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Air shock pressure?

Started by _Sunbird_ , Jul 16 2012 08:19 PM

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7 replies to this topic

#1 _Sunbird_

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 08:19 PM

Hi all,
I was sniffing around in the boot of the sunbird the other day and noticed that it is fitted with air shock absorbers on the rear. There is a tyre valve type arrangement fitted up near the right hand boot hinge with pipe going off to either side.

I'm assuming this isn't a factory fitted option even though it looks like a professional job.

My biggest query is what pressure do i run in them?

They were deflated when i checked so i put 15psi into them, which lifted the rear and improved the ride a lot. I checked the monroe site and they said theirs run up to 150psi.

They don't look too new so i'm hardly going to put that into them.

Any ideas?

Cheers, Chris.

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#2 Ice

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 10:16 PM

About 70 to 80 psi only need to go to 150psi if carrying a lot of load in the boot thats if they will go to 150psi

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#3 _Sunbird_

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 07:00 PM

Cheers Ice,
I'll give it a go at 70psi and see what happens.

With a mighty starfire up front i'm unlikely to be hauling anything heavier than a spare tyre.

Chris.

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#4 _slr6000_

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Posted 18 July 2012 - 09:34 PM

Those air shockers won’t do you any favours in the handling department
.

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#5 _torbirdie_

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Posted 19 July 2012 - 06:19 PM

It very much depends on the brand name fitted. Typically there were fitted to cars that do towing to restore the ride height. If you need them just to get the ride height correct with no load then perhaps new rear springs are in order.
Pumping them full of air will not only change the ride height but also the damping factor as well as putting a lot more strain on the shocker mounts than what they were ever designed for. I was cursed with a pair on one of my Torries and found that if the shocks didn't have at least 15psi in them they would be underdamped(bouncy). Nuisance value as just another thing to top up

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#6 _oldjohnno_

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Posted 19 July 2012 - 07:21 PM

...Pumping them full of air will not only change the ride height but also the damping factor as well as putting a lot more strain on the shocker mounts than what they were ever designed for...

Good point. I've seen a few upper shock mounts either cracked or completely torn out from using air shocks. Probably fine for occasional use but I agree, if you need more spring then add more spring...
Also seen a few late model utes/1 tonners with the chassis rails cracked or buckled directly above the axle from using air bags. Again the problem is from applying forces to areas not designed to take them. Upgrading the springs (or perhaps the whole vehicle) would be a better choice.

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#7 caterham2

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Posted 19 July 2012 - 08:37 PM

I seem to recall from the "old days" when most of the wanker panel vans running around at Starsky and Hutch ride heights/ rake had these fitted that there were warnings to fit a stop valve on one side of the filler T piece. Reason? Open the stop valve to fill BOTH shocks equally, then close, thereby isolating the transfer of air from one side to the other if one wheel dropped in a hole for instance, or the extended shock copped ALL the air in system .When wheel left hole vehicle was in a very lopsided attitude. The stop valve prevented this. The police and accident investigators at the time said these shocks were suspected of being a cause of otherwise unexplainable straight line roll overs at speed in quite a number of instances. My father had these as factory fitted on a HQ Holden wagon at the time and a bigger pig to drive I cannot recall, fitting a stop valve to the line helped a lot, still had the heaviest steering and terminal understeer unlike any car I have ever driven though, did stop it pogoing all over the shop !