Shop TalkA Rough Country Review of Strut Options

You have heard people use "good," "better," and "best," but I'm going to go with "great," "greater," and "greatest" when it comes to these struts. Let's start with the "great," our N3 Strut. This is a steel-bodied nitrogen charge strut, but it's static—meaning the height you get with it is the height you'll get. There are no adjustments for height or valving, but the valving is very particular to each vehicle. This is a great option to get close to the factory ride, maybe even a bit better, depending on how high of a lift you want.

Next up, we've got our M1 Strut. This is a mono-tube strut, and it's adjustable for height. Using multiple grooves in the strut body, you can raise or lower the spring perch to achieve the height you want. The valving and springs are both specifically rated for your vehicle. This has a digressive valving, which means it's going to start on the stiff end for better stabilization, and then as the pressure's put upon it, it'll soften to ensure you have optimum ride quality. Our M1 has a 2-inch extruded seamless body and a massive 44-millimeter piston with a chrome-hardened and micro-polished 18-millimeter rod.

Finally, we have the "greatest" of the three, our Vertex Series, which is coil specific for the application and has a two-and-a-half-inch piston. Like the M1, it is fully adjustable. However, this is a nitrogen-charged reservoir shock, with oil in the reservoir that transfers through the braided line, keeping it nice and cool and increasing performance. It is unsurpassed in dampening technology with an eight-way dampening (one being the softest and eight being the firmest). The Vertex features billet mounts on both ends, giving it a great look that's hard to beat. But don't let its good looks fool you - this choice is top-notch when it comes to performance. It's the ultimate in suspension technology and allows you to tune it for whatever terrain you're tackling.

So there you have it; the great, greater, and greatest—and you can't go wrong with any of them. It just depends on the situation, your build, and what you're looking to get out of it.