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how low is too low?

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Posted by: cadillackman

i'm not dragging,i don't think the tires are rubbing,but can i sucessfully drive like this?it's all the way down,purposely.

Posted by: WackyWRZ

If nothings rubbing you probably can, but good luck with speedbumps, and the ride will most likely be TERRIBLE!

Posted by: MonsterMark

Driving around on the bumpstops is not the safest or smartest thing to do. I would seriously advise against it.

Posted by: Joeychgo

not to mention incline ot decline driveways / parking lot entries. COuld get yourself stuck or wreck your front end........

Posted by: cadillackman

the ride already sucks cause i need shocks,so no loss there,i just didn't know if it'd hurt the halfshafts

Posted by: cadillackman

does it mess up the bags?

Posted by: Joeychgo

I dont think so............

....depends on if there is any air in them --- doesnt look like you have any, which means you basically took the bags out of the equasion ---

IM not totally sure on this one though. Ive never known anyone to do this. I dont think you'll be able to drive on a regular basis like this though, too many things can get damaged, and sooner or later, will. One high speed bump might just hang you up.

Posted by: 1wykdmk8

I drive mine around low like that, but be prepared to replace your entire front suspension. Ball joints (upper/lower), tie rod ends (inner and outer), and most likely your tires as well. When you lower it, the front end toes in and the front tires do not ride on the whole tire, they ride on the inner most part of the tire, so when you go to get it aligned your tires will no longer be any good because you will not have any tread left, but the rest of the tire will most likely be fine (unless they are already in need of replacement.

So, yes it does cause problems, and the bags could suffer as well. What happens with the bags is that you now are exposing different parts of the bags that were not exposed before. So, IF there is a small crack in the bag that you did not see, or was not exposed before, it could possibly expose itself. Now, that is not sayin that you will have that problem, but that is just something to be prepared about.

Here is mine with no air in the bags:

Posted by: Joeychgo

why would you want them that low anyway? I mean, with NO air?

Posted by: 1wykdmk8

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeychgo

why would you want them that low anyway? I mean, with NO air?

You can NOT imagine the looks you get......plus I am a minitrucker at heart....can not help but ryde LLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!

Does this help:

Posted by: Joeychgo

Lowwwwwwwwwww Hows that?

Posted by: cadillackman

i usually drive it about an inch higher all the way around,but i did some trailer towing yesterday,and it was all the way up,so i had to drop it,i was just surprised that it'd roll that low without rubbing,in order to get the back up,i'll have to raise the front all the way up,and cut the switch off before the back gets too high,and then wait a few days till the front goes back down,and then play the switch game to keep it there,wonder if there's any way to drop the front back down after i get the back up a little,rather than wait,oh yeah,the compresser,doesn't vent unless i pop the solenoids out,or take the lines off.

Posted by: cadillackman

i agree,it looks mean

Posted by: Joeychgo

Oh yeah, it looks mean no question.....

Posted by: 1wykdmk8

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeychgo

Lowwwwwwwwwww Hows that?

That is close....but not close enuf....you need to be lowwwwwwwwwwer!

Posted by: felo3769

damn, mine is only dropped an each and i scraped nasty on some speed bump around here, that thing was like 1ft tall!!! it was huge and i didnt even notice it that big, but like mentioned earlyjust try to avoid those speed bumps

Posted by: WackyWRZ

I get a LOT of looks with mine. Its definatly a low-rider. I dropped the front suspension as far as possible w/o redrilling the holes. I just moved the bolts in the slot. Dropped the back enough so it sits just a bit higher than the front. All this is sitting on a set of chrome 14" L.A. Wire 100 Spoke wheels, with good 'ol 3 blade spinners. I don't have the car right now (GF) but I wanna say the tires are something along the line of 195/65/14 or 205/60/14 Firestone Firehawks. When I get that chrome and that pearl white a shinin, and the sunroof up and the beats bumpin, its a real head turner... What turns heads even more is accidentally hitting a speed bump in a parking lot going any faster than 5mph, and hearing (also feeling) that BU-BUMP, SCRRRAPPE. I gotta find a way to get u guys some pics of it. Maybe I will go buy a cheap disposable camera and shoot some pics, and scan them with the G/F's scanner.

Posted by: cadillackman

that was a fun ride!i'll never do it again,i thought i could make the tiny speedbump in front of my apt if i hit it sideways,NOT!i've got an exhaust leak now

glad i got some speedfreak parts on the way!

Posted by: djKale

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadillackman

that was a fun ride!i'll never do it again,i thought i could make the tiny speedbump in front of my apt if i hit it sideways,NOT!i've got an exhaust leak now

glad i got some speedfreak parts on the way!

Driving it that low is not very smart, add about an inch to the front and rear and that's about where I cruise mine. I do dump it down entirely on occasion when the streets are FLAT and I'm cruising the loop. Normally I drive it a tad bit higher but I'm always trying to get it as low as possible while keeping a nice ride... Ironicly, my front tires have worn very evenly over the last two years.

You need to do the solenoid mod, or solenoid mod 1.2 here:

http://www.lincolnmarkviii.org/suspe...uspension1.htm

Or convert to fast bags.

I don't think driving around like that would hurt the bags at all. I believe airing them up and down will actually prolong the life of the bag since it is not allowed to sit in one spot and wear.

Kale

Posted by: purelux

If the pressure drops below a certain level in air springs/shocks it damages the bag/shock as the part isn't designed to be able to sustain that weight/strain using just the rubber of the bag/or shock liner. Low riders real low riders have suspensions designed for it i.e. suspension compnets are moved and redesigned and strengthened in some cases, also they are designed to be functional at a more extreme range than a stock air system on a car. Also if you notice lowriders generally don't have a car 100% dropped while driving at all 4 wheels espically at any good clip. Riding around that low on the stock air system is asking for a huge repair bill, I wish I had that sophisticated of a suspension on my towncar to wreck, except I wouldn't wreck it, just an expression. When driving lowriders or hydro cars usually sit up at an even level for normal driving. And cars that do the 3 wheel motion hopping etc.. have special tires and rims as well as revised suspension pieces to be able to sustain those acts over and over without causing damage.

Posted by: djKale

Quote:

Originally Posted by purelux

If the pressure drops below a certain level in air springs/shocks it damages the bag/shock as the part isn't designed to be able to sustain that weight/strain using just the rubber of the bag/or shock liner.

Let's see, bought my car in October of 1998, figured out how to slam it about six months later. That worked fine for a while until I started fast bagging the car in 2000, and have been fast bagged ever since. Since 2001, the car has gone up and completely down over a thousand times. It is slammed almost EVERYTIME the car is parked and the car is my daily driver which sees about 10K/year.

After five years of inflating and deflating these bags, they are still working great - front and rear. I bought the car with 66K and have put almost 100K on the front and rear bags myself. I'm assuming the bags are original and I now believe airing them up and down actually extends the life of the bags.

I know because I have first hand knowledge and experience on the subject, it's not something I'm theorizing about...

Kale

Posted by: purelux

Well your an administrator so I can't argue much and I get your more than obvious sarchasm about theory. Which is a bit odd since you assume the bags are original and assume you are extending the life of the bags. But I was referred to driving with it fully dropped mainly, not being parked. And I refer to dropped cars normally being like that parked and not while driving except for say showing off but even then ususally aren't dropped completely at all 4 wheels. Also you don't know for sure there arent some leaks unless you have done leak tests. And you are just not noticing the compressor kick on. My friend had a 92 crown vic lx with leaking original bags and original compressor and dryer. The springs were still "functional" it just had to kick the compressor on sometimes while driving and the car sat pretty low when turned off for a good period of time. So the way you make it sound his suspension was fine since it worked, as his daily driver, even though it was damaged.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djKale

Posted by: djKale

Dude I live with the car everyday, I would know if there were any leaks. As a matter of fact, I check my system for leaks pretty much every month. (just leave the car up overnight). I aired it up as far as it would go yesterday to work on it and it sat in that position ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT. When I got back out there this afternoon, it was still up.

It doesn't matter if the bags are original or not, because I've put almost 100K on both the front and rear bags myself. The two fronts were replaced with used struts in 2000 as part of a collision repair.

I do agree with you that driving it that low will destory the bags along with the rest of the suspension.

Kale

Posted by: 1wykdmk8

Quote:

Originally Posted by djKale

I do agree with you that driving it that low will destory the bags along with the rest of the suspension.

Kale

And I can attest to that....but do not think that it stops me....I have TOO much fun lookin at ppl with that astonished look on their faces......

Posted by: purelux

Ok thats what I was mainly talking about the damage would definatly result from and you are checking them as I said would be the only way to know for sure. Thats cool and nice to know as a testimant to the quality of the suspension. I would really like to get a markVIII after my towncar but I heard there are like 6 air struts on the car 4 on the wheels and 2 air shocks mounted as dampners horizontally against the rear axle, if thats true about the last 2. And I was a bit weary of most likely getting a car with orig bags and running into an inevitable leak since most would be old enough and driven enough that it would be likely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djKale

Dude I live with the car everyday, I would know if there were any leaks. As a matter of fact, I check my system for leaks pretty much every month. (just leave the car up overnight). I aired it up as far as it would go yesterday to work on it and it sat in that position ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT. When I got back out there this afternoon, it was still up.

It doesn't matter if the bags are original or not, because I've put almost 100K on both the front and rear bags myself. The two fronts were replaced with used struts in 2000 as part of a collision repair.

I do agree with you that driving it that low will destory the bags along with the rest of the suspension.

Kale

Posted by: djKale

Quote:

Originally Posted by purelux

Ok thats what I was mainly talking about the damage would definatly result from and you are checking them as I said would be the only way to know for sure. Thats cool and nice to know as a testimant to the quality of the suspension. I would really like to get a markVIII after my towncar but I heard there are like 6 air struts on the car 4 on the wheels and 2 air shocks mounted as dampners horizontally against the rear axle, if thats true about the last 2. And I was a bit weary of most likely getting a car with orig bags and running into an inevitable leak since most would be old enough and driven enough that it would be likely.

No dude the car and air-ride system are pretty simple actually. Two air struts up front, two bags out back. The front is integrated where the bag and shock are one unit and the rear has a separate shock and bag. Replacement parts aren't very expensive either.

Kale

Posted by: purelux

Sweet, so it has electronic connectors on the shocks though right. The suspension was the only thing worrying me about getting one after I turned 25 and my ins dropped. And I figured a towncar would have alot lower insurance than a nearly 300 hp depending on year MarkVIII. I liked my 91 t-bird and always wanted to combine the power of my das 97 continental with the ride of my tc but still have sporty handling and look. I have a pretty good ride with my edelbrock ias and poly bushings sway front and rear and 21mm rear sway bar and ens endlinks in back. But I like the idea of the irs the birds and marks have. And it's quite expensive to close the power and handling gap between a mark8 and a towncar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djKale

Posted by: djKale

The shocks do not have electronic controls, only the airbags have an electrical connection to connect the solenoid valve. Some of the first gen Mark VIIIs do have an electronic connection on the top of the rear shocks, but that was to allow the computer to modify the dampening under sever conditions, not for adjusting ride comfort or height.

In all honesty, the Mark VIIIs are staring to fall behind the curve from a performance standpoint. Now that you can buy an Altima that will click off mid 14s, or pick from a few 4 bangers that are capable of collecting 13 second timeslips right out of the box, a high 14 second car doesn't really raise too many eyebrows.

As far as bang for buck and "hot-rod-ability", the Mark VIII is by far the sweetest deal around. The drivetrain ain't too shabby, but the air suspension is the car's major asset IMHO.

Kale

Posted by: purelux

Oh I thought they would like the last of the continentals did. I don't really consider those tuners as evenly comparable to cars such as t-birds, vic's mark 8's stangs. As they are smaller and cost more than comparable domestic. While something like a altima is nice it's the type of car only likable when its new. As soon as it ages and needs real repairs done they won't be around in quanity like the others i mentioned. They will only survive until beaten to death as beaters or ones tuned and dressed enough to be worth keeping, which most won't. The newer cars get it seems the more they have a new only appeal and will be gone and forgotton rather than sought out as they age. Part of this may be so older cars are off the roads without having to force them. People don't want to keep them around they just let them go. I mean in 20 years who is gonna be looking for a 04 altima, or alero, or contour. Adversly who would be looking for say a 04 vette, or jaguar, or mustang. A mark 7 or 8 has the classic sport look, long swept hood, coupe, large doors and good power and handling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djKale

The shocks do not have electronic controls, only the airbags have an electrical connection to connect the solenoid valve. Some of the first gen Mark VIIIs do have an electronic connection on the top of the rear shocks, but that was to allow the computer to modify the dampening under sever conditions, not for adjusting ride comfort or height.

In all honesty, the Mark VIIIs are staring to fall behind the curve from a performance standpoint. Now that you can buy an Altima that will click off mid 14s, or pick from a few 4 bangers that are capable of collecting 13 second timeslips right out of the box, a high 14 second car doesn't really raise too many eyebrows.

As far as bang for buck and "hot-rod-ability", the Mark VIII is by far the sweetest deal around. The drivetrain ain't too shabby, but the air suspension is the car's major asset IMHO.

Kale

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