adjustable air shocks
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nitros69bug
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adjustable air shocks
Has any body put adjustable air shocks on a bug i have a 69 bug what thay do is you air them up and thay lift up in the air and you let the air out it goes down. like this one i had put some on a 67 cutlass thay are about 13" compresd
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Ol'fogasaurus
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I have used them off and on for many years. I am not particularly fond of them. If you are trying to lift the rear of the car up, it is easy to over fill and have a bouncing back end. With a center fill, the air from one shock can be transferred to the other. Big loads and tight turns can cause this to become a problem.
When I purchased my glass buggy it had a pair on it. I left them on because the tires and body were hitting and I used them to lift the body farther away from the tires (not that much pressure to do it either). Coming down a hill (on the sand) I hit the whoops at the bottom or the hill and the rear of the buggy started bouncing. After several increasingly higher bounces the rear of the buggy was off the ground and I was bicycling on the two front wheels. I rode like that for a couple of body lengths (seemed like a lot farther) before the back came down. Eventually the back of the buggy finally stopped bouncing. Scared the pudding out of me!
Not in favor of using them at all.
(Redundant discussion) As a side line, supposedly there have been many wrecks with truck that use the air shocks with a single fill (started hearing this stories starting in the mid 60's, even from a store that carried them). In a turn, the weight of the load, in the corner, transfers to the out side shock of the truck (in a turn) which, in turn, pushes the air from it to the inside shock which in turn lifts the inside of the truck higher. It accentuates the problems with a P/U truck often has in a turn. I have seen a couple of GM spit their rear springs out because the rear of the car was pumped up too high.
They have been used on (muscle???) cars since back then to lift the rear up for bigger tires. They work about as good as the two foot long shackles that the guys with leaf springs used. Many times I have seen the rear of a GM car go bouncing around a corner because of these shocks.
Opinion: Not something I would recommend but... if you are going to use them, use individual fill lines for each shock.
I might add. If you lose pressure in the shock(s), I think there is a valve inside that will hold about 10 PSI. There ain’t much shock absorbing going on then.
They used to have a small air pump you could buy. It had a dash control so you (could in theory anyway) could change the shocks’ pressure while driving (don’t recommend while you are driving but you could set the pressure up or down as you need it.). The drawback is that you are still using a center fill setup.
When I purchased my glass buggy it had a pair on it. I left them on because the tires and body were hitting and I used them to lift the body farther away from the tires (not that much pressure to do it either). Coming down a hill (on the sand) I hit the whoops at the bottom or the hill and the rear of the buggy started bouncing. After several increasingly higher bounces the rear of the buggy was off the ground and I was bicycling on the two front wheels. I rode like that for a couple of body lengths (seemed like a lot farther) before the back came down. Eventually the back of the buggy finally stopped bouncing. Scared the pudding out of me!
Not in favor of using them at all.(Redundant discussion) As a side line, supposedly there have been many wrecks with truck that use the air shocks with a single fill (started hearing this stories starting in the mid 60's, even from a store that carried them). In a turn, the weight of the load, in the corner, transfers to the out side shock of the truck (in a turn) which, in turn, pushes the air from it to the inside shock which in turn lifts the inside of the truck higher. It accentuates the problems with a P/U truck often has in a turn. I have seen a couple of GM spit their rear springs out because the rear of the car was pumped up too high.
They have been used on (muscle???) cars since back then to lift the rear up for bigger tires. They work about as good as the two foot long shackles that the guys with leaf springs used. Many times I have seen the rear of a GM car go bouncing around a corner because of these shocks.
Opinion: Not something I would recommend but... if you are going to use them, use individual fill lines for each shock.
I might add. If you lose pressure in the shock(s), I think there is a valve inside that will hold about 10 PSI. There ain’t much shock absorbing going on then.
They used to have a small air pump you could buy. It had a dash control so you (could in theory anyway) could change the shocks’ pressure while driving (don’t recommend while you are driving but you could set the pressure up or down as you need it.). The drawback is that you are still using a center fill setup.
Lee
My opinion is worth slightly less than what you paid for it.
My opinion is worth slightly less than what you paid for it.
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nitros69bug
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Ol'fogasaurus
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- Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2006 10:17 pm
(Does your pan have an IRS or swing axle transaxle?) Torsion bars can sag over the years so maybe you just need to re-clock (add preload) them. If so, it is some work and not money for shocks that you are looking at. There are some books out there to show you how to do it.
I used the bouncing over the whoops as an example of how that type of air shock, pumped up, can get very hard. Pot holes, curbs, and things like that can be a rough ride with that kind of shock pumped up. Like I said, it doesn't take much air to get the suspension too hard.
I used the bouncing over the whoops as an example of how that type of air shock, pumped up, can get very hard. Pot holes, curbs, and things like that can be a rough ride with that kind of shock pumped up. Like I said, it doesn't take much air to get the suspension too hard.
Lee
My opinion is worth slightly less than what you paid for it.
My opinion is worth slightly less than what you paid for it.
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nitros69bug
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Ol'fogasaurus
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Monroe’s’ are good shocks as long as they not are worn out. Do you see any leaks around where the rod comes out of the sock or on the tube part of the shock? Also, when you remove them is there any resistance?
You don’t want to lift a swing axle car like you could an IRS car but, for the street, you don't want to anyway.
Do a search on STF, I know I did a string on setting the preload (Off-road forum some pictures too) and I am sure others have done it in other forums. Also, some of the manuals have the instructions for setting preload.
You will need some tools like a degree level, a good floor jack, a 6 foot length of chain and either a spring plate too (for protection) or a length of chain to control the torsion bar/spring plate.
Just remember that a torsion bar is a spring and will react lightening fast if not kept in control. Don’t get in front of it.
Have fun, this is a good hobby!
You don’t want to lift a swing axle car like you could an IRS car but, for the street, you don't want to anyway.
Do a search on STF, I know I did a string on setting the preload (Off-road forum some pictures too) and I am sure others have done it in other forums. Also, some of the manuals have the instructions for setting preload.
You will need some tools like a degree level, a good floor jack, a 6 foot length of chain and either a spring plate too (for protection) or a length of chain to control the torsion bar/spring plate.
Just remember that a torsion bar is a spring and will react lightening fast if not kept in control. Don’t get in front of it.
Have fun, this is a good hobby!
Lee
My opinion is worth slightly less than what you paid for it.
My opinion is worth slightly less than what you paid for it.
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david58
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Here is my view on air shocks. The springs or torsion bars hold the car up. The shocks dampen the bounce of the springs or torsion bars. Neither one uses air so some genuine genius came up with air shocks. Only they didn't factor in the ride quality that we want. 30 years ago I worked at a Firestone store in Anchorage Alaska. Back then guys were jacking up their cars with air shocks putting on wide tires and wide new rims. Well they would come back in with the tires cut. I was kinda put in charge of fixing the problem. So I started altering the shock mounts. I found that if I moved the mounts closer together I could use less pressure in the shocks and have more lift and a better ride without cutting the sidewall of the tire. Soooooo if you use air shocks the max pressure you are looking for is about 40 psi to get a ride you can live with not 100 or more psi as advertised . If an air leak occurs you are screwed. I am not saying this is the best choice rather that it can be made to work better than the manufacturer of the air shocks did.
Hot, humid air is less dense than cooler, drier air. This can allow a golf ball to fly through the air with greater ease, as there won't be as much resistance on the ball.
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nitros69bug
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david58
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nitros69bug
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