Billie 5100 vs Rancho 9000 reviews

Well the time has come for me to replace my old, worn out stock shocks. I am looking to upgrade, and possibly do the AAL in the rear, with the Eibach or Icon coils in the front to get the quick 2" lift. What are y'all's recommendations/reviews/experience with the Billie 5100's vs the Rancho 9000XL's?

 

I am considering this system, too. Right now I am running Bilstein 5100s up front set at 1.75 inches. The ride on Denver's crappy streets is too harsh for my old bones.

There are some very positive reviews of the Rancho struts at Amazon:

Rancho Quick Lift

 

This information is probably 10+ years old or more....but...I had Ranchos on my previous tacoma and they sucked. Luckily for them...they have a lifetime warranty (at least, they used to). Myself & I knew at least two other guys with Ranchos that leaked and had to be replaced under warranty.

We gave them a nickname..."Ronchos" . Personally, I'd never buy them again.

I don't have any experience with Bilsteins (other than the OEM's on my truck now)....but....you can't go wrong with all the good feedback from everyone using the Bilsteins on this forum.

 

5100's are by no means "premiere" shocks but they are definitely a step up over the stock absorbers. on a budget lift i would recommend them over the rancho's as they are proven many times over by tacoma drivers, myself included.

 

I'm looking to upgrade to the 5100's myself, pairing them with the OME 885 springs I expect get 2.75. Geoengr, you should try upgrading your springs and setting the bilsteins to 0, that might alleviate some of your harsh ride.

 

I don't think everyone who has 5100 is happy with them, there are some recent threads of leaking issues with them, a quick search on google brings up complains from other users (outside this forum).

I was considering them to level my truck, but I think I'll stick with stock for now.

 

not completely true. i don't think mine are bad at all and haven't experienced any leaking or increasing stiffness that people sometimes complain of.
as i mentioned earlier, these have to be taken for what they are, a relatively lower priced alternative that makes for a cheap option for leveling a tacoma. i personally wouldn't stretch them out completely with stock springs in an attempt to get a 3" lift out of them and expect to retain a decent ride.
the smack talk about 5100's usually comes up when they're being compared to the higher end shocks and coil-overs (icon, fox, kings) which shouldn't be surprising considering those options are also 3x the price.

 

I blew both my 5100's, but they did last 2-3 years. I replaced them with some budget Rough Country 2.0's and the ride is definitely more harsh but for what I use my truck for suits me fine. One shock started leaking after about 6 months. One nice thing with Rough Country is I emailed them about the leaking shock and no questions asked they had another one in the mail.

 

I didn't say everyone was Not happy with them, I said not everyone is happy with them, and there are some recent threads from users with leaking 5100s.