monroe sensa trac vs rancho rs5000

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I'm fixing to replace my upper control arms with a new set of raybestos pro arms. Since the shocks have to be removed anyways I'm going to upgrade to a higher quality set. I travel with this vehicle so it sees lots of interstate miles but I also live on a rough dirt road that isn't nice to the front end. The in stock "upgrades" at my local advance auto are Monroe sensa trac and Rancho rs5000. Which will give me the best ride for the combination of highway and country back road traveling I do? Will I really be able to feel the difference over the cheap bottom shelf stuff I've used in the past? Thanks for any info.
 
Bilstien 5100s are supposed t be the best. My friend has them on his 2013 wrangler, they're pretty impressive. I got the Gabriel Ultras from AZ for like 40 bucks a piece so cant beat the price for those as well.
 
Monroe Sensa-Tracs are barely an upgrade to what came OEM. You would have to replace them with something significantly better to notice an improvement on back road driving. Monroe sells higher-end parts that are more in line with the Ranchos.
 
It would be helpful if you told us what kind of car, how many miles on it etc. Someone who has an older car might not want to pay the premium for Billstein's. I know I wouldnt pay the price premium for them. Though its not to say they arent great.
 
The Monroe's and ranchos are around the 40 to 50 dollar range which is where I would like to stay. I'm only wanting to change them because I have to pull them for the control arm job. Does one of the 50 dollar varieties stand out above the rest?
 
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Originally Posted By: Realtech214
Bilstien 5100s are supposed t be the best. My friend has them on his 2013 wrangler, they're pretty impressive. I got the Gabriel Ultras from AZ for like 40 bucks a piece so cant beat the price for those as well.


+1 on Gabriel Ultra. I have a Dakota which is not the same as a Durango but probably behaves about the same on the road and may have all the same front end components. I know my truck sure is heavy at about 4300 pounds GVWR. I love how my truck rides and has great control with Ultras. I don't live on a dirt road but we have some bad paved roads here and my truck still rides great.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Monroe Sensa-Tracs are barely an upgrade to what came OEM. You would have to replace them with something significantly better to notice an improvement on back road driving. Monroe sells higher-end parts that are more in line with the Ranchos.



Agreed. Any Monroe Sensa tracs I have used never lasted as long I would have liked. The Monroe Reflex monotubes I am running now on my truck have been a fantastic upper end shock at a decent price and have been performing well for the last 40k miles and I think I can probably expect to get atleast 60-75k out of them.
 
Originally Posted By: FLORIDA
The Monroe's and ranchos are around the 40 to 50 dollar range which is where I would like to stay. I'm only wanting to change them because I have to pull them for the control arm job. Does one of the 50 dollar varieties stand out above the rest?


Yes. Gabriel Ultras. They are excellent at a very competitive price.
 
Originally Posted By: Realtech214
Bilstien 5100s are supposed t be the best. My friend has them on his 2013 wrangler, they're pretty impressive. I got the Gabriel Ultras from AZ for like 40 bucks a piece so cant beat the price for those as well.


I don't know the specifics of the OP vehicle or budget but I purchased my F150 used with Bilstein 5100 (including the front leveled) and love them. Personally I wouldn't mind the sportier HD ride, but for passengers, family and road trips the 5100 are VERY comfy while still providing great suspension control. I an VERY happy with them!
 
I have a 2002 F-150 long bed super cab with a heavy fiberglass cap. I replaced the junky factory shocks at 5,000 miles with Rancho RSX's. This past fall I replaced those with Ranch RS5000. I've been happy with both. Advance Auto is having a 4 for the price of 3 on Monroe and Rancho shocks now. Or go on line and see if you can better.

Whimsey
 
Ok autozone has the Gabriel ultras in stock for 40 bucks a piece. I can get sensa tracs for the same price from advance by buying online using a 30% discount code I know of, and then picking up at the store. So is the general consensus still that Gabriel ultras>sensa tracs?
 
Originally Posted By: FLORIDA
Ok autozone has the Gabriel ultras in stock for 40 bucks a piece. I can get sensa tracs for the same price from advance by buying online using a 30% discount code I know of, and then picking up at the store. So is the general consensus still that Gabriel ultras>sensa tracs?


IMO easy choice - Ultras all the way. Not a Monroe fan here.

BTW, the last set of Ultras I bought were like 25 bucks apiece on Amazon...
 
The only Monroe shock that worked well for me was the Reflex. If you can get Reflex for a Durango they might do a good job for you. I say the Ultra is a much better shock than the Sensa Trac and I have used both so I have a good idea of how they perform. Go on the Pep Boys website they usually have a $20.00 off $100.00 coupon. Print it out and Autozone will probably honor it. It's not 30% off but is better than no discount at all. Or you can get a set of Ultras from Amazon or other online store like Steve did.
 
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