Rancho RS9000X or RS9000XL - What is the difference?

Good question.

The Rancho RS9000XL shocks supersede the RS9000X as a series.

The RS9000XL stands out from the crowd: New look (nice metallic silver finish). New graphics (Charlie would approve). New packaging.

All new Rancho RS9000XL shocks have a beefier 18mm hardened and double-chromed shaft. Plus, the 9000XL shocks are supplied in 3 different body diameters. These are 55mm, 60mm, and 'super-duper' 70mm. Which size you get is application specific. You don't get to choose.

For example, the shocks for a 1999-2004 Ford F250 feature the 70mm body shocks front and rear. The shocks for a raised coil-sprung Nissan Patrol have 55mm body shocks at the front, and 70mm body shocks at the rear.

The 55mm body units are generally over-size compared to original-equipment shocks. A fatter shock body means more oil-content. More oil content means greater heat dissipation, so your shocks can perform at their best for longer.

The 60mm body units look really tough, and the 70mm body units look like the rockets on a military tank.

Finally, the new Rancho RS9000XL shocks are gas-charged. This means that the shocks contain nitrogen gas to pressurize the oil within the shock body. This pressure helps prevent the oil from boiling when the shock is working hard and means optimum performance in off-road conditions.

Gas-charged shocks can provide faster damping reaction times than foam-cell shocks.

For a gas-charged shock to provide great long-term performance, top seal retention is everything and the quality, fit and function has to be just right.

Bilstein gets it right with their gas-charged shocks and they provide long-term performance.

Rancho gets it right with the new RS9000XL and we put our money where our mouth is on warranty.

Where most of the shock brands in Australia feature a 2-year/40,000km warranty (whichever comes first), 4WD1 offers (on approved fitments) a 3-year warranty with no limit to the kilometres travelled within the 3-year period.

We realize that a lot of people these days travel 40 and 50,000km per year, so a 2-year/40,000km warranty is not much of an offer at all.

We would not want to offer the warranty that we do if the product was going to come back to us - especially given our roads and user type.

All the other amazing features of the 9000X and RS9000XL shocks are the same. You can find out more here