Gentlemen, Just put on a set of Rancho RS9000XL Shocks on the front of my 1999 F-350 and what a difference. My truck is lifted 4" with a Superlift kit and it just about busted my kidneys. I never thought that having a new set of good shocks on the front could make this much of a difference. These things are adjustable for what kind of ride you would like and I set them at different settings to test it out. For on the road I set them at the second lightest setting and it just smoothed out the ride completely. My wife doesn't mind riding in the truck anymore. I highly reccomend them. They are worth the extra money. Just thought maybe someone would like to hear a review.

 

I am considering them, I have a leveling kit that harshened up my ride just a bit. IT was pretty bad to start with and the extra spring didn't help.

 

Harsh wasn't even a good word for the ride in my truck. I actually think it was shortening the life of the truck with all the hard "jarring". The truck is still no Caddilac but it sure is a lot nicer than it was. I just never thought a set of shocks could make that much of a difference.

 

What is your tire pressure?

 

I run Nitto Terra Grappler 285/65R18's at about 68-72 lbs for over the road. I only air them down when I know we're going to be doing a lot of snow or mud driving. I like the pressure high because it seems that there is less "wandering" of the front end on the freeway.

 

That explains the harsh ride.

 

Nope, I'm sorry sir but before these tires I had on a set of Pro Comps and ran them at 55-60 lbs and it rode just as hard. This was a night and day difference between the old shocks and the new shocks without changing the tires or pressure at all. The old shocks were also Rancho's but they were worn out and were not the right shock for the truck. Anyone that says these aren't worth the money either hasn't tried them, or thier truck is just plain different than mine. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything, just giving a review of my experiance.

 

I'm not saying that the shocks don't make the difference. I'm saying that your tires are probably way overinflated.

 

Any Decent shock absorbers will help smooth out the ride. I tried out the 9000's on my '95 F-250 and they worked OK until they were exposed to their first Connecticut winter. The salt spray caused the adjustment ***** to rust up solid.

I installed a second set of 9000's and two years later the adjustment was no longer adjustable. The 9000's got replaced with a set of Skyjackers (non-adjustable) and those shocks worked just fine.

If you drive in an environment where the roads do not get salted, the 9000's will work just fine. Otherwise just go with decent standard shocks.

Lou Braun

 

Thats good to know, no salt here, just sand. I run 285/75R17 Toyo Open country tires, recommended pressure is 80psi. I usually run tham at 60psi to help absorb some shock. I bump them up to 80psi if I am hauling though.