Hi --- I have a set of Good Year 295/50 15 s in the rear- these are monster tires with a rear tread of 14-15 inches. I put 26 lbs in them and It rides Hard- real Hard and jaw shattering..... I also have adjustable air shocks too. What should I do to make the ride softer. I like the look of these monster tires BUT I don't mash my Ride.

 

I would say its the shocks that are causing the problem. Air shocks are meant to handle heavy loads and keep the wheel wells and bump stops from bottoming out on the tires/etc..
If you down size the rear tires to the point you will not need the air shocks to keep the tires from hitting and will be able to use a regular shock and that should do the job.

Or you can look into doing allot of wheel well trimming /minnie tub and change the BS with a different size wheel trying to tuck the tire inside the well and eliminating the need for air shocks.

 

Thanks for replying-
My take is that the previous owner(s) required the Air Shocks because the 84 trans am was made into a FireRossa with the addition of a Heavy Fiberglass Tessarossa Hood and Rear Trunk Lid along with Rear Quarters that are wedge shaped with mock finned sides. It is one Heavy load on the road. That is where the Air Shocks come in. From the profile- it does closely resemble the Ferrari Tessarossa 512.

 

Would taking the tire pressure down to 21 lbs from 26 lbs hurt the tires ? thanks

 

Reducing the air pressure in the shocks might also help. Should be a pressure for the shocks that would soften the ride while still allowing room for your tires.

 

I took the advice and removed the passenger side rear tire that was bottoming out and grinded away about 3/8 of an inch of the bondo-ed wheel well area- lucky for me that the rear quarters have been blowin out about 5 inches because the extra wide rear quarters were add ons as part of a Body Kit. My original rear 1/4's which bind are located 5 inches in from the Kit fenders. Soooo i can cut away as much as I need to keep the wheel wells from rubbing the tires--- its all hidden from view. Sure wish I could post a pic- but I am not too savvy with that stuff.

 

To determine air pressure, with new tires, get some white shoe polish, drag it across the tread, then roll the car until it scuffs. If there's too much pressure the white will only scuff in the middle of the tread. If there's not enough air, then only the edges will scuff.

 

OK,
Don't be surprised if the trimming does not help unless you are able to deflate the air shocks to the point that the springs are carrying the weight of the car the way they are supposed to do. A standard shock basically is there to control the bounce of the spring while the spring supports the car. The problem with air shocks is that they take away the spring’s job by elevating the car past the point of the spring’s ability to support the car... That air shock is holding the entire weight of the car putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the top mounting point.
They have been known to punch right threw the thin metal holding them. There is no soft movement with that shock because it will not allow it to compress. It will never go any lower than where it is. I hope some of that helps you with your problem.