did alot of checking and plan to put 4 on my 96 xlt 5.0 awd....anyone had any experience with them??? how do they feel as to ride comfort, and will they prevent that yaw you get in tight turns??? yes you CAN make tight turns in an explorer...

 

I personally have never used them, but I know two guys around here that have them and say they are great... guess you get a "car like" ride after installing them.

 

Yup...I've had them on for two weeks now and I think they're great shocks. Way better ride...firmer down the road...no more body rockin' over diagonal bumps...very good through turns. I've used stock shocks until now and it's a whole other world driving your X without stock shocks. Makes you think why Ford put such weak shocks on a truck like the X. Can you say roll over? Makes me sick to think about it

-John

 

THIS IS UNBELIEVEABLE!!!I know you shouldnt capitalize, but look here sportsfans, I just put 4 monroe reflex shocks on my xlt, and been out driving around all morning.. These shocks, in combo with my Yokohama AVID ST"s, make this a COMPLETELY different truck.What did Ford do???they're up to their asses in engineers and it took ME to discover this?? The Explorer aint cheap, so what would it take to upgrade these suspension components.. I think I spent aroud 700 or so for 4 new tires and these shocks...and I'm here to tell you its worth EVERY DAMN DIME!!!! keep the LIncolns, I've got my own luxocruiser!!!!

 

Put a set of Monroe Reflex shocks on my 2000 Limited 5.0L and am impressed with their performance. Compared to OE, I feel they are a little firmer, but not harsh. Overall, a very comfortable ride. Even passengers comment about the "non-SUV" ride. I woulf recommend them without reservations.

Klaus:-X12

 

On the overwhelming advice of several threads on this board, I opted to replace my whipped OEM shocks with Monroe Reflex. Overall, I like the ride. I had quite a bit of diagonal rocking and some side to side rolling on the OEM shocks. They of course didn't dampen out the oscillations very well. The new Monroes got rid of all that diagonal and side to side rocking, and now the truck only bounces once, even over huge dips.

The one complaint I have is that I now have some front to back rocking on the freeway that I didn't have before. It is sometimes quite annoying. I suspect that the problem has to do with wheel base. My '95 Explorer is the 2 door 4WD Expedition model with the optional 16 inch wheels. My guess is that Monroe did all their testing with the 4 door model which has a longer wheel base. Freeway expansion joints just set my shorter wheel base Explorer to rocking, and I probably nevr noticed it with the OEM shocks because they were so much softer.

So, if you have the 4 door Explorer, these would probably be great shocks for you. If you have a 2 door, there might be something better on the market.

 

hmmmm.no idea exactly how Monroe tested em...fascinated by your observations...most folks who complain about that "bounce" have tire problems...but fer whatever its worth, I enjoy the feedback..will install Reflexes on next vehicle too.

 

marrug,

Hmm, I'm fascinated by your observations too. I suppose it's possible that my tires are the culprit. Right now I'm running 255/7-R16 Dunlop Rover AT's on it. The Dunlops were very highly recommended by reviewers on the Tire Rack website, but that was by all sorts of SUV owners, not just Explorer owners.

Tell me, is your Explorer a 2 door or 4 door? If it's a 2 door, maybe I'll have to look into those Yokohama'a of yours. Otherwise, I'm still up in the air.

Thanks,
Keen

 

no, its a 4dr...but I assume by the number of places you posted your observations u really DID do some research...good fer u, most folks cant even frame the right question, let alone go looking fer an answer...the argument over what affects that "ride/handling issue" more will continue ferever, shocks, or tires. please note I did NOT replace mine with A/T tires, as I'm sure you realize by now..thats another whole issue, and worth doing some independent checking on. I dont really think the small difference in front to rear distance is whats causing that feeling you have...maybe it was ALWAYS there but masked by all the other gyrations your vehicle was doing with worn shocks. Basically, I didnt want to feel like I was driving a cement truck, and the Reflexes were the best compromise I could come up with given that 90% of where I drive is on road...course some of those roads suck too...

 

My '97 Sport picked up the front to back rocking after I installed my Reflex shocks but only below 40 MPH on the freeway. It is a very noticeable front to back rocking when I get in heavy traffic and have to drive significantly slower than the speed limit. Once I get above about 45 MPH, it rides like it is on glass. Overall I am very satisfied with my Reflex shocks. They would be perfect if they didn't have the slow speed rocking though. I would definately buy them again.

 

I think that I have to agree with Marrug about the front to rear rocking as being the tires or the fact that your truck is a sport model. I put Reflexes on my 4 door and there is no front to rear rocking. In fact there is no rocking or bumps or jarring...just a smooth ride. The only thing I can say are the Reflexe shocks are nice on the X!

-John

 

Hello,

After considerable web searching of customer opinions, I put Bilsteins on the front of my '00
Mountaineer (my 67 F-100 with Monroe coil-overs
on front, and NO shocks on rear, rides significantly better than DID the Mountaineer, especially, relative to the front). Tremendous positive difference. (I did Bilsteins over Edelbrock IAS's because of a minority, but vocal, negative strain I was picking-up on the net relative to reliability of the Edelbrocks.)

However, I extended myself, money wise, for the Bilsteins. I have to go with something less expensive on the rear, if I can.

Other than Bilteins, the only shocks that I have
read ONLY positive reviews about are the Doetsch
Tech. (And, they are reasonably, relative to the Bilstein/Edelbrock, at least. How do you guys feel the Monroe Relex's on the rear would do paired with the Bilstein's up front?

 

Hello,

After considerable web searching of customer opinions, I put Bilsteins on the front of my '00
Mountaineer (my 67 F-100 with Monroe coil-overs
on front, and NO shocks on rear, rides significantly
better than DID the Mountaineer, especially, relative to the front). Tremendous positive difference. (I did Bilsteins over Edelbrock IAS's
because of a minority, but vocal, negative strain
I was picking-up on the net relative to reliability of the Edelbrocks.)

However, I extended myself, money wise, for the Bilsteins. I have to go with something less expensive on the rear, if I can.

Other than Bilteins, the only shocks that I have
read ONLY positive reviews about are Doetsch
Tech. How do you guys feel the Monroe Relex's
would do paired with the Bilstein's up front?

 

Hello X Fans,

After reading the above conversations, I would like to toss an idea out to you.

Since the Monroe Reflex don't seem to be quite the ticket on the 2 door X-Sport, how does this sound:

Front - Monroe Sensa Tracs
Rear - Monroe Max-Airs

The ride on this buggy sucks with stock - I guess after 55,000 miles shocks do that. I got so much bounce my teeth rattle over the tracks. I would like to tow a camper and sometimes a trailer, so the max-airs wouuld let me level a bit and not look like an aborted take-off. I could also try the reflex in the front and the max-airs in the rear.

Opinions - or for that matter - help! You guys know a bit about this ****, it seems.