Air Ride Using YOUR Front Shocks for $350
09-09-2008, 07:44 AM
#202
I hate these front suspensions. I want to cut out the whole shock tower and swap to a shorter spindle and mount an upper a-arm lower down like the C5 and C6. Like so:
or install a C5 front clip:
and have the top of the wheels open, similar to this:
or install a C5 front clip:
and have the top of the wheels open, similar to this:
09-10-2008, 06:23 AM
#204
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Hmm, I never had any rub marks with the regular shockwaves.
Interestingly enough, I've recently heard we have a customer fabbing the whole Corvette setup under a 4th gen F-body; if I ever get any more details on that, I'll let you know how it turns out.
The upside-down mounting issues are indeed because of the gas, and mostly with low- or no-pressure twin-tube models. These have gas mainly to take up the displacement of the shaft (since oil doesn't compress), which does induce just a little pressure for the foaming aspect. The main reasoning behind that rule is that some of those shocks just have the gas in the outer reserve chamber with no separation from the oil; so if you turn it upside down, the gas gets into the valving and causes a dead spot in the travel, or mixes freely with the oil and emulsifies, losing damping ability. I can't specifically say any name brands that still use that method; most of them that I know of either use closed-cell foam or have the gas contained in a flexible plastic bag.
Interestingly enough, I've recently heard we have a customer fabbing the whole Corvette setup under a 4th gen F-body; if I ever get any more details on that, I'll let you know how it turns out.
The upside-down mounting issues are indeed because of the gas, and mostly with low- or no-pressure twin-tube models. These have gas mainly to take up the displacement of the shaft (since oil doesn't compress), which does induce just a little pressure for the foaming aspect. The main reasoning behind that rule is that some of those shocks just have the gas in the outer reserve chamber with no separation from the oil; so if you turn it upside down, the gas gets into the valving and causes a dead spot in the travel, or mixes freely with the oil and emulsifies, losing damping ability. I can't specifically say any name brands that still use that method; most of them that I know of either use closed-cell foam or have the gas contained in a flexible plastic bag.
09-11-2008, 09:27 AM
#210
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i put air ride in my rear shocks, It def is worth it. it rides like a whole new car. and doesnt squat as much so it feels alot faster. def recommend it on the rear. expecially if you guys have subwoofers and all in the back. idk about the front ? why . lol
09-11-2008, 11:10 AM
#211
There really is a science to air springs. If you know how to manipulate the volume and such, you can have a car that handles great and still ride smooth. Plus you can raise it for driveways and such. For those weight concience, I just got my rear bags and they weight around 1/4lb or so? Super light compared to the stock coil springs. Do that for all 4 corners and you might loose aroung 20lbs or so.
Just an update, I did a $0 cost mod to my front end that gained me 1 1/4" of extra wheel travel on the compression side. It looks sick.
The upper a-arm has about 1/4" clearance and the wheel has about 3/8" clearance from the shock tower. Lower balljoint looks fine, but the upper may be at it's limit. This was with the weight of the car on the shock and bumpstop, no spring.Everyone can do this mod and make their lowered car ride smoother and maintain better grip in the corners. It's sweet.
Last edited by JasonWW; 09-12-2008 at 08:47 AM.
09-11-2008, 12:21 PM
#212
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Do you mean the bags that fit inside the spring? I added some of those to my old Caprice and it made the rear feel firmer as far as handling yet the ride was smoother. I thought that was pretty badass.
There really is a science to air springs. If you know how to manipulate the volume and such, you can have a car that handles great and still ride smooth. Plus you can raise it for driveways and such. For those weight concience, I just got my rear bags and they weight around 1/4lb or so? Super light compared to the stock coil springs. Do that for all 4 corners and you might loose aroung 20lbs or so.
Just an update, I did a $0 cost mod to my front end that gained me roughly about 1.5" of extra wheel travel on the compression side. It looks sick. The upper a-arm has about 1/4" clearance and the wheel has about 3/8" clearance from the shock tower. Lower balljoint looks fine, but the upper may be at it's limit. This was with the weight of the car on the shock and bumpstop, no spring.
Everyone can do this mod and make their lowered car ride smoother and maintain better grip in the corners. It's sweet.
There really is a science to air springs. If you know how to manipulate the volume and such, you can have a car that handles great and still ride smooth. Plus you can raise it for driveways and such. For those weight concience, I just got my rear bags and they weight around 1/4lb or so? Super light compared to the stock coil springs. Do that for all 4 corners and you might loose aroung 20lbs or so.
Just an update, I did a $0 cost mod to my front end that gained me roughly about 1.5" of extra wheel travel on the compression side. It looks sick.
The upper a-arm has about 1/4" clearance and the wheel has about 3/8" clearance from the shock tower. Lower balljoint looks fine, but the upper may be at it's limit. This was with the weight of the car on the shock and bumpstop, no spring.Everyone can do this mod and make their lowered car ride smoother and maintain better grip in the corners. It's sweet.
09-11-2008, 01:26 PM
#213
Copy & Paste Moderator
If you want a low-beam-only projector, take a look at TSX. I think they run around those prices too. They have better low-beam output too.... but no high beam.
09-12-2008, 08:53 AM
#214
Just an update, I did a $0 cost mod to my front end that gained me 1 1/4" of extra wheel travel on the compression side. It looks sick. The upper a-arm has about 1/4" clearance and the wheel has about 3/8" clearance from the shock tower. Lower balljoint looks fine, but the upper may be at it's limit. This was with the weight of the car on the shock and bumpstop, no spring.
Everyone can do this mod and make their lowered car ride smoother and maintain better grip in the corners. It's sweet.
The upper a-arm has about 1/4" clearance and the wheel has about 3/8" clearance from the shock tower. Lower balljoint looks fine, but the upper may be at it's limit. This was with the weight of the car on the shock and bumpstop, no spring.Everyone can do this mod and make their lowered car ride smoother and maintain better grip in the corners. It's sweet.
Here's a teaser pic for you. Tucking 285's.
09-22-2008, 06:31 AM
#217
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I never thought about that. That sucks! I never noticed your location until now. Everything else make it though ok?
Living next door to an electric substation cuts down on the senic view, but it means never having an outage
in Indiana, anyway
Living next door to an electric substation cuts down on the senic view, but it means never having an outage
in Indiana, anyway
09-22-2008, 07:40 AM
#218
This mod is like a poor mans shock shortening because it does the same thing. Based on photos, the shock/bag assembly your company makes is a little shorter than the stock shocks and allows the tires to tuck up a bit more.
Once I get some power at home I'll do a separate thread just for this mod.
9 days so far in the dark.
Once I get some power at home I'll do a separate thread just for this mod.
9 days so far in the dark.
10-08-2008, 09:48 AM
#219
Well, I got power after day 15. It took a while before things got back to normal.
Anyhoo, here's that thread I was promising.
Modifying Your Front Upper Shock Mount
Oh yeah, I picked up some Bosche E46 Bi-xenon projectors for $100. They are noticably larger than the low beam units.
Anyhoo, here's that thread I was promising.
Modifying Your Front Upper Shock Mount
Oh yeah, I picked up some Bosche E46 Bi-xenon projectors for $100. They are noticably larger than the low beam units.
