I know that generally people on this forum think that Rancho's are junk, but I've had very good experience with them in the past. I have had RS 9000 in several vehicles including a 3/4 ton Dodge Cummins, a jacked up Chevy 3/4 ton pickup (Dual lockers, 38" Swampers, Dana 60/70s and all the other goodies for a bulletproof wheeling experience) and a couple of other vehicles that were by no means lightweights or trailer queens. In all the miles and abuse I had put them through, I never had a single one fail. I absolutely agree that Bilsteins are a far superior shock and I have no experience with OME shocks, but have I just been lucky with my Ranchos? I really liked the "tuneability" of the Ranchos. I always used the ones with the dial and never the goofy air compressor set up, but with a bit of fine tuning I always got a perfect ride quality and also a good setting for the type of wheeling I happened to be doing at the time. Again, I absolutely agree that there are a number of far superior and more technologically advanced shocks out there, but $800+ for a set of shocks is pretty steep.
With this in mind, what have people used here that gives the best on road ride quality and good low speed offroad performance? Are there other tuneable shocks that are also reasonably priced?
I have an '01 D2 with stock suspension and stupid street tires which mostly kills my ride quality, but I will get a second set of wheels and tires for playing when my wallet is a bit fatter. (Hahahaha, I have a Land Rover...fat wallet, good one) My Disco has 63k miles and I think the shocks are original. I don't have any wear issues, but stock shocks are marginal at best, even when new.

No ACE nor SLS, just good ol springs
Thanks everyone.

 

You said it, they are junk on nearly every Rover forum out there.
Go the tried and tested OME's or Bilsteins, and consider getting rid of your now collapsed factory coils.

 

The problem I see with Rancho is that they aren't engineered for this application the way they are for a Dodge, Chevy or Jeep. Think of it as putting a universal part on your truck instead of a custom made part that fits perfectly and was made for one specific purpose. I am actually going to use Rancho shocks on my Dodge when I do the suspension on it because I know they are made for my Dodge.

Will Ranchos work? Yes. Will you get the same performance as Bilstein or OME? No.

 

Rancho has it's place on different trucks, but they do not run well on Rovers. If you are going to lift a little, OME makes a great shock/spring combination for right around $800. You can get a set of bilsteins for under $400. Check e-bay. I replaced mine for about $200. But with the bilsteins, you have to re-locate your shock mounts or swap out, they are too short to lift.

 

Good to know! Thanks for the input. I just checked Ebay and Bilsteins aren't as expensive as I thought. I'll probably do a spring swap in the end of summer, but I need to get some EBC's first. My brakes are fine right now with plenty of pad and rotor left (other than the constant brake dust which I clean weekly inside and out), but they do have about 30K miles on them. I'll probably do springs, shocks and brakes in one fell swoop while I have everything apart. OME or Bilsteins? Which are better or is it just a matter of personal preference?

 

Order your EBC's thru DAP, they have a really great price on the pads.
Consider the Old Man Emu, very good shock but longer then the Bilstein's.

 

I'll probably order a Medium Duty Kit with Shocks from OME. At about $800 for shocks and springs how can I go wrong? I'll probably get my brakes at the same time and do them all in one fell swoop while I've got everything apart. I just checked DAP and AB and it seems that AB is cheaper for the EBC Ultimax. Unless I hear otherwise, the Ultimax seems like what I'll do. Where is the best place to get DBA discs and which model wears well on our trucks. Is there another brand of disc that is preferable or euqivalent but less expensive?

 

when you get ready for the kit, go to lrrforums.com and check the store. Tony has good prices for the lift setup. Not sure on the brakes. Mike should know

 

Check out the lift price for a set from Lucky8

 

Holy Cow! Less than $300 for a full set of OME springs and about $328 for shocks from Lucky 8. That is a good price. What about discs?