The boots protect the shaft from nicks and crud which should life easier for the seals.

 

Yep, I got the same shocks, that's the way they were meant to be put on by Edelbrock. I wouldn't say they're much stiffer than stock, but they do help control the bodyroll pretty well in a turn. I noticed I wasn't nearly as close to crapping my pants on the crazy tall mix-masters we have down here after I replaced the stockers with these.

Still don't like the top of the HighFiveDowntown though.

 

My Edelbrock IAS shocks have done very well
and are still working after 120,000 miles.

They improved the lean in corners so much
I took a suggestion from another Ram owner
and tried removing the front anti-sway bar
for a better ride when one wheel hits a bump the other wheel does not,
and this also worked well enough that I did not put
the anti-sway bar back on.

I am also impressed the powder coating on the IAS shock exterior
has stood up so well compared to paint on other shocks.