Soft riding shocks

[Big Bear Bob]

My wife has upper body overuse syndrome, and carple tunnel in both arms but enjoys offroading. I'm not sure but is there a shock out there that would make the ride less jarring but still be decent for off road use?

I would appreciate any help

 

[98EBinMO]

Uhhhh...

Bob,

Not sure, but I just bought a set of the Gabriel VST's and they are really good so far...

Before it was bone-jarring when I would hit a pothole, etc... now it is much better- you hardly notice.

I have been impressed by them so far- hope they hold up...

Good Luck!

 

[94Murph]

I put some VST's on my 94EB and they HAVE TO BE the wrong shocks for this. You cant even push the rear of the thing down at all by jumping on the bumper, not at all. It rides like the shocks are solid in the back. The fronts, better than the monroes I took off.
What color should the shocks be? Thought it was a little funny the fronts are black and the rears are white.
Marty

 

[Alec]

My Gabriels were white all the way around.

How about getting adjustable shocks? Maybe some Rancho or ProComp adjustables. They get pretty soft on the lowest setting, then you can stiffen them up for the road. Good luck!

 

[410Fortune]

Skyjacker Soft ride's are good I hear.

Of course what you really need to do is disconnect the sway bars.....


the DUFF 70/30 shocks have a nice ride too....

 

[Big Bear Bob]

Thanks for the responses guys.

We have nearly 80,000 on the X and still have the original set so I believe any change would probably be better than what we're riding on. I have read here that people seem to favor Gabriel's and Monroe's. But I assume they are buying them for hard off road use. We would just like to find something in the middle.

I haven't' heard allot about the Pro-Comps, but I will look into them.
An adjustable shock sounds like it might be the way to go if it's not too much of a hassle to switch settings.

I've read some about disconnecting the sway bars but honestly didn't know how it might effect the ride. But if it makes the ride less jarring then I'm in there. One question about disconnecting the swat bars I have is, does the truck feel less stable at highway speeds?

Thanks again guys honestly I appreciate the thoughts.

 

[becker69]

3B (Big Bear Bob); I am not sure on the availability of the Pro-Comp adjustables since they are so new (and real expensive!), however the Rancho RS9000's do have a kit that is an addition to the shocks and allows for adjustment of the shocks from inside your truck, or 'on-the-fly' if you will. The kit has 2 types 1 adjusts all of them to one of 5 settings, and the other one splits the front and the rear allowing you to set them at different stiffness settings. If you went w/ adj. shocks and ran them pretty stiff in the rear you could (and many have) removed the rear sway bar completely. Many will caution against high speeds w/ the front disconnected due to excessive sway. Good luck w/ your choice. Just an aside question; have you played with lowering the tire pressure a bit, to soften the 'jarring' ride? It amazed me just how much softer mine rides off road w/ just a 5-8 psi drop in the tires in front.
Hope you had a good recent birthday

 

[Alec]

Adjusting the Ranchos is easy with either the knob on the shock or using the in-cab controller. About the swaybars: disconnecting them does make the ride way more Jellolike, but consequently cornering produces much more body roll and stability suffers. The rear can often be taken off though without too much of a difference. Definately disco them when going offroad, as this allows more suspension travel and makes the ride better. Also airing down the tires does cush the ride.

 

[410Fortune]

The Gabriels and Monroe Sens a Tracs are not made for heavy off road use, they are a middle of the road shock, meaning great on the street, so so off road.

I had some Monroe's on my BII for a year and a half. One lasted about 9 months, the others soon followed.
Of course realize that SUV's are hard on shocks and with middle of the road shocks like these you can expect 2-3 years max if you drive as much as I do.

Rancho makes Monroe shocks, or Monroe makes Rancho shocks, I can never remember, but the Rancho 9000 series are adjustable, you can usually find a buy 3 get 1 free price, and they have a lifetime warranty. Not a bad purchase at all! Bascially the Pro-Comps are a copy cat shock, meaning Rancho was the first and now finally other brands are trying to cach in on the market, however the Pro Comps design is improved a little from what I hear.......

 

[Maniak]

Another thing you can do to soften the ride (at least when you are wheeling) is lower the air pressure.

Unless I'm driving fast I'll drop the air pressure to 20 to 25psi when I'm wheeling around. If i'm on a hard trail I'll actually drop them down to 13psi (very soft ride) but at 13psi (on 32.11.50 tires on an 8" rim) they sometimes look like a pringles chip. I haven't popped it off the bead... yet..

By just dropping it 10psi or so (I'm assuming you run 30-35psi on your tires) you will not only soften up the ride, but you will also increase the contact patch size which should allow you to go places without spinning the tires as much and without "bouncing over" obsticals(sp?)

~Mark

 

[94Murph]

I am waiting on my Rancho 9000's now, but I am running 28 lbs on all 4 corners with Gabriel VST's and they are terrible. If I run over a turn arrow in a lane, you know the slightly raised white arrows, not just the painted arrow, it feels like the wheels are coming off the ground. I swear this is TRUE, the other day I hit some RR tracks at 45 mpr and it tossed a full pepsi can out of the drink holder. (the tracks are not that bad, didnt notice them with the old sensatracs, but one failed in the first 6 months, so also, goodbye to you) Goodbye VST shocks. If some one wants them, pay me the shipping charges to you location and they are yours. Available next week.
Marty

 

[Big Bear Bob]

Thanks again

Right now I'm running my 31X10.50 15" BFG/All Terrain KO's at 40 psi per a friends recommendation. I think I'll drop it to 32 tomorrow since that's the psi I had set on my old BFG All Terrain TA Radial's that where on my 1986 2 door Montero. I traded the Montero in for a family car in 1991. But the weather in Big Bear pretty much demands a 4X4. I just hope I can keep it in one piece, since my wife kissed the bumper of a Silverado the first month we owned the truck.

By the way becker69, I like the 3B tag!!!

The Ranchos 9000's sound like the way to go, but can anyone give me a ballpark figure on how much they should cost installed?

As I said the first chance I get we'll be dropping the tire pressure down. One thought though, the tires are about two months old, and still look like the day they put them on the X. Can anyone tell me how the BFG AT/KO tread wears at 32 or around psi?

Anyway I do appreciate the help guys. I'm trying to get back into having a little fun off road again, after eleven years the equipment and the little I thought I knew back in 91 is history now so your help is really appreciated.

 

[Alec]

BFG ATs wear extremely well. Mine had about 18-20k on them when I sold them (went bigger) and they still had about 85% of the tread left. I ran mine at 34psi on the road, 15 psi offroad. 32 psi should give you a nice ride, decent mpg, and good wear.

 

[becker69]

3B, 40 psi!!!! Holy cow, I gotta hand it to you... that must be like riding on bricks (or iceblocks for the Big Bear guys 32 psi should ride nicely, and I agree w/ Alec... they should wear nice and the BFG AT KO's do wear pretty well. I try to stay around 23.795 psi for off-roading, but that's just because I have been a pansy and baby my wheels a little! Good luck. I would be REAL surprised if you were disappointed in the RS 9000's. RE; install, I don't know too much because I try to do stuff myself (till I break something expensive). But I know Sears and some other department chains offer free install from time to time on product they sell or can get (and I know many of them stock the RS 5000) so maybe that is feasible.

 

[Big Bear Bob]

Thanks again

Alec
Thanks for reply's on the tire pressure question, I thought it seemed to high, but the side wall has 50 psi printed on it, and one of my buddy's said that he thought 45 psi would be a good starting point. That just seemed too high, so I ended up putting in 40 psi thinking it would be a compromise.

Alec off road we are both getting bounced around all over the inside of the truck, but I have to say that on the paved winding roads up the mountain from the city the X felt good and tight on the turns. But I agree 32 or so sounds more realistic for a starting point at least for highway driving. I will try dropping to them to the mid 20's next time we go off road, because most of the OHV trails we have up here are steep rutted trails with Scree and sometimes some pretty large boulders and jagged stones that you can't get around and I'm kind of afraid that some of those bigger jagged stones cutting into the side walls if the pressure is too low, but for the highway....

But that brings up another question, on snowey icey roads, should I still maintain the psi in the low 30's?

becker69
Thanks, I have heard that the rancho's are pretty good shocks, but was afraid they might be a little too stiff, Sears has the 5000's, for $50.00 per and 14 to install, so I hope to have a set installed as soon as they have the next three for one sale. I don't know but I doubt that's with the remote, but it would sure be nice if it was.

Again thanks guys and appreciate you taking the time to reply.

 

[Rhett]

I've always felt that tires are more important than shocks on ride quality. Also, no one mentioned Bilstein shocks, are they a thumbs-down now with the Explorer?

94Murph, I know where you're coming from on the rough ride. It's partly the 1st gen A-arm suspension design...it's just stiff and rough as hell compared to the 95+ torsion bar front end setup.

However...having said that...friend of mine has 89 Bronco II, with the same front end as 1st gen Explorer like mine...and he has a nicer ride with the smaller wheelbase.

Part of it must be his tires (Goodyear Wranglers), which blow away the ones on my truck (Dunlop A/T's). I swear these Dunlop A/T's have the least forgiving sidewall I've ever seen. I can't wait to s***-can them and get some 30x9.50's of a high quality tire. At any rate, his Bronco2 has Gabriel VSTs and Wranglers vs. my Edelbrocks and Dunlops. I also run some stiff radius arm bushings which roughed up the ride some over the rubber bushings. Had I known anything at all back then I wouldn't have bought those dunlops. Luckily they are getting down on the tread and I can replace this fall. I can take a rough ride, and it's a truck not a cadillac, but I want to at least get as good a ride as my friend's Bronco II.

My ruff ride story is hitting a pothole, and having the whole truck fly into the next lane over. Luckily no one was in that lane at the time. It sure woke me up though.

 

[Big Bear Bob]

Well I lowered the tire pressure to 32 psi yesterday, and today we did 3n61 from Cactus Flats to the Lucky Baldwin Mine (the fork that will take you into Holcomb Valley or exit out to Baldwin Lake and highway 18) and back down to Cactus Flats.

The Native Americans thought this area of Big Bear was holy, and there are pictographs, and places worn into the stone that where used to prepare medicines.

The trail isn't really that long it starts at or just below 6000 feet, and ends at the top near 7200 feet. It is rated as moderate in difficulty, and takes at least an hour to do if drive straight through slow enough to enjoy the sights. It could easily be an all day adventure if you get out and explore some of the history the trail has to offer.

I think the reason the trail is rated as moderate in difficulty, is that it has lots of rocks covering much of the trail, both small and large (most of them sharp). It also has more than a few steep deep and offset wash-boarded areas with a few twists and turns thrown in to keep you on your feet. Because the trail is narrow even for an X, we normally keep the speed down abit, but if you push it a little you could have alot of fun.

The last time my wife and I did the trail the tires had 40 pounds of pressure and we both where getting jerked around truck in all directions at the same time. Now even with the tires @ 32psi the ride is a whole lot better.

So next time we go someplace that doesn't have fist sized and larger rocks that are sharp as razor blades covering the trail, we'll try dropping the pressure down to the 20's. But on this trail I was concerned about the cutting the sidewalls.

The bad news is that a buddy was trailing us in his full size Chevy truck (running 33's with a slight lift), and he was saying that when we where going over some of the deeper wash-boarded parts of the trail, he was clinching his teeth thinking that we where going to bottom out for sure. I have to say we had four adults in the X so.... Anyway I guess we'll get the TT and shackle lift done ASAP.

BTW The ride on the highway is much smoother at 32 psi too.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Rhett]

My question remains; are Bilstein shocks not rated highly anymore with the Explorer? They used to be. I saw no mention of them in this thread.

 

[Big Bear Bob]

I just bought the Monroe Sensatracks. Sears has a special on them right now I believe 7/27 through 8/6 2002 at least here in Southern Ca. The deal is buy the shocks and get free installation, with a lifetime parts and labor warranty!

I originally was interested in the Monroe Reflex but the sales people I've spoke to both at Sears and Napa Auto parts said that the Sensatract was a very good choice for an Explorer, and the Reflex was only a marginally better shock. The total cost with installation was $152.49 including tax and unfortunately the Monroe Reflex's are not included in this sale. Like you my OEM shocks where shot!! I also had an alignment done and the X just feels tighter in turns, and the ride is sweet.

I know some people have said that the ride is a little harsh with these shocks, but I totally disagree. The on highway ride is honestly better than I expected for LT shock.

I have also taken them off-road since we got them installed, and I am pretty impressed with the off-road experience too. By the way the trail is rated as moderate-hard in difficulty, and loaded with deep potholes, deeply rutted road with areas thick with rock, that I have done before, and there is a definite improvement in the off road ride.

I know the BFG AT/KO's help allot, but I have done the trail with these tires before and this time there was a noticeable improvement in the ride.

Rhett I know the Bilstiens are held in high regard but my being on a budget and the Bilstiens being a little more expensive. I believe the deal at Sears was pretty hard for me to pass on. It basically got me an alignment and the shocks for the cost of the Reflex's.

I've heard allot about the Reflex shocks, and they're at Napa for $45.99 and the local auto repair shop only wanted $55.00 for installing all four, but that comes to roughly $255, a hundred more than the Sensatracks so..

Have a great weekend, and thanks for all the help folks.

 

[Maniak]

Rhett,
I don't think it is a matter of them not working well on an explorer, I think the issue is (and is with most shocks) is that you are stuck with what they consider the right valving for the truck..

Some days I need soft shocks.. other days I need shocks with a stiffer valving.. In our case, the Rancho adjustable fit the bill perfectly..

~Mark