hi im a owner of a 88 bronco. i was wondering what are the best performing shocks out there for my bronco?i whant a smooth ride on and off road and i dont whant to sway that much at all.

 

You stock, or lifted? It may not matter, but everyone is going to have an OPINION of their own. I think Rancho RS5000's are a good compromise. Adjustables might be the chioce for you too. That way you can dial in your own smooth/hard settings

 

Bilsteins or RS9000. Bilsteins are really expensive... 75 per shock without a resevoir, but the ones with resevoir ride smoother for a lot of reasons.

 

Bilsteins are a great shock and I really like them on the front of my '92 F350. I also have the Rancho 9000's on the rear of that truck and like them alot too. The Bilsteins were about $55 each and the 9000's were about $75 each. Bought them both at www.offroadwarehouse.com here in southern California. The Bilsteins RawPower is talking about are probably the long travel ones used for racing. I had a pair of 10" travel Bilsteins on my last Baja bug, without reservoirs. For normal driving and offroading, you don't need a reservoir shock, as those are for all-out desert racing where shocks go through very fast action and long travel distances and are subject to high heat and fading. They are also rediculusly expensive. What I experienced with the Bilsteins on the front of the F350 is they give a good firm, but not overly harsh ride and do alot to reduce side to side sway and leaning in corners. They are a high quality shock and well worth the money. The adjustable Ranchos are great for varying the shock damping for the load you're carrying. I run them med-soft when unloaded and firm when loaded. When set on firm they do wonders for handling but can get harsh if set too firm for the amount of load being carried. All in all they are a good shock and I would buy them again. I didn't go with the adjustable Ranchos on the front axle because the weight on the front axle doesn't change all that much. It's the rear axle that can vary greatly. I have used KYB Gas-A-Just shocks on my first Baja bug and on my early Bronco and my experience with them is they ride very stiff. I'm not a big fan of KYB's but they are tough shocks.

 

im not trying to sound mean just helpful, this topic has come up alot lately, search for it and you might find some more useful info

 

Well, Kings are the best, with Bilsteins a close second. Foxes are junk, ranchos are good for budget builders. What kind lof money you looking at?

 

King and Fox shocks would only be worth it if he was building a long travel racing truck, and they are quite expensive as well. And no, Fox shocks are not junk. If they were junk, Fox would not be one of the most popular shocks in off road racing of all kinds, from motorcycles and ATV's to buggies to trucks.