Ok- a lot of people asking to lift their rear ends have asked exactly how much the AirLift 1000 Airsprings/bags raise the rear over stock...

I put a set in my 70 cutlass this past weekend, along with new shocks. Took before & after height numbers.

The Airsprings have a max pressure of 35/lbs per bag- min of 5/lbs.

21lbs- 2.5 Lift
18lbs- 2 Lift
13lbs- 1.4 Lift
10lbs- 1 lift

I did not put more than 21 lbs in or less than 10lbs- but as you can see a 2.5" lift over stock is a pretty considerable lift, considering this is not an airshock, but actually lifting the car & increasing your spring rate by a lot at the same time. I plan to run around 10-15 lbs in my bags, as this "feels" the most comfortable.

Anyway- Hope this helps.

I want to raise my car about 1 - 1 1/2", but I was thinking about getting longer springs, or the heavy duty variety someone mentioned here a while ago. My car rides real good right now, but the roads around here are a bit rough so I'm afraid that air bags would feel a bit stiff. Is there a noticeable difference in ride quality when you run the 10-15 lbs you're talking about?

It is a bit stiffer, but the main reason i like them is they help it corner better. Much less body roll with them in the back (valved separately).

I'm sure there are more than a dozen ways to jack up the rear of the car- but to me, these things are the only way.

Well, that could definitely be an advantage on our roads so maybe that's what I need to go with. They are definitely easier to install than springs, and cheaper too, I believe. I usually have a hard time deciding, so I really like the "lift-on-demand" feature. Just a bit more or less air, depending on your preference of the day. :)

Ashom69...bit confused..how can the bags raise the body?..The bags are in the spring and will expand in the x axis. I can't see how these bags will expand in the y axis...your comments ..

They can expand both ways, but the spring itself will only allow it to expand vertically. I also think that they have a girdle molded into the inside, to minimize the expansion against the spring.

Ben, I looked for those air bags, and Jeg's have got Air Ride bags they call "drag bags". Is that the same type you have, or are there different bags for different applications? Where did you buy yours?

I'm confused, why would you want to raise the ride height of a car? Going off-roading?
that's going to raise the center of gravity and adversely affect suspension geometry, and make the car handle like crap. I have adjustable spring jacks on my car, and when I raised the rear to give it a forward 'rake', the car felt like I was driving a van.

In my case, it's not a matter of getting a forward rake, I just want to make it level. For some reason, they look like they came with sagging rear suspension from the factory. IMO, it just doesn't look good so I want to make it level. The handling isn't very good to begin with, so I don't think one inch lift would hurt much. :)

The handling isn't very good to begin with, so I don't think one inch lift would hurt much. :)
Oh, but it can be...how much do you want to spend? :thumbsup:

Oh, but it can be...how much do you want to spend? :thumbsup:

LOL! Just about as much as two air bags are worth :D

They raise the rear end the same way a much stiffer coil spring would- That is basically what they are doing, increasing your spring rate.

A lot of people don't like the way A-bodys sit in stock form, they want the rear raised just enough to not look like its sagging (.5-1.5" usually) . Air shocks definitely suck from both a handling point of view & a practical point of view as the mounts were not designed to hold up the weight of the car.

If you are trying to be Mr Super-G-machine guy- then they probably are not for you. But if you have a stock chevelle and would like to raise the rear a hair, & stiffen it up to help launches and handling- then the air bags help a lot.

Airlift has a lot of info on their site. I think the drag bags are different than the ones i am talking about. Go to Airlifts website and look at the Airlift 1000. That is what i am talking about.

Maybe I'm getting old, but I read the instructions for the Air lift 1000 (http://airlift.r-catalog.com/ImgVD/AIL/MN-130_607XX.pdf) and just couldn't figure out how to install them. For GM applications, the picture shows them sitting sideways in the spring... is that really correct or am I misreading it?

Maybe I'm getting old, but I read the instructions for the Air lift 1000 (http://airlift.r-catalog.com/ImgVD/AIL/MN-130_607XX.pdf) and just couldn't figure out how to install them. For GM applications, the picture shows them sitting sideways in the spring... is that really correct or am I misreading it?

You have to squeeze all the air out of the bags, basically fold them into a little hotdog bun shaped deal- then squeeze it in through the coils of the spring- so the photo is probably showing them being inserted.

You have to squeeze all the air out of the bags, basically fold them into a little hotdog bun shaped deal- then squeeze it in through the coils of the spring- so the photo is probably showing them being inserted.

Not sure, really. I was looking at figure 3 on page 2 in this PDF document (http://airlift.r-catalog.com/ImgVD/AIL/MN-130_607XX.pdf). Doesn't make sense, the barb fitting should be pointing straight down, shouldn't it?

I'm not sure what that instruction form is for... must be a specific application. Even the spring in that photo looks like its different(oblong, not round)

The instructions that came with mine (and my last two) all have the bag going Up and down, not side to side.
The instructions say the barb should go down, but my first car (had them installed already) had it going up through the upper shock mount, and that is how i have done all mine since then.

I don't know either, but your way of doing it is what I have seen on other cars. Thanks for the info, I'll probably look into this pretty soon!

BTW, is it ahsom69 or ahsom70 I'm talking to? :)

lol- both...

I post from work & from home- but i rebuilt my home computer and my username & pw wasn't stored, and i did the AHSOM70 login out of habbit...

changed names a long time ago when i sold my 69- then when i sold the 70 i planned to buy another 69 I switched back to the old name- but then i bought a 70 cutlass, so techincally the other name is better, but i just got sick of switching around, so ahsom69 it is! :p