Sword

I am replacing my shocks and at autozone I got talked into going with the 40$ duralast over the 38$ gabriels. One mechnic shop here wanted to give me 20$ monroe matic plus (he said they were 60$ and was selling me 'at cost' at 35, but I looked online and they are only 20$).

Both the dura and gabs are made in china, which I am wary of whereas the Monroe is usa, but they looked much smaller and didn't feel as good.

Has anyone compared these, and especially are these duralast shocks ANY good at all?

EZEARL

Haven't compared any of those. But if you haven't purchased or purchased but haven't installed consider Jeep JK shocks from E-Bay. VERY POPULAR here. Red for heavy duty or black for GOOD oem replacement. Below link is an example.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/07-18-Jeep-...cAAOSwYc5Z7je2

3Dog

I doubt anyone on here has done a direct comparison, and it would require buying all three sets, installing them, then test driving back-to-back.

I have run Monroe Sensatracs on a previous XJ, and they provided a near factory ride. Well-priced choice for a DD. My current XJ has Bilstein 5100s, a little stiffer than stock.

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cruiser54

Easy. Buy USA made.

alpine.adrenaline

I'll second this- JK shocks ride very nicely and recycling is always a plus.

cruiser54

True story. They're the best. OP need to know some mods are necessary to install them.

jordan96xj

Monroe sensatracs are their budget friendly lowest end option (typically yellow in color). And they work fine, but in my experience they don't hold up well in tough environments (up here it is potholes, salt, moisture, and road gravel/sand). I ended up replacing them often.
Their "OEM" style shocks are the Monroe OE Spectra. Slightly more expensive than the sensatracs (spelling?) Similar performance, and they hold up better.