I am looking for suggestions on replacement shocks for my 92 Amigo (stock suspension height) - 90% of my driving is done on-road. I realize that this is a short wheelbase vehicle and the ride will always be more choppy than that of a longer vehicle (say a Rodeo).

Originally I tried Monroe Reflex - they were more bouncy than the worn out shocks that were on the vehicle - returned them within a few days. Next I bought Bilsteins. I have had them for about 50k miles but have never been overjoyed with them. The front shocks are getting quite soft. On smooth pavement they ride good but on an undulating road surface they are not able to dampen the front suspension oscillations - occasionally I can feel steering kickback during severe oscillations. The suspension/steering components appear to all be in good order. At night I am getting tired of watching my headlight beam bouncing up and down.

WHat I *think*I want is a progressive shock that is soft at minimal displacement and gets stiffer at greater stroke. I live/drive in a northern climate where frost heaved pavement is common. The Bilsteins are not very forgiving over frost heaved expansion joints.

I am considering OME and RS9000. Several of you have posted about these two brands in the past. I am especially interested in feedback from those of you who have driven Amigos equiped with both types of shocks.

I am open to other brand suggestions.

The RS9000's work well, but tend to get soft after 50K, which I guess isn't bad. The people who have the in-cab adjustment report that the air lines can be leaky and it's more of a pain than it's worth. Having the adjustor on the shock is not bad. Generally I only adjust them during a serious off-road trip when I didn't want the front end to dive into rocks. Now, with 60K on them, I just leave them on the firmest adjustment.

The adjusters can also freeze up if you don't adjust them for a long time. It's not hard to unfreeze them and add grease to prevent it from happening again. It just gets some rust in the adjustor.

Overall I like them and will probably replace them eventually.

Pete

Based on what I have read about the Ranchos I would say the OMEs are more durable.

I have had OMEs on both my Troopers and love them, never felt the need for adjustability.

Thanks for the replys. I'm off to order shocks - tired of driving a Pogo stick on the freeway.

I've not had any problems with my Rancho 9000s. They've been on the truck for many, many years. Never had OMEs.