Which bags on my 55?

[TINKERDUKE]

I'm gonna be bagging my 55 tf half ton step side this winter. I've done quite a bit of research and have decided on slam specialties re airbags (which I plan on getting from Travis at azperformance) but need to know which size gives a good ride. I'm on a camaro clip and will be adding a 4 link rear setup with the bags just behind the axle. The truck will be loaded with all sorts on a regular basis and will tow a large trailer sometimes aswell.
Hoping to order soon so any help would be cool
Steve.

[Lowlyfe]

Im planning on running slam re7's front and rear on mine. My 56 is also Camaro clipped and going to run a triangulated 4link (bag on bar instead of axle for best ride, but bag on axle is probably best for towing)
I've daily driven on 6" bags on a different vehicle for 5 years. I have learned that the larger the bag the better the ride, more stability with the larger spring and they take less psi to lift.

[Chris.]

Just remember that you have to cut a decent amount of your spring pocket aka frame (at least on a s10 which I think is mostly the same) to fit even a re6 I'd really take my time and see how much cutting is required for a re7. I have bagged 4 s10's all with re6's the ride was great. Plus if you look at this the lift difference is one inch doesn't seem worth all the extra hacking of the frame

[Chris.]

http://www.slamspecialties.com/compare.html

[TINKERDUKE]

Hey lowlyfe that's great info, thanks. I was thinking probably re7s out back and wasn't sure on the re6 or re7 up front but you've made my mind up! Are you going to make your own triangulated 4 link? I've been considering a triangulated rear aswell!

[TINKERDUKE]

Hi Chris, thanks for your reply- think you posted while I was typing! Hmmm with your reply I'm confused again- having never bagged a vehicle before or been in a truck running bags it makes the decision tougher. As I understand it the smaller bag requires more pressure to achieve the same height as a larger bag and therefore the smaller bag gives a harsher ride. Something that may soften the ride though will be the front tires- 205/65-15 and the heavy sbc!
Well I won't be ordering for another week or two so I shall think on it some more

[Chris.]

Originally Posted by TINKERDUKE

Hi Chris, thanks for your reply- think you posted while I was typing! Hmmm with your reply I'm confused again- having never bagged a vehicle before or been in a truck running bags it makes the decision tougher. As I understand it the smaller bag requires more pressure to achieve the same height as a larger bag and therefore the smaller bag gives a harsher ride. Something that may soften the ride though will be the front tires- 205/65-15 and the heavy sbc!
Well I won't be ordering for another week or two so I shall think on it some more

The other thing to think about is what height you plan to ride at, everyone I bagged trucks for including myself and other people I know with bagged trucks spent most of their driving time at only a few inches off the ground so even a re6 isn't stiff. But if you plan to fill it all the way up most of the time then you have some thinking to do

[Chris.]

Re6 gives 7.2 in of travel

[Lowlyfe]

I don't know for sure on the Camaro clip yet but on a friend's 90s caprice we fit 7" bags up front with plenty of frame pocket left (the Camaro clip looks very similar to the caprice front end)
Is the s10 frame pocket the same size as the camaro's?
Im still planning to fit 7's on mine, the ride will be worth it.

*edit... I did a quick Google search, there are quite a few running 7s on the s10s too www.s10forum.com
With a small block the bags will require alot of pressure to get a decent ride height. The better ride and less psi are worth it IMO.

[joedoh]

you dont need bigger bags in the back, all the weight is in the front. It was said above that the bigger the bag the larger the volume and the lower the psi, that is absolutely true, but apply that truth to a larger bag in the rear and think about it. You will have full lift at about 20-30 psi, and no spring rate to speak of, even with shocks it will behave like the softest sprung car ever made. Thats cool for highway cruising, but it will really work out your shocks on a bouncy road or over potholes. At ride height you will be at 10-15psi in the rear and it will be jouncing and juddering all over the place.

You need a bigger bag up front, because the much heavier weight will give a higher spring rate on a larger bag and that will translate to a good ride, too small a bag up front would be very stiff. Even the smallest firestone bag out back will handle most any load you can put in the bed. Most guys with bagged trucks dont haul anything heavier than a couple chairs and coolers anyway.

if you are set doing bags behind the axle, I would suggest you use firestone sleeve bags. Make sure you put on shocks to limit their height but they will give you 8-9inches of lift and ride so smoothly at ride height. Sleeve bags will not work on a leverage setup where the bag is on the link bar.

edit: make sure you are planning to run shocks with bags. they are absolutely necessary.

[TINKERDUKE]

Thanks for everyone's help. I'm still a little confused at which bags to choose. I'm leaning towards re7s on the rear as that will cope with large trailers and heavy loads and it will be fitted at the axle (no leverage like if it was fitted to a trailing arm or bar) so hoping it won't be to soft. Up front I'm undecided but am going to pop a wheel off and have a measure to see how much metal removal would be required for either re6 or re7. Would a 7" hole be enough for re6 and a 8" hole for re7? Am I right in thinking the bags would perform best at half travel or stroke for normal ride height?

[Lowlyfe]

I'd deffinately run 7's on all 4 corners, with the weight of the engine and you planning to pull trailers, less psi to lift and a smoother ride will all be big advantages.
Also a bag on axle won't be as soft as a bag on bar... You have that confused. Though bag on axle will be your best bet for towing and will ride fine but I just wouldn't expect a new Cadillac quality of ride.
I'm going to cut mine for 7s up front this weekend and I'll report back with pictures when it's done. It might be safe to say an 8" opening would be fine as these slam specialties bags don't balloon outward under pressure and yes your best off running your bags around half travel, the more PSI in the bag the stiffer the ride. Like mentioned above, you must use shocks in conjunction with the bags and you can choose the shocks to suit your ride preference for more of a stiff or softer suspension.

[TINKERDUKE]

Hey Lowlyfe thanks again for your response. Good luck with your bag install this weekend and if you can report back on how that goes it would be great. Probably my wording but I realise the bag on axle gives a stiffer ride but that's fine, my rear tires are 235/75-15 so that will take some harshness away! Yes I was gonna run shocks front and rear and am hoping I can somehow re-use my stock (fairly new) shocks again up front? What size tires are you going with and are you gonna run drop spindles?

[IIGW]

Originally Posted by joedoh

if you are set doing bags behind the axle, I would suggest you use firestone sleeve bags. Make sure you put on shocks to limit their height but they will give you 8-9inches of lift and ride so smoothly at ride height. Sleeve bags will not work on a leverage setup where the bag is on the link bar.

edit: make sure you are planning to run shocks with bags. they are absolutely necessary.

this guys knows what he's talkin about.
sleeve bags are amazing.
convoluted bags on axle ride like poop. unless its a big bag and no psi... but put them bags on the bars to help 'work' the bag and itll ride great and give 20+ inches of lift

[TINKERDUKE]

Hey Lowlyfe how did the bag fitting go? Found a thread I saved a while ago where a guy fitted slam 7" bags and I don't think the cutout on the camaro clip is to excessive.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...220256&page=11

[Lowlyfe]

I tore the front apart and quickly discovered the lca's aren't flat in the bottom of the spring pocket so I opted to wait for a set of aftermarket arms instead of modding my stockers since I had planned to get aftermarket arms to begin with. There looks to be plenty of space for the 7" bag though, if your worried about it at all you could always reinforce the area from the inside too but plenty of guys have run 7's without doing anything fancy