On my 2011 at 5000 miles I replaced the factory "Ranchos" with the Rancho 9000XLs. The factory shocks were shot and the upgrade was a nice improvement. I used Rancho's "MyRide" system to remotely adjust the 9000XLs as needed. Now on the 2015 at 10,000miles I decided it was again time to replace the factory "Ranchos". I found out the MyRide system was discontinued so to adjust the 9000XLs I would be getting out and crawling under...........not happening. So I decided to give the Fox 2.0 shocks a try. I am very happy to report that they are a great improvement. The factory Ranchos I removed were in much better shape than those I had removed from the 2011 but the improvement was none the less significant. I also replaced the steering stabilizer with a Fox 2.0 ( I had a Bilstein on the 2011) and the combination has greatly improved the ride........much more than I had expected.

 

I am looking to improve the ride on my f350. tried the bilstiens but It seems that the ride got worse so I am disappointed with those. Do the fox take away that shock every time the truck hits a gap in the road? I'm not looking for Yukon plush but somethings got to be better than the shocky ride the bilstiens are giving me.

 

I wish I had experience with the Bilsteins so I could give an accurate comparison. The ride with the Foxes is much smoother but still quite firm. For example, while cornering and hitting expansion joints or undulations in the pavement the truck feels much more composed and planted. Greatly improves the feeling of control and comfort. I may not be the best judge of a "plush" ride as my other cars have suspensions that are setup more towards the track........I don't want to feel like I'm driving an overstuffed sofa! My wife commented that she can tell the difference from the passenger seat and the ride is more comfortable for her.

 

I have run stock Ranchos, Bilstein, and now the Rancho 9000 on different Superduty trucks. I don't need to tell anyone about the Ford/Rancho shocks, there is enough information and feed back out there already. I felt that the Bilstein Shocks gave a firmer/stiffer ride over the OEM Ford shocks. I put the Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks on a few thousand miles ago. It took a couple time to reset the adjustment **** for the ride that my butt and back prefer, but as of right now I wouldn't give them up for any other choice out there.
As a disclaimer: Backs and Butts vary in size and ride preference meaning that the settings I use on my Rancho 9000 shocks may not be the same as you would prefer. However since each shock is adjustable I would bet you can find a combination that your back and keister can agree is just right.

 

I've thought about the Fox 2.0s and the Bilsteins, but I actually just replaced my 9000XLs (totally under warranty) and still really like them. If I ever end up not being able to replace under warranty or get a new truck, I may try out the Fox's.

 

Did you just do a detect swap out ? I am looking to upgrade my shocks with about 80k on them.. but want to keep the stock hight on my F350 SRW

 

Yes, still at stock height. 5000 miles so far on the Fox shocks and still very pleased.

 

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X2 on Rancho 9000 XL

 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the Fox Shocks. I still have the 2 rear ones sitting in my garage. I thought they were be a dramatic improvement over my Skyjacker M95 shocks I had on my last truck, but instead they were extremely firm. The best comparison is when I went to test drive my current F450. When I pulled in the dealer parking lot in my 2011 F250 (Fox 2.0s all around, Helwig Big Wig Sway bar, 2-ProComp Add a leafs in the back) I had to drive over 4 speed bumps in their parking lot. The front went over fine but the unloaded rear bucked horribly over every speedbump (which was typical). It was about 40% worse than when I had Skyjacker M95 Mototubes on my truck. When I test drove the F450, driving through the parking lot over the speedbumps was SOOO much smoother than my F250 was. The OEM Ranchos actually did quite well in handling bounce as well as compression.

Interesting storry.

During Make Ready of my new truck I walked around the parking lot and decided to talk with the Service Director (who I've done business with before).

I asked him why the crappy Rancho OEM shocks were so bad. He replied "They arnt, people just dont really understand what the purpose of the shock really is". I told him that I fully understand what it is as how they function and are suppose to function. He said "First, alot of people bring in supposedly defective OEM Rancho shocks claiming that they dont decompress any longer. They push them all the way down and show us how they either take forever to rebound or next rebound at all. They don't understand that the shock will never fully compress under any normal driving conditions and if they did, it would be at the point that the truck would be damaged. The shock acts strickly as a damper for the springs and the spring rate determines the rebound of the shock. The shocks simple absorb recoil."

He said that the FoMoCo Rancho labled shocks are tuned to be soft riding but firm on the rebound to help minimize wheelhop on wash board roads.

From an Engineering standpoint, it does make sense. Still probably far from as good as a Aftermarket Rancho shock.

 

It's all about the type of ride you enjoy. Someone who wants a plush ride that isolates him from the road would hate driving any of my vehicles. I'm after a firm, tight, responsive ride that stays flat through the corners and stays composed when it gets bumpy. When I had the Rancho 9000s on the 2011 I had the fronts set at 9 and the rears at 7. If I had a load in the back I would turn the rears up to 9. This was for everyday driving. Compared with the M3, 911 turbo, S2000 and Infiniti our F-350 does have a plush cushy ride..
I know of others who prefer the 9000s set at the lowest setting for driving around town.......It's nice to have choices. Since I rarely adjusted the 9000s, the firmer nonadjustable foxes have been great for me.