Hey guys so I was wondering why would someone use air shocks for in their car? I have a 61 ford falcon that has 3" blocks in the back, shelby drop 1 3/4 cut coils with raised shock towers in front. I know that air shocks wouldnt let your car lower any more than it is already so are they just to raise the car up? do they leak and constantly need air refilled? The reason Im asking is nobody makes 2" shorter front shocks that would fit in my car and even with the raised shock towers the stock shocks are pretty muched bottomed out and I want a softer ride. School me please
you don't need air shocks.. they are to increase height and load capacity.. all you have to do is go to your favorite parts store and have them pull out the shock book. just find out what the suspension travel is and then find a shock with the right ends, collapsed and expanded lengths and your done.
I use air shocks on my Nash. Took 3 leafs out of the back, and it gives me 6 inchs of up and down movement. I like a rake! Mine dont leak at all. Look up hi-jackers They were mostly used when hauling a heavy load
If you post, or send me the measurements, I can see if I can find a shock that will work for your application.
I thought I saw a thread just last Tech week on making your Shocks shorter. Might want to look on the Tech Archives see if that works for you.
All the different shock information is available online at Monroe's website. It's a valuable tool when setting up suspensions! Here's a direct link: http://www.monroe.com/catalog/documents/08_MountingLengthSheet.pdf
Yeah I did that but because the falcon uses the front shock that has the two bolt attachment for the bottom there isnt much of a choice and they couldnt find anything shorter than what I had. So I was wondering if air shocks would work. Ill do that first thing in the morning when I get the info! Thanks "I Like a rake" ??? What does that mean? I like that set up your using though it sounds interesting and the cheap way of air bagging. did you use use a tire compresser to fill them up? Sweet ill try to find it. If you see it again please post the link. for some reason the link wont work for me. Thanks guys for the info!!
An often overlooked bonus with air shocks is that they provide a truly progressive spring rate. It's a very tuneable spring on the track. Having each one aired independently allows putting some wedge in the car with a hose instead of a wrench.
We used air shocks before airbags came around. Airing them up to 150 psi wasn't uncommon to get the ride height desired. Most came with a lifetime warranty so if you blew one out it was a free replacement. Driving with air shocks at all four corners was like ridding a wave. Leaning this way and that with the road. You always needed to have a buddy with you so that your ride would sit level instead of off to the drivers side. Rancho's came with shock boots that if used would get rolled between the air thingy and shock body. Rupture was soon to follow. Ahh memories of unsafe suspension systems.
Looks like to me if when you cut the coils, what ever amount the car dropped, if you raised the shock tower the equal amount,you would not need to change the shock length. If you are getting a poorer ride now unless something is bottoming out you may need a shock with a different damping rate. I would try some adjustable shocks.
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