The Shocking Truth

Upon purchasing the KaStang, it was immediately clear that this car had some handling issues. Being new to classic mustangs, I was unsure whether this was inherent to mustangs or just bad equipment on this particular one. I found it hard to believe that the KaStang was to handle this poorly by nature.

If you hit a pot hole you would lose control of the car. Now driving in Rhode Island (or New England in general) is like riding in a large pot hole. Everytime we took a curve the car could barely hand on the road without losing control and no matter what the tires would squeal.

So, I took the tires off finally and inspected the front end and the shocks to the right are what I found. Notice the fact that the one on the left is fully compressed. That is with nothing hold it down. I compressed it with my hands...Think that might have been the problem.

Now enter: The Solution.

After doing a lot of research on shocks I finally decided on Edelbrock Performer IAS. I purchased them from Jegs for $60 a piece. So why Edelbrock? I know a lot of people like the Gabriel Stryders that Sacramento-Mustang offers. They are adjustable which is an advantage. Some people swear by the KYB Gas Adjusts. After doing a few weeks of Forum searchs I noticed a trend. While the majority of people like whatever shock they had on their car, there were always a few that felt they were not what they expected. The only exceptions was those that purchased Edelbrocks and Konis. Well, Koni's are about $120 a shock and adjustable. That is a little more then I want to pay. Edelbrocks were $60 and non-adjustable. I'm not a big fan of adjustable shocks, especially since I'm not the only one that drives this car.

So I decided on Edelbrocks for the front shocks. The rear shocks are stock Gabriel's and are fine.

The Review:

These shocks meet my expectations. While they are not 'Wonder Shocks' what will help you drive up walls, they were definitely an improvement in traction and ride quality. They are not harsh on normal road conditions. You will feel pot holes (which is normal for shocks) but you will not lose control of the car because. Around turns they provide good stability and have reduced the body roll allowing for better traction. The tires do not squeal like they used too. I am very please with these shocks. My one disclaimer is this...look at what I had, anything is better then those.

I do notice a difference in front and rear stiffness. The rear of the car is very stiff initially when compared to the front. I do think the gabriels are the reason for the stiffer rear end. I actually like this set up because I have very little pitching when I accelerate the car and very little body roll in the rear end.