need vx for comparison of shocks

[VehiGAZ]

There's a set on eBay ending in the next 5 hours or so...

[garfull]

The fronts are way too soft. Feels like a boat ride. I'm going to swap the oem fronts back on. Those seem to still have life in them.

I'd be willing to sell one still good rear shock or the front Rancho RS5214's to whomever is interested. I'll prob post it in the for sale section once I get it swapped out.

[kobie]

Well I got the Rancho RS9500 installed today. Once the mechanic took the oem shocks off. I compared the two sets. The oems are much Much MUCH stiffer than the Ranchos. The oems have a positive pressure that wants to keep them fully extended where as the Ranchos are just plain oil filled dampers. I did accomplish getting a softer rear end but at the same time making the front end too plush where it'll dive more than before. Heinsight perhaps I should've forked up the extra cash for the 9500's or Bilsteins.

Does anyone know what the fatique life of the front torsions bars are? I'm curious to know if the extra motion of the front end is going decrease the life of the torsion bars.


Front shocks were hard as rocks. I was barely able to use all of my 155lbs body to compress it more than 1 inch at most. When it did compress it was quite slow to extend back.


Rear shocks, passenger side still good take alot to compress but extends out really quickly. However driver side wont extend any further than shown and compression is very hard. One thing I did notice was the driver side shock was still warm when it was removed from being next to the exhaust. Perhaps that had an effect on the life of the shock.


Side by side. My VX has about 120K miles.

From reading the latter post I am assuming you got RS5000's and not the RS9500 series. I just replaced my originals with RS5000's and I am not noticing as much of a difference. The ride is still stiff but smoother at higher speeds. The front dips a little more when braking but I would not have noticed had I not been looking specifically for it. I can take tight turns quickly (and at high speeds) and don't feel much body roll. I am left to wonder if my stock shocks were so shot that the Ranchos feel similar or if I am not as sensitive to the ride differences.
Also, when pressing my weight on the stock shocks, they do slowly give but I do have at least 100lbs on garfull. One stock presses more easily than the others and I think if any were bad this one might be it. All are the same length laid out next to each other. My OEMs had just over 90K miles on them.
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edit: I take most of this back. I guess my RS5000s need some time to break in. The ride is really soft and bouncy. I expected smoother and even. Never has my head hit the roof so many times. I may retire these shocks more sooner than later but I'll get my money's worth first.

[lasturbo]

It looks like one of his rears are shot (no extension left). Is there a company in the US that can "refresh" or "rebuild" the OEM shocks?

[garfull]

i did swap the oem fronts back on and now the ride is much better. it really does feel like a sports car now rather than the bucking bull it was before.

i did compare the stiffness of both front and rear ranchos before putting them on and they were the same. but once installed the front were, to me at least, way too soft. maybe its just the roads i drive that it seems to have more undulations to cause the boat effect.

[Ldub]

It looks like one of his rears are shot (no extension left). Is there a company in the US that can "refresh" or "rebuild" the OEM shocks?

Do a search for "Bruces Suspension", you'll find what you're looking for.

[VehiGAZ]

garfull - The front has a lot of weight on it and extremely stiff springs, so a weak shock is going to let the front end bounce and float.

There are very few shocks out there that are strong enough to balance the force of the VX's springs, which are the real culprit of the stiff ride.

[lasturbo]

Do a search for "Bruces Suspension", you'll find what you're looking for.

Thanks Ldub!