Are your unhappy with the performance of your shocks on your Jeep. The stock shocks on Jeeps are marginal. I set out to find a shock that would suit my needs as a daily driver and occasional off-roader for my 1998 Grand Cherokee Limited. There are many shocks on the market, some are fixed, some are adjustable, some are even remotely adjustable. A friend of mine has remotely adjustable stocks on his truck and it is a neat gadget, I think he likes playing with the switch more than anything, always trying to find the right setting for the particular road or trail. After a while, I suspect he will just set it midway and forget about it. That has always been the dilemma when it comes to shocks. You want stiff shocks for performance, handling, braking, accelerating, and cornering, but on the other hand, the don't want a pothole to jerk the whole car around. On the opposite end on the spectrum, a Cadillac stresses comfort, the shocks are very soft, potholes are eaten up smoothly and the ride is very comfortable. But try hitting your brakes on a car with the soft suspension, the car nose dives badly. Cornering is similarly hindered.

I saw an advertisement on Edelbrock Performer IAS Shocks and was impressed by the concept behind them. IAS stand for Inertial Active System. The diagram below shows the functions of the active valve. The active valve is the key to the IAS system.

Basically, the intertia valve allows the shock to have two different settings in one shock, a stiff and a soft and the shock automatically uses the proper setting for the given condition without any driver interaction or adjusting.

Performance

Ok, looks good on paper, let's see if they really work as advertised. My first impression was that the shocks were stiffer, the car didn't seem to nose dive nearly as much when braking and body roll was not as noticeable. On smooth roads I would say these shocks are a good deal stiffer than stock, which normally means the ride isn't as comfortable. I sped up as I approached an infamous pothole of my neighborhood, the shock ate up the pothole better than my stock shocks did, I was amazed. I tried out some other bumps, holes, a few railroad crossings, and a little off-roading. The shocks performed admirably, staying stiff on smooth roads and softening up when the going got rough. So it seems this is truly a no compromise solution. On some roads with ripples and small bumps, the shocks stayed stiff and were a little less forgiving then the stock shocks. So, it is true, no shock can perform optimally in all conditions, however the Edelbrock Performer IAS shocks are the closest thing I have seen to perfect. They handle the road better than most shocks and take the big bumps better than most, that is an amazing accomplishment. The improvement in on road performance is remarkable, the two video clips below show the minimized nose dive during braking.

Conclusion

If you read everything up to this point, I think you know the conclusion. The Edelbrock Performer IAS Shocks are the best all round shocks out there. They give you the best of both worlds, performance and comfort. The shocks also look great, bright red with black boots. There are stiffer shocks that perform better on-road and there are softer shocks that are more comfortable, but none that do it all like the Edelbrock Performer IAS' do. I give them a big thumbs up.

www.edelbrock.com

2700 California Street Torrance, CA 90503
Phone: 310-781-2222