Lowered the back of my F1 (thread here) and am finally getting around to adding shocks. Going with a newer air shock because it's a little shorter and I can level things out if I pile the back with mulch, stone, parts, etc. Original shock angle seemed pretty lax even before lowering (about 45 deg. as I remember) and they were pointed toward the front of the truck. My main questions are what is a good shock angle (considering they will be doing a bit of lifting here and there) and with parallel leafs do the shocks really care which way they are pointed? It's going to be much easier to add mounts to the back rather than try to modify or work around what is there in the front. And know that I have no hard-launching drag race type plans just the normal daily driver routine with some hauling here and there.
Hey there Kevin, I have a clients F-1 here with the shocks mounted just as I think you've described. The springs are whats carrying the load and the shocks are at such an angle I didn't think they'd be dampening the back end much at all, yet with a couple of big guys bouncing up and down on it , I'd have to say it still works ok. If it was mine I'd use a shorter shock ***y and mount it in front of the diff housing with the top mount at about 70deg or so in toward the centreline of the ch***is ...with no forward or rearward lean.. This may also benefit you if your looking to use air shocks to help lift the rear of the truck esp under a load.(the shocks would end up bein more centrally positioned under the deck this way too) I'm no suspension expert tho....
The angle of the shocks is many times a result of packaging. In order to get a long enough shock, that will offer sufficient travel, the engineers have to lay it down at some angle. To make it then work, the damping characteristics of the shocks need to be matched to the angle as the travel of the shock versus the spring travel changes with the angle, more angle requires a stiffer shock. Forward and backward angle shocks are very common on trucks as they help with axle wrap up a bit with the longer travel vs cars. Ford staggered them on later models (one forward, one backward) to help with wrap during both acceleration and braking. Angled toward the center helps with cornering forces. For your application, I would look to go with a forward angle of about 30 degrees to offer decent travel and have the air still be able to be effective.
Good calls there hotroddon. The other way would possibly be tilted toward the rear. Consider the axle movement due to the shackles. It wants to smack back a bit on bigger bumps in the road. A rear tilt may offer a bit more dampening to the shock felt through the frame. With air shocks, too much angle is hard on the bladders. You can maybe go a bit in and back.
The Jalopy Journal
