Air shocks, the good, the bad and the ugly?

[lloyd3]

I used'em back in the day but I've seen issues created by their use (mostly broken welds on the tops of the shock mounts). In order to fit more-substantial rubber under the backs of these types of cars, they were the quick-fix of the period.  My spring packs are the correct extra-leaf set for an R/T but....they're almost getting to the point where I'd consider having them re-arced (if that's the proper term for it) and I'm guessing if I go with wider-than-stock rims and tires I'll be fighting with some contact on the interior of the wheel-wells if I don't do something to enhance the clearances down there. I really don't want to alter the ride or handling very much at all and I clearly don't want to screw with the stance any more than I have to.

Any suggestions from the brethren here?

[RallyeMike]

The good: You can level your car when you tow your boat.
The bad: They transfer more load up high and center and ride crappy.
The ugly: What they can do to your shock mounts over time if you run them with a lot of pressure.

You can get much wider tire in there than you have now with a properly back-spaced wheel.

[lloyd3]

RallyeMike: I'd very much like to maintain the otherwise stock appearance so... I'm pretty much stuck with Magnum 500s. I'm hoping the 14 x 7 inch units I found have the requisite back-spacing for what I'm attempting.

[cdr]

I have them on my 68, run 40lbs in them to get about 1/2 in in height, all the horror stories about broken upper mounts can happen when running LOTS of air pressure to make room for n50 15's tires, LOL, if the shocks are used from 20 to 60 lbs I dont think it will cause damage, I drive & race my car a lot, all is good, also the Monroe air shocks can be run with little to no air & it wont damage the shock seal , the other brands will become junk if run without air. picture from when I did a gear change.

[70 sublime]

I had a 68 Charger with air shocks in it when I bought it
The upper cross member they fasten to was broken off at both ends where it was attached to the frame rails
Was a big dent in the top of the floor hump I could see inside the trunk
That Charger had a rough life before I got it

[RallyeMike]

RallyeMike: I'd very much like to maintain the otherwise stock appearance so... I'm pretty much stuck with Magnum 500s. I'm hoping the 14 x 7 inch units I found have the requisite back-spacing for what I'm attempting.

Assuming you are buying street tires, not much is available in 14" like there was back in the day. I doubt you can even find a wide enough or tall enough tire to cause any kind of rubbing issue on a 14x7 Magnum. So the air shock question probably just comes down to if you want to make up for spring sag, or fix the springs.

Looking forward to seeing the new shoes.

[RiverRaider]

The times I have seen people have breakage was with the shocks pumped up to the point of little or no suspension travel.
I run 32 PSI with 15" 295's and 36 PSI with 15" N-50s. This keeps the N-50s from rubbing most of the time.  On my car that's the pressure that gets the rake I want.  If I am going on a rough road or a show field I will increase to 40 psi.  The shocks I use are not B-Body shocks they are for Chrysler I believe the set on right now are Imperial.  The shocks are about 2" longer on the collapsed and extended lengths.   If you google air shock charts they show the installed, extended and collapsed lengths.  At times new old stock Chrysler/Imperial air shock are sometimes a lot less expensive than the B-Body ones.  I found that the use of the longer shocks reduced required PSI and gave me the softer ride at the height I want.

[c00nhunterjoe]

How much tire do you need? Im running low 10s on a 9 inch wide tire that is 30 inches tall on legitimate bone stock suspension with no rubbing. I never understood the air shock craze.

[sccachallenger]

Had them back in the late '70s on my daily-driver Challenger.
I had separate air lines for each, hoping to bias the suspension to improve traction.
But yeah, on a daily driver you will tear out the shock mounting x member, I did on the passenger side.
Now my daily commute included some rough, pot-holed roads.
These cars aren't daily drivers anymore so you might get away with it.
I think during a resto, I'd seam-weld the crossmember and fabricate some gussets if I was gonna run 'em.
Personally I'd not run them on any unibody Mopar!
Mine wasn't very high, i had 15x7 Rallyes with G6015s, so clearances wasn't an issue.
I had a '73 Challenger that the whole crossmember had been booger-welded back in, not pretty!

[70 sublime]

If you need more height why not just get some longer shackles for the back spring mounts ? 

[b5blue]

Agreed use shackles if needed, shocks dampen not support. The shocks fixing points are not placed or built for extra stresses. 

[RiverRaider]

It has nothing to do with performance or need lol. Air shocks provide flexibility because from time to time I haul stuff in the trunk drive and drive on less than desired surfaces.  I like the 80's, day 2 or whatever people call it look on my 70. The car is not restored so the old school look lets it stand out next to nice cars.  It has the silver fox fake fur on the package tray, blacked out engine bay, DC chrome valve covers, air shocks, mud flaps, bias ply N-50 rear and G-60 front Mickey Thompson Indy Profile tires on American Racing 200's daisy wheels old ones not the new type along with the bullet left and right hand lug nuts.  The 10.5" daisy wheel backspacing and the width of the N-50 put the edge of the tire under the lip of the quarter panel.  I do run radial 295/50 235/60 Mickeys on Halibrand type wheels if I plan to drive a longer distance just a better ride. Some days it looks red some days orange which I also like.  I never liked shackles, shock extenders, or coils over shocks not because they worked or not just cause back in my youth that's what the chevy guys did.

[RiverRaider]

radial vs bias

[RiverRaider]

width

[Mike DC]

   

I never liked shackles, shock extenders, or coils over shocks not because they worked or not just cause back in my youth that's what the chevy guys did.

Longer shackles can look cool on Mopars too . . .

[cdr]

LMAO !!!! I have sliders ,,no Shackles on my junk

[RiverRaider]

I had shackles on my stock cars.

Nice, I put sliders on a Road Runner years ago after I got caught with them and Landrum mono leaves on a stockcar.  Are those composite or metal leaf springs?

[cdr]

I had shackles on my stock cars.

Nice, I put sliders on a Road Runner years ago after I got caught with them and Landrum mono leaves on a stockcar.  Are those composite or metal leaf springs?

Steel, Caltrac split mono leafs

[c00nhunterjoe]

Purchase the correct wheels and a 10 inch rim with  12 inch tires will clear.  I haul coolers, car show chairs, extra fuel, and 2 teenagers in the backseat of mine.

[justcruisin]

How do the split mono's and caltracs ride on the street with the solid bushing?

[c00nhunterjoe]

It has nothing to do with performance or need lol. Air shocks provide flexibility because from time to time I haul stuff in the trunk drive and drive on less than desired surfaces.  I like the 80's, day 2 or whatever people call it look on my 70. The car is not restored so the old school look lets it stand out next to nice cars.  It has the silver fox fake fur on the package tray, blacked out engine bay, DC chrome valve covers, air shocks, mud flaps, bias ply N-50 rear and G-60 front Mickey Thompson Indy Profile tires on American Racing 200's daisy wheels old ones not the new type along with the bullet left and right hand lug nuts.  The 10.5" daisy wheel backspacing and the width of the N-50 put the edge of the tire under the lip of the quarter panel.  I do run radial 295/50 235/60 Mickeys on Halibrand type wheels if I plan to drive a longer distance just a better ride. Some days it looks red some days orange which I also like.  I never liked shackles, shock extenders, or coils over shocks not because they worked or not just cause back in my youth that's what the chevy guys did.

If you are doing it simply to stick the ass up in the air, then thats another story. 295s on the correct rim will have ample clearance without air shocks.

[c00nhunterjoe]

How do the split mono's and caltracs ride on the street with the solid bushing?

In my neighborhood the caltrac setup is on at least a dozen daily driven 9 second cars. I have noticed no difference in them. The setup will be on my 69 once i have achieved my lowest et on stock suspension. The goal was 9.99 on stock parts but i dont see it happeneing. But thats another story

[cdr]

How do the split mono's and caltracs ride on the street with the solid bushing?

In my neighborhood the caltrac setup is on at least a dozen daily driven 9 second cars. I have noticed no difference in them. The setup will be on my 69 once i have achieved my lowest et on stock suspension. The goal was 9.99 on stock parts but i dont see it happeneing. But thats another story

My car rides like a R/T Charger, SMOOTH as glass , that said I also have a LARGE front sway bar & a medium rear one. over 10k miles on the Caltracs

[Kern Dog]

If you need more height why not just get some longer shackles for the back spring mounts ? 

Don't do this. Just don't.
It looks terrible, reduces stability and alters the pinion angle.

[stripedelete]

Not a fan of the longer shackles either.   But I really want to know where you can find 14 inch tires that could make you concenerned about clearance.