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Air Shocks

Cyty Slykers

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So after reading some threads on here I found out that air shocks on my 68 Charger isn't a good thing to have. Air shocks have been on the car since my pops had it in the 80s and since I've had it in the 90s to present. After researching I've decided to take the shocks off but clueless as to which direction I should go in afterwards...please lend some advice. Thanks
 
Air shocks are ok as long as they are not inflated to the point where the leaf springs are not carrying the weight of the car.
They are load levelers ... not for jacking up the rear.
 
Air shocks are ok as long as they are not inflated to the point where the leaf springs are not carrying the weight of the car.
They are load levelers ... not for jacking up the rear.

Good to know because after looking at several threads I started to worry about my Cross member cracking.
 
The raised rear look, tire/wheel clearance, tow leveling, weak spring help, and low cost were all reasons a lot of us used them "back in the day". Maybe determine why they are on there to begin with and what your future driving intent is. Your plan determines where you should drop your dollars as there are several options out there. It's easy to spend others money, but with more input from yourself, can help yourself narrow the task down and draw from others experiences.
 
I would inspect it , if you are not using them as load levelers and they have been on since the 80s I would replace with some Bilstiens. You'll get a better ride for sure!
I have Bilstiens on my Ram 2500 and love them, I put KYBs on my wifes Mustang & they're ok but they dont like the car fully loaded.
 
The raised rear look, tire/wheel clearance, tow leveling, weak spring help, and low cost were all reasons a lot of us used them "back in the day". Maybe determine why they are on there to begin with and what your future driving intent is. Your plan determines where you should drop your dollars as there are several options out there. It's easy to spend others money, but with more input from yourself, can help yourself narrow the task down and draw from others experiences.
I never thought about taking them off because air shocks have always been on the car and I've never known anything different when it came to muscle cars lol but after looking at these threads I learned something new. I don't have any problem to take them off especially if they're doing damage to the car but when I do what's my best option when it comes rear shocks, leaf springs, springs whatever? As you can see I'm a rook in this area.
 
I would inspect it , if you are not using them as load levelers and they have been on since the 80s I would replace with some Bilstiens. You'll get a better ride for sure!
I have Bilstiens on my Ram 2500 and love them, I put KYBs on my wifes Mustang & they're ok but they dont like the car fully loaded.
I've put new air shocks on maybe several years back and really they been on just for looks because once again that's what I grew up on.
 
Yep, Had them on most of my cars back in the day. I never had problems but didn't own the cars for ever either. Like 65-440 said, a good set of springs do things better. Now we can get online or make a call and order up stock,1 or 2" over stock. Easy to do it right. Yesterday and today.

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And he shocks keep my tires from scrubbing
Why not post a few pictures of what you have. Include side, rear, tire-quarter panel relation where interferes, tire-leaf spring clearance.
Just my opinion here, your objective, other than remove air shocks, is really not clear. So far, removal of the shocks causes tires to rub on something?
Changes you decide on can affect the current components.
Step back, give it a good look over, consider your current wheel width and stance of the car. You're the manager. This is your "team". Where do you want to go with it? Are you wanting to retain the current wheels and stance height? Do you want to get it to stock specs with tires inside the wells? Do you want to do race suspension? Do you want to do the hi-banks, go left? Or a road racer? Low rider?
 
I took airs off my charger last year and put bilsteins all the way around. Big difference! Bilsteins will work well for the money unless you were going coil overs, but much more money.. Not sure on regular ride (not a pro-touring) it would be worth the extra cash? If never had coil overs, so don't really know.
 
So after reading some threads on here I found out that air shocks on my 68 Charger isn't a good thing to have. Air shocks have been on the car since my pops had it in the 80s and since I've had it in the 90s to present. After researching I've decided to take the shocks off but clueless as to which direction I should go in afterwards...please lend some advice. Thanks

I had air shocks on the car (from previous owner). I though he had put them on for clearance issues (decent size tires in the back). I went Bilsteins all around, much improved driving experience.
 
So after reading some threads on here I found out that air shocks on my 68 Charger isn't a good thing to have. Air shocks have been on the car since my pops had it in the 80s and since I've had it in the 90s to present. After researching I've decided to take the shocks off but clueless as to which direction I should go in afterwards...please lend some advice. Thanks
The real problem with air shocks becomes apparent when cornering. Both shocks attach to a common air line so when one side of the rear presses down or lifts, the internal air pressure travels to the shock that's in extension ( least pressure internally)and you experience a bit of a wobbly sensation in the rear. Sort of like connecting two bicycle pumps together.
 
The real problem with air shocks becomes apparent when cornering. Both shocks attach to a common air line so when one side of the rear presses down or lifts, the internal air pressure travels to the shock that's in extension ( least pressure internally)and you experience a bit of a wobbly sensation in the rear. Sort of like connecting two bicycle pumps together.

That goes away with a separate line kit.

I've ran air shocks on many cars over the years and never had a problem with the upper shock mount. I've even went nuts with them and used a 67 Dart as a truck. Heaviest load in the trunk was a complete 383 sitting in the spare tire well. Almost was able to close the trunk lid lol. Aired up the shocks until the car was nearly level then ran over to the other side of Houston to deliver it. Anyone ever used them to create preload in the suspension for drag racing? Jack up the driver's side torsion bar a bit and then add air to the right rear until you get what you need. You can even make an open rear end work like a SureGrip in many cases.....
 
The 1st 3 was taking a sec ago and the last pic last year...at the moment I don't have any pics of my leaf springs or pics underneath the vehicle. I was thinking about getting new leaf springs whatever good quality reasonable shocks I can get without breaking the bank. She a work in progress on the outside lol just trying to avoid any major issues underneath.

IMG_2625.JPG IMG_2627.JPG IMG_2628.JPG _storage_extSdCard_68 Charger_20150907_153104.jpg
 
The 1st 3 was taking a sec ago and the last pic last year...at the moment I don't have any pics of my leaf springs or pics underneath the vehicle. I was thinking about getting new leaf springs whatever good quality reasonable shocks I can get without breaking the bank. She a work in progress on the outside lol just trying to avoid any major issues underneath.

View attachment 442887 View attachment 442888 View attachment 442889 View attachment 442890
Check out Espo Springs and Things.
 
Mopar performance super stock springs, and shocks can be had through your local dodge dealer parts dept...
 
I had my GTX for a lifetime. Always had air shocks to give the car the lifted stance I wanted and also to help clear the wide tires I had on the back. When I found out what you've just found out I took them off and bought "add a leafs" from Summit Racing. They gave me the extra 2" I wanted in the back and only cost me $35. It was a great solution for very small $$. You just bolt them on to your existing leaf springs. They're partial leaf springs. You might want to try them out.
 
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