Ok mang's heres da deal, I have been toying with the idea of 4 way independent adjustable airbag (airspring) replacement of the coil springs. good setup around 1000.00 (self fabrication). I have been wondering if this has been done successfully by anyone on here. I do realize that this is going to require modification of the coil sping pockets and lower control arms. rear its a little bit easier just bolt and go.... Im going to be running 17" 120 spoke chrome wire knock offs on 235/55/17 vouge's (yes i already know about knock offs) with intentions of laying frame rail, addiquate clearance for tire tuck... any opinions? suggestions? tips?..... Greatly appricated!
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Chaci would be the one to talk too. Not sure how often he is on anymore.http://secondhandracing.com/Home.aspx
http://secondhandradio.com/
R.I.P. Jason P Harrill 6-12-06
http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?t=5634
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Originally posted by Blaze86VicI think Chachi has this done.http://secondhandracing.com/Home.aspx
http://secondhandradio.com/
R.I.P. Jason P Harrill 6-12-06
http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?t=5634
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Hydros are def a NO-GO, way more expensive and def higher maintence... not to mention no more ride quality. Also i hear that a good air suspention setup can out handle most performance coil(sping/strut) applications1987 MGM 126K 2" True Duel flowmaster 40's 3" tipped exhuast, Tinted 20% all way round, individual bank A/F guages, tach.
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A good air ride set-up would definitely blow away most coil applications. The swap shouldn't require much (if any) modification to the LCAs or anything. I had a local air ride guru inspect my wagon. Said he'd do the whole job for $1,500, so I imagine it didn't require any real fabrication.
The car will lay frame with a basic set-up. I'd recommend running at least 1/2" lines and finding a way to run a belt-driven air pump to avoid the electric pumps- they're SO annoying when you pick up the car.2011 Mustang GT Premium, MT82, Kona/Saddle, HIDs, 3.73s, 19s, hood/side stripes, UPR 1.5" springs with adjustable panhard bar, and UMI solid LCAs and relocation brackets.
1992 Explorer Eddie Bauer, slight lift, 34s, and A/C...
1979 Bronco Custom, 351M/C6/NP205, 4" lift, 35s, lots of fender trimming.
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Well def cant do the engine pump... 126k aint trying to slow it down anymore. as for air control gonna use Big tank with decent Electric compressor.. not looking to hop the car, just nice decent speed drop to frame rail with tire tuck so no one can steal the rims.....1987 MGM 126K 2" True Duel flowmaster 40's 3" tipped exhuast, Tinted 20% all way round, individual bank A/F guages, tach.
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Rear air springs you can get from any '90-97 Towncar, later they redesigned the rear suspension a little so I don't know if the springs will fit a non-Watts linkage rear end. For the front the first thing that I can think of are the Lincoln Mark VII air springs, but I haven't really looked at them. I was pricing out the rear air-ride system for my car not too long ago, and it ended up being like $125 per side (left and right) for the solenoids and the Arnott HD (with aluminum bottom piston) springs. So $250-300 should get me well covered, but that's all I need as my self-leveling system is working properly and I will be converting only the spring portion of it, in your case some controllers will be required and that'll up your install costs.
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The only real mods I can think of that will be needed would be relocating the front shocks. The stock location is inside of the coil spring. I haven't really looked at it with that in mind, but from memory, I think it would be easy enough to fabricate something.
One thing you would need to be careful of is bottoming out the shocks, in either direction. I would suggest installing the bags and then mounting the shocks so that they don't bottom out with the car on the ground, or with it jacked all the way up, before welding them into place.
Another suggestion would be, don't set the car completely on the ground. Leave at least a tiny bit of ground clearance if possible, that way if you ever blow a line while going down the road you can at least get it out of traffic.
Last but not least...
I have never tried this and can't say whether it works well or is safe, but I used to work with a guy who did it on his mini truck. He reinforced the shock mounts on his mini truck, removed the springs, and put air shocks all the way around it. (not sure how he did the rear if it had leaf springs) He could set it on the ground or make it stand up normally by adjusting the air pressure. The only time I knew of him having any real trouble was when his cheap plastic air line got to close to the exhaust and melted. He was in the middle of the interstate going 75mph + when it happened. He managed to get onto the shoulder but just barely, and the truck literally GROUND to a halt.
Now for the disclaimer, on this one. A vic is a LOT heavier, and even if it wasn't I am not sure how safe it would be. I seem to recall this guy having to run the shocks very near the limit of their pressure rating to get a normal ride height. You would need to get air shocks for something much bigger than a vic to make it work.
A better option might be to find some springs the right size, but much softer than stock, that will drop the car to nearly dragging the pavement, and then install air shocks all the way around. You would still have to reinforce the rear mount, and relocate the front one due to the air line.
Once again, I take no responsiblity for it if you try that, but it would be a lot cheaper. Just make sure you do your homework first.
As for controlling the system, you wouldn't need a whole lot of fancy stuff to control it, but I would at least suggest a pressure regulator for the front and one for the rear. This way you can dial in whatever pressures you want to control the height and ride. One for each corner would be a better option. You might even locate them inside the car so you could fine tune if from the drivers seat. Put a dump valve on it to drop the car when you want to park it. That way when you get ready to leave you can just open a valve and let air from the tank return the car to the way it was before you got out.
If you are definately going to use an electric compressor, set the pressure switch for more pressure than you need so that your air tank will hold more air and the car will not take as long to get off the ground. If you don't buy a ready made system, make sure you have some provision for the air pressure between the compressor and the air tank to bleed off once the compressor stops. Otherwise when it tries to start the next time it will have to start up under full load. This can stall many smaller compressors. At the very least put a check valve between the compressor and the tank.
Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book. Hopefully there is something useful in there.
BryanLast edited by GoodSamaritan; 04-20-2006, 03:09 AM.Owner of the only known 5 speed box wagon with a lift kit.
AKA, Herkimer the Hillbilly SUV.
Axle codes
Open/Lock/Ratio #
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G / H / 2.26
B / C / 2.47
8 / M / 2.73
7 / - / 3.07
Y / Z / 3.08
4 / D / 3.42
F / R / 3.45
5 / E / 3.27
6 / W / 3.73
2 / K / 3.55
A / - / 3.63
J / - / 3.85
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Run 2,500 lb air bags and you WON'T have a problem. They're EACH rated for 2,500 lbs, so you'd be able to have that much weight on each corner without killing the bags.
I know lots of guys who don't run front shocks at all. When fully inflated, those air bags will provide plenty of support and don't keep bouncing harder and harder until you bottom out as springs do. If anything, you get a SLIGHT "boat" effect with big bumps, but it's not noticeable. However, if you do choose to run shocks, get low rider specific shocks. They're a lot shorter and will hold the ride a lot smoother than stock shocks with chopped to Hell mounts.
The only way you could keep it from laying frame with air ride is to install some custom built bumpstops of some fashion. As long as you run good air lines, you shouldn't have a problem with them going out while you're driving and if you do, you should still be somewhat safe, considering you'd still have three corners on the ground.
As far as the compressor goes- it would only drain power when you have it turned on. It's clutch-activated, just like your A/C compressor. You can leave the switch on and it'll only actually activate when the tank gets to a certain level, then shut off again when the tank gets high enough.2011 Mustang GT Premium, MT82, Kona/Saddle, HIDs, 3.73s, 19s, hood/side stripes, UPR 1.5" springs with adjustable panhard bar, and UMI solid LCAs and relocation brackets.
1992 Explorer Eddie Bauer, slight lift, 34s, and A/C...
1979 Bronco Custom, 351M/C6/NP205, 4" lift, 35s, lots of fender trimming.
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Ok.... today did some measurements and fabrications BTW happy 4-20 for all my smoka's. I think what im gonna do for the front is build caps for the front coilspring pockets, this will eliminate the risk of airpressure loss from a ripped bag from the spring pocket. the caps would be a round flat piece of steel with a ring kinda like a top hat. A treaded steal rock will go to the existing shock mount which will retain the spring pocket cap as i would call it... mount the top of the bag to the bottom of the top hat, as for the LCA's simple drill 2 holes and bolt with treadlock on bag studs.... Are u sure 90-97 rear airsprings will bolt in perse? I could just do a air suspention disk brake axle swap... Wam Bam Thank Ya MA'Am1987 MGM 126K 2" True Duel flowmaster 40's 3" tipped exhuast, Tinted 20% all way round, individual bank A/F guages, tach.
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www.airbagit.com "claims" to make a kit for CV's. By looking at the actual kit pics it doen't look right but...
I think you could just relocate the shock like this
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79-97 uses teh same rear end so everything will bolt in.
That air spring kit they show is for a vehicle with struts upfront. it si most likely a generic photo of a kit.http://secondhandracing.com/Home.aspx
http://secondhandradio.com/
R.I.P. Jason P Harrill 6-12-06
http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?t=5634
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