air shocks

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rmchrgr

rmchrgr

Skate And Destroy
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All right, I have air shocks on my Dart. Never had them on any car before, the car came with them. The *** end is way up in the air, definitely not the correct ride height. If I'm not mistaken, the rake is actually making the nose dive down a bit. Eventually I will change the whole rear suspension set up but for now, they're staying.

Just as a quick check, I put a tire gauge to the little schraeder fill valve and it was way over 50psi. Obviously I need a better gauge to see what it actually is but in lieu of that - is there a recommended setting or is it just personal choice? Feels like the thing is hopping around back there. I'd like to lower it down a bit and soften them up if possible.

Thanks,

Greg
 
Run them at whatever psi you want. I had them in my 73 scamp as a daily driver with 60-70 psi (I liked the rake).
 
I just put a pair on my Valiant and I run 45 lbs and the directions said no less than 20 lbs. And no more then 90 lbs.
 
You've just found out why most people won't use them. They ride rough, handle worse, and if one shock or the system blows out with a load in the trunk, you'll pull them off and put them where they belong....the dumpster.
 
cudamark said:
You've just found out why most people won't use them. They ride rough, handle worse, and if one shock or the system blows out with a load in the trunk, you'll pull them off and put them where they belong....the dumpster.
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My thoughts exactly. They seem like a band-aid fix for some other malady, like sagging springs or rubbing tires or both. 8)

Guess I'll just have to play around with them for now and see if I can get them to sit a little better.

Thanks for the tips boys.
 
Air shocks are nothing more then a band-aid for bad leaf springs,i'd get them out of there as soon as you can,i've seen them rip the top shock mounts right out on more then one car..
 
stroked 340 said:
Air shocks are nothing more then a band-aid for bad leaf springs,i'd get them out of there as soon as you can,i've seen them rip the top shock mounts right out on more then one car..
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That's not good! Thanks for the heads up Dave. Guess I might have to look into a set of shocks for the time being until I get those Cal Tracs I've got my eye on.
 
the guy i got my 70 dart from had them on there for all the wrong reasons and had them aired up to 120. to make the larger than stock tires on an axle out of an 82 newyorker clear the wheel wells. thankfully they held the 26 mile drive home and then they were promptly thrown in the can.
 
rmchrgr said:
All right, I have air shocks on my Dart. Never had them on any car before, the car came with them. The *** end is way up in the air, definitely not the correct ride height. If I'm not mistaken, the rake is actually making the nose dive down a bit. Eventually I will change the whole rear suspension set up but for now, they're staying.

Just as a quick check, I put a tire gauge to the little schraeder fill valve and it was way over 50psi. Obviously I need a better gauge to see what it actually is but in lieu of that - is there a recommended setting or is it just personal choice? Feels like the thing is hopping around back there. I'd like to lower it down a bit and soften them up if possible.

Thanks,

Greg
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Air shocks are usually a fix for tires that stick out of the wheel wells. Back in the day there weren't many rim off sets as today. Before you remove the air shocks, let the air out and see if the tires rub anywhere. If they don't you can install regular shocks. If they do, you're stuck with them for now. Put 20lbs of air in them and just drive the car. Have fun.
 
Demon416 said:
Air shocks are usually a fix for tires that stick out of the wheel wells. Back in the day there weren't many rim off sets as today. Before you remove the air shocks, let the air out and see if the tires rub anywhere. If they don't you can install regular shocks. If they do, you're stuck with them for now. Put 20lbs of air in them and just drive the car. Have fun.
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That was sort of my plan for the time being until I got something else - try to get the ride height close and make it so it dosen't hop around or rub too bad. I'm guessing somewhere between 20-45psi should work.

I thought I might get some KYB's, but I'm eventually gonna go with another set up altogether so those would only be temporary. Didn't seem worth it to me, save for some of the warnings about destroying the upper shock mounts. That would suck!

I'm not thrashing the car yet tho, it'll prolly be OK for my current needs.

Look, this car has air shocks and wheel adapters. It's like the JC Whitney special.
 
I used to have those on the duster (Gabriels) and remember they had an operational range of 25-200 psi. They handle horribly. The lower you have the pressure best for handling but still, it was a huge change when I swaped them for gas shocks. Got a smooth ride as a result.
 
I agree about the band aid fix!! But I have to say that my 2800lb car rides nicer then before I had air shocks added, less sway and I just leveled the car because of the old 43 year old springs where sagging bad.
The white wall on my rear tires was behind my fender lip before so you can see how much it was sagging.
At 90 lbs it picked the rear end up way way to high and drove and felt terrible but when I leveled her out at a 40 lb pressure she fells much more stable, It seemed to even pick the front up a bit.

SNAKE!!! 019.jpg
 
Since you have them in there, run enuff air pressure just to level off the car at a min to a minor rake at max.
I have KYB's on my Duster now and enjoy the ride. There a little bit stiffer than a OE/replacement shock and handle the road very well.
 
I remember back in the day when we all laughed at the guys using extended shackles to raise the rear of their cars. We all knew that using air shocks was the "right" way to do it. 8-[
 
rmchrgr said:
All right, I have air shocks on my Dart. Never had them on any car before, the car came with them. The *** end is way up in the air, definitely not the correct ride height. If I'm not mistaken, the rake is actually making the nose dive down a bit. Eventually I will change the whole rear suspension set up but for now, they're staying.

Just as a quick check, I put a tire gauge to the little schraeder fill valve and it was way over 50psi. Obviously I need a better gauge to see what it actually is but in lieu of that - is there a recommended setting or is it just personal choice? Feels like the thing is hopping around back there. I'd like to lower it down a bit and soften them up if possible.

Thanks,

Greg
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They recomend 20 - 90 lbs. Have them on all my Darts. Love them and I tow a trailer sometimes with our 67. If you install properly, and run them properly, you shouldn't have any problems with them. Besides, they only cost $75.00 a set, and install in less than a hour. We run 25lbs in ours and its like riding on air! You should always adjust front end to specs also. Good Luck! Anyone who's had problems with them probibly caused by improper instalation or inflation!!!!!!
 
That is the nice thing about air shocks. You can put them at what ever ride height you want. If you are going to put a bunch of people or stuff in the back air them up then when it is empty again let the air back out.
 
I`ve heard they will break the upper shock mount especially if you use them to re-level the rear end when towing something with a lot of tongue weight. A good set of leaf springs is the best fix.
 
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