[VACList] AirLift, Firestone Air Springs, or ShockWave 9000?

["Kevin D. Allen" <overlander64@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I hope that I am dealing with the final issue on my "towcar
in-training".  After three weeks of struggling to find a set of wheels
that are straight enough to roll down the road without vibrating the
vehicle apart, I finally found a dealer with five NOS American Racing
mag wheels with a weight rating of 3,600 pounds each with the proper
off-set for the Cadillac.  The problem with the new wheels is that tire
clearance is reduced to less than 2" in the rear, and with the soft
suspension (the car has heavy duty Cargo Coil springs that were new last
year) my tire dealer is afraid that a pothole might cause the lip of the
fender to contact the sidewall of the tire (deflection would have to be
about 2.25".  The solution that is being considered is to install either
AirLift 1000 air bags inside the rear coil springs (a kit is available
from AirLift for this application), Firestone Ride-Rite air springs (a
kit is not available so a weld-up custom install would be necessary), or
ShockWave 9000 (Shock combined with Firestone Air Spring) <this would
require cross-referencing the car's original shocks to the new units and
comparing manufacturer's specifications to available clearances>.  Does
anyone on the list have experience with any of these products?
 
I am satisfied with the towing performance of the car with the current
heavy duty Cargo Coils and heavy duty air shocks with my Reese Dual Cam
hitch setup.  The goal of this modification is to maintain the ride
height at the most consistent level possible to avoid having contact
between the rear tire sidewalls and the inner lip of the fender.
 
Any input will be welcome!
 
Thanks!
 
Kevin
 
Kevin D. Allen
1964 Overlander International/1999 GMC K2500 Suburban
1978 Argosy Minuet
1975 Cadillac Convertible (towcar in-training)
WBCCI/VAC #6359