suspention travel question

i need to know how much distance i need between the rear axle and frame after it's lowered i need to take the merc down 7 inches in the rear to get the skirts to the bottom of the wheels. and when i do the axle will be sitting right on the rubber bumpers. should i c notch? i going to use air to lift it when i'm driving.

 

The big thing now seems to be bags (air). That way, you can set the car on the ground while parked, then raise it enough to drive.

If you plan to drive it low, then you'll have to look into frame or suspension mods to allow for some travel as you go down the road...but leave the rubber stops adjusted to the point where they will keep the body from hitting anything!

(You can't drive a lowrider in Michigan without a system to raise it enough to travel over our ****ty roads...but it might be different in your area!!)

 

yea i'm going to use bags or shock waves or somthing. i just don't want have to jack it up to high to drive comfortably. so i guess i was wanting to know if there's a rule of thumb for the distance between the axle and frame for driving conditions.

 

You want the notch to be "just enough". If you are going to lay the frame on the ground, you want the axle to be tight against some rubber snubbers. Nothing dumber than these channeled cars with the body on the ground and there's 3" between the frame and axle. So if they have a suspension failure not only will they be dragging, but the rear tires will be bouncing off the ground into the notch, with no weight on them. I like the idea of snubbers on screwjacks, so if you're going to hit the interstate you can crank them down, so in case of an airline failure you'll be riding on bumpstops, but the frame and body will be off the ground.

 

With 2" clearance, it will be okay except for the big bumps, at 3 or 4 " you'll get a good ride all the time. I had mine with the low tech bag setup, half leaf springs removed.
I didn't have to raise it that much to get a good ride. I eventually went and C'd the frame just to get it lower when parked and to eliminate that last 10% bottoming out on the big bumps.

Post some pics of your ride.

 

thanks guys, thats good info. about c-nothching, should i buy one of those kits or just cut a c in the rails and fill it in with metal? how far is too far to cut into the rails and not have a too weak frame?