Which shock is better and y? Does being adjustable on the rancho make a diff?

 

Only if you can control the shocks from the cab.Heard a lot of good feedback with the Bilstein 5100 series shock

 

The Rancho is a great shock!
I just installed a set for another forum member a few months back and you have the ability to dial in how you want your meep to feel. I played around with adjustments until I liked the way it felt and the owner was very satisfied as well.
It's not hard to reach under the Jeep and turn the dials manually to where you want them and I doubt most people are going to be changing the settings much once they find their sweet spot anyways
I can't really say anything about the Bilstein as it has been years since I have used them but from the reviews I have read they still make a great shock

 

I cant stand Rancho shocks! They were crap in the 80's when I was in high school,, they are crap now. I recently helped a buddy do his lift and Currie sold him Ranchos. 3 of the 4 he received had large amounts of oil in the bag they came in, and you could compress them as easily as the crap, worn out shocks we were taking off. Then he got replacements,,, half of them were bad. They proved they are still an inferior product after all these years. Rancho is maybe the only company I will bad mouth, and I know I sound a little over the top, but I have never had a positive experience with them. On the other hand, I'v had great experience with Bil's on my Chevy diesel 4x4. Just another opinion.

 

I would go with the 5100's

 

First Hand Experience on why ranchos are not a great shock???

 

I loved my Rancho adjustables for 14 years on my last Jeep. Took less than a min to change all 4 shock settings when going off road or coming back onto the pavement.

 

Two different shocks all together. The RS9000XL is a low pressure charged shock, while a monotube is a high pressure nitrogen charged shock.
The RS9000XL and the adjustability make a huge difference, on a JK I like a lower setting (3-4) but I know many that like a higher setting(6-7).
Many compare an 8 on the RS9000XL's to a monotube firmness, FYI.


Being able to compress by hand is an attribute of it being a low pressure charged shock. I am sorry about your experience with Rancho as well.

 

I am going to 37"s soon and will need to add more lift. I am heavily leaning towards the ranching 4" with rs9000 shocks. The adjustability is a big reason for that, but I have ran the 5000 series shocks before and liked those. I have also had other rancho lifts/shocks on a few trucks before. I've never had any issues.

 

When u adjust the shock does it add an take away height or just change the firmness an softness of the ride?