Rear air ride using air shocks?

[DirtCheapFrank]

For the rear air ride of a beetle, could I theoretically take out the torsion bars and replace the normal shocks with air shocks? I know it'd probably ride pretty floaty but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I know some truck guys use em and the beds fit the trucks are pretty heavy compared to the rear of a vw. What do you guys think?

[V8Nate]

I haven't tried in a irs but I did try it on my 66 and they would barely lift it maybe a 1/4 inch. Needless to say I didn't even make it out of the driveway. I still run air shocks in the front with 1 adjuster with a little tension and the other loose. I made my first air ride setup copying the old lime bug bolt in rear air ride and the ride is so awesome. I have since pulled it out after 9 years and bought a kit from eva resto (smaller packaging and lighter than the one I built) I have a few videos if you'd like to watch and any advice you'd like let me know

[DirtCheapFrank]

I haven't tried in a irs but I did try it on my 66 and they would barely lift it maybe a 1/4 inch. Needless to say I didn't even make it out of the driveway. I still run air shocks in the front with 1 adjuster with a little tension and the other loose. I made my first air ride setup copying the old lime bug bolt in rear air ride and the ride is so awesome. I have since pulled it out after 9 years and bought a kit from eva resto (smaller packaging and lighter than the one I built) I have a few videos if you'd like to watch and any advice you'd like let me know

Do you know why it couldn't lift it more?

[DirtCheapFrank]

I haven't tried in a irs but I did try it on my 66 and they would barely lift it maybe a 1/4 inch. Needless to say I didn't even make it out of the driveway. I still run air shocks in the front with 1 adjuster with a little tension and the other loose. I made my first air ride setup copying the old lime bug bolt in rear air ride and the ride is so awesome. I have since pulled it out after 9 years and bought a kit from eva resto (smaller packaging and lighter than the one I built) I have a few videos if you'd like to watch and any advice you'd like let me know

Also do you think using bags like these would work better? https://images.app.goo.gl/hBcQpyWhdMktPN336

[V8Nate]

If I recall correctly the mounting points for the shocks are not square with each other so the lower half needs to rotate slightly which didn't help. I've seen people use them to lift when they still had spring tension to lift a few inches but that's it

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[Ol'fogasaurus]

Be careful with the use of air shocks but be especially careful when using the "bag" style. Mounting the air fill to them can be wrong in several different ways.

A single fill for each one would probably be better than a setup for 2 rear and 2 front as one could leak or be overfilled and the suspension could be way off. Seen a couple of rollovers because of that both off-road and on the road. Example: a pickup with both rear shocks connected with a single fill. Carrying something awkward like a refrigerator and when you go around a corner/turn even at a slow speed the top of the refrigerator can want to tip causing the truck to tip, causing the refrigerator to tip more pushing more air to the other air shock (via the single fill setup) causing that side to lift (harden) then you could end up with a roll over or the heavy object getting thrown out of the rig. Both of those things I have seen done before.

The air fill hose also can get damaged/age causing it to fail when used. Even the direct fill to the shock can fail usually at the wrong time (Murphy's Law)

Even a single fill setup can have something like this happen especially when/if a shock gets damaged. Lookup "Murphy's Law" if you don't already know it.

Many, many years ago, when the air suspension first came out in busses the shocks almost immediately became a problem. One of the guys who had a rail put some on it and we didn't hear from him for a long time. Something happened where someone got hurt (don't know the details) but he was gone from off-road stuff like he had).

The design of the air-shocks has changed but there is still the potential of problems.

Lee

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