Edelbrock IAS

[T Bell]

Anybody running or have run these? Is it all just hype?

[4mm]

They seem to work pretty good on my 71 Mustang Boss 351. Remember, this car is heavier than the earlier gens and they seem to be to my satisfaction. Dont waste your money on the cheaper KYB's. I also have Koni's on my 70 Boss 302 and they work a bit better than the brocks since they are adjustable. I have a complete global west setup on the 71 and complete TCP setup on the 70.The brocks are the best of the mid priced shocks, IMO. You can get them in red or for the old school look in grey.

[T Bell]

I not too familiar with adjustable shocks. You basically can soften or stiffen the ride to your liking? I've seen the QA1s but can't see $300-500 for 2 shocks. They are offered in single and double adjustable. What exactly are you adjusting? Sorry for the noob question, but I'm a noob.

[4mm]

Some are adjustable on compression only (when car dives downward) and some are adjustable on both compression and rebound (when car rises upwards after compression). QA1 makes the dual adjustable types too but are more expensive than single adjustable. Spending money on shocks can be one of your best investments, think about off roading, circle track, drag racing, ect... Shock tuning and shock performance makes the difference in winning or losing, especially on track cars.

[vintageracer]

Remember what a shock abosorber does. It controls the spring and a spring compresses and then releases that energy. 4musclemachinesman gave you a short sweet description of the function of a shock absorber.

Non adjustable shocks are factory set for rebound and compression and are a BIG compromise to what your actual needs may be. Your needs will be different that other folks as this is a function of driving style, type of vehicle and road conditions.

The more you spend, the more control and precision you get. That's why anyone racing now sets up their shocks on a shock absorber dyno. At many tracks around the country AFCO will be happy to dyno your shocks for free. Once they tell you how poorly your shocks are performing they will then properly set up your shocks to meet the conditions for a princely fee. This assumes you have adjustable or rebuildable shocks. Example, all Koni's are rebuildable. Rebuilding/Reseting is a lot cheaper than purchasing new again.

A good set of shocks can cost $1,000+ easy! If you want to go fast on a road course, spend your money on shocks and brakes! Of course this assumes you have a decent suspension setup to begin your odyssey.

Shocks for fine tuning your handling and brakes to go deep in the corners! Horsepower has its place however if you were to give me $2,000 to spend anyway I want on my car, it will be shocks and brakes as I will get the most benefit for the dollar. Horsepower would be the last place. That assumes that YOU are capable of driving to YOUR car's "existing" capability. Most drivers are not that capable. They "think" they are, but are not! If your driving ability is not at the capability of your existing car then I would then say spend your $2,000 on a GOOD driver's school.

A great example of this was the last HSR race at Barber Motorsports Park in April. One of the 1969 Corvette drivers in my class needed another driver for the 1 hour endurance race. He got a professional "shoe" who runs another class to team with him. The first time the professional shoe drove the car in practice he turned laps 5 seconds FASTER than the owner who has driven the car for 3 years! David's comments (the professional shoe) was the car handled great, plenty of power, turned in great and had **** brakes. If the car has good brakes there was another 3-4 seconds in the car! The owner of the Corvette was THRILLED to learn this information as he NOW knows that he does NOT need to spend a bunch of money on parts to improve lap times. He needs instruction to improve HIS skills.

Someone in a previous post mentioned KYB's. They are exactly what they are sold to be, cheap gas shocks. LOT'S of compression and very little rebound. They do a wonderful job of stiffening your suspension and a poor job of controlling the springs energy on rebound. Edelbrocks have much better rebound control and as such are a much better shock. QA1's, AFCO, Penske, Koni, etc. are all great shocks if properly tailored to your car and driving style. I watch guys at vintage races make multiple shock changes during the weekend to get the car "right". I have always been amazed at the dedication of vintage racer's since we run for such large amounts of money to win. First pays the same as last, NOTHING ($0.00).

Spend hard earned money on quality shock absorbers. You and your car will be handsomely rewarded!

[T Bell]

:clap: Well stated Mike. I definately get the picture. Thanks.

[vintageracer]

I am running the "red" Eldebrocks on a 70 Chevelle convertible. They work well on this car given the current stock type suspension and Eldebrock's reasonable price.

[Marcus SC&C]

I have to agree with Mike,the Edelbrock shocks work pretty well for the price. I have a set on my daily driver and I`m pretty happy with them. I wouldn`t use them on a serious performance car though and it`s been said that they don`t tolerate (they can wear out fast) working much outside of their intended spring rate range. QA1 std. adjustables control both compression and rebound with a single knob (unlike most single adj. shocks). Their double adj. shocks just let you adjust each independently. We use them on a lot of customer cars as well as our own G-5 suspension test car. They`re a really great shocks for the money. I`m a big fan. Summit and Jegs have them for around $150ea. and they`re well worth it IMO. Marcus

[T Bell]

Well, I would like to have my car as a daily driver. But it will probably get me to work about 2 times a week and weekend trips. Not in to road racing, yet. It is a decision between the Edelbrocks and the QA1s. On one hand I like the adjustabilty but I don't see me actually using it that much. But I would hate to get the Edelbrocks to find out that they don't ride or handle well. Leaning more towards the QA1s.

[rwhite692]

I have a set up front, I really like them. Definately firm and not a lot of rebound.

[T Bell]

rwhite692, which one Edelbrocks or the QA1s?

[Twin_Turbo]

Some are adjustable on compression only (when car dives downward) and some are adjustable on both compression and rebound (when car rises upwards after compression).

Where did you see compression alone adjustable shocks? It's either rebound adjustable or bump & rebound. Rebound adjustability is what is nice for most doing street driving as the rebound setting allows you to set the shocks so that they control the spring (stiffer springs w/ too little rebound dampening on the shocks will result in a bouncy ride after the susp. is forced into bump and goes into rebound), double adjustability is nice for race cars but it's worthless if you don't know what the settings are and, very important, if all the shock settings compare to each other. Without a shock dyno graph (cold and hot) you won't know how the shocks compare to each other, for instance click 5 on one shock may be as stiff/soft as 6 on another. Set all of them to 5 and you won't have similar valving. I have custom valved shocks that have been dynoed, they were expensive but I hope they're well worth the money. Have been running rebound adjustable konis on most of my cars, they are great.

[rwhite692]

Sorry...The Edelbrock IAS are what I have up front.

[vintageracer]

Go to any stock car race (weekend or Nascar sanctioned) that AFCO attends and they will dyno your shocks for FREE!!! They want you to know how BAD your existing shocks are so they can SELL you a new AFCO set of shocks. Their shocks are VERY good.

The comment earlier about the shocks that setting 6 on one shock may be same as setting 5 on the other shock is TRUE. Most lower price/quality adjustable shocks are not that precise. Why do you think race teams have shock engineers with their ONLY job being preparation and recommendation of proper shocks for track and driving conditions.

Want a good shock education? Take a Monroematic shock to AFCO to have it dynoed or maybe your current street shock and then let them show you a REAL quality shock on the dyno and those results. All of a sudden $1,000 for shocks is not that expensive!!!!