Yes, but only by a little amount, not the amount that air bags travel up and down. Totally different concept. As a teenager I considered doing this on the 55 chev that I never bought…… I thought that air shocks were designed mainly for increased loading in the rear.
somebody here must have tried this that hopefully will chime in. I guess that it would be best to lower with blocks and/or remove some leafs from springs. then just add air when going to carry a load. done an online search for adjustable air shocks?
Air shocks or air struts ? How modern or old was the car ? Perhaps do a you tube search on - air ride suspension how it works Informative one on you tube one called - everything you need to know about air suspension off topic here, so won’t post the links
A gas-pressurized monotube damper might have a piston area of perhaps 3 sq. in. ***uming a realistic rear corner weight of around 900lbs unladen, that means that you'd need 300psi just to keep the empty car up. Add any kind of payload, even p***engers, luggage, etc. Can an onboard electric compressor deliver 300-500psi? Also, the gas in those dampers hardly supports any weight. It just takes up the rod volume (i.e. it has an effective piston area of about ½ sq. in., which would require a working pressure of 1800psi+) and puts the oil under pressure to prevent cavitation.The free piston seals are good for 350psi+, so it might be possible to modify a gas damper quite severely to turn it into a pneumatic spring, but doing that in such of a way that the damping action is retained would be tricky.
I ran that system in the rear of a flat bed ute (pickup). Air shocks, small compressor, two-way switch and guage in the cab. Not used for raising/lowering. The change in height was negligible. The parallel rear leaf springs did all the work. The air shocks could be pumped up when there was a load on, just to stiffen the ride and help with jounce and roll. Very important to have each side on a seperate air line and work indepenently of each other. Worked well.
Hello, Well, in 1964-65, Chevrolet came out with the popular El Camino. Slight differences with the front end, but all based on the station wagon frame and running gear. Except for the new addition called “air shocks.” This little air valve was on the small panel behind the top of the seats, just below the rear facing window. It allowed owners to fill the air shocks at anytime using the gas station air pump hoses. For factory set ups, one had to use the old “eyeball” adjustment, as the rear bed rose as more air was pumped into the valve. Most filled up the valve with air and now the giant stink bug phase came into play. Two factions at work here. One, with an empty bed, less pressure was on the rear springs and shocks. So the bed rose easily to the height necessary. But, wait, what height was necessary per items to be loaded? From level to up was as much air pumped into the two rear shocks at the same time. The air hose attached to the valve sticking out of the small rear panel. Two, the second way it to load up the rear with what you were going to carry from Point A to Point B. The air shocks worked harder to raise the heavy load, but it did go up to raise the weight in the bed. The shocks took the brunt of the pressure, but initially up went the load to how ever level one wanted the angle. In the beginning, I used the air hose on an empty bed to raise it higher. Now, the El Camino looked as if some one had slid under the whole car and raised the rear. The handling was a little odd and not for driving long distances. Luckily, it was a couple of blocks from the gas station to our house. Then I proceeded to load the two Greeves Motorcycles with the attached ramp. Now, each desert racing motorcycle lowered the level and the second one made it almost level. Finally, with the added tool box, water, cooler and other necessary stuff, the El Camino was slightly lower in the back. Think raised front end and the lights were higher than normal. Virtually useless on highways and right into the eyes of the oncoming traffic. Not good. So, back to the gas station for more air to make it level and legal for the headlights. I even went to some high intensity lights as the normal high beams lit up the black desert roads, but not enough when there were no street lamps. Now the high intensity lights lit the road up like daylight. We were told to remove them by the CHP as they did not have a separate switch. I replaced the original high beams and used the on/off switch as stock. Jnaki Now, this air to raise the bed method was ok, but time consuming. So, I found a custom air valve gauge. The original one still sits in my garage drawer for posterity… The simple installation was under the lip of the rear panel and hidden from view. It was a lifesaver. Simple to attach and no air leaks. It registered better than sight level guesses and also the damaged air hoses at most gas stations. So, it was your air valve gauge already in place. Now, it was a simple connect the air hose and fill up the two rear air shocks to the level chosen. As we got used to the air valve gauge, it was easy to use and if/when there was any leakage, oe quick stop at any gas station raised the bed to the correct height. Loaded or unloaded. Note: There were some folks that had air in the stock shocks and they leaked or blew out with the heavy loads or usage. The heavy weight in the bed to initially raise the shocks/bed could have been the cause. Other auto manufacturers began to make heavier duty air shocks that helped, but some still had the problem of leakage. 125k miles with no air leaks. The young kid that bought our El Camino did not want the gauge, so, that is why I still have it in my garage drawer... YRMV
I had one of the compressor setups that came with an OT GTO. Switch hung below the dash with a vertical "gauge" indicating the relative pressure, hose to a T to the air shocks. It would raise and lower the rear of the car. I don't recall how much, but it was enough to affect the handling and be noticeable . This was the early 90's, when it was cool to have your muscle car jacked up like a cat in heat.
Had 'em on two elco's. Replaced both with regular shocks, air shocks have a tendency to leak air, seemed to me to ride very hard or weird, never carried a load heavy enough to need to pressure them to full strength, car seemed to drive different with them than with the regular shocks (better). --and they recommended carrying a few pounds of pressure for "normal" driving. Really didn't do anything for looks either. Just fyi.
I put a set on a 67 Ford pony car. They were Teed together, filler hid under bumper. It would raise the rear end so high the u joints were making noise, but only dropped it to the height of the sagging rear springs. I mostly used them to keep the fenders off the L60 15” tires, worked great for that.
I put a set of air shocks on my '56 Ford with an onboard compressor to aid in removing the rear tire in case of a flat, they help a lot. Maybe a 1" to 2" difference between fully deflated and maximum advised pressure of 140 lbs. I also have a controller and gauge mounted under the dash. Top picture is totally deflated and bottom picture is at ride height with 25 lbs pressure.
Used for load leveling in wagons and pickups rather than ride height. Air shocks usualy only have a limited stroke.
Keep in mind, you are transferring load carrying to your shock mounts. Some may make it, my friends AMX's didn't. We were flat tracking Brandywine Raceway (harness race track, they left the gate open, now a mall) when the air shock broke the upper mount and fired through the trunk floor. Most shock mounts are designed for the hydraulic load OEM shocks can generate (usually puny). If you lift or level, they are suspension, not damping. Mike
I used them on the rear of a lowered 56 Buick. When people would sit in the back seat it would be on the bump stops so I'd just put a little air in the shocks.
For true, Mike. Most shock mounts are not strong enough for load carrying. Last time I used air shocks was on a 1970 Camaro. I went to a lot of work to mount the compressor under the hood, the gauge and control under the dash, the shocks on the rear and run the pressure lines. If I'd been planning to haul bricks in the trunk, maybe it would have been a good idea. With any pressure in the shocks, the ride and handling went to ****e. No one I knew would ride in the back seat of the Camaro, so load carrying wasn't the issue. File it under one of my bad ideas. That's how one learned before being able to ask H.A.M.B. questions. jack vines
Gabriel High Jackers. Had them on several cars. Used them to clear the L60X15's on them. They would raise the tail end up 3 to 5 inches. They were meant to be used to keep a car level when loaded. We had other intentions.
I used air shocks when I used to drag race. I had each one set up separately so I could load one side for better traction and going nice and straight off the line.
The old style air shocks like the Hi Jackers were made to specifically raise the rear of a car a lot. But today's air shocks are not made the same way, so maybe even 2" might be tough to gain. They mainly increase load capacity on modern versions with very little lift.
Back in the day I installed a lot of air shocks on cars that were specifically used to lift the rear of the car to clear wide tires. That trend lasted a few years then disappeared. Lots of damaged fenders and tires when the air shocks blew out, and several really screwed up shock mounts in that short time frame. Enough issues I started pointing out the issues as soon as they started appearing, to guys wanting to lift their cars to clear wide tires. If you want to used air to adjust the ride height of your car, buy an air bag kit.
My 2 cents worth is the springs are there to take the weight, the shocks are there to soften the rebound, not to take some of the weight bearing. I've never used them because I don't like the principle. If the springs can't handle the weight, beef up the springs.
I would get those cars in where I was working at the time, late 1970s. I saw a lot of GM cars with the upper shock mounts torn out. We made a good buck fixing them.
I worked with a guy that had them on a Skylark, his filled just like airing up a tire. He could give it a “jacked up” look. I’d guess 4/5 inches. I never rode in it, bet it was a harsh ride “jacked up”.
I have one of these from Amazon in the glovebox on my ranch wagon, air shocks in the rear. Handy being able to adjust it on the fly as I often load up the wag. I can probably get at least 4” lift out of them, does get more floaty the higher you go. I rate them
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