obie
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- June 13, 2012
- Messages
- 902
- Reaction score
- 12
- City, State
- Northwest Indiana
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2003 Sport Trac 4x4
So, I just completed the install and test drive of the Rancho RS5374 front shocks on my 2003 Sport Trac 4x4 with a 1.5" torsion twist and Warrior 153 shackles. These shocks are for 95-01 Ford Explorer 4x4 and 4x2, 01-05 Sport Trac 4x4 and 4x2, and possibly the 01-03 Explorer Sport 4x4 and 4x2. These shocks are for 1"-2.5" of front lift, aka, torsion twist.
These measure 14.40 inches compressed and 19.280 inches fully extended. The regular Rancho RS5229 shocks measure 13.938 inches compressed and 18.375 inches extended. This is a difference of the RS5374 being .202 inches longer compressed, .905 inches longer fully extended, with .703 inches of additional shock travel.
I have always heard on this forum that different shocks are not required if you are doing a torsion twist, and it had originally made sense to me. The full suspension travel geometry doesn't change, and neither does the length of suspension travel. So why would you need a slightly longer shock?
I had installed the Rancho RS5229 front shocks and RS5185 rear shocks on my Sport Trac roughly 2,000 miles ago. This was one of the first things I did after getting the vehicle, and I stole the shocks from my other 98 Explorer. These had roughly 1,200 miles on them. The 98 also had a 1.25" torsion twist, and I had hated the ride on it. I much preferred the Rancho RS5000 shocks over the stock Motorcraft shocks with 86k miles on them. It rode more like a truck than a car now. Then I installed the 33" Duratrac tires, and the ride was still very smooth and enjoyable. Then I did a torsion twist to help clear the tires, and the ride was terrible. Rough roads for extended periods of time would make my teeth chatter and give me headaches and neck aches. I had always just assumed that this is the price for needing to clear larger tires. It didn't help that I did polyurethane body mounts when the body lift was installed (after the TT), so those also transmitted a little more NVH to the cab.
I did some searching after reading about torsion keys, and found people on the various ranger forums who said that certain brands of torsion key kits had made their ride much better than those who just did regular TTs or key installs. The difference was that certain brands included shock spacers. This lead into a train of thought that ended with me ordering the lifted application Rancho shocks to be an Explorer guinea pig, as there wasn't much information on this particular forum about them. I also spoke to a senior Rancho technician today, and he confirmed that they are indeed for a torsion lift application on the Explorers. Not only is the length and travel different, but they are also valved differently than the RS5229 shocks to handle the additional suspension stress and ride quality decrease. EDIT: Oh, and the lower mounts are slightly different as well, but I had forgotten to check the difference between them when I did the install. Sorry
All I can say is that I'm so glad I did. These have made a night and day difference in ride quality. I took them for a ten minute test drive on the worst roads in the county and it was glorious. Gone was the feeling of bottoming out the shock on every bump, and I could hit some of the worst sections at speeds above 45 without feeling like I needed back surgery. Even pulling into my gravel driveway was massively improved. Before, I used to bounce and jounce all over just from turning into it. After the shocks, I pulled in at the same speeds as normal and didn't feel a thing. So I backed out and pulled in faster, and still was amazed at the difference.
I still need new leaf springs in the back but the front ride quality is soooooooo nice now, I can actually comfortably put off the Fox Shocks coilover conversion now for quite some time
I will report more tomorrow after my 100 mile commute on 394 and 294 and lots of back roads, but so far I give them I will hopefully get to test them offroad soon too, and see what the difference there is as well.
These measure 14.40 inches compressed and 19.280 inches fully extended. The regular Rancho RS5229 shocks measure 13.938 inches compressed and 18.375 inches extended. This is a difference of the RS5374 being .202 inches longer compressed, .905 inches longer fully extended, with .703 inches of additional shock travel.
I have always heard on this forum that different shocks are not required if you are doing a torsion twist, and it had originally made sense to me. The full suspension travel geometry doesn't change, and neither does the length of suspension travel. So why would you need a slightly longer shock?
I had installed the Rancho RS5229 front shocks and RS5185 rear shocks on my Sport Trac roughly 2,000 miles ago. This was one of the first things I did after getting the vehicle, and I stole the shocks from my other 98 Explorer. These had roughly 1,200 miles on them. The 98 also had a 1.25" torsion twist, and I had hated the ride on it. I much preferred the Rancho RS5000 shocks over the stock Motorcraft shocks with 86k miles on them. It rode more like a truck than a car now. Then I installed the 33" Duratrac tires, and the ride was still very smooth and enjoyable. Then I did a torsion twist to help clear the tires, and the ride was terrible. Rough roads for extended periods of time would make my teeth chatter and give me headaches and neck aches. I had always just assumed that this is the price for needing to clear larger tires. It didn't help that I did polyurethane body mounts when the body lift was installed (after the TT), so those also transmitted a little more NVH to the cab.
I did some searching after reading about torsion keys, and found people on the various ranger forums who said that certain brands of torsion key kits had made their ride much better than those who just did regular TTs or key installs. The difference was that certain brands included shock spacers. This lead into a train of thought that ended with me ordering the lifted application Rancho shocks to be an Explorer guinea pig, as there wasn't much information on this particular forum about them. I also spoke to a senior Rancho technician today, and he confirmed that they are indeed for a torsion lift application on the Explorers. Not only is the length and travel different, but they are also valved differently than the RS5229 shocks to handle the additional suspension stress and ride quality decrease. EDIT: Oh, and the lower mounts are slightly different as well, but I had forgotten to check the difference between them when I did the install. Sorry
All I can say is that I'm so glad I did. These have made a night and day difference in ride quality. I took them for a ten minute test drive on the worst roads in the county and it was glorious. Gone was the feeling of bottoming out the shock on every bump, and I could hit some of the worst sections at speeds above 45 without feeling like I needed back surgery. Even pulling into my gravel driveway was massively improved. Before, I used to bounce and jounce all over just from turning into it. After the shocks, I pulled in at the same speeds as normal and didn't feel a thing. So I backed out and pulled in faster, and still was amazed at the difference.
I still need new leaf springs in the back but the front ride quality is soooooooo nice now, I can actually comfortably put off the Fox Shocks coilover conversion now for quite some time
I will report more tomorrow after my 100 mile commute on 394 and 294 and lots of back roads, but so far I give them I will hopefully get to test them offroad soon too, and see what the difference there is as well.