air shocks....to do or not to do

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gniknayrb18

gniknayrb18

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im looking at replacing all my shocks and read a post that they were bad....with out any proof....so really what is a good shock and y should you not use air shocks. i use to run them on my trans am and formula but thats not an a body mopar
 
don't use them because they attach to points of the car not designed to carry the full suspension load. Get the correct springs.
 
I use them on mine . You just need to make sure if they leak , you won't cut down your tires . And don't go crazy and pump them up to 150 PSI or something ridiculous like that . I've used air shocks since the 70's , not because of weak springs , because I love the rake it gives when you boost the 'bars and jack the shocks . I have a soft spot for 'gassers , I think .
 
they are just a band-aid fix for bad suspension on A-body cars. bout all they are good for.

That's what I was taught and that's my 2 cents. No offense meant towards other members who run em.
 
Do a search on the site for "Air Shocks"...there have been numerous threads over time about them. My ACTUAL, REAL WORLD experience???...same as "74DartSwinger360"...as long as you just use them to level out your ride, or for a couple inches of lift, THEY ARE FINE!...don't let anybody tell you different.
 
i use to jack the rear end of my trans am up and my buddies would come by and let the air out just to mess with me buy i love the way it looked and if not run them y not...they currently have them on there but there no good....wont hold air so time to replace them
 
i did search and no one could say definitively one way or another. some say no some say go so im lost lol...i kinda wanna go with something that has some color to them so i know monroe air shocks are white and plain. i really don't know much about them just i know i need them
 
gniknayrb18 said:
i use to jack the rear end of my trans am up and my buddies would come by and let the air out just to mess with me buy i love the way it looked and if not run them y not...they currently have them on there but there no good....wont hold air so time to replace them
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Mount the valve in the trunk somewhere...can't let the air out if they can't get to the valve!
 
gniknayrb18 said:
i did search and no one could say definitively one way or another. some say no some say go so im lost lol...i kinda wanna go with something that has some color to them so i know monroe air shocks are white and plain. i really don't know much about them just i know i need them
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You need to search more...there are tons of peeps that use them and are happy with them.

I think the Gabriel's are white...Monroe's are yellow. You can paint them any color you want, ya know.
 
You have 2 kinds of people in this world.

People that do things correctly.
People that hack stuff together and just don't care.

Which kind of person are you? The answer will determine which shocks you should get.
 
Get under your car, and look at the spring attaching points. Then look at the flimsy shock mounts. The are not designed to hold up your car no matter how many reneck wannabes tell you it's a good idea.
 
As other have said......if they aint pumped up all the way they are useable...risky in my OPINION but useable. That being said I would not use them. Just replace the springs. Knew someone years ago that had them in the back of a Ford Ranger. He had them pumped all the way up....and was known to put 4000 pounds or so in the back of the truck. Was also known for shredding rear tires....and for the gigantic holes in the bed when BOTH upper mounts failed at the same time.....
 
I am going to be running Monroe's on my daily driven Scamp, part number at O'reilly's is MA704.
 
Ive run gabriel air shocks for years I run about 35-40 lbs of pressure and never had a problem.
 
gniknayrb18 said:
so the shocks that i posted are they good ones
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Those are actually suppose to be a pretty decent shock.

My choice for shocks is the white KYB'S. Great all around shocks,that don't break the bank.
 

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I used to use 'em in the 80's to jacker up sky high,... it was the look back then,... with big fat boots, that was cool,.... then.
 
furyus2 said:
Get under your car, and look at the spring attaching points. Then look at the flimsy shock mounts. The are not designed to hold up your car no matter how many reneck wannabes tell you it's a good idea.
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Redneck wannabee?? I'm nowhere near North Carolina...and my air shocks work just fine, thank you...and have for years.

Flimsy mounts...so you don't use coil-overs either, for the same reason?
 
Understanding how a Mopar leaf spring suspension works is your first step. The Mopar suspension uses the twist of the rear axle to help plant the rear tires. Even the stock suspension does this, just not as on a grand scale as the super stock suspension.

As power is applied to the rear axle, the pinion gear actually tries to climb the ring gear. It cannot, because it is encased in the third member. As a result of trying to climb the ring gear, the axle housing is forced to twist the opposite direction of the rear axles. While the rear axles are being driven forward, the axle housing tries to twist backwards.

The Mopar rear suspension is built to take advantage of this twist. What happens is, as the housing twists backwards, the rear of the car body is pushed up away from the rear axle. More correctly, the axle is actually being pushed DOWN and planting the rear tires. This is much more evident with the super stock rear suspension.

Any type of shock other than a standard, heavy duty hydraulic shock (NOT gas charged) will impede the correct operation of the rear suspension. Air shocks will all but stop the rear axle planting the tires. So, if you want a lot of tire spin, put air shocks on it. Regardless of whether you have 50 PSI or 150 PSI in them, they will still stop the rear suspension from working correctly.

Can you use them? Sure. But just be forewarned that the rear suspension will no longer work correctly.
 
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