SeriousOffroad

okay. I simply added a link to show where my info is coming from and to give the OP some research material.

I'm on 5160 series shocks and get a great ride both on and off road with them.

holycaveman

And unless you are racing baja or something. You can just run air and not nitrogen.

Try that one on for size

SeriousOffroad

A very good read on Air-Shocks vs, Nitrogen Charged shocks.
http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=483221

93XJLI

Regular old atmosphere has water in it. That's a no no for a closed system.

holycaveman

Doesn't hurt a thing. Anyone who takes care of their high dollar shocks also services them at regular intervals. The only negative effect of air is the inconsistency of pressures over a long period of extreme use. For short time spans you won't see an increase in pressure of over 20lbs or so with a shock charged at 175 lbs on the average.

I am not telling anyone to run air. I am just saying that if you had to you could.

93XJLI

No one runs air bc there's no reason to. The shock is made for nitro, why run something that isn't as good just bc "you can"?

holycaveman

Because I take that good ol shock and tear it apart, then I test and tune, change valving, etc.....

For $ reasons I test and tune with air. Many performance shops do this.

I just threw it out there as kind of an "oh yea!" Did not really want to expand on it. But I guess all info can be good.

93XJLI

Never heard of anyone testing with air. Why would you test with a gas that will behave differently than what you would end up using? Every racer I've seen, on road and off, carries a bottle of nitrogen when they're tuning shocks.

Lowrange2

This. I got my piggy backs because they look cool!

holycaveman

Because it does not make a difference with testing and tuning during short runs.

Willys55

this is why I hardly ever turn the TV on.

ktmracer419

so you went from running air all the time in your shocks, to just testing with air.

while you can put air in them, and they will function, they will wreak havoc in the shock over time. air has water in it, water= corrosion. I'll stick to nitrogen.

holycaveman

Not over the time span of a couple of months. What are you corroding? An aluminum chamber? You could fill 1/8 of the chamber up with water. Doesn't make a difference. It does not collapse all the way. Its only meant as a cushion for the oil. As far as that goes you could fill it up all the way and revalve the shock accordingly. Its not rocket science, its a shock.

Again I am not telling anyone to run air. Just saying its possible.

This is entertaining though.

ktmracer419

I know how a shock works.

Then don't mention running air.

Air is simply not good for shocks. ask any shock manufacturer. And with nitrogen being cheap and readily available I don't know why anyone would want to. I get my shocks and airbumps charged for free. They don't take much anyway. Who would drop several hundred dollars(and more) on a nice set of shocks then shorten their lifespan over a matter of a few bucks?

holycaveman

now everyone knows a little more