Owner reviews for shock absorbers

Amazing shocks! Spent the weekend putting them on. Mines a 96. 114k miles the original shocks were not completely dead but almost no rebound. Cant wait to take them on the HWY. Smooth on the street and firm in the twisties!

I replaced the Ranchos with Bilstein 5100's after a couple thousand miles, night and day difference.

Ride quality isn’t noticeably different. Bilstein or Fox are great upgrades for the stock rancho badged shocks either way.

I love my rancho 5000s but used bilstiens on bigger trucks in the past and those do their job well still

I got some Ranchos on my 88 which have been great so far. Had them about 2 years, but I don’t go off-road, or at least hardcore anyway. They’re nice and firm

I went with Bilstein B6/B8's and was pleased with them, but they provided a slightly firmed-up, well-controlled ride compared to my high-mileage OEM units

I’ve had good luck with KYB shocks.

I have 6112 front 5100 rear and I cannot express the difference in ride quality and even “handling”. Totally eliminated understeer.

The Excel-G (which I believe are called the GR-2 now) are stock replacements. If you just want to freshen things up, they'd be fine, and with a mild drop I think they'd be okay in terms of longevity (but you never know). If you're looking for a performance shock though, the GR-2 is not it.

Pass on Rancho. I did a full set of them 4 years ago. Shop I had them done through is no longer in business. Even with receipts and invoices Rancho refuses to honor their warranty.