my new rancho 9000's

[just a tj]

Just pulled my new 9000's out of the box and noticed the shocks don't open up by themselves. Any other shock I've bought stretch themselves out. Is this normal for the rancho's? ( thought I'd put them in while waiting for parts for my tansfer case rebuild)

[MR EXTREME JEEP]

MAYBE YOU GOT THE "REVERSE ACTION" ONES.

Same as mine. They work grouse. Just a bit harder to put in than the "other" ones..

[TJ Paramedic]

I have the 9000s...and an in cab controller....whether they are firm or soft... on bitumen, I cant feel any difference....


what the ????

[Jeeps]

Hmm that's odd. Mine feel different from soft to firm.

I was told by TW to turn them back to '1' before adjusting to where you want them.

[TJ Paramedic]

TW put mine in.... WHAT THE ?????

[MR EXTREME JEEP]

Hmm that's odd. Mine feel different from soft to firm.

I was told by TW to turn them back to '1' before adjusting to where you want them.
I was told the same thing when going from say a 3 to a 9. Go back to 1 first.
TJ Paramedic I can definately fell a huge difference b/w soft and hard.

[Laz]

Dude rancho 9000's are excellent shocks - they don't extend by themselves as their not gas pressurised.

Setting 1 is the softest, setting 9 is the hardest.

The easy way to tell the diff is to set em on 1 and rock the crapper out of the car by hand - you should get up a big bit of side to side action - then chnage the setting to say 5 and repeat.

I run on setting 2 front and rear offroad and 5 onroad (well 4 in the rear unless I'm towing - then it's 5 too)

[Jeeps]

If i've got less than 35psi in my MTR's i can't go below setting 4 because it crabs all over the place :) I usually run setting 4 or 5 onroad and up it to 6 or 7 for dirt roads/beach.

[Gildo]

You got CRABS Sam?

[Locked Lizard]

Dude rancho 9000's are excellent shocks - they don't extend by themselves as their not gas pressurised.

Setting 1 is the softest, setting 9 is the hardest.

The easy way to tell the diff is to set em on 1 and rock the crapper out of the car by hand - you should get up a big bit of side to side action - then chnage the setting to say 5 and repeat.

I run on setting 2 front and rear offroad and 5 onroad (well 4 in the rear unless I'm towing - then it's 5 too)

Thats odd, I found them best, softer onroad, and harder offroad. My reasoning for this is, I have big lift and offroad when swaybar is disconnected, I find off camber stuff abit daunting as my rig dives quickly to one side with body roll, when stiffer it is alot more controlled, albeit the ride is bumpier. Onroad, with swaybar connected, the ride is quite harsh when shocks are cranked up, I like it alot softer for comfort, and my springs and sway bar seem beefy enough to cope with minimal body roll while cornering.
Either way, there is certainly a big difference in my settings from 1 to 9. I'm usually at 3f, 2r onroad, and 7 all around offroad, high or low tyre pressures also change the way I set up the suspension.
Cheers, JASON.

[blujeeper]

I think you will find the Rancho's as having an excellant reputation 4 their rebound qualities , hence them being in a neutral state straight out of the box.

[MR EXTREME JEEP]

Rancho say hard setting for offroad and softer for onroad.

[Laz]

Each to his own - I'm not saying that people are wrong or right about how they (or the manufacturer) likes to do the settings - I firmly believe it's just a matter of prefference.

I like my rig to handle more like a car onroad and flex up plenty offroad. I run about 36 PSI in my tyres onroad and ~16 off (well - it when the stuan's fell like stopping ;) - which varies)

I always disconnect offroad - I used to run the rancho's at 1 offroad but found with the OME coils they bottom out very easily, so upped the setting to 2 allround.

The other factor is speed - I don't drive real quick off the black stuff - for the most part all offroad is done as slowly as. if it's a longer bit of driving at speed (offroad) hten i do put them up another notch.

The very last thing is that I figure that the softer and more comfortable the ride is for me then the easier it is on the car - (if I put the Rancho's up to seven I'd just bust off shock mounts or bend shit knowing me) so a setting of 2 gives me supple suspension which is spot on for how I drive.

I'm pretty sure that if you were running a fox shocks or edlebrocks or the like that they resist proportionally more based on the rate of movement. Slow = slight resistance/dampening. Fast=High resistance/dampening. But hey I spend most of my tuesday nights having fun driving around offroad - so what would I know?

[Jeeps]

About a year and a half ago i went camping with some friends and we had to drive for an hour and a bit over very rough corrugations (that we've driven before when stock) and my mate had recently fitted tough dogs (non adjustable) and he called me on the cb saying that the road was too rough and he was pulling over to let his tyres down. I had the ranchos on setting '6' and it was smooth as. Even my mrs' turned to me and said "Ok, it was a good idea buying those shocks, i'll let you off for that one" :)

I reckon rancho's are pretty average onroad but on corrugations and dirt roads they kick arse.

[Tonto]

I think Laz has hit the nail ... it very much depends on speed. I've been most impressed with what Ranchos can do if you're crossing rough (i.e. undulating) ground with a bit of pace. Set on 8 or 9 ('hard') they make a huge improvement to your overall control, and lessen the tendence to bottom out. You don't have to be doing dumb speeds to notice a big difference in control and comfort compared to having them set at 4 or lower. To me it's that sort of situation where you need the damping qualities, so crank them up. Offroad slow ... go for what's comfortable.

[Crazy Dave]

my mate had recently fitted tough dogs (non adjustable) and he called me on the cb saying that the road was too rough and he was pulling over to let his tyres down.

Yip, I've got some "rough dogs" on the jeep and corrugations give me the :toilet:

[4WD1]

The Rancho RS5000 and ride-adjustable RS9000X shocks are commonly called 'foam cell' or 'cellular gas' shocks. This means that the oil is controlled by the the pressure of small foam bag, rather than high-pressure nitrogen gas. Many other 4WD shocks use the 'foam cell' design. The main advantages being that (unlike gas shocks) there is not constant pressure on the top seal - which can lead to early seal failure and oil leakage - and the fact that a foam cell shock can contain more heat-dispersing oil. In a gas shock a good proportion of the cylinder is taken up with nitrogen gas, which doesn't disperse heat as effectively as oil.
Gas shocks extend by themselves due to the internal pressure. Foam cell shocks do not. In the case of the Rancho RS9000X, the stiffness of the shock can can be altered (via a 9-position external knob) by up to 800 percent. '9' being eight times stiffer than '1'. By hand it is often hard to guage this difference. On any setting the compression stroke will usually feel soft. When the knob is set to '9' the rebound stroke will feel a lot stiffer. The RS9000X has 15-stage 'Variable Force Control', so the stiffness depends on the speed of the piston; something that cannot be replicated by hand. Rancho shocks are purposely valved to be softer on compression. This provides a better ride on bad roads and trails The shocks let the springs compress easier and then 'hang on' on rebound. This results in a better ride and less 'jarring' for the passengers. The Ranchos also have an internal bumpstop to prevent dmage to the shock on full extension. Many 'well known' shocks do not have this feature.
The optional In-Cab kit for the RS9000X shocks is a great way to appreciate the huge difference from '1' to '9', as you can alter the shocks in seconds - from the softest to the hardest settings - while you are driving. 4WD1 can help you with any extra info you may need. Contact Kirk on 02-9899 3989 or email sales@rancho.com.au

[Jeeps]

I have just come back from a week away camping. On the way up i had my Rancho's on setting "3" front and back and it was AWFUL to tow my new trailor at 100klm/hr for a few hours. On the way back i increased the front to "6" and the rear to "7" and it was BEAUTIFUL :)

[blujeeper]

I always run front and back on ''6''
It makes me feel like I'm driving in a car and not a boat. 8-)

[Jeeps]

Roger that ;)