At 12:28 PM 10/17/00 -0700, Maraglia, Dominic wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I am currently preparing my 68 Mustang for ESP Solo2, maybe Solo1 in the
>future. As you might imagine, it is a bit difficult to find good shocks for
>older cars. I was thinking about Konis (epensive, but good reputation, of
>course) or Spax (12 way adjustable on the car), but then I read about
>Edelbrock's new Inertia Active System (IAS) shocks which supposedly
>"...provide mechanical variable damping..." Has anyone heard of this IAS
>technology? Is it legitimate or a marketing ploy? Any comments or
>suggestions?
You can't go wrong with Koni's on that car. Spax are more
expensive. Popular on British cars. Don't know much about them.
As for the Edelbrock's. They are not what you are looking for. They
simply have a valve that opens of closes depending on shock speed. It does
not act on the compression side at all. Meaning if you hit a huge bump,
the valve doesn't open or close. On the rebound side the valve works, but
in a weird way. Right out of Edelbrock's catalog it says "When the wheel
encounters dips or potholes, the Inertia Valve opens. The wheel follows
the terrain without transmitting jolts to the chassis for a smoother ride
over any surface." What happens is over large movements the valve opens on
the REBOUND side, giving less damping (more floaty) which of course rides
softer (but less controlled).
Bilstein's for example use deflective discs (washers that deflect dependent
on piston speed) on both sides of the piston (compression and
rebound). Also the Edelbrock is open or closed. Allowing just two
circuits on the rebound, only one on compression (with only base
valving). The Bilstein is variable on both sides. Koni's I believe have a
variable, speed dependent valving on the compression, and the rebound is
determined by you.
Lastly, the valving in the Edelbrocks would be for stock springs, not heavy
springs that you'd have in an ESP car. They won't have the damping needed
to control the springs. Koni's do.
FYI, Bilstein has no shocks for the car, and my Edelbrock catalog shows no
listing for the Mustang either.
Sam Strano Jr.
Strano Performance Parts
800-729-1831 orders/price info.
814-849-3417 technical info.
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