RC Vertex Adjustable 2.5 shocks review.

[Bonanza]

Sport S MT
3.5" JKS lift

Main comparison-- as against Fox 2.0 shocks

I like my JKS lift. It appropriately did the job of raising the vehicle's ride height. I will say I greatly enjoyed the on road experience of the stock suspension for the few hundred miles it was on, but a majority of my driving has been on the 3.5" JKS springs, and Fox 2.0 shocks that come with that kit as an upgrade. On the front of my Jeep, I have the Pritchett Canyon bumper from Barnes 4WD, which isn't terribly heavy. I also have a winch with synthetic rope. I was perfectly happy with the lift, but the suspension began to bother me. For one, the valving seemed too light on the Fox shocks-- both compression and rebound. I got into the bumpstops fast even on minor road deviations, and I also felt a bit "jumpy" or "flighty" cresting whoops offroad. Almost like the suspension completely unloaded as the springs decompresed. In all, I felt the dampening of the shocks just didn't quite dampen as much as I'd like.

So, I went with adjustable RC Vertex shocks, front and rear. I can't tell you the cost I paid, but it wasn't retail-- retail costs are a bit high in my opinion. Installation would have been a breeze, but the bracket for the reservoir requires taking the spring out. (Sigh). A 15 minute swap on a regular shock is now a full lift kit install almost! Oh well, not too bad. The kit didn't have instructions for the bracket but anyone could figure it out by eyeballing the online pictures. I initially had the shocks set at 4 front, 4 rear, as they came. Liked it!

The front end doesn't get into the bumpstops anymore, which I love. I tried turning them down to 3, and then 1, in the front just to test them, but was back into the bumpstops. So 4 seems to be the sweet spot. The piston shaft size is huge compared to the old shocks, but I can't say the fox shocks shafts weren't up to par. Shaft thickness (ha) is not as important as the dampening.

So I guess long story short is that I like these shocks. They look great, get that "jewelry" type wow about them, and dampen the Jeep much better. Would I pay the retail cost for them? Nah. On the below photo, I rotated the reservoir so the hose is looped from dead north facing the rear of the jeep.

There you have it.

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[jasonclarkusaf]

Thanks for the write up! I’ve been eyeing these for a while but haven’t been able to find ANY info on them.

I’m cross shopping these, the Falcon 3.3 (I’ve had them on my last JT and JL), and the Fox Factory Race 2.5. I’m most interested in an adjustable and controlled ride And these will come in about $600 cheaper than the Fox. Any updates since you’ve had them on for a little while?

 

[Bonanza]

Update--

I had a the driver's side shock get a leak at the fitting of the reservoir. I lost most of the shock fluid, as I was absolutely BOMBING through Johnson Valley washes. On 8 setting in the front, 6 in the rear, I was keeping pace with two side by sides. The amount of fun I was able to have with confidence I wasn't going to smash into the bumpstops was liberating.

I love these shocks. I really do.

The customer service was spot on, as well. They sent me a replacement pair (both front), with shipping labels for the old shocks. I was initially happy with this, and became more so when I saw the design has changed. Instead of the mount system on top of the spring, it's now a more vertical orientation, with the reservoir clamped to the shock body.

 

[Bonanza]

Here’s a pic

 

[USMC-SSGT]

Only seeing these for 6” front and I think it was down to 3.5” rear. This is from their site. Do you happen to know if these are only for taller lifts? I’m certainly not 6” (that sounds bad when I read that out loud)

 

[Bonanza]

There is a smaller lift option. I believe I ordered the JL ones. I called first to confirm there wouldn't be any problems. Surprised the site hasn't been updated since then. Hm.

 

[Alans17]

Thanks for the review. I’ll be getting these installed within the coming weeks.

They do make them in a shorter length for the front, but they’re not labeled tremendously well.

https://www.roughcountry.com/jeep-vertex-shocks-689007.html

 

[USMC-SSGT]

So who do we need to sleep with for the “less than retail” option??!!

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