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Sat Jul 11, 2009 7:15 am

Buggin_74 wrote: im putting some on the back of my bug
i only need to air it up to get about 2" lift to get out of my driveway and the occasional speedbump or deep spoon drain
so 99.9% of the time there wont be any air in them

Thats all i wanted mine for too, but one of the rears blew within 20 minutes of driving it. Hopefully I just got a bad set . . .

Sat Jul 11, 2009 12:59 pm

Buggin_74 wrote: im putting some on the back of my bug
i only need to air it up to get about 2" lift to get out of my driveway and the occasional speedbump or deep spoon drain
so 99.9% of the time there wont be any air in them
You need to keep at least 5 lbs of air in them while driving. Good luck!

Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:50 pm

yea, you need to have some air in them to keep them from always being bottomed out or you will blow them real quick.

Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:51 pm

at what pressures are ya'll getting lift on the front shocks? i have a 69 bug, just installed the monroe ma750 shocks, and i don't start to get any lift till 70psi! from there up to 100psi i'm getting about 6 inches of lift

Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:06 pm

with MA777's I don't get any real lift from full drop, until 100psi... once it comes up I can reduce the pressure... I cruise at about 80-90 and it's low.. but I have no torsion bars..

Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:42 pm

i just pulled the adjuster screws. no thru rods yet. i used th ma 750's because i didn't want the beam to hit at full drop. it's a daily driver car, and if something breaks (line, bag, you know) i didn't want the beam hitting the dirt!! it stops about 3/4 of an inch from hitting now! but dam it's slow coming up. maybe i need bigger lines, and a better compressor than my POS walmart cambel hausfeld!!!

Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:44 pm

i use 1/8 DOT airline, but I wasn't looking for speed, just adjustibility... I do, however, have a real air management system that runs between 145-175PSI... so it is pretty quick coming up from a rest even with the small lines...

Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:47 pm

i was looking at the firestone 2158. got the compressor, guage, and switch. for around 200 bux. i have a 1 gallon tank that i can use, and access to a viar 480 compressor, but it's well used! i'm to old for hopping around, i just wanted to be able to raise it up for normal driving, and then drop it down for cruises and shows.

Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:59 pm

hoghead5150 wrote: i'm to old for hopping around, .

I hear ya... I'm too old for that, and for the bouncing down the street that I'd always done in my lowered ACVW's... that's why I went air in the first place...

Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:19 pm

If you think there is a possibility that the shocks can fail, figure out why and solve it. We have used about 2200 sets of air shocks and have only had 2 defects, and they were not even from driving them.

Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:06 pm

well my car is a daily driver. around 9-10 thousand miles a year. never know when you may bust a line, or a bag! that would suck at 1 am on the way to work. now just gotta get together a good management system.

Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:02 pm

hoghead5150 wrote: well my car is a daily driver. around 9-10 thousand miles a year. never know when you may bust a line, or a bag! that would suck at 1 am on the way to work. now just gotta get together a good management system.
How or what would you bust a line or bag on? There are no sharp edges or heat on a beetle. It will never happen if you install them correctly.

Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:20 pm

oh let's see.... rocks, road debris, here we have snow that can get high enough to pack up inside the frame horn so that could rip a line. i guess those air bladders on the shocks are made of some kevlar space age crap that's not going to dry rot, crack, split, or in any way fail??? i understand what your saying pete, BUT things happen. i just didn't want to add insult to injury. for example, i have personally seen an airkewld spindle break in two! i was behind the car when it broke. sometimes shit breaks.

now the spindle broke after a buddy of mine ramped a set of railroad tracks about 2am one morning. didn't see them and yes he's a total moron!! busted the passenger tire, broke the empi 5 spoke rim in several pieces and snapped the spindle. i will say this the spindle and badd brakes were bought used, and are the TOUGHEST,BEST built things i've seen.

Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:56 pm

hoghead5150 wrote: oh let's see.... rocks, road debris, here we have snow that can get high enough to pack up inside the frame horn so that could rip a line. i guess those air bladders on the shocks are made of some kevlar space age crap that's not going to dry rot, crack, split, or in any way fail??? i understand what your saying pete, BUT things happen. Acts of god, My bad, I did not think of that aspect, carry on. hoghead5150 wrote: i just didn't want to add insult to injury. for example, i have personally seen an airkewld spindle break in two! i was behind the car when it broke. sometimes shit breaks.

now the spindle broke after a buddy of mine ramped a set of railroad tracks about 2am one morning. didn't see them and yes he's a total moron!! busted the passenger tire, broke the empi 5 spoke rim in several pieces and snapped the spindle. i will say this the spindle and badd brakes were bought used, and are the TOUGHEST,BEST built things i've seen.
I do not make spindles, I only sell them. Cb performance was the brand I used to use till I heard the same thing happen. Now I only use chromoly versions. I would love to see the spindle, heck I will even buy them from your buddy. Let me know.

Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:01 am

So had anybody had any luck with the MA803's out back? Just curious if the 1/4" bung welded in was at fault or if the shocks just couldnt handle the weight. Thanks

Tue Jul 28, 2009 4:49 am

Airkewld wrote: Buggin_74 wrote: im putting some on the back of my bug
i only need to air it up to get about 2" lift to get out of my driveway and the occasional speedbump or deep spoon drain
so 99.9% of the time there wont be any air in them
You need to keep at least 5 lbs of air in them while driving. Good luck!

cheers but not gonna happen now unfortunately
went to the monroe dealership and the air shocks they sell now called gas risers they went through there catalogs and theres absolutely no listing for VW aircooled anymore :x

but im gonna try the gabriel dealer
a quick look at the online catalogs has listings for vws with the hi-jacker air shocks

Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:11 am

Buggin_74 wrote: cheers but not gonna happen now unfortunately
went to the monroe dealership and the air shocks they sell now called gas risers they went through there catalogs and theres absolutely no listing for VW aircooled anymore :x

you won't find one listed for the front of a car anyway.. that's why you should check the specifications, find a shock that works for you, then order by part number...

Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:02 pm

wonword wrote: So had anybody had any luck with the MA803's out back? Just curious if the 1/4" bung welded in was at fault or if the shocks just couldnt handle the weight. Thanks

Anybody, my 756's are working wonderfully up front, just checking to see if its worth it to try again with the 803s and not weld the bigger bung in this time.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:15 pm

i would say no to the 803's. actually to any air shock out back. now air cylinders?????

btw, are you having any problems with the upper control arm hitting the fittings on the 756's at full drop? a friend of mine has broken both fittings off the shocks.

Thu Sep 17, 2009 4:29 pm

hoghead5150 wrote: i would say no to the 803's. actually to any air shock out back. now air cylinders?????

btw, are you having any problems with the upper control arm hitting the fittings on the 756's at full drop? a friend of mine has broken both fittings off the shocks.

Hmm, i need to find something decently cheap to just lift my rear a couple inches off the bumpstop when driving.

I havent had any problems with the upper arm hitting the fittings. And I have a 1/4" bung with a striaght male NPT to 1/4" PTC.