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Smog
Samba Member
Joined: December 24, 2009
Posts: 28
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 Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 1:13 pm Post subject: Air shocks for The Thing in the USA ? |
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Hello, there are these shoks for the Thing in the USA ?
Is that a possibility to get higher the VW Kübel ?
Smog  |
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dells68
Samba Member
Joined: January 09, 2008
Posts: 217
Location: Virginia
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| Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Hi Smog! I'm running very similar shocks on my 68 beetle. At the lowest ride height my bug is riding on the torsions not the shocks. I have an air compressor and tank that I use to raise the car up for more clearance when on the road - now the car is riding primarily on the air shocks. The ride is still really nice raised all the way up - approximately 3 or 4 inches higher. I don't see why these wouldn't work on a thing to raise the front up a little, you'd just have to deal with the inevitable air leaks that will happen - no matter how slow. I'm just planning on welding adjusters into the beam on my thing to raise the ride height and provide adjustablity. They're available over here from any number of suppliers. |
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TikiMojo
Samba Member
Joined: April 22, 2007
Posts: 11
Location: Portland, Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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| dells68 wrote: |
| Hi Smog! I'm running very similar shocks on my 68 beetle. At the lowest ride height my bug is riding on the torsions not the shocks. I have an air compressor and tank that I use to raise the car up for more clearance when on the road - now the car is riding primarily on the air shocks. The ride is still really nice raised all the way up - approximately 3 or 4 inches higher. I don't see why these wouldn't work on a thing to raise the front up a little, you'd just have to deal with the inevitable air leaks that will happen - no matter how slow. I'm just planning on welding adjusters into the beam on my thing to raise the ride height and provide adjustablity. They're available over here from any number of suppliers. |
hooo boy, I had air shocks on the rear of my '77 El Camino and they were very handy to have.
I'd love to have the same adjustable ride on der Thing. |
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Rev. Scott
Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2006
Posts: 770
Location: Philo, Ca.
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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| not something you want off road! |
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TikiMojo
Samba Member
Joined: April 22, 2007
Posts: 11
Location: Portland, Oregon
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| Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Rev. Scott wrote: |
| not something you want off road! |
Why not? |
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Rev. Scott
Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2006
Posts: 770
Location: Philo, Ca.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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my understanding of their performance (havnt run them since the seventies) was/is that they are susceptible to rupture with a descent enough impact. i could be wrong and there may have been improvements in technology...
...im curious about air bags and their off road capabilities! |
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carterzest
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2008
Posts: 3841
Location: Eagle, ID/Sun Valley, ID
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| Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Rev. Scott wrote: |
my understanding of their performance (havnt run them since the seventies) was/is that they are susceptible to rupture with a descent enough impact. i could be wrong and there may have been improvements in technology...
...im curious about air bags and their off road capabilities! |
All the Rover crowd I hang with take the stock bags off their Rovers and put on the springs....Not sure if that answers you question, but on a trip across the Coast Range from Yamhill Oregon to the Oregon Coast, I found out why. A constant sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss as the right front bag got popped. That was a rough ride and not too fun riding home the 70 miles through stop and go traffic.
_________________
Happiness=Portland, Oregon in the rearview mirror! |
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Rev. Scott
Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2006
Posts: 770
Location: Philo, Ca.
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| Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| carterzest wrote: |
| Rev. Scott wrote: |
my understanding of their performance (havnt run them since the seventies) was/is that they are susceptible to rupture with a descent enough impact. i could be wrong and there may have been improvements in technology...
...im curious about air bags and their off road capabilities! |
All the Rover crowd I hang with take the stock bags off their Rovers and put on the springs....Not sure if that answers you question, but on a trip across the Coast Range from Yamhill Oregon to the Oregon Coast, I found out why. A constant sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss as the right front bag got popped. That was a rough ride and not too fun riding home the 70 miles through stop and go traffic. |
did a coach tour of scotland and the "bus" took some pretty rough terrain on bags...smoothest ride ive ever had! but of course "dash adjustable"...air shocks? i was always told to "slow down!!!" for the rail road crossings! |
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Captain Spalding
Samba Member
Joined: February 19, 2005
Posts: 2519
Location: . . . in denial.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:38 am Post subject: |
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| carterzest wrote: |
| All the Rover crowd I hang with take the stock bags off their Rovers and put on the springs....Not sure if that answers you question . . . |
Air bags and air shocks are different animals. The big problem with the airbags is that when Range Rovers are jacked up on them and then take a steep hill, the bags, no longer in a vertical orientation, can fold over. That is, of course, really bad. Then there are other more nuts and bolts issues - the bags can get cut by branches and undergrowth, the plumbing can develop leaks, the compressor can fail, all of which contribute to making the whole system less reliable and hence unsuitable for mission-critical applications like being 50 miles deep into the desert and inaccessible to tow vehicles.
Regarding the air shocks that the OP asked about: there are shocks with a Schraeder valve which allows one to inflate or deflate them with a compressor or compressed nitrogen using an air chuck. There are others that are meant to be part of a more complicated system with an onboard compressor, solenoids, and all the plumbing to be able to change the ride height from the driver's seat.
In either case, there is a caveat. These shocks are meant to overcome suspension sagging in vehicles that are towing or hauling a heavy load. When used in an unladened vehicle the ride will be really stiff.
I had a friend in high school who put a pair of Gabriel Hijackers on the back of his '69 Cougar and fitted some big ol' slicks. It was purely a cosmetic alteration, but it looked pretty cool to all us 17 yr. old dipsticks. The stiffness of the shocks made the handling terrible. Any bumps at all would cause the car to fishtail. And the ride was really harsh. The way to provide adjustable ride height without the penalty in comfort and handling is with — you guessed it — air bags. (As a sidebar note: the Mercedes 600 Limousine and the 300 SEL 6.9 used a hydraulic suspension system that was height adjustable. Really expensive, though. And even Mercedes was dubious of its reliability. The 6.9 came with blocks that you would put between the axle and the frame so that you could limp home in the event of a hydraulic suspension failure.)
I believe there are coilover shocks which provide some ride-height adjustment, although I think it's more in the range of an inch rather than two inches. If the OP cares to Googe "air adjustable shocks" and "height adjustable shocks" he will uncover lots of information. |
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Rev. Scott
Samba Member
Joined: June 04, 2006
Posts: 770
Location: Philo, Ca.
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| Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:09 pm Post subject: |
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| i put some inexpensive coil overs on my bug and got two inches lift! pretty stiff at that point too...and im not sure what it did to the whole geometry thing! fit some pretty aggressive tires under those fenders though...i have since gone with kybs (heavy) all around. i currently have some really soft munroe style shocks on my thing...love it in the dirt...just sucks for towing and hyway speed handling! |
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surferdudedav
Samba Member
Joined: May 20, 2004
Posts: 517
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| Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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| i just pickd up a set of gabriel air shocks for the rear of mine.. next front |
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