somebody help me make the right decision. i dont have the money to put into shocks not to be happy. THANKS!

Bilsteins are great if you don't plan on adjusting them on HD trucks.


RSX9000's are great if you want to adjust the ride just right for you with different loadings. I have a set and love them.


The difference between the two other than adjustibility is that the Bilsteins are a gas charged shock and the Rancho's are not.


Both carry a lifetime warranty. I've heard that some folks that have Rancho's have claimed on the warranty but, I have not heard any Bilsteins wearing out.


Not too many people on the board here use Elelbrocks EAS's. From what has been mentioned here they are a decent shock. I don't know how they would do head-to-head with the Bilsteins or Rancho's on an HD truck.

thanks for the reply DavesDmax. al i do is tow 14,000 lbs and city driving. so the rsx9000s aren't for me. i do want to cut down on the bouncing and want the smoothes ride possible.

The RSX9000's will give a smoother ride than the Bilsteins.


Not that Bilsteins are bad, they are firm. So they will be firm empty and loaded.


If you tow and still want a soft ride when empty, you may want to look at the Rancho's.

For the driving that i said before do you think its worth the money for the 9,000s,. i dont think i whant to spend that much anyway for shocks. i realy am debating between the auto adjustable shocks that i mentioned. can someone give me some advise between them Please!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley31.gif THANKS. i plan on ordering as soon as someone can make up my mine http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley29.gif

i would realy like to thank all of you for as many opinions as possible. i know there just shocks but i am a very picky person and like to try and only get the best. when funds are avaliablehttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/hihi.gif

Rancho 9000's for me. Great ride and totally adjustable.

I have the bilsteins--very good shock--but with an unloaded truck and bumpy freeway--the ride can be very harsh.


Now if I had a girl with a huge rack on board during those harsh rides......I might like em more.


I had the the Rancho 9000's in my old 89 silverado--what was nice was that I could dial in a 2 in the back(when empty) and a 3 or 4 in front because all the weight was there.


Does anyone have any experience with the Edlebrock shock??

From what I've seen on other posts, the Ranchos are good shocks, but they don't have as good a build quality as the Bilsteins. The adjusting knobs also tend to break off after a while. This made me settle for the Bilsteins, and there is a world of difference from the stock shocks. The truck does ride a bit rougher, but is MUCH smoother over dips, bumps, potholes, etc. Mind you, I changed mine at 10k mi, and the difference was incredible.

Unlike others here, I have the Bilsteins and I find the unloaded ride
and cornering to be much improved over stock. I didn't buy a 3/4
ton truck for a "smooth" ride. The stock shocks rode like a
luxury car, complete with body roll and all. It's nice to feel
the road and be able to take turns without feeling like I'm going to
roll over.

I have LOTS of experience with the Edelbrock IAS as has been stated on this forem before. Ran two sets (second was N/C replacement for first) before they gave up and said their shock would not hold up on my 02 GMC D/A CC 4X4 lb - gave me another new set for a Suburban which I promptly sold. The Edelbrock IAS is a good shock for a totally street pickup that hauls nothing or is a trailer queen. It gives a great ride as a street shock. It will not hold up to any rough use for any extended period of time - it gets sooooooo hot you can not touch it and it fails at about 7,000 miles. It has a fabulous marketing program, but unfortunately it does not live up to it except for an easy going street machine. Rancho 9000 has also not held up long for me, but my use is extreme. Bilstein has held up far beyond expectations, with one set on a 93 CC 6.5 4X4 having over 200,000 on the shocks and they are still like new.

I also went with the Bilsteins from Kennedy. Very dramatic improvement in ride with the Bilsteins. I also have a fiberglass cap and a 40 gallon auxillary fuel tank in the bed which adds weight to the rear of the truck to help the "empty" ride. I also tow a 32 foot 10,000 pound trailer a lot.


Another thing to consider for ride quality is air pressure in the tires. When I am towing I keep the rear tires at 80 lbs and the fronts at about 70 lbs. When I have a two or three weeks that I won't towing, I will lower the rear air pressures to about 60 lbs and the fronts to about 62-64 lbs. It does make a big difference.

Would there be much difference changing to Bilsteins in my wife's Yukon XL ? Anyone with experience getting rid of stock shocks in this type of vehicle?

I went with bilsteins....probably because of the posts I read.The stock shocks allowed the rig to roll terribly.Felt like the ass end was wanting to come around all the time.The bilsteins solved that problem.Like another post said he didn't buy a truck to ride like a car or handle like a car.I love the bilsteins

Our 99 Suburban 3/4 4X4 6.5 came from the factory with Bilsteins according to the sticker. It was a factory exec vehicle that I bought with 19,000 miles on it. At 55,000 Bilsteins are still great and give a great ride - vehicle rarely sees offroad.

Bilsteins from Kennedy



John

Reel World


If you wife's Yukon XL has the autoride system, no you can't and hope and pray you never have to replace one, they supposedly are around $400 each! My 01 2500 Burb had the autoride system, loved the way it worked, but if it broke it got expensive fast--good reason for extended warranty!

thanks for the replys. i ordered the bilsteins from kennedy this morning.i couldnt gather enough positive info on the edelbrocks or the auto adjusting ranchos. i will keep you posted on my results when i get them installed. thanks!

I live in Dallas and most of the highways here are full of potholes, boiler plates, etc., which cause my 04' Duramax 4X4 a lot of havoc, and loosen the fillings in my teeth! I travel a lot, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and return to Texas, and only tow once a year. What shock would be best for my driving? I keep 65 PSI in the stock tires for fuel mileage. I'm impressed with the Bilsteins for their long life, however, I still want a smooth ride without having to worry about the front end of my truck turning into mush! Thanks!

bilsteins didn't make a differance on my wifes 01 tahoe. The only thing it did is make the back end ride lower. Come to find out you have to buy the springkit for the back shocks.

I live in Dallas and most of the highways here are full of potholes, boiler plates, etc., which cause my 04' Duramax 4X4 a lot of havoc, and loosen the fillings in my teeth! I travel a lot, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and return to Texas, and only tow once a year. What shock would be best for my driving? I keep 65 PSI in the stock tires for fuel mileage. I'm impressed with the Bilsteins for their long life, however, I still want a smooth ride without having to worry about the front end of my truck turning into mush! Thanks! Jeff, it sounds like you need something you can fine tune to your liking, and Rancho is the only one I know of that you can adjust.

Which supplier provides the stock shocks on the 2500HD's? I'm still running stock after 35,000. Probably need to change, and appreciate the suggestions from the posting.


Thanks

I thought my new 2005 3500SRW had a nice ride till I got back in my 2002 which has basically the same suspension only with Bilsteins. No comparison. The only thing that I may do is have a set for the my 2500 (longer than 3500) valved like the 3500 to compensate for the extra leaf that I added...

how much am i lookin at for a set of 4 rancho 9000's?


Ry

how much am i lookin at for a set of 4 rancho 9000's?


Ry About $270 if you don't get one of their promotional deals. Often have by 3 get one free or free in cab remote controler.

Where can you get the ranchos at for the best price? I talked to a Furd PS owner that has them and loves them. I like the fact that you can adjust them for different loads.

Where can you get the ranchos at for the best price? I talked to a Furd PS owner that has them and loves them. I like the fact that you can adjust them for different loads.


The Bilsteins also adjust automatically through variable valving per the conditions they are ran under. Truth of the matter is I figured I wouldn't crawl under the truck every time I needed an adjustment so that made my decision to purchase the Bilsteins easy. (Totally automatic)

I didn't know that. I do not haul alot, I just want a smooth ride. My truck right now rides like a log wagon. So my question now is which rides better?

Adjusted right, the Ranchos will ride smoother, but it's a compromise between control and smooth. More damping is better control but rougher ride. Less damping ia smoother but more bouncing. samsoffroad.com has them for $289 now, guess I was off on the price or it went up.

I have the Bilsteins on my truck, and it rides really nice. Better then stock by far.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley20.gif

As others mentioned, the Bilsteins will give a firmer ride. They were just what I needed for the front of the truck to get rid of freeway bounce. Bilsteins in the rear were another story...too stiff for me. Right now I have the OEM's on the rear, and Bilsteins in the front. For me, its a very nice combination. I'll most likely upgrage to adjustable 9000's in the rear sometime later.

New bilsteins cost around $300 shipped I think. If money is no object, the bilsteins are a better ride when loaded only, IMO.


I have a set of new stock shocks for sale. $50 + shipping

See my sig below.

I have four different trailers and they all have very different weights and handling characteristics.. Before I got my ranchos I had Bilsteins. While pulling a load I found the Bilsteins did a pretty good job, but unloaded was a different story. Now I can adjust my truck to each load and unloaded I can make the ride very comfortable.I am very happy with the Ranchos and would buy them again in a heartbeat.

Can't comment on the ride of the Rancho 9000's because I never owned a set but the ride of the Bilsteins are a world of an improvement over stock. The difference is immediately noticed loaded or not.

After putting 20,000 miles on the Rancho 9000X's I'd go with the Bilsteins next time. By 14k I had to turn them all the way up to compensate for wear. I'll be very suprised if I get over 40k out of them.

My shocks are a pt number 22174051 lM (OC). Anyone know if these are stock GM shocks or not. Bought the truck used and the truck seems to ride pretty good but has 63000 miles. Was considering replacing the shocks?

If they are black, they're probably stock. . . If you think they ride good, I'm not sure I'd replace them. . . Just trying to figure out the motivation for changing them out if you like the way they ride. . .

Dennis

Hopefully my bilsteins will be here monday. I am anxious to see if I will even notice a difference.

After putting 20,000 miles on the Rancho 9000X's I'd go with the Bilsteins next time. By 14k I had to turn them all the way up to compensate for wear. I'll be very suprised if I get over 40k out of them.Rancho offers a limited lifetime warranty on the RS9000X's. Not that I would want to replace them every 20k even if they were free. I have had mine on 15k and they still feel like new.

Rancho site with warranty info http://www.gorancho.com/warranty.stm

Max Power. Did you find a supplier in country or order up from the States. Thanx Geo

I thought he said somewhere he got 'em from JK. . . At least I know JK said he would ship to Canada no problem.

We use US mail for Canada shipments. Takes a bit longer, but no $30+USD brokerage fees on the back end like with UPS.

brokerage? I can think of another b phrase to describe it. . more like bullsh!t.

Free trade. yeah right :(

Yes I ordered from JK.

It's been a week now and still no show. Damn mail. Waiting is the hardest part :D