Air bags on a Mustang II susp...which shocks?

I have Slam bags on a Heidts Mustang II front suspension in a 37 Ford. My shocks are Gabriel 81880's mounted to the rear of the A-frames. I have found these particular shocks to be too stiff for my liking. I have removed the shocks and it rides much better, so I would like to find a set of shocks that will ride softer..
The Gabriels are originally for the rear of a Corvette, so I am thinking that there is a better (softer) front shock out there somewhere.
If any of you guys are using this type of suspension, or have knowledge of it, maybe you could give me some ideas on what shocks you are/have used?
I would like to find shocks with a loop mount at the top and bottom since this is what I am set up for right know. I can change the upper mount to accept a stem if needed, but I am pretty locked-in with the loop at the lower mount.

 

The slams are pretty stiff compared to the other airbags. some people never put shocks on the front (my plan). i had a set of cheap no name shocks from airbagit that after about a month when the valving was trashed rode nice and soft.

 

Very bad idea. Un-dampened suspension oscillation can cause severe, instantaneous loss of control of the vehicle.

All vehicles require functional shock absorbers, on all four corners of the vehicle. Anybody who tells you otherwise is either ignorant of their function, trying to kill you, or both.

In short, running without is not only illegal in all states I know of, you could end up killing or maiming yourself, your passengers, or one, or more innocent bystanders. Beyond the risk to life and limb, building what the law, and your insurance company WILL consider an unsafe car, in the event that it is brought to light, reflects VERY poorly on automobile customizing as a hobby and a business.

I am a master mechanical engineer, and a professional car builder. Since building custom cars is my business, this makes your business MY business.

Please take my word for it. If not, please take the word of the others who may chime in on this.

 

NOREVERSE: PM me on Monday, and I will get you the part number of the KYB shocks we use in our shop. They work very well.

 

Engineers make my laugh sometimes. I fully agree on having shocks on a metal spring and on the rear of any car but the fact that he has slams which are "engineered" for car suspension is different. I would like to see the formula that proves he will die from a lack of shocks. I'm some states it is illegal to have an altered suspension that was not "engineered" by a qualified person so your probably already breaking a law.
Just wondering too what psi and size of slam you are running.

 

Not just an engineer, but one who builds air-ride equipped vehicles for a living.

Call Slam Specialties and ask them what they say: 1-888-352-5225.

Post your results.

 

Gimpy is absolutely correct, and as another mechanical engineer, I will say this as well:

Anyone running without shocks on a metal spring or an air spring is asking for trouble and is a danger to themselves and all other users of the road. The type of spring makes absolutely no difference. Your statement shows your ignorance, and obvious lack of comprehension when it comes to spring-mass-dampner systems.

This topic comes up every once in a while on the HAMB. It is not that hard or much more expensive to do it correctly, and will save you a ton of headache and hassle down the road. Do It Once, Do It Right.

 

Trust in Gimpy...

This is yet another one of those automobile wives tales/mislabeling things. Sort of like what we call a "sway bar" which is to counteract body "roll" not sway so it should be called an anti-roll bar... but I digress.

Shock absorbers do take on shock loads, that is true but their true design is to dampen the movements of the suspension components. So therefore, they truly should be called Dampeners. And they are in other countries.

I explain what they do in a form you might understand a bit better. Imagine your bladed electric fan pointed at you during the hot summer months. When it is new, it's relatively quiet and vibration free but over the months it has collected dust and pet hair and has become out of balance and is now starting to rattle and shake. You reach out and grab the housing and it smooths out, your hand became a dampener. The fan is still out of balance, the dust and debris is still there but the wild movements of the housing have been controlled.

In a round about way this is what your "shocks" are doing with your suspension. Unless your spring medium is inert and has no resonance, you will need shocks. And to the point, all springs regardless of whether they are air, steel or what not vibrate at a specific frequency called hertz. Steel springs, torsion, coil or leaf will have a higher frequency rate than some air or silicone springs. Silicone springs are pretty interesting because they are very low hertz and typically do not have dampeners associated with them because they are naturally self dampening. However, air springs do have a higher frequency than silicone and are not self dampening. They still need to be controlled and because they have a lower frequency than steel, standard shocks may not be correct for the situation.

I find the Bilstein, KYB monotube, Edelbrock and the new FOX/Ridetech shockes to be better suited because of the digressive valving usually found within. They can handle the smaller movements better than standard valving and can move quickly when you need them to.

You might be able to get away without dampeners for a while. But at some point the suspension will find a harmonic that amplifies your springs frequency and it will result in a wheel bouncing out of control which will directly contribute to loss of control.

 

so let me get this straight... if it rides good without a shock its ok right? my thought is that without knowing if the rest of the setup is correct and him saying it rode better without a shock it was obvious what i would do. but im no doctor. my car is setup for about a 3" ride height hydraulic shock in back and none in front so that tells you how dumb i am.

 

No. Ride quality is not the only concern.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

Thanks guys for the excellent explainations. I am neither a mechanical engineer or a doctor. And I don't even play one on the internet. I definately will run shocks and springs on all of my vehicles. Our cars should be as safe as possible for obvious reasons.

 

joking. sorry noreverse ill stop now. didnt mean to trash your thread.

 

Truth!

 

Nothing to ad to the shock arguement it has been cussed and discussed in a reasonable and understandable fasion.

try monroes they ride well and dampen, even their gas charged classics ride pretty good.

 

I can tell you they are telling you the truth...my 50 plymouth the shocks were bottomed out at ride hight so i removed them went around the block to settle it down and get a correct measurement and at about 40 that thing almost shook the wheel out of my hand! Please run shocks.

 

I think or bet it is hard to find a shock with enough travel to work on a car with enough travel to drive and still use the running boards for an E brake. That may be part of the reason that companies like shockwaves built bags with integral shocks.

Here is a thought if you must run bags why not look for a shock like the one that comes on a bagged Lincoln?

 

Not at all. I have several catalogs that list extended and collapsed lengths, mounting styles, and dampening rates. I have bagged over 200 vehicles, from little Japanese electric vans, imports, rock crawlers, rods and kustoms, a few Model A's, to numerous random "art cars". Never failed to find an appropriate shock absorber.

Whether it has 4" of suspension travel, or 36", I will get a shock on it.