Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey crew,

I have a fairly standard zook, with 215/75/15 wheels
My question to u all is what shocks do u recommend?

I'm tossing up between koni's and rancho 9000s

Mainly i do road driving, as most of us do but i do a bit of sand and limestone driving, with about 1 a month trips in gravel roads\mud\rocky terrain.

I dont really usually have much weight in the car

IMHO, if you have no great plans for a big build up, I woud go with standard OME fitment for a sierra. They are much cheaper than your other choices and are the maximum length you are going to fit on stock mounts, and the valving is acceptable.

Koni's tend to be expensive and short too. Not sure there is an off the shelf fitment, so velving etc may need to be worked out by the seller.

RS9000's are interesting. I use and heartily recommend them for long stroke/custom applications, but valving is pretty hit and miss and with the short travel of a stock zuk I think that the adjustability will be a waste.

If you are planning a build, lop the shock mounts off and go with a nice long RS9000, ideally part no. 99009, or a OME N76. 10.75 inches of travel (roughly) in each and very soft valving in both.

you only need rancho's if you want length or are doing competition... I have just ordered OME's for my car. They are pretty tough..

how much are the OME's

i can get koni's for 320 a pair
I am probably going to get a 2in suspension lift sometime in the near future.

What is valving?

OME's are about $120 each and will work with up to a 2" lift, as this is what they are designed for.

*Simplified*

A shock has the rod ( at the top of 99% of shocks) attached to a piston inside the body of the shock, which is the bottom bit. the body is full of oil and also ususally pressurised nitrogen. As the suspension works, the piston slides up and down and forces oil through holes inthe piston. These holes have various spring loaded trapdoors etc on them so some of them work when the suspension is compressing and some of them work when the suspension is drooping. In addition, there are different spring rates etc ont he trapdoors, so mome of them work at high speed and some at low speed.

The size and configuration of the holes and doors in the piston controls how "stiff" the shock is. If itis too "soft" valved, it will not control the leaf/coil spring tightly enough, allowing it to bounce and the car will feel loose and floaty. If it is too stiff, the suspension will not move freely and the car will feel very harsh.

*Phew*

Many aftermarket shocks for suzukis are too stiffly valved for my taste, but each to their own. Generally, unless you understand exactly how you want the car to behave, it is best to let a major manufacturer who has done the R&D for you make these decisions for you. That is why I would go OME. I don't think they are perfect, but they offer the best compromise for the money.

PS some of the money you are paying for Konis is because they are manufactured in way that allows them to be rebuilt and revalved. OME's are not, however, like tyres on Zooks, you will always be looking for something different before you wear them out anyway, and revalving is quite expensive, so on a standard length shock for general road use, you would never pay to get it done.

Thanks for the long post, I guess i'm gonna go talk to my local ARB bloke as you have given me the best answer so far.

cheers for the advice.