Thread: Traditional Air Shocks vs Shockwaves/Air over Shocks

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I am working on my rear suspension and for various reasons have made the decision to augment my leaf springs rather than convert to a 4 link type suspension. To get rid of lowering blocks and lower my ride height, I have had my springs de-arched. I told him I wanted the car 2.5 inches lower than the springs were carrrying it. I have also had the spring maker add a thicker extra leaf to stengthen the spring. The other part of plan is to use some sort of air adjustable "helper" to be able to make ride height adjustments. I have considered "Air-over-leaf" type arrangements, but tire clearance becomes a problem there. I am considering conventional air bags, but that will encroach on available space for exhaust. I am also considering some sort of air shock. These could go in place of my existing shocks would be easy to install and not have a big impact on clearances.

So now come my questions. I have looked at Air Ride, Air Lift and several other places that offer air bag/shock combinations. They are quite expensive $400-$1000. Very pretty, all made of billet, and can be controlled with in vehicle air systems. I also got to thinking about good old fashioned air shocks from Gabriel and Monroe and I'm sure others. If I go the shock route, they will be hidden under the car where no one will see them unless it is jacked up or on a lift, so the pretty billet is not a factor. I do want to be able use an onboard compressor, tank and valves to adjust them. I don't feel that I need adjustable valving, 50/50 should work just fine. At some time in the future I will be replacing my front coil springs with some sort of air suspension.

So, in my application, what are the + and - of the two differnt shock types? Is there a compelling reason to use the fancy versus the old fashioned one?

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Pat

Pat,my experience with air shocks is that they ride rough,and have a tendency to beat up the shock mounts. On my 66 I had bags inside my coil springs to adjust traction and they worked quite well. Seems to me the brand was air-lift,and for leaf spring cars they sold them with the bag mounted inside a coil to be installed between the axle and the frame rail. Maybe that style would work for you. Hank

You will not have the adjustability with the air shocks compared to the Shock Wave. The Shock Wave has a 16 position adjustable shock in it so you can really fine tune it. This will allow you to adjust it by the rebound and compression of the shock as well as with the air pressure. There is a reason the air shocks are not used as much as they used to be. They really do ride rough in comparison.

I have been considering doing something similar. I agree that the air shocks ride a little rougher, if you have them inflated, but I wasn't planning on using the air shocks to change the ride height all the time. I had planned on using them only when I needed additional clearance. (big speed bumps, steep driveways, etc..) Is that possible? Are you thinking the same thing? I wonder if you could just run a few pounds of air in them for normal driving.........that shouldn't stiffen up the ride too much.

I put new 3" dropped springs With lowering blocks in my 46 chevy truck. Didnt want to spend the money for air bags, allthough I would rather have them. Being so low, I wanted to be able to carry an ocasional load, so I installed a set of air shocks ($69) They work well. Most of the time I plan to only have 25 lbs in them, but they are capable of 200 psi. The truck is on the road for a week now, and rides nice. Have not put a load in it yet. As for beating up the mounts, I built new ones, and they are way overbuilt.

Maddddog, that is very encouraging. I think I am going to invest $70-80 bucks on a set of air shocks and see how it works. We can reenforce the mount points easily enough. If it doesn't, I am not out that much and can always take them to the swap meet or Craig's list. I am not one to put expensive stuff on my car just for the sake of doing it. Sometimes simple solutions are a good choice. I will keep everyone posted on how it works.

As I mentioned earlier, I believe simple 50/50 valving will do what I want. The adjustable valving is great for tuning, but not worth the extra $700-800 to me. We shall see.

I got my springs back last night, project for tomorrow is to get the old bushings out of the frame and pull the new ones in. Once that is done I can mount the springs and rear axle and take measurements to see how long a shock I will need.

Pat

A few years ago I took several leaf springs out from under a 56 ford PU with a corvette rear end. We put airshocks and beefed up the mounts some. Although the airshocks did the job well, they took longer to raise and were being run at higher pressures than an airbag or shockwave would need. They also seemed like they lacked the firmness of a larger bag when you hit a bump. (probably a product of some law of physics)

Those shockwaves are very nice though. I'm putting a 67 Imperial together for a friend with Shockwaves front and rear. We'll keep the torsion bars in the front to suppliment the shockwave.

There are cheaper versions of the bag over shock type assembly, but they have no adjustability and offer even less travel than a shockwave.

Later, mikey

Well guys, i might be able to help all of you out. I happen to have a bagged (by me) 99 GMC Sonoma that lays frame, and ive bagged probably 15 vehicles for various people in the last few years. If any of you have airride questions, i can help. I have a BOAT LOAD of experience in air suspensions and am very familiar with the new systems and the companies that make the parts. Therefore, i say we all trade info. My air suspension info for your old rod info? Im new into the rod world but have a huge passion for it so hopefully i can learn alot from all of you.

Btw, heres 2 pictures of my truck and one of my new project.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...eAngleLEDS.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...9/SideShot.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...e/IMG_0055.jpg

Your pickup looks familiar. We recently sold this one that my Son was building before he got into hot rods.


Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

Your pickup looks familiar. We recently sold this one that my Son was building before he got into hot rods.


Don

Looks real nice. BD'd and all huh? lol. I love the stepsides, those bubble butts just do it for me. And ive had mine about 5yrs or so and its been a work in progress ever since. And as a matter of fact, ive seen your sons truck on a forum somewhere before... Possibly S10forum.com.

I have a set of air shocks that I bought from Auto Zone and have no problems in my suburban (heavy weight) at 115 lbs inflated. Well the only complaint that I did have was the truck was sloppy around turns, a lot of body roll. I got a extra line kit (12 bucks)and have separated the shocks from each other. I noticed a HUGE diference in ride quality! Around turns now it feels like I installed a anti-roll bar. It would probably would not hurt if I beefed up the shock mounts like others have.

IMO shock waves are for ride height adjust ability and air shocks are for a more support for your rear when loaded.Dont know how much of a load shockwaves can carry.

I have given some thought to adding air shocks to the rear of my 34 plymouth since I tow a Mullins occasionally and feel the extra help would be good. Adjustment would be easier than crawling under to adjust the transverse spring (Vette) for different loads and uses. Not enough room under there for shockwaves or bags. Would like the shockwaves for the front, but space for a compressor and tank will be real tough to find in a trunkless sedan. My experience with air shocks is that under the proper load they give a good ride, but under a light load (over the axle) they can get stiff, harsh and choppy.

I actually added airshocks to the front of my Jeep pickup. When I swapped in the 5.0 Ford, there is very little room between the motor mounts and the axle radius rods up front, so I added airshocks from the rear of a Ford full size car (autozone). Made up some brackets and put them on, in addition to the stock shocks. I run about 80 PSI, just enough to give me some clearance so the mounts don't bottom out on speedbumps and driveways.

A little unorthodox, but it really worked well, and the rear already had heavy duty springs, so it now rides a little higher all the way around. They have been on there about 5 years, and have been no problem. But if the truck sits for a few months (like it is now) I have to add some air to replace what has seeped out.

Don

Pat, the answer to your question is that the ShockWaves and air shocks are two different items.....think about it.....

The ShockWaves are intended to replace your springs and shocks. Therefore, they must support the weight of the car on that corner. Regular shocks do not support the car (of course). The ShockWaves have load ratings similar to a spring....1000 lbs per unit or more is typical.

Air shocks do NOT replace springs, they agument the spring by supplying some smaller upward force. If you look at an air shock, the bladder is much smaller diameter than is a ShockWave because the force is much smaller.

Since you have springs, the AirRide is not necessary....gee, you just saved $800 bucks!!

Deflating the Air Rides essentially removes your "spring" and lowers the car to a bump stop. Deflating your air shocks only lets the weight exert on the spring and collapses the spring a tad more....you would have to add weight to hit the bump stop.

mike in tucson