Last week end I put the new shocks on. I had high hopes that all the fourm testimonials would be correct. There was an improvement, sort of. Low speed bumps are damped a little better, single bumps at highway speed are absorbed about the same as the stock shocks. On the freeway, cement with regular breaks about a 2 truck lengths apart there is no discernable difference from the stock shocks at 70 MPH. You can wear a cup of coffee in my truck but you cant drink it on those sections. Not mad, $300 bucks, just expected more. I will look on the bright side. Now I have a spare set of shocks that work as well as the Rancho 9000's. Ooops, I already had that.

 

Have you tried the different settings ? What kind of air pressure are you running in your tires? Drop your air pressure in 5 increments and see what happens. This is the first time I've heard bad things about the 9000's. That was going to be one of my next projects.

GAV10 Mark

What part of B'ham are you in? I grew up in Huntsville. I have relatives in Trussville.

 

Good question.

 

I did try all 5 settings, no load in the bed. Position 4 & 5 were stiffer than the stock shocks on low speed and single bumps at highway speed.
I run 65 PSI front and back. I live between Trussville , Alabama and Grayson Valley, Birmingham postal address in the unincorporated part of Jefferson County.
You may be familiar with my test section of road I-59 just outside of Trussville. There is a section just south of Deerfoot Parkway that is pretty bad. Mainly I had hoped for better damping on those repeated breaks in the highway, pretty common down on I-10 and other Texas roads that I have to go on. Its funny, get off those sections and the truck is smooth as a car.

 

Drop you tire press a little and see if that helps. You are slightly on the high side. Just my opinion... I know the exact stretch of road you are referring to. I don't think any thing will help what you are traveling on, that is some rough road. Have you ever traveled on I-20 from Anniston/Oxford to B'ham ? There is a section about 5 miles west of Anniston that will beat you to death. The sections in the concrete are spaced just right to make my SWB shake like all hell. We have a summer house on Logan Martin Lake, so I'm forced to endure this torture every trip.

Good Luck !

Mark

 

HMMM.....

I run mine on #2 around town, and I can tell a huge difference over stock. Even my wife could tell a huge difference.

 

bddo, is your truck 4X4? It is not noted in your description and the user gallery photo is to dark to tell. I am in the vibration analysis business. Consequently, I probably can accuratly quantify, without prejudice, amplitude levels probably better than the average user. As hard as it is to admit that after spending $300 bucks I received no discernable improvement on irregular road surfaces as described above. There may be an explanation, I hope so. Or, the explanation may be that what I have is as good as it can get running unloaded on this suspension. If so it is not all bad. The stock shocks are not "lifetime" warranty, the Rancho's are. I bought at 4X4 with my eyes wide open, I can always just slow down in the right lane or get in the left lane and go faster.

 

Oneof6,

Thanks for pointing out that I forgot to put that in my signature. I'll fix that right away.

Yes, my truck is 4x4 w/ short bed. Don't get me wrong, the truck is still "rough", but before the shock change, I felt like I was on a small boat in rough seas...very bouncy. The Rancho's took all of that out.

I just received the in cab controller for the shocks, and I'll probably be putting it on this weekend. That will make it alot easier to test different settings on the same road.

Keep in mind, the shocks on these trucks are just designed to dampen the bumps, not eliminate them, such as on a car or 1/2 ton truck. I definitely was expecting a smoother ride, until someone on here pointed this out to me.

As you have already noted, alot of it is just the "Nature of the BEAST!!!"

 

Sorry to hear about your new shocks,however I also have a2002 F350 and was wondering which shocks to eventually get. Might have to look at another brand when the time comes.

 

got the new 9000X 9 way adjustable and love them. Some roads just need a little asphalt on them! ! ! play around with tire psi and adjust those ol 5 ways a little more front-2 rear-3. I think you'll recend that comment!!!