Piggy back is good to have , I just doubt I will use it on my WE shock , since spring already a bit over in rate
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
EDIT 8/3/17 The Gabriel air shocks I talk about MUST be run in pairs, that is 2 on each corner, due to excessive air pressure being needed on singles that may cause them to fail quickly. JWB.
Hey all! I'm new to the forum, but I've been following this thread closely. I just spent 4 days on the Hatfield/McCoy trails and learned how really horrible the suspension is on my P500. Just wanted to let y'all know that I just installed Gabriel Hi-jacker air shocks on the front of my machine. The shocks are a virtual drop in, and give slightly more travel in both directions without binding the cv joints- they allow the absolute full travel of the control arms top to bottom. They are the rear shocks for '62-'82 Corvette. The ride and articulation is beyond belief. I have 140 psi in them now, (thats as high as my shop compressor goes) I just installed these yesterday, so I'm still experimenting. I think I may end up doing quad shocks front and rear to be able to bring the air pressure down. Also need to 'isolate' the shocks so they don't 'see' each other side to side, front to rear. Right now the shocks can 'see' each other so there's alot of body roll, but the articulation over obstacles has to be experienced to be believed, and for some reason, this is also allowing the rear to traverse obstacles better too. For the price of these shocks $78 per PAIR, I'm gonna keep experimenting!
Hey all! I'm new to the forum, but I've been following this thread closely. I just spent 4 days on the Hatfield/McCoy trails and learned how really horrible the suspension is on my P500. Just wanted to let y'all know that I just installed Gabriel Hi-jacker air shocks on the front of my machine. The shocks are a virtual drop in, and give slightly more travel in both directions without binding the cv joints- they allow the absolute full travel of the control arms top to bottom. They are the rear shocks for '62-'82 Corvette. The ride and articulation is beyond belief. I have 140 psi in them now, (thats as high as my shop compressor goes) I just installed these yesterday, so I'm still experimenting. I think I may end up doing quad shocks front and rear to be able to bring the air pressure down. Also need to 'isolate' the shocks so they don't 'see' each other side to side, front to rear. Right now the shocks can 'see' each other so there's alot of body roll, but the articulation over obstacles has to be experienced to be believed, and for some reason, this is also allowing the rear to traverse obstacles better too. For the price of these shocks $78 per PAIR, I'm gonna keep experimenting!
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lol funny you say that i started the suspension build as soon as i got back from hm trails
Ya! What really amazed me, is that the machine could ride that stiff, but still bottom out badly in the sharp dips, and God help ya if you got a little air coming over a sharp drop off. I think I still have the seat belt bruises... I'd go back tomorrow though- what a blast! During my test ride today, I was still able to bottom it out in a sharp dip at speed, but the ride in general is stupid smooth, and no roughness when I topped a hill going really fast so that the suspension went from full extension- almost air-born- to 'landing' with no bottoming out or drama.
EDIT: I have since found that these shocks must be run 'doubled'- 2 shocks on each wheel, or they may fail quickly. 8/3/17 JWB.
EDIT: I have since found that these shocks must be run 'doubled'- 2 shocks on each wheel, or they may fail quickly. 8/3/17 JWB.
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Montecresto
Montecresto el segundo
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
Club Contributor
Wow, that's awesome. Please post pics. And welcome to the forum.
Thanks for the welcome! I just went outside and took some quick pics. Not much to see really, they look like the stockers without the springs. All I had to do was make the bushings a little narrower with the belt sander, and make the lower bushing hole a littler smaller by stuffing a piece of high pressure fuel hose into the bushing so the bolt is a tight fit. The upper bushing is very slightly loose- maybe .060", but it has a steel insert, so I just pre-loaded it to the top, and tightened it. The shocks are Gabriel Part [HASHTAG]#49304[/HASHTAG]. This is a kit that comes with a pair of shocks, tubing and connectors, including a (cheesy) tire valve type thing to inflate them. I want to double them up to lower the air pressure, because I think I may need to run these up to about 160psi. (max is 200) I don't think they will live long like that. I also doubt they will support something like a snow plow, even at max pressure. I'm gonna run it like this for a while and see how it goes.
EDIT: I have since found that these shocks need to be doubled on each wheel, or they may fail quickly. 8/3/17 JWB
EDIT: I have since found that these shocks need to be doubled on each wheel, or they may fail quickly. 8/3/17 JWB
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And now the pictures. The picture from the rear is still with front wheel on the jack. The 3 tires not on jack still have good contact on the ground.
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Montecresto
Montecresto el segundo
Lifetime Member
Supporting Member
Club Contributor
Looks great. How'd you figure out that shocks for a vintage Vette would work. Please post your thoughts on these as you test them out.
C
Chooglin
Guest
My biggest concern with this setup , if you blow out one of those shocks , out on the trail , you are screwed. you could always carry the stock shocks (just in case).
I ran these type shocks back in the 80's and I have blown them out.
Thanks! I was determined to find shocks to fit this machine, and found a pdf for monroe shock spec's, and picked the ones that were closest. I chose gabriel shocks instead of monroe's based on customer reviews. I forgot to mention that in the pictures, the air pressure is still at 140psi, and this is actual real world articulation. I drove it over the curbing at work at about 10mph and didn't even feel it- honestly- if you were a blindfolded passenger, you wouldn't know you went over an 8" curb! Something else I noticed today- the bushings in the shock mount holes are too soft, so polyurethane might be better.
EDIT: These shocks need to be doubled on each wheel or they may fail quickly 8/3/17 JWB
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Ya, I was thinking the same thing, and as easy as it is to swap them, I would definitely take the stockers along if I went trail riding tomorrow. But, I'm seriously considering double shocks on all four corners, and an on-board compressor with controller. It would lower operating pressure substantially, have built in redundancy, and would still be under $900! Think about it: Full air suspension, increased ground clearance, stupid smooth ride, rock crawler type articulation, load compensation, and auto parts store replacement parts- all under $900. What's not to love?
EDIT: These shocks have to be doubled on each wheel or they may fail quickly- I've been running 'doubles' on all four corners for over 700 miles and have replaced one due to very slow leak- no catastrophic failures 8/3/17 JWB
EDIT: Still no shock failures 4/11/18- 1500+ miles
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Keep us posted!!
With your on board compressor set up and air suspension, can you pump air and jump like this car on video ???
trigger
Old Ironsides
Vendor
Lifetime Member
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Ok guys, I pulled the trigger on WE 175 lbs springs but they are 10 inches instead of 12" original with 250 lbs spring rate.
and their 2" shock clips to accommodate them
They could not promise what spring color it would be
. I'm ok with that )))
and their 2" shock clips to accommodate them
They could not promise what spring color it would be
. I'm ok with that )))advertisement
