new looking front shocks from Arnott..?

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Moes8

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anyone know anything about these new shocks from arnott?

AS-2199v1_434809_large.jpg
 
they're aren't the greatest. oem is better obviously, but if you can't afford that, these are about your only option.
 
Ford Motor Company calls them air spring/shock assemblies since they're not McPherson struts. But I digress...

I've had a set of these on my '96 for almost two years with no issues. And just put a set on the wife's '97 LSC. I'd buy OEM if I could afford it, bit I can't. So far these appear to be pretty good. Much better than the older design in my opinion.
 
i was mostly refering to the machined top part, i never saw that before.
My dad had arnott's and they didnt look like the one i pictured here.

Also, i tried to be correct by saying shock and not strut because i know it raises some peoples "ire".

if i said "strut" someone would have jumped on me about it.
 
I had the old design and they were complete junk at the top nut/gasket assebly. Thus the reason for the cover i guess. Does it make it air tight incase of gasket/bushing failure?
 
I still can't understand why people call them "struts". If all goes well, this may be my last post regarding the strut vs. shock debate. I got this scan directly from a Ford dealership service manual...from Ford.

mark VIII Suspension.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5102/5632497407_c8c64e101a_b.jpg (Linky to full size version of this image)

Please note that Ford Motor Company, the folks who designed the Mark VIII, clearly denote the front dampers on the Mark VIII as a "Front Air Spring & Shock Assembly". If it were a McPherson strut, I'm pretty sure the designers and engineers at Ford Motor Company would have called it such. After all, they get paid the big bucks to tell the difference between strut suspensions and control arm suspensions.

Thank you and have a nice day.:D

mark VIII Suspension.jpg
 
I wonder if the guys who engineered the front suspension on these cars were the same guys who did the early Mustang front suspension.
 
topher5150 said:
I wonder if the guys who engineered the front suspension on these cars were the same guys who did the early Mustang front suspension.
Click to expand...

Which "early" Mustang? The '65-'73 Falcon based, 74-78 Pinto based, 79-2004 Fox, or the new S197? All the 65-78 models had UCA/LCA suspensions while all later models have struts. It's also interesting to note that the '84-'92 Mark VII had struts up front because it was based on the Fox platform.
 
I keep thinking about trying them. My car had a bad front bag so I replaced it with my spare that looks like new. Unfortunatly the shock is blown and the tire dances like crazy. So I can either buy a new OEM one (do not want) or buy a pair of the new Arnotts OR try and find the damn Koni cartriges and do the mod. Seems like its the same price between all three ideas though.

Wish I knew where to find the damn cartriges. :(
 
I have some new arnots I installed last september and the front end is VERY bouncy. In fact,when I am factory hieght and on the interstate and hit bumps I bottom out on them. They are very bouncy! I have thought about adding some shocks up front...not sure of the idea,but it might work
 
Bill, I have the "new" Arnotts, and the damping is very weak, you wouldn't like them.
 
DLF said:
Bill, I have the "new" Arnotts, and the damping is very weak, you wouldn't like them.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up mang. I am gonna do some research tomorrow to see if Tein has anything that would work.

You wouldnt happen to have a Koni handy that you could measure for me do you?
 
LaserSVT said:
Thanks for the heads up mang. I am gonna do some research tomorrow to see if Tein has anything that would work.

You wouldnt happen to have a Koni handy that you could measure for me do you?
Click to expand...

When the new pair shows up, I'll take a few measurements.
 
thaywood said:
Which "early" Mustang? The '65-'73 Falcon based, 74-78 Pinto based, 79-2004 Fox, or the new S197? All the 65-78 models had UCA/LCA suspensions while all later models have struts. It's also interesting to note that the '84-'92 Mark VII had struts up front because it was based on the Fox platform.
Click to expand...

I was refering to the Falcon based suspension
 
DLF said:
Bill, I have the "new" Arnotts, and the damping is very weak, you wouldn't like them.
Click to expand...

That's the only thing I don't like about them. They appear to be valved more for comfort than performance. I can especially tell the difference on the LSC. With the original shocks, the ride was firm and the handling was great. With the Arnotts, it's much softer and "wallows" a bit more in the corners. Other than that, they're fine on both my cars so far.

topher5150 said:
I was refering to the Falcon based suspension
Click to expand...

You never know, they might have been. Both the Falcon and Mark VIII have lower control arms with tension struts. The only thing I never really liked about the old Falcon setup was that the shocks and springs were mounted on top of the upper A-arm. That caused the shock towers to intrude on the engine compartment, reducing room for bigger engines. That's why they had to redesign the Mustang's engine compartment and make the car wider in '67 so the 390 FE block V-8 would fit.
 
thaywood said:
I still can't understand why people call them "struts".
Click to expand...

Probably just to piss you off. STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT !


If all goes well, this may be my last post regarding the strut vs. shock debate.
Click to expand...

I certainly hope so.
 
MediumD said:
Probably just to piss you off.
Click to expand...

Nah. It doesn't piss me off. It just boggles my mind. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

MediumD said:
STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT STRUT !
Click to expand...

:) Just for that, I'll say it again...Mark VIII's don't have struts!:p Ford Motor Company says so. They designed the car. If they had wanted it to have a McPherson strut suspension, they wouldn't have given it upper control arms.

MediumD said:
I certainly hope so.
Click to expand...

Apparently, I'm not done yet. I'm stubborn like that.:D Especially when I know I'm right.
 
Pure garbage! I have them on my car. Expect them to start rattling over bumps within 2 month.
 
My 96' had 209k on it when the trans let go but handled so good I got I got complements from passengers :cool: Was just a regular Mark VIII too so :confused:

Now I have a 98' LSC but it has Arnott in it that where installed by the guy who sold it to me. I kinda figured it felt softer cause I had stock tires and rims and not the 17" 245/45's that I had on the 96'?

I'll give em this, have 30 some thousand miles on em and no problems aside from riding a bit soft :rolleyes:
 
I've been reading on the other thread in this form about changing out just the shocks, is there a replacement other than the Koni mentioned on the other thread, and is there a write up on how to do this.
 
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