New Shocks

[66427]

Edelbrock is a quality company, and I have read a few positive reviews on these shocks, how its dual valving works well to control lean on turns, where they "stiffen", while providing a softer resistance on bumps.

I've put about 70k on a set of Edelbrock' IAS's, and I have yet to experience the "softer resistance on bumps".
They do handle better than stock.

 

[MonsterTruck460]

What about Rough Country shocks? Any body had these? So far this is what I plan on getting when extra cash scratch is layin around. One big selling point on these for me, are the poly-urethane bushings. Rancho 5000 have rubber. Have to get Rancho 9000 to get poly bushings.

Any input?

Rough Country Hydraulic 8000 series
http://www.roughcountry.com/shocks_rc8000.html

Rough Country Nitro 9000 series
http://www.roughcountry.com/shocks_rc9000.html

 

[SoNic67]

All dual-tube shocks will have some kinks - either too soft or too harsh, valving in two stages does not eliminate completelly the issue or adds others (like in the Sensatrac that are position-based, instead of intertia based). Some go up to "10 stages" but those are manually adjustable from exterior, at any given time there is just one setting active.

I did spend money on dual-tube shocks to find out that monotube is the best option for a shock. The high-pressure cell will absorb instantly any small bumps without sacrificing the damping. That cell, with the "floating" piston, it's like the air in the tires if you want an analogy.

No wonder that Bilstein (that introduced the technology) got where they are now.
KYB, Gabriel offer too monotubes.
KYB offers two types - one for normal driving and one stiffer, for harsher terrain, snow plows.
Edelbrock say that IAS are mono-tubes, but I don't know why they say they have dual valving on them... IMO there is no need for that in a monotube, maybe it is worth it. From the look of them I would guess they are rebadged KYB MonoMAX. Maybe I am wrong...
The "Rough Country" ones are just Rancho's with different bushings. Don't care too much for polyurethane on shocks - the load on them is not like on other components of the suspension.

 

[sport97]

Speaking of monotube shocks, I see Rancho has a new RS7000 monotube model.

edit: doesn't look like they are out for the explorer yet

 

[orbach]

I don't know if these things can ever have a good ride. I put a set of Bilsteins on my '99 XLT, it didn't help the ride at all! Still rides really rough.

Did you replace your front and rear sway bar bushings and endlinks? If you haven't these are probably the cause of your rough ride. Also make sure your ball joints are good, as Exps tend to go through ball joints fast.

 

[SoNic67]

Sway bars work only during side-to-side movements, they do nothing hitting bumps straight on (highway).
Ball joints would affect the steering (alignment angles, keep a straight like). I don't see how they would affect the ride (unless they are completelly destroyed).
PS: Bilsteins and KYB have two models of monotubes - one "normal" and one "heavy duty". Putting the heavy duty ones on an empty Explorer will ride rougher - it's supposed to!
Just use the "regular" monotubes if you don't load your Ex a lot. I did exchange emails with a technical rep from KYB and he agreed to that assesment too.

 

[orbach]

Sonic, the sway bar bushings make a big difference in the ride. The sway bar (actually anti-sway bar) functions mainly to maintain the cabin level during turns, that is correct. But it is connected via the endlinks to the wheels and up/down vibration travels thru the endlinks and the sway bar. My opinion is not based on theory. I just performed an experiment over a few months to find out exactly how these bushings affect the ride.

First I made sure my front end suspension components were all good, new upper/lower ball joints, new tie rods and new shocks. I drove around for a few weeks then replaced the front sway bar bushings and endlinks. The difference was huge, the front now gave that satisfying soft thud going over bumps while the rear was jarring going over the same bumps.

I needed new tires so I waited to buy a new set of All Terrain tires before doing the rear bushings. The new tires improved the ride as you would expect from new tires. Drove around for a few weeks to get the feel of the new tires. The rear was still a bit jarring compared to the front soft thud going over the same bumps. I examined my rear sway bar bushings and endlinks. They seems OK. So much so I almost did not replace them. But I replaced them anyways just to see and the difference was also huge which I did not expect as I thought the existing rear bushings seemed OK.

The car has now an almost like new ride, no bump is jarring and I can go fast over terrible roads (there's ongoing road construction near my house) without rattling my brains. Sway bar bushings make a huge difference in the ride quality. There is no question about it. Also no shock will fix the ride of an old car that needs bushings replaced. In fact, if the bushings are bad enough you will likely feel very little benefit from new shocks, regardless of the type of shock.

 

[SoNic67]

What you hear is not "ride quality". You can disconnect completelly the sway bars and have the same ride quality on highway. Sure, busted sway bar links will squeak, clunk, rattle, but that has nothing to do with the ride as long as you don't turn.

 

[orbach]

If you completely disconnect the sway bars then there would be no vibrations going thru the sway bars at all. However, with the sway bars on, there are vibrations going thru them and it is the endlink and sway bar bushings that isolate these vibrations from the frame. There are many other bushings that also affect ride but sway bar bushings are cheap and easy to do.

There are plenty of posts here that mention the positive effect on ride quality of replacing these bushings. Here's a couple:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328420&highlight=bushing
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178399&highlight=bushing

 

[SoNic67]

Whatever. I did change mine and besides not squeaking in turns nothing changed in the ride quality in straight line. It cannot change, the bar just spins inside the bushings.
Ah, it is less noisy? Yes.

 

[orbach]

I've put about 70k on a set of Edelbrock' IAS's, and I have yet to experience the "softer resistance on bumps".
They do handle better than stock.

Interesting. Do you think they are too stiff and would you buy them again?

 

[orbach]

Edelbrock say that IAS are mono-tubes, but I don't know why they say they have dual valving on them... IMO there is no need for that in a monotube, maybe it is worth it.

They call it the Inertia Active System (IAS) and Amazon has a brief Product Description about it at:

http://www.amazon.com/Edelbrock-3309-Performer-Shock-Absorber/dp/B000C1PK48/ref=au_pf_pfg_s?ie=UTF8&Model=Explorer|663&n=15684181&s=automotive&Make=Ford|54&Year=1996|1996&vehicleType=automotive&newCar=1&carId=001

IAS is patented so I assume it is Edelbrock's design, not a rebranding. Dual-valving is probably a misnomer, as they describe a single valve that opens and closes as needed. I imagine it shortens the monotube when closed for stiffer support and lengthens the tube when open for a softer response. But we have at least one person saying they do not notice this dual function.

 

[SoNic67]

My doubt about the usefulness of dual valving on a mono tube:
The high-pressure nitrogen cell that sits on bottom of a monotube will react instant to fast (high frequency) movements. The dual valving won't even have time to react to that, the gas cell will absorb that type of "hit" (and release the energy gradually to the slower moving oil) .
On slow (low frequency) movements, the dual-stage valving will be acting exactly like a normal valving in any mono tube.
On a dual tube it works because there is no gas cell that can take the fast "hits" and that's why you need different valving - different for high or low frequency movements.
But... I might be wrong on that

Others show cut-outs of their monotube shocks:

 

[jhowell]

You can usually get a set of Bilstein shocks for about $75 apiece (give or take $10). That's for a premium monotube shock. There are lower priced monotube alternatives that run about $50 apiece.

Paying more than $40 apiece for any twin tube shock is a waste of money IMO when you can step up to a monotube for not much more.

 

[jls1znv9999]

A lot of people have mentioned it and i will second them. Coil overs. Reason behind this is my shocks were well shot on my 2k exp. I tried to go with the medium quality. I had one bend (don't ask me how). It was installed correctly. So went ahead and took those back and got coil overs. Being that the front suspension on my AWD is torsion bars it couldn't hurt to spread the load over the torsion bars and the coil overs. I have seen Exp's torsions go out. It's not pretty at all. If you find yourself with broken torsion bars at least you can limp on home without destroying the rest of your drive-train.

 

[SoNic67]

Did you adjust the torsion bars (loosen) to maintain the same height in front? Because if not, you just added the coils stiffness to the front.

Tire pressure makes a lot of difference. The Ford recomended pressure is 30psi. A lot o people use the 35 or 40psi lik eon a passanger car hoping to get better gas milage. And then complain that they have a stiff ride. Dooh...

Disadvantages of Overinflation

An overinflated tire is stiff and unyielding and the size of its footprint in contact with the road is reduced. If a vehicle's tires are overinflated by 6 psi, they could be damaged more easily when running over potholes or debris in the road. Higher inflated tires cannot isolate road irregularities well, causing them to ride harsher.

The All Terrain tires that are recommended for the Explorer make another big difference (in worse). They are stiffer than the "Touring All Season" or "Highway All Season" and will transmit more of the high-frequency shocks to the vehicle. Ford requested tire manufacturers to put a warning out not to replace the original A/T tires with A/S - since the Firestone debacle. But a lot of other Crossover SUV's are using those A/S tires and they ride better on asphalted roads, at high speed. Sure, at that point they loose any off-road ability. Especially with the "Touring A/S" ones!

I still have the OE tires but I am contemplating for my next set to change to something with thinner side walls (maybe Highway A/S instead of the OE RT/S).
Anyway, the rear with monotubes feels better than with original shocks or Monroe Sensatracs'. BTW who wants a pair of slightly used Sensatracs' ?

 

[orbach]

My original tires were the infamous Firestones, recommended inflation 26lbs (!), and in 1997 they caused me to have an accident when the front driver side tire blew out the sidewall while taking a sharp turn one year after I bought the car new in 1996. The news about the Firestones was not out yet but I suspected the tires and replaced them all with Wranglers.

The Wranglers were fine for about 20k miles and then they started to slip coming out of a full stop on wet pavement. I then got All Season Yokohama AVID Touring, followed by All Season Kumho Solus KR21 and these two were great tires with excellent grip on wet roads to the end of their lives. I just replaced the KR21's with the A/T Kumho KL61 and so far they are very good. A little stiffer than the A/S but not by much (and I have them inflated at 38 lbs). They are a bit noisier at highway speeds and tend to wander and oversteer just a little bit.

Two reasons I went with the A/T's this time: 1) for looks, and 2) lots of road construction I have to go through every day and the KR21's kept getting nails and screws in them. Hopefully the A/T's will give me a bit of extra protection. Research tells me the KL61's are not the best for offroading but very good on pavement. They are highly rated on tire rack (8.7 rating I believe).