Horsepower and Airbags

[ZakkGS455]

I have a 1970 Buick GS 455. It is putting out close to 480 +/- horsepower. I just read the recent article in Popular Hot Rodding, featuring the 70 Buick GSX. I love the stance that Buick has. So here is the question.

Can the Air Ride Suspension handle the horsepower?

If so, how much horsepower can it withstand?

And can anyone tell me what system was used on that GSX?

[darren@ridetech.com]

That car is in the same range, a little over 450. Cornering and take off are better than with the factory suspension.
Check out this page on the Street Challenge. http://www.ridetech.com/streetchallenge/index.asp

[kandied91z]

my last setup dyno at 480 to the wheels torque after some work .. they handle just fine.

[86c1087gn]

depends on what you wanna do with the car..i have a 70 buick 455..stock 360 horse 510 lbs of torque in my pickup..the bags cant take it and tore when launching the pickup at races, 480 torque at rear wheels bags pry wont take it, but give it a shot..raising up to 480 horse or so..raises torque since horse is made from torque so good luck with that

[B.J.]

86c1087gn.... What kind of suspension/bags were under your truck?

[86c1087gn]

under the rear of my truck i have a custom built pro link rear suspension wich is basically a triangulated parallel four link..common on most drag cars..good for coil overs or bags...had some friends really into bags..we decided to bag it..they assured me that cool ride bags would pry work..well they did..except under extreme conditions...like launching the pickup off the line at the drag track...and supposedly like shockwave 9000 series bags woulda worked too..i went with coolride..worked good till that day...guess maybe i could have launched to hard..but either way..bags busted

[MonzaRacer]

Ok IF you actually had everything right you should never have ripped, torn or damaged the bags. Most likely the suspension topped out the bags BEFORE the shocks topped out. My 71 Monte Carlo had cool ride from 98 till 200 when I wrecked it. When I raced it launched perfectly and on the Buick it should not ever damage the airsprings. On the racing truck you need to make sure the bags are not the limiter of the suspension seperation or you will tear the bags.Also you dont want lots of air in the bags (ie the spring nearly topped out when installed if you have to run your rear bags way up near 100 psi or even more you either dont have a heavy enough spring or the mounts are too far apart) .
My 78 C10 has the 9000 series bags and I only need between 60 and 80 psi depending on the load. Now I' ll probably need to run them up closer to 100 if i pull a race car on my tailer but thats to hold the load.
When lifting your car the shocks should hang the suspension not the springs when the car is lifted.
I have actully found several badly set up vehicles that were hanging by the springs when lifted by the frame and they damaged the air springs.

[chrome]

I have the coolride for my mustang on all four coners and using stock struts up front,and air ride tech supplied me with new shocks for the rear,just wanted to know if the bags would be fine under hard lunches. Its a procharged 302 will be making about 500 rwhp +.

[B.J.]

yeah, you' ll be fine. Keep in mind that the factory trailing arms are what hold the rear end in place - not the ' bags. The ' bags are only there to suspend the car, the only force they take would be a weight shift when the car launches. Just like MonzaRacer said, if the system is installed properly the ' bags will never have the chance to over-extend and tear.

[chrome]

when we jack our car up the rear bags look like they strech to the max.any idea if it over extending or not and we are using traction bars.and it is bloted to the ttraction bars and the frame.

[chrome]

are you guys talking about the front bags ripping or the back, when you lanch the car at the track the back squats down how does that rip the bag or pops the bag,

[chrome]

ORIGINAL: chrome

are you guys talking about the front bags ripping or the back, when you lanch the car at the track the back squats down how does that rip the bag or pops the bag,

[chrome]

are you guys talking about the front or rear bags ripping when launching

[86c1087gn]

rear bags popping and tearing chrome...and a car shouldnt squat when launching the vehicle the suspension should actually push the tires into the ground and the rear should move up..it looks like its coming down but its not..since wheels are being planted..body falls over them..not the other way around....and obviously you guys havent tried to race a older chevy truck...its hard to keep a rearend under it..when you run 11 second quarters....theres lots of frame flex..even when boxed...trucks are designed for laod..weight being on the frame..not tortional...or twisting like proformance chassis....my suspension was done professionally..the bags popped..i dont know what happend but it was while fine tuning my four link for hard launches..the bags gave...i still believe bags would work fine for high powered cars...but im not going to run them again on that truck....they ride great and are fun but not for me on that truck..just saying be carefull with them...chassis' flex in odd ways when applying that much power..and actually getting it to the ground through your tires...cars do things you would never think of them doing..things in its way..either have to be able to take it..or break...thats how it is....i dont know what happened and frankly i dont care...i' d put bags on another vehicle i plan on racing...but not on that truck...it scared the hell outa me..so just saying beware of that....weird things will happen if you play with alot of power and hard launches

[ZakkGS455]

Hey guys.... Thanks for all the responses. My next question would be, Does anyone have any suggestions on what Air Ride setup I should use on my 70 Buick GS455?

Thanks

[B.J.]

The best way to go will be ShockWaves/StrongArms up front, CoolRide/StrongArms with the adjustable shock upgrade out back, and a 4-way air compressor system. In my personal opinion, there is no better suspension for an A-Body on the market.