Hello,

Will someone help me to choose the best shock for me and my van, please? My van is a 1995 E150 Club Wagon, 351, Automatic Trans, Tow Package. I never tow anything. I am quadriplegic. I sit in my wheelchair while riding in my van. I have a bad back and every little defect in the road aggravates it. I'm needing a shock that will provide as little jarring as possible. I've looked at the Rancho RS9000 adjustable shocks which would be great, but they don't fit my 95 Club Wagon.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Ron

 

Ron,

I have Bilsteins on my '94 Club Wagon Chateau with 351 and tow package. It's pretty much like yours. I have a bad back too, I broke it in 3 places in '93 and have chronic pain from it still. So I recommend the Bilsteins with a bit of caution. They will be stiffer at first, maybe a month or more, but then they settle down and yield a bit better control than your OEM gas shocks did back when they were new.

You may find something from Monroe that would be more cushy from the beginning, but at the expense of less roll control for the big van body.

Not having to fight the van in wind and around trucks will be a plus for the ole back too.

Gene

 

I have KYBs on my van but for your needs, I would recommend Koni shocks. Nothing is better. Bring your wallet.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

I put Bilsteins on my father '94 high-top and you couldn't have asked for a better shock. They do need time to break-in, but with any weight in the van they will still be very nice. I wish my truck rode half as well, they both have bilsteins, but the van is like a big Cadillac now.

 

i am a bilstein fan but i think for your app the edelbrocks might be a little more comfortable or if u get bilsteins go for the comfort setting instead of heavy duty if they offer it

 

Just use the OE replacement gabriels, they're cheap and they'll do the job nicely. You don't really need expensive shocks to get a nice ride. Make sure the sway bars are in good shape and that the bushings are in good shape.

 

Sorry Pfogle I've gotta disagree, we went thru 2 sets of each of the top line monroes and Gabriels. They all died relatively quickly (~20K) never off the pavement 90% HWY. We didn't put the Bilsteins on until ~130K, but Dad sure wishes we had put them on the day he bought it. I've put them on several different apps and this by far had the best result, both for ride and handleing. It's actually a joy to drive now instead of the pain it always was (compared to other vehicles). They've got ~40K on them and are still going strong. I swear I don't own stock in them or anything

If you were willing to pay the price for the Ranchos, then you can afford these.

 

Tdister, you must have had some alignment issues as well as bad shocks. I agree the stock ones go bad quickly, but at ~$20 and most have a lifetime warranty I'll stick with them. Also we get 35~40k out of our OE shocks...

 

Maybe you're right, but I've never driven a high-top 1/2 ton E series that if felt handled well enough, just my opinion though. My mom and I never liked the way it handled, even new and she wouldn't drive it (I think this was a bonus to my Dad). He did have some of the suspension rebuilt at one point or another, and the alignment was good. He didn't think it handled that bad, not until he knew what he was missing out on anyway. We put on a sway bar and some add-a-leafs which also helped.

What helps too is to get those P-series tires out from under them. Now it handles as it should. Very nicely considering what it is actually.

Where they helped most noticeably was in the wind gusts in west TX, it would still move some but it didn't keep bouncing back and forth fighting you.

If you knew my Dad you would understand how big a diff. something must be for him to admit it's better than the factory stuff.

I've just haven't liked the lower end shocks since I first tried the Bilsteins on my Dakota way back when. I will never buy Gabriels again, I haven't had a set last more than 25K on anything(I had put them on many different cars, not knowing there was better). I'd used the warranty a couple times on diff. vehicles, now I see it not much diff than free Mcdonalds burger: No thanks to either.

I will say they are better on vehicles that are being used as they were meant. If it's empty as it left the factory they might be considered stiff, if you have anything resembling a load, they are the way to go. I have no idea how the van was converted for access, but I'll but whetever they did added enough weight.

Good luck

 

I've had good luck with just running overloads on the rear (forget the brand, but they're coil overs) and OEs on the front of our vans and we regular overload them. Our '04 has ~6k of extra weight in the back making it around 8k, our '88 weighs in right at 5k without the seats (it's a clubwagon XLT). I've not driven a high top, but I would agree that you would want a more agressive shock on a high top as you have more roll potential, but that also goes along with making sure the sway bars and related hardware are in good shape.