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HI Leon, I noticed in your intro you said you've got RS9000 shocks on your Feroza.
Do you know what part number they are (front and rear)- I've been to various Rancho websites and no RS9000 (or the new RS9000X) appear to be made for the fronts??? And the application list only lists a 1989-90 Feroza, with nothing specified for the other years?!
Are they worth the money I've heard some reports of people not liking them as they're too soft? I'm debating on Koni's vs Rancho's...... I've seen the RS9000 for $175 each, but haven't priced the Koni's yet. I've had Koni's before on various vehicles and know they are an excellent buy, but haven't a clue on Ranchos - there seems to be a lot of hype about them.
Sorry I can't give you the part numbers. :( Mine were selected by the distributors and cost $700.00 delivered.
Am I happy with them . Yes I am. Running the front on setting 3 and the rears on 1 gives me a secure somewhat firm ride on the road and with both on position 1 and the tyres lowered to say 18PSI a really good controlled ride in the dirt and over corrogations. Given them a hard time in the bush but nothing's broken.
$125.00 would be a good price for 9000's.
Rod Santos also has them fitted and will swear by them, Rod runs the same settings as me. Wish I had the in cab adjustable ones. Can't comment on the konies but would pay the same for Rancho's again. Reckon the 5000's would be to hard for a Feroza as there about setting 3.
Beer is the living proof that God loves us and wants us to be Happy.
Rancho shocks are a bit on the expensive side which also happens to be my one and only complaint on them. At $175 each, well you make your own judgement.
I chose Rancho rs9000's coz they are the only shocks I could find that was easy to adjust. I could be wrong but I dont think the Koni ones (also a good shocky) has a quick adjust knob. This task is easier again with an in cab controller. But thats also more $$$.
The ones I have are:
Front - rs9019 376/246
Rear - rs9115 541/328
The rear ones are a bit long, the reason being I had plans on fitting revolver style shackles.
I modified the rear bump stops (bout 20mm spacers) to stop the shocks from bottoming out. The Ranchos do have internal bump stops but just to be sure I lowered the bump stops a tad.
Hope this is helpful info.
The Koni's are internally adjustable only- which means pulling them off the Feroza, removing the bumpstop and fully compressing them to make adjustments.
I'm not surprised the Ranchos are a bit firm, going by their site info the RS9019's fit 1 ton Ford trucks, Broncos, Dodge pick ups etc. The RS9115's have a similar listing.
For anyone else who's interested those numbers correspond to RS99029/RS99039 (for the RS9019) and RS99115 (for the RS9115) in the new RS9000X range which is supposedly improved with more adjustment settings.
I don't consider the price to be too bad, I've spent over $1100 on externally adjustable Koni's on my other car And I'm only planning on doing the fronts for now, my rear factory electronic adjustables still seem OK. The fronts just crash through pot holes etc and the front end bounces around a lot.
Just been doing a bit more research and it appears like I said earlier that the Ranchos used in the Ferozas are exactly the same item as fitted to Ford (F series?) trucks etc. The internal valving should be different considering the difference in weight and spring rates between the two vehicles! This goes a long way to explain why only the softer settings are suitable for the Feroza.
The Koni's are made only to fit the Feroza and are valved accordingly. I've rung the local distributor for a price, but he couldn't find them listed and is going to call me back. Turns out once the current front Feroza shocks are sold out worldwide there will be no more made!
Bilstein also make shocks to suit- like the Konis they are valved to suit the Feroza. Has anyone got them fitted?
Well 12 months ago I had Koni long travel shocks fitted to a 1992 Rocky (springs front and rear model) and have nothing but praise for them.
At the same time I replaced the front springs with King springs, but kept the standard rear springs.
Ride is so much better than original it is hard to believe it's the same vehicle. It got rid of the sharp choppy ride you get with a short wheel base vehicle.
Front shocks cost $160 each, Rear shocks cost $130 each.
It's only when you go to Koni struts (independant front end) that the cost climbs dramatically.
Just as a matter of interest a good suspension shop may be able to modify some shockies to suit your vehicle.
As an example I got a Nissan Skyline and wanted some good shockies for the rear. I could get the cheap standard ones or very expensive specialized ones, nothing available in between.
Easily fixed - took old ones into shop, they did some length measurements, found a good quality replacement shock, cut the ring mounts off the old ones and rewelded them onto the new shocks.
Hey presto - it now fits.
Of course this won't work with struts.
I've had Konis on a couple of cars and never had problems with them.
Thanks for the input Stu. I've used Koni's in two different vehicles now and they are superb. I've got the top adjustables in my other car and they're the best, but you do pay top dollar for them!
On a sadder note I had a call from the Koni distributor earlier and there are no front Koni's left in Australia..... The only way to get some is to rip my stock originals out, send them over to Melbourne and they will custom make some (revalve them to suit etc). But at around $350 ea that's a bit too steep!
I'm still not keen on the Ranchos with their "if it bolts in they'll be right" philosophy! I did Email Auto Alliance yesterday though and will see what they come back with. Interestingly the US Rancho site actually states it is dangerous to fit shocks to vehicles not listed in their application list as it can affect braking and handling.
I'm still looking into the Bilsteins, I've had them before and they're top notch too. Just not adjustable.
well..... I have TJM Series 2000 shocks on mine... the ride is perfect in it and I havent had a drama with them.
As wheel travel is restricted somewhat in the Feroza's, (especially the front) there really is no need for high class, high travel shocks such as rancho's..
I have emailed Rancho once and they told me it was dangerous to lift the feroza ..... at all... cause there "research" indicates they are unstable.
Have a chat to TJM or Ultimate Suspension... they will advise on the best for you purpose.
So have you got Series 2000 springs/ torsion bars as well Heath? I thought they were generally sold as a matched set?
I'm not interested in lifting mine, much for the reason you stated. Plus it wouldn't fit under the garage roller door with the luggage pod on the racks then either.
I'm a realist too- mine spends well over 90% of it's time on the bitumen , partly because there's a serious lack of 4WD stuff close to Adelaide...
Is anyone running procomp shockies on there feroza/rocky or have heard how good they are?
I know they have a 6 stage shock but not sure if it's here yet. But I heard a rumour that they were going 2 cost around $450 each
I like the idea of being able 2 adjust the shocks.
I plan on getting softer coil springs for the feroza and ranchos or konis would come in handy where i can set them hard for road work and then for the rough stuff I can set them realy soft so it can articulate nice and easy.
James
94 cxi feroza- coiled rear!!! SOLD !!!!!
05 s/cab 5L-e hilux- bring on the mods
murcod wrote:So have you got Series 2000 springs/ torsion bars as well Heath? I thought they were generally sold as a matched set?
I'm not interested in lifting mine, much for the reason you stated. Plus it wouldn't fit under the garage roller door with the luggage pod on the racks then either.
I'm a realist too- mine spends well over 90% of it's time on the bitumen , partly because there's a serious lack of 4WD stuff close to Adelaide...
Not Torsion bars... Kept OE for them. The leafs are custom made by a guy in Brissy. The suspension set-up was done by On-Track 4wd, who are a TJM stockist. The rear articulates reasonably well. You can get teh pack, but the TJM set is too stiff, and does not flex well.
The Feroza is not unstable when lifted a bit. Mine is a narrowtrack, and I have 2 1/2 inch suspension lift and about 2 inches with tyres, and it is quite stable. The addition of a body lift adds another 2 inches. (Ask Murray). I wouldnt put a body lift on mine without wheel spacers for off road use.
Mine spends about 85% of its time on Bitumen too...
If I was going to lift mine I'd defintitely start with larger tyres, and leave the suspension last. I'm toying with the idea of a slightly larger tyre when mine wear out, they're getting low now and are some road orientated Desert Dueller (D682?). I've had it on gravel roads and it just slides everywhere- I'd be in serious trouble if I had to do any quick evassive manouvres!
I just need to work out which tyre handles well on the bitumen, but is also reasonably capable off road. Tyres in the original 225/70R15 aren't that common either I've found out.
Got a price back from Rancho today too: $792 for four RS9000x's - but no mention of part numbers.
Bilsteins are $378 a pair for the fronts and my current favourite.
I'll do a bit of research on the Procomps and see if I can find out anything.
I was checking my Diff oil today and noticed both my rear shocks are leaking oil. Not good as they have only been fitted a bit over a year :( :( :( :( with not a lot of miles or offroad work.
I've sent an e-mail to Rancho and will post the reply.
Bummer mate.
Last edited by Le0n on Sat May 03, 2003 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Beer is the living proof that God loves us and wants us to be Happy.
I know Koni say that it is nothing serious (having a coating of oil over the outside of the shock) - it's only when there is oil dripping off the shock that you should be concerned. But really it shouldn't happen and it will be interesting to see what Rancho's reply is.
rocknferoza wrote:Is anyone running procomp shockies on there feroza/rocky or have heard how good they are? I know they have a 6 stage shock but not sure if it's here yet. But I heard a rumour that they were going 2 cost around $450 each
I like the idea of being able 2 adjust the shocks.
My reply is quite late, but I'll still put my 2 cents worth of opinion.
I had ProComp ES1000 shocks installed last month. They are of the fluid type variety, since I'm not that big on offroad, and my Feroza is my daily ride to work and to the city, plus the fact that it's a very light vehicle. Since the fluid volume of this model is much more than what is required on the ordinary types, they work very fine and the ride is way better than the previous gas shocks used.
Plus it is way cheaper than their MX-6 series (6 way adjustable, gas type).
Well, after a lot of research I've taken the plunge and ordered the Bilsteins to replace the front shocks only at this stage.
Basically what I found was : everyone who has Koni loves them and swears by them, Bilsteins are much the same- only found one failure to speak of due to the shock being too short on a raised vehicle. Some people claim Bilsteins can be damaged more easily by rocks, but I couldn't find any cases to support the claim. Ranchos are loved by some and sworn at by others! A few people mentioned oil leaking and shocks failing regularly, others reckon they're the best bar none; one person drove a vehicle the same as his with the RS9000's fitted and reckoned even with the adjustability he couldn't find a good setting. Both Bilstein and Koni were regulalry quoted as having covered a couple of hundred thousand kms and still going strong.
Will hopefully have the Bilsteins by Friday and fit them on the weekend.
Took my rear Rancho 9000's to Auto Alliance today Thursday and after a quick inspection by Kirk they were exchanged for new ones. No fuss or bother at all. They gave ne the new series with 9 position adjusters. Keen to try them out in the bush.
Yesterday arvo I put the standard Feroza shocks on so I could still drive Roza. Have to say not a bad ride.
Auto Allience AOK. Stand by their products.
Beer is the living proof that God loves us and wants us to be Happy.
Leon, it's lucky you live near AA- I'd hate to have to pay the freight back to them from Adelaide!
From what you said they're obviously giving you two new ones as well. Good to hear they stand by their warranty.
Let me know how much better they are than the Rs9000- eg. how many of the settings you can actually use out of the 9 before they are too hard. I'll be in the market for rear shocks soon, and adjustability for towing would be good.
Still hoping to receive my front Bilsteins tomorrow (Fingers crossed...)
They look okay but I think the Rancho's look better.
I guess you would say that Leon!
My only come back is sooner or later the red parts on the Ranchos will fade to PINK
I've got one side fitted on mine and am about to do the other. One thing I'm not impressed about with the Bilsteins is I seem to have got two from different batches- different top nuts supplied, slightly different part number, ones got "Made in Germany" the other "Made in West Germany", the yellow paint is a different shade etc. Compressed them both though and seem to be identical in their valving which is all that matters.
rocknferoza wrote:Is anyone running procomp shockies on there feroza/rocky or have heard how good they are? I know they have a 6 stage shock but not sure if it's here yet. But I heard a rumour that they were going 2 cost around $450 each
May have to take the replacement rear shocks back to Auto Alliance. There just about perfect if I carry 4 bags of cement in the back. :(
Hope they can be revalved or some adjustment done. Just too hard. Much harder ride than the origional 5 speeds and yes I'm running on position 1 the softest. Oh my aching kidneys. The origional fronts are great. Maybe they will become softer with a few miles but I don't want to wait 100,000 Klms to get a comfortable ride.
Hope your bilsteins are better.
Beer is the living proof that God loves us and wants us to be Happy.
Sorry to hear that Leon Maybe you could go see them and take someone from AA for a ride- it may persuade them to help you out in some way? Good luck.
Could it be worth trying to get some of the old stock RS9000's if there are any left? I guess it proves my theory that they don't revalve their shocks for different vehicles
On a more positive note I can thoroughly recommend the Bilsteins. The ride is superb- roads I cringed at the thought of navigating are now comfortable to drive over. It also appears to corner flatter, although I couldn't really test that much as it's raining here. Haven't tested them off road yet.
Just have to save some more $ to do the rears now.
Did a few miles on the new Rancho's today. They have softened up a little bit and I changed the fronts to position 1 as well. Still a nice firm ride and now Iv'e got the confidence to remove the sway bar.
Will still call Auto Alliance tomorrow and ask if I can get em altered to a softer setting. Really got shocks that are non adjustable because Iv'e can't use any setting above the lowest setting. May be able to use a higher setting on the back when towing a trailer or have the back loaded.
Beer is the living proof that God loves us and wants us to be Happy.
Are they worth the money 
I've had Koni's before on various vehicles and know they are an excellent buy, but haven't a clue on Ranchos - there seems to be a lot of hype about them.
Running the front on setting 3 and the rears on 1 gives me a secure somewhat firm ride on the road and with both on position 1 and the tyres lowered to say 18PSI a really good controlled ride in the dirt and over corrogations. Given them a hard time in the bush but nothing's broken.
I meant the fronts are usually on setting 2 for the road.
This goes a long way to explain why only the softer settings are suitable for the Feroza.
I did Email Auto Alliance yesterday though and will see what they come back with. Interestingly the US Rancho site actually states it is dangerous to fit shocks to vehicles not listed in their application list as it can affect braking and handling.
I guess you would say that Leon! 
The origional fronts are great. Maybe they will become softer with a few miles but I don't want to wait 100,000 Klms to get a comfortable ride.