79 Impala Front End Lowering to Fast

[Pimpala79]

Hey everyone,

New to the forum as well as bagged vehicles. I recently purchased a 79 impala with air suspension off a tinting company that used it as their promo vehicle.

Everything seems to work well, however i do have a few questions:

Currently, when i go to lower the front of the car down it exhausts air very fast. It is basically impossible not to hit the bump stops when airing down, and imagine that cannot be good for any number of parts slamming together.

From reading a bit on here, i think I could slow it down by putting on a narrower exhaust valve (not sure the proper name)? I would like to be able to hit the switch and have it air down in a controlled manner as opposed to very carefully trying to let out a bit at a time.

Secondly, the front seems to exhaust all the air if it is lifted before the rear. This is not a huge deal as i have learned to just raise the back first, then the front when going up. On the way down, lower the front first then air down the rear.

I dont think this is normal behaviour. Any ideas what could be happening?


Thanks in advance guys!


If would like to see the car i would be happy to email or text a few pictures so you can put them up. I am not to savy with uploading them myself.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

I would use a pair of flow control valves to adjust the exhaust rate out of the front bags. I use SMC valves on my setup, and they work great. They are directional, so they will not significantly affect the fill rate if you install them the correct direction.

It sounds like your system does not have enough air to adequately air up without needing to recharge. I would consider adding additional air capacity, either via a larger tank, or if your equipment can handle it, running your tank at a higher pressure.

You might try uploading your photos to Flickr - the interface is straightforward and sharing is easy on there.